Our Consultants

Eunice Choi, Regional Director
EChoi@ucf.edu

• Areas of Consulting: Financing, Loan Preparation, Business Valuation/Acquisition, Accounting, Taxes, SBIR/STTR Grants, Business Planning, Financial Analysis, Cost Control, Inventory Control, Export Financing
• Education: MA, French, University of Michigan; MS, Accounting, University of Texas at Dallas

Jairo Batista, Consultant
Jairo.Batista@ucf.edu

• Areas of Consulting: Digital Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Market Research, Marketing, Technology
• Education: MBA, University of Central Florida; BSBA, Marketing Concentration, Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University
• Certifications: Google Analytics; HubSpot Inbound Marketing; Cornell University, Marketing Strategy; Cornell University, Data Driven Marketing; Cornell University, Project Management; Google Project Management; ProfitMastery

John Hickle, Consultant
John.Hickle@ucf.edu

• Areas of Consulting: Access to Capital, Loan Packaging, Business Valuation & Acquisition, Real Estate Lending, Accounting, Cash Flow Analysis, Business Management
• Education:  MBA, (Finance and Marketing) Harvard Business School; BS (Agricultural Economics) University of Missouri;
• Certification: Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA); ProfitMastery

Jean Hill, Consultant
Jean.Hill@ucf.edu  

• Areas of Consulting: Government Contracting
• Education:  BS Marketing, University of Alabama – Birmingham
• Certification: Certified Procurement Professional (CPP)

Margaret Incandela, Consultant
Margaret.Incandela@ucf.edu

• Areas of Consulting: Access to Capital, Loan Packaging, Business Valuation & Acquisition, Accounting, Cash Flow Analysis, Business Management
• Education:  BSBA, the University of Texas San Antonio

Jill Kaufman, Associate Director, Program Manager-Advisory Board Council
Jill.Kaufman@ucf.edu

• Areas of Consulting: Marketing, Public Relations, Communications, Advertising, Sales, Market Research & Development, Business Development, Human Resources, Customer Service, Organizational Development
• Education: MBA, Raj Soin College of Business, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio; BA, Anthropology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut

Elly Membreno, Florida APEX Accelerator Consultant
Elly.Membreno@ucf.edu

• Areas of Consulting: Expertise in Government Contracting, Business Planning, Business Model Canvas, Start-Ups, Business Development, Human Resources, and Business Management
• Education: MAttorney at Law, Juris Doctor (JD), University of Honduras; Legal Studies, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain
• Certifiations: Credit and Lending Specialist, Profit Mastery, SHRM-Certified Professional (SHRM-CP); Certified Procurement Professional (CPP) – in progress.

Michael Oppenheim, Consultant
Michael.Oppenheim@ucf.edu

• Areas of Consulting: Financing, Loan Preparation, Business Valuation/Acquisition, Business Planning, Financial Analysis, Cost Control, Inventory Control, Process Management, Sales Leadership
• Education: MBA, Business Administration, University of Tampa; BS, Business Management, University of Tampa

Sharon Smith, Consultant
Sharon.Smith2@ucf.edu

• Areas of Consulting: Sales, Marketing, Operations, Market Research & Development, Strategy & Business Planning, Branding, Public Relations, Marketing Communications and Organizational Development
• Education: BA, Marketing and Management, Florida State University

Steve South, APEX Accelerator Manager
Steve.South@ucf.edu

• Areas of Consulting: Government Contracting, Procurement, Marketing to the Government, Strategic Planning, Supply Chain/Logistics, Human Resources
• Education: BSBA (marketing), Duquesne University; MBA (finance), University of Pittsburgh
• Certifications: Certified Business Coach (PBCA), Certified CVE Counselor (Veteran’s Administration), Certified Procurement Professional (CPP)

Hal Thayer, Associate Director, Program Manager-CEO XChange
HThayer@ucf.edu

• Areas of Consulting: Marketing, Branding, Communications, Public Relations, Market Research, Business Strategy and Planning, Franchising
• Education: MBA, Marketing and Finance, Columbia Business School, Columbia University; BA, English, Amherst College
• Certifications: Certified Career Coach, Six Sigma Green Belt