Colorado SBDC Department , Larimer County

SBDC Instructors

	Amy Alcorn is the Marketing Director at Aspen Grove Marketing. She works to help local businesses connect with their customers through digital marketing including Email Marketing Campaigns and Social Media such as Facebook and LinkedIn. One thing Amy loves about social media is that it creates a new place for people and businesses to connect with friends, supporters, and customers. Away from work, she enjoys volunteering. She has been the Social Media Coordinator with the Sustainable Living Association since 2008. She also loves going for a run or walking her dog, Roxy, through Old Town. Amy graduated from CSU with a degree in Business Administration with concentrations in Marketing and Finance and has been falling in love with Fort Collins and our wonderful community ever since.
	Curt Bear has worked in commercial banking for his entire 13+ year career, beginning with a management and credit analysis training program in his home state of North Dakota. He has been with Capital West Bank for over 5 years and enjoys the entrepreneurial aspects of working with a small banking organization (3 locations and ~45 employees). Curt is passionate about helping small businesses grow and succeed, developing sustainable and localized economic systems, and building relationships with like-minded citizens and business owners in Northern Colorado. He lives in the Old Town area of Fort Collins with his wife Jill, dog Jazzy, and cats Hazel and Tiger. They enjoy partaking in the food and entertainment elements of downtown living, caring for their backyard vegetable gardens and chicken coop, and spending time with friends and family members via hiking and biking excursions as well as regular motorcycle tours of Colorado and Western States.
	Brian Boyes was raised in Northville, Michigan. He is a graduate of Purdue University (B.S. 2004) with a degree in Neurobiology and Physiology. Brian graduated law school Cum Laude from Thomas M. Cooley Law School (J.D. 2007). While in law school, Mr. Boyes completed a judicial internship with Diane Marie Hathaway, a Wayne County Circuit Court Judge at the time, now a Michigan Supreme Court Justice. In 2008, Brian co-founded Bordeaux & Boyes LLC with his wife. While working full time, Brian obtained a masters of law degree in taxation (L.L.M. 2011) from the University of Denver. His primary areas of practice are small business formation and contracts, estate planning (wills, trusts, powers of attorney), probate and guardianship/conservatorship. Mr. Boyes is an avid outdoorsman, a trail runner and an active triathlete who enjoys being involved in the community.
	Curtis Carlson I have been in banking since graduating from Colorado State University in 2004 with a degree in Economics. I started out at another community bank here in Fort Collins as a teller, then transitioned to a personal banker position and became a credit analyst in 2006. In 2008 I was recruited by and accepted a position with Capital West Bank. I moved into my current role as Assistant Vice President - Commercial Loans in late 2010, and my background as an analyst for four years has given me a strong foundation for interpreting business financials & assisting customers with their financial needs.
	Jackie Compton is a CPA with 20 years accounting experience. Jackie has worked with both multi-billion dollar companies and small companies, with the last 8 years focused on auditing and tax preparation and consulting for businesses and non-profits in the under $2 million revenue range. Jackie works with small businesses to help them navigate the complex world of small business accounting and to help these businesses ensure they are complying with all applicable federal and state tax regulations. She also provides Quickbooks set up, training and consulting.
	Arnie Culver has been involved with small businesses most of his life. He grew up in Kentucky on a small farm and learned at a young age it takes hard work and ingenuity to make a small business successful. Aside from the farm, his parents owned the local café which was only open for breakfast and lunch. At age 14 Arnie convinced his mother to let him open the café for dinner. It was a great success. After 10 years in the Army, Arnie relocated to Fort Collins with his wife, who grew up near Denver. In 1995 he started his first business manufacturing custom furniture in a one car garage. The place was so small that tools often times had to be moved outside just to work on a piece of furniture. Through hard work, creative marketing, and determination Arnie was soon building custom furniture and casework for the most exclusive homes in Colorado. Being involved in small business at an early age gave him the passion and determination to start a business. Arnie believes in small business and enjoys helping anyone with the passion and determination it takes to own your own business.
	Cindy Deutschbein, M.S., CPA, has been teaching accounting and business for over 20 years at Regis University and Front Range Community College. In addition, to college courses Cindy also has written curriculum and trained managers at several large corporations within the healthcare and wholesale industries. Cindy has a passion for teaching in any arena; be it the brick and mortar classroom or on-line learning.
	Beth Ellen Dixon, CPA, worked in a variety of administrative, marketing and technical positions in Silicon Valley for over 25 years. In 2003, she moved to Fort Collins in pursuit of less traffic, more sunshine, and a career as an accountant. She holds an AS in Data Communications, a BSBA in Business Administration and a Master of Accountancy. Beth has worked in public accounting at RLR, LLP since 2009, focusing primarily on bookkeeping, QuickBooks consulting and individual and business taxation. The best part of her day is when she can answer a “what does this mean?” or “how do I do this?” question for a client. The opportunity to help a small business owner manage more effectively is what drove Beth to become a CPA.
	Kevin Dryg, CPA, CVA, has worked in business for over 17 years, the last 12 being in public accounting. He is president of Dryg & Associates, CPAs, P.C., and specializes in tax planning and compliance, and business valuations. Kevin earned his Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) credential in 2004 and has extensive experience in performing business valuations for a wide variety of situations. He lives in Fort Collins with his wonderful wife and two children.
	Gretchen Gaede is an author, speaker and the President of A-Train Marketing Communications, Inc., a full-service marketing & public relations firm with a mission of helping drive the greater good through creative and strategic awareness campaigns. Gaede embodies a leadership-by-example approach and has centered her career on serving the community and helping others learn to do the same. She is a known branding and public relations expert and has helped hundreds of companies elevate their market position.
	Kristin Golliher, Founder & CEO of WildRock Public Relations & Marketing, is a highly motivated self-starter. From start up to global, she has a proven track record of strategically building media relations, social media, tradeshows, events, promotions and award programs to build brands. Kristin brings fresh ideas, creativity and industry expertise to help businesses realize success!
	Andrea Grant believes that every business can become more successful and more dynamic with leadership, communication and accountability. Her compassion and desire to help develop and transform individuals and organizations led her to her recent position at Vistage. Most recently, as CFO and Secretary Treasurer of her own company, Andrea’s experiences helped manage average annual growth of 40%, market expansions through acquisition and start-up, and culminated in the sale of the business in 2005. • Business Counselor, Small Business Development Center – Provides business start-up and growth counseling. • Owner, DISCovery Marketing Group LLC. – Produce multi-media video information discs. • Officer and CFO, Builders Appliance Center, Inc. – Implemented systems and processes to assist in growth from 3 million to 20 million in revenues, expansion to five locations, and management of over fifty employees. • As a Business Consultant, provided accounting solutions, systems selection, best practice.
	Todd Guymon, local community lender, strives to help small businesses achieve their financial and operational goals. After a decade in banking, Todd remains eager to create ideal and personalized solutions for each of his clients. Todd moved to Fort Collins in 2005 to take part in opening the locally owned Fort Collins Commerce Bank. Since that time, the Bank has grown to include two sister banks and recently merged the three to create Verus Bank of Commerce. Todd enjoys his Vice President position at Verus, having been one of the top Small Business Administration (SBA) Lenders in Colorado. Throughout his career, Todd has worked in all aspects of SBA financing, including underwriting, processing, servicing, and lending. This has allowed him to understand the ins and outs of the program, so that he can customize an approach to each unique financing situation. Todd obtained his business degree in Finance from the University of Utah and currently lives in Windsor with his beautiful wife and three wonderful children.
	Nelia Harper is an entrepreneur, strategist and small business consultant. She inspires entrepreneurs to transform ideas into profitable, sustainable business. With over 10 years of small business ownership, sales, marketing, and business development experience, Nelia has assisted numerous clients take businesses from idea to actuality through market research, process development, systemization, and financial analysis. She excels at building relationships, initiating start-up ventures, and helping others reach their personal and professional goals. Currently, Nelia is an instructor, consultant and project leader with the Larimer Small Business Development Center in Fort Collins, CO.
	Teresa Kaufman has been in public accounting since 2002. She is responsible for the preparation and review of tax returns. Teresa has extensive experience with clients involved in various real estate activities including, commercial and residential real estate investment and development. She also has extensive experience in debt cancellation issues. Teresa's previous experience included reviewing and supervising the preparation of various publications which were used in coordination with yearly CPE courses given through the Colorado Society of CPAs. Teresa graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in education and graduated from Colorado State University in 2001 with a Master of Science in accounting. Teresa is currently on the board of directors of Homeless Gear/Hand Up Cooperative. She is also an active member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Colorado Society of CPAs. Teresa enjoys spending time with her two beautiful girls, being outdoors and gardening.
	Christina Kraft is a Vice President and Senior Business Relationship Manager at Wells Fargo Bank in Fort Collins. She started her career in banking on the teller line during college. After completing a Bachelor’s of Science with a degree in Finance from the University of Colorado Boulder, she joined First National Bank Alaska’s Management Training Program. The Program provided training in all areas of the banking industry with an emphasis on lending. After eight years in Alaska, Christina moved back to Colorado and joined Wells Fargo in her current role. She focuses on assisting businesses in meeting all financial needs including loans, deposits, merchant and payroll services, insurance, business succession planning, SBA lending, etc. Christina started teaching SBDC classes in 2006. She also volunteers for Junior Achievement, United Way of Larimer County and The Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce.
	Paul Matonis of Matonis Peck & Wurst LLC, specializes in taxes and accounting for individual and small businesses. He is an Enrolled Agent so he can represent taxpayers at all administrative levels with the Internal Revenue Service along with the State and Local taxing authorities. Paul has been a tax accountant for over 20 years and has been at his current location with the same business partners for 15 years. Paul and his lovely wife Pam of 27 years have two daughters and have lived in Fort Collins since 1979. He offers a free initial consultation and promises it will be time well spent.
	Mary Merritt started NerdyMind in 2012. She was the Website Business Development Manager for OtterBox for 6 years. She was also a Web Designer/Web Marketing Specialist at Sierra Trading Post for 5 years. Mary loves stand up paddling and surfing so very much! True NERD. TRUE.
	John Murphy is a third generation Colorado native. Since 2007, John has been teaching business classes, including Small Business Management, at Front Range Community College. He loves leveraging his experiences in small businesses and in managing worldwide programs then applying them to the dreams of entrepreneurs. His specialties include developing business plans, sales forecasts, and competitive analysis. After years of retail management including buying, merchandising, personnel management, and store operations, he received his Master’s degree in Marketing from CSU. After graduate school, John sold direct mail and radio advertising in Northern Colorado before joining Hewlett Packard (HP) where managed manufacturing plans and product availability. He then moved into HP business development, sales forecasting, and channel management. Before retiring from HP, John was the worldwide sales training manager for HP Software.
	Lee Porter has walked the path of Sales and Marketing for over 25 years, as Account Manager for Burns & Associates, Major Account Manager at the Fort Collins Coloradoan, Owner/CEO of Hayes Porter Marketing, Sales Director at the Northern Colorado Business Report, National Sales and Market Development Manager at Freedom Communications, and now Sales Maven at Trebuchet Group. She has been directly responsible for territories generating $1.2 million per year, across 20 plus sites and been responsible for enterprise-wide projects for hiring, training, and implementing revenue initiatives. Currently as part of Trebuchet Group, she works with entrepreneurs, assisting companies to initiate and manage sales systems, including hiring, planning and execution of sales programs.
	Tom Selken obtained a business degree in Economics from University of South Dakota in 1990. He obtained his Juris Doctorate of law degree from University of Nebraska in 1997. After business school and prior to law school, Tom was a commercial and consumer loan officer in the banking field. Tom has been active in various community organizations, including Sertoma, Jaycees, and Poudre Wilderness Volunteers. He also taught Business Law at Front Range Community College for four years. Tom opened his law practice in 1997 and focuses primarily on business transactional, including business formation, buy sell agreements, contract formation and estate planning.
	Reu Smith focuses on helping others achieve the next level in business by combining his passion for people and fun with his expertise in business, marketing, creativity, and coaching. His unique style of work uses wit, fun, and an innate understanding of his clients to create individualized strategies that represent the soul of each business. Through his years running rfi\|Marketing, Reu has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of marketing. He strives to bring each of his clients to the next level and knows that success often works as a staircase instead of as an escalator. When he isn’t hard at work, Reu is spending quality time with his family. He is currently the head coach for FAST Masters Swim Team, head Mauy Thai instructor at Trans Martial Arts, and president of the Aggie All-Grainers Brewing Club. He is also a referee for USA Water Polo, USA swimming, and USA Cycling.
	Tom Thompson is proud to be a Colorado Native, born and raised in the Front Range. Tom dedicated 31 years plus of service as a Contracting Officer to the City of Longmont. He is a lifetime member of NIPG, holds lifetime CPPB Certification and is a Master Instructor for the Federal Contractors Certificate (FCC) program. The City of Longmont celebrated Tom's retirement on November 30, 2010, and he began work with Colorado PTAC on December 1, 2010. He was retired for a full 12 hours! Colorado PTAC has provided Tom with the enjoyment of helping people. He is proud to be able to use his 31 plus years of expertise to assist people with their business as a Procurement Counselor.
	Pavel Verbsky was born abroad in the Czech Republic. In 2002, he graduated from University of Economics in Prague with a Master’s in Finance and Accounting. Following his heart and future wife, Pavel moved to the USA in 2003. He has worked in public accounting ever since. In 2005 they followed their passion for the outdoors and moved to Fort Collins, Colorado. Here Pavel joined the team of RLR, LLP, a full service certified public accounting company. His primary areas of expertise are business and individual taxation, accounting and general small business consulting, Information Technology, QuickBooks and accounting software setup. He really enjoys working with small business owners, helping them understand the financial side of their business and how to use accounting information to run their business better and smarter. Pavel started volunteering for the Larimer SBDC in Fort Collins in 2009. His primary focus is business valuations – helping potential buyers or sellers assess the value of a business.