Join us for our region's premier, annual manufacturing summit! The Greater Reading region celebrates manufacturing as its highest-priority industry, and shares a dedication to the industry's success with its neighboring partners, training providers and employers the surrounding counties. Be a part of this can't-miss event! Attendees will then enjoy a half-day agenda packed with a keynote speaker and breakout sessions with key takeaway items.
Keynote Speaker:
Lisa Riggs, Senior Managing Director, Economic Growth Strategy & Partnerships - Team PA
Topic: Manufacturing: A Priority Industry in Pennsylvania
Lisa Riggs is Team Pennsylvania's Senior Managing Director, Economic Strategy & Partnerships. She previously served as the President of EDC Lancaster County for nine years, implementing an aggressive strategic plan anchored on business retention and expansion and economic analytics. Riggs has served in a number of other economic development roles over her more than two decades of experience, including as the President of the James Street Improvement District, a community and economic development organization focused on parts of the City of Lancaster, and as Vice President of Economic Development for the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore. She also served for two seasons as the President of the Lancaster Barnstormers, a professional minor league baseball team.
A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Riggs resides in Lancaster County. She currently serves on the boards of the Steinman Foundation, HDC Mid-Atlantic, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central PA, the Lancaster STEM Alliance, and the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association.
Panel Discussion:
Topic: Designing a Talent Pipeline and Succession Plan for the Entire Organization
Panelists: Walter Banta, Brentwood Industries; Audra Donato, Misco Products; Brenda Rosado, East Penn Manufacturing Co.
Moderator: Terri Lampe Melcher, RACC
Walter Banta serves as Brentwood's Vice President of Operations. In this role, he oversees the planning and execution of manufacturing processes across Brentwood's global network of facilities, focusing on innovation and continuous improvement to ensure high-quality products.
With a background in engineering, Walter excels at process and organizational optimization. Under his leadership, Brentwood has adopted modern manufacturing techniques, increased automation to streamline operations, built a robust global supply chain, and increased production efficiencies.
Walter's approach emphasizes expertise, teamwork, and collaboration. He works closely with Brentwood's global teams, building strong relationships focused on employee safety, shared corporate culture, and operational excellence.
Audra Donato serves as the HR Director at MISCO Products Corporation, she is passionate about helping employees throughout their entire employee lifecycle. From recruiting, onboarding, training and coaching, to moving on (off boarding), her goal is to ensure employees have a premier employment experience.
She began her career in retirement benefits at VF Corporation. Working in a Fortune 200 company where she learned how to manage multiple tasks and interact with others in a high-level organization. With 25 years of HR experience, she has handled corporate communications, payroll, safety, employee relations, training & development, and organizational strategy while maintaining legal compliance. In her current role, she oversees the entire HR function for the company, from brainstorming efficiency strategies with cross functional teams to planning employee engagement events, to conducting employee training sessions.
Brenda Rosado serves as the serves as the Diversity and Inclusion Manager at East Penn Manufacturing Co. Her greatest passion is continuing the culture of the company's core beliefs; "People will always be the heart of the company" and model these behaviors every day, and in every program, we develop, so that we continue to foster environments of belonging that make East Penn one of the Best Places to work in PA.
In her role she is responsible for developing, implementing, and monitoring programs that promote diversity, inclusion and equity within the company and East Penn's affirmative action and EEO initiatives. She has held many distinct roles within the company in for the past 29 years, from Employee Relations to HR Business partner in Manufacturing.
Additionally, she serves on the Women2Women Council, Programming Committee for the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance, and serves as the Chairperson for the Mujer a Mujer Committee and, a Council Member for LINC in the Lehigh Valley and on the Board of Directors for the Literacy Council of Reading Berks. She stays involved in her community by volunteering and serving as a Financial Council member for her local church.
Breakout Sessions:
Session 1: Factory of the Future: Focused Discussion on Adopting Automation
Janine Kaiser, Manufacturing Policy Consultant- Team PA
Lisa Riggs, Senior Managing Director, Economic Growth Strategy & Partnerships- Team PA
Janine Spadafore Kaiser is the Manufacturing Policy Consultant for Team PA. She is the founder and Principal of Compass Policy Strategies, LLC (CPS), an independent, woman-owned workforce, education, and economic development consultancy. Over the last 15 years of her career, Janine has supported more than 25 collaboratives involving companies, public agencies, philanthropy, educational institutions, workforce development, and community-based organizations, in California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada.
Session 2: How to Ensure Your Team is Engaged
Laurel Cline, Division CEO- Herbein HR Consulting
Scott Smith, VP and Practice Lead- Herbein HR Consulting
Laurel Cline is a seasoned human resources professional with more than 30 years of experience spanning multiple facets of HR. Laurel's functional areas of specialization include strategic and succession planning, compensation, and interim HR management. She works with a diverse client base that spans higher education, manufacturing, financial services and nonprofit organizations.
Laurel has a BA in speech communications from Penn State University, a graduate of the PA Bankers School of Banking, and World at Work's Principles of Executive Rewards and Advanced Concepts in Executive Rewards. Laurel was named to the 2023 Circle of Excellence as part of the Lehigh Valley Business Women of Influence awards for her professional achievements and contributions. She is proud to serve on a local not-for-profit board.
Scott Smith is a highly experienced Human Resources professional with over two decades of expertise across diverse HR functions. Before joining Herbein HR Consulting in 2018, he served as Vice President of Human Resources for a private equity-owned manufacturing and distribution company. Over the course of 20 years, Scott held executive leadership positions at three manufacturing companies, overseeing organizations ranging from 250 to 2,000 employees. His leadership helped these organizations achieve growth by enhancing strategic focus, team dynamics, and organizational culture. Before his HR career, Scott spent 12 years in retail operations with full P&L responsibility.
Scott has a BA in marketing and minor in economics from Penn State University. He has a certificate in Strategic Leadership for Growth and Innovation from Lehigh University Manufacturing Leadership Institute and is SHRM-SCP certified. His areas of focus are Talent Acquisition, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Development.
Session 3: The positive outcomes of appropriately deploying robots.
Shawn Furman, AMT Strategy Manager- Manufacturers Resource Center
Shawn demonstrates a 20-year proven, well rounded background in leading process improvements at industry icons directing or managing teams in Electrical Engineering, Automation Engineering, Maintenance Engineering, or combinations of both. Shawn also has the experience and talent small and mid-sized manufacturers need to help them implement their technology roadmap and guide them through the implementation of transformative technologies that are critical to compete and drive their companies into the future.
Prior to joining MRC, Shawn held positions of leadership at Boston Beer as Manager, Electrical and Automation Engineering, and Senior Automation Engineer. At Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, Shawn held positions as Director, Maintenance & Engineering, and Maintenance Manager. Earlier in his career, he held engineering positions at The Hershey Company. Shawn attended Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, and earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.
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Date and Time
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDT
Location
Miller Center for the Arts at Reading Area Community College
4 N. 2nd St.
Reading, PA 19601
**parking is available in the RACC student parking lots
Fees/Admission
$30 / GRCA Member
$40 / Future GRCA Member
Complimentary to Students (contact Keith Stamm kstamm@greaterreading.org)
Sponsorships available! Contact Keith Stamm at kstamm@greaterreading.org
Contact Information
Keith Stamm
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