Speakers

Chandra Brown

Vice President, Oregon Iron Works, Inc.

President, United Streetcar LLC

"Innovation in Manufacturing: Creating a Green Economy with Streetcars and Waves" 

Explore the importance of US manufacturing for the overall economy; come learn how innovation led to a new manufacturing industry being created right here in Oregon. Discover how United Streetcarwas formed to build the first modern streetcars in over 58 years, and the benefits Oregon Iron Works, Inc. has found in wave energy, as they continue to thrive by making products in America.

As OIW’s Vice President, she is responsible for overall business development and marketing activities. She is also the primary point of
contact for all Government Relations activities on behalf of OIW in the Pacific Northwest and Washington, D.C.  She has assisted in raising OIW’s profile to be one of the 10 Overall Most Admired Companies in Oregon as published in the Portland Business Journal.

In addition to her work at OIW/United Streetcar, Ms.
Brown serves on many non-profit boards and does community volunteer work. In August 2010 she was appointed to serve on the U.S. Manufacturing Council by Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke. In February 2010 she was nominated and appointed to the Oregon Business Development Commission by Oregon Governor Kulongoski.  She was
also appointed by the Governor to serve on the Oregon Innovation Council.

She is on the board of directors and chair’s the Pacific
Northwest Defense Coalition, which is a non-profit for the advancement of
defense work in the region.  She is a founding member and on the board of the Oregon Wave Energy Trust, a non-profit with the goal of promoting the emerging wave energy industry to create jobs and economic development opportunities in the U.S. She also serves on the Oregon Women’s MBA
board, and is a member of the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry’s gala committee. Other volunteer work includes participating in SOLV’s beach clean up and, in the past, she has volunteered with the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office as a rape victim advocate.

In 2005, Ms. Brown was selected as one of Oregon Business Magazine’s Top 50 Business Leaders in the state. In 2006, Ms Brown was selected
to be a member of the Leadership Portland Class through the Portland Business Alliance and in 2007 she was named one of the Portland Business Journal’s Forty under 40 leaders in the state. Most recently she was named one of the Top 20 People to Watch in 2008.

Ms. Brown received a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and an M.B.A. in International Marketing from Miami University. She successfully
completed both degrees in four years and was a distinguished academic member of the Honors College.

Currently she lives in a historic 90+ year old house in Southeast Portland and enjoys international travel as well as scuba diving, snowboarding, camping, Sudoku, and wine.

Michael Baker

Managing Partner, The Baker Group

Leveraging 25+ years of executive management experience, including merger and acquisitions work with Philips Medical, GE Medical and Lockheed Martin, Mr. Baker has successfully launched multiple products throughout his career.  In addition to holding advanced degrees in corporate law and international business, he has a PA in emergency medicine and has been awarded multiple patents for his innovations in medicine and advanced energy.  As Managing Partner of the Baker Group, he advises multiple technology companies including HP and  Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm that recently invested $50MM in Home
Dialysis Plus.

The Baker Group is a technology advancement company that focuses specifically on product development in the medical device, medical informatics and advanced energy arenas. With offices in Portland, Seattle and Vancouver BC, we move ideas and invention into the market place, commercializing products in one of two ways: by licensing, acquiring or developing technology within the Baker Group, or by participating with other companies that seek innovation support from our team.

"From my early years as a PA in emergency medicine to my senior executive roles with companies including Lockheed Martin, GE and Philips Medical, innovation has been at the core of my career. I’ve leveraged education and experience in international business, mergers and acquisitions, technology transfer and corporate contracts to create the Baker Group LLP, a technology advancement company focused on bringing new products to market the medical device, informatics and advanced energy sectors. As Managing Partner, I lead a multi-disciplinary of team of top professionals. Collectively our team has advanced 42 products over the course of our careers… and we’re still counting."

Companies created by Michael and The Baker Group:

Home Dialysis Plus, Ltd. (HD+) is focused on the advancement of home hemodialysis treatment for patients suffering from End Stage Renal Disease. Via the use of patented MECS technology,HD+ aims to produce home treatment options that will offer improved health outcomes through ultra patient-friendly, portable hemodialysis machines.

As an innovation advancement professional, I am pleased to support the Microproducts Breakthrough Institute, a world-class signature research center focused on the commercialization of micro and nano technology.

HD+ is currently a tenant at the Microproducts Breakthrough Institutes. The MBI houses laboratories for research and development, fabrication facilities and office space. Core competencies include microchannel heat and mass transfer processes, energy systems, microreactor technologies, nanoparticle synthesis, and fabrication of microchannel components.

Scott R. Schroeder, President & CEO,
Mega Tech of Oregon, Corvallis, Oregon

"Prototype to Production; Without the Pitfalls”

Learn the basics about bringing a product idea to production and avoid some of the common pitfalls. Hear about simple and basic concepts that will increase your chances of success by getting started correctly.

Thinking about taking your product to market? Does it have electronics and other hardware that have to be designed and manufactured? Scott Schroeder has decades of hands-on experience making things that work. His short presentation will show you what you need to know to launch your new product on time and on budget.

Scott grew up in Oregon’s forest products industry. His father was CEO of a forest products company and his uncle was the Oregon State Forester in charge of the Oregon Department of Forestry. Scott spent his school years working around production lines, mill automation equipment and in the woods. He went on to earn a B.S. in Forest Engineering from Oregon State University.

His professional career spans 32 years managing timber and land resources, production facilities and manufacturing plants, mills and companies. Over these positions, he developed a keen sense of what it takes to make better products with fewer resources. Scott honed this inherent talent for problem solving and productivity into the art of getting the most out of people, machines and systems with a minimum of turbulence and discord.

Scott is also actively involved in supporting higher education and the development of engineers in the State of Oregon. He believes strongly that
Oregon State’s “Prosperity through Innovation” program is a key element to
further strengthening the economic foundation of Oregon and providing family wage jobs for Oregon. He is the Vice Chair of the College of Engineering Advisory Board for Oregon State and sits on the Industrial
Advisory Council for the Renewable Energy Engineering program at Oregon
Institute of Technology.

Mega Tech of Oregon (MTO) is a family owned private company located in
Corvallis, Oregon that has been in business for the past 22 years. MTO provides both discrete and end-to-end manufacturing services for a wide array of industries.