Our Advisory Council

Francis Achampong, Penn State Mont Alto chancellor

With 37 years of experience in higher education, Dr. Achampong has served as director of academic affairs at Penn state Mont Alto, chancellor at Penn State Fayette, and chancellor at Mont Alto since 2013. Prior to Penn State, he taught at Howard University and Norfolk State University, where he also served as interim dean of the school of business. He has authored many articles including a book on Workplace Sexual Harassment Law. He is active in the community and serves on several community boards.

Linsey Covert, CEO and founder, TEAMology LLC

A former educator turned entrepreneur, Covert spent her time in graduate school at Penn State researching how a schoolwide TEAMwork model might have positive impact on school climate. After years of piloting and research and a lot of support from Penn State’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, she formed TEAMology LLC. The company now offers a first-of-its-kind customized cloud-based platform to schools that delivers school-wide programming, curriculum, resources, and training to help build positive school climate while also promoting social and emotional learning and school safety for student success. Covert is also an instructor in the Penn State College of Education.

Kathyrn Gratton, SCORE certified small business mentor and Arts Alliance of Greater Waynesboro (AAGW) executive director 

For SCORE, Gratton mentors business owners locally and nationally and teaches marketing courses. As executive director for the AAGW, she coordinates community outreach, oversees two artistic spaces that operate under the AAGW, and promotes programs that align with Destination Arts—a community revitalization project based on the arts, with the goal of turning Waynesboro, Pa., into an arts destination.

Richard Heddleson, Benjamin Franklin Technology Partners southcentral regional director 

Heddleson is responsible for identifying and working with promising tech-entrepreneurs and small manufacturers who need Ben Franklin funding and business support services to start or grow their business. As a former member of the Ben Franklin Transformation Business Services Network, he has worked with clients to help develop business strategies and to diagnose major company issues in areas such as financial planning, cash management, market research, marketing strategy, corporate strategy, accounting operations, and software training.

Tim Henry, F & M Trust president and CEO

Henry has extensive experience in commercial lending, loan workout, retail management, private banking, trust and investment services, operations, risk management and compliance. Franklin Financial is the largest independent, locally owned and operated bank holding company headquartered in Franklin County with assets of more than $1 billion. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, F&M Trust, has 22 community banking offices.

Steve Holoviak, retired Penn State Mont Alto professor of management and Shippensburg University professor of human resource management and Dean of Grove College of Business 

With over 35 years of experience, Holoviak is an academic, researcher, administrator, and finance professional with an expertise in metrics-based management and program evaluation — a topic upon which he has researched and published extensively.

Mike Labalokie, CPA, Penn State Mont Alto instructor of accounting and finance

Labalokie is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (P.I.C.P.A.), the American Accounting Association (AAA), and a former member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (A.I.C.P.A.). He has taught accounting, finance, and statistics at Penn State Mont Alto since 1996.

Kristen Laidig, author, entrepreneur, and owner of InterACT, LLC, parent company to Chambersburg’s Toy Box Gifts & Wonder and Nerdvana Outpost

A serial entrepreneur, in 2003 Laidig turned her love of writing into a career of teaching authors and entrepreneurs how to create books through her internationally-known brand, The Book Ninja®. She has since authored over 32 books, started over 50 publishing companies, published over 200 books and e-books, taught hundreds of webinars, coached thousands of authors from their idea to published works, and has built a multi-six-figure business.

Nathan J. Neil, Co-founder and COO, Purple Deck Media, Inc.

Purple Deck Media is a provider of cloud-based tools increasing the availability, security, and delivery of information across mobile platforms. Neil specializes in web and mobile development management and also has a background in project management and security. In addition to Purple Deck, he is a member of an organization that is a think tank for the Department of Defense and FBI.

Mike Ross, FCADC president 

Mike Ross has served as president of the FCADC since its start-up in 1986. The Corporation is responsible for initiating, implementing, and promoting a comprehensive economic development strategy, which is centered on the retention/expansion of existing companies, the selective attraction of new industries, and the start-up of new businesses in Franklin County.

Mike Unruh, SBDC executive director

Unruh is the founding director of the Shippensburg University SBDC and has been with the center since it opened in January 2007. Before moving into the university setting, he was an entrepreneur in the construction industry with over ten years of small business management experience.