Our Consultants

Eunice Choi, Regional Director
Eunice.Choi@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

John Finnegan, Consultant
John.Finnegan@ucf.edu

• Areas of Consulting:  Business Start-up, Business Planning, Financial Management, Sales Management and Business Development, Strategic Planning.
• Education:  MBA, University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, BBA, University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh

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;

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

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)

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

Kara Vernon, APEX Accelerator Specialist
Kara.Vernon@ucf.edu

• Areas of Consulting: Government Contracting, Procurement, Marketing to the Government, Strategic Planning, Supply Chain/Logistics
• Education: BS (accounting), Rollins College; MS (Contracts & Acquisition Management), FloridaTech
• Certifications: Certified Professional Contract Manager (CPCM), Certified CVE Counselor (Veteran’s Administration), NCMA Fellow