Gary E. Gudmundsen, JD received his Juris Doctorate from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. He maintains a general business practice at Braun Kendrick Finkbeiner P.L.C which includes work in the areas of contracts, commercial, employment, and international law. Gary has represented clients with incorporating and organizing businesses, stock and asset acquisitions, and the development and negotiation of intellectual property licensing and technology agreements. He has also assisted clients in drafting and negotiating contracts of all varieties, wage and hour compliance, estate/succession planning and other general business concerns. He has presented at seminars addressing various commercial contracting and business issues, including business entity selection, contract formation, e-commerce, record retention, and wage and hour compliance. Gary is originally from the Tri-City area, being born and raised in Midland, and is involved in several local associations, including the Saginaw County Bar Association, Homebuilders Association of Midland, and Tri-City Chinese Association. He is also a Board Member of Michigan Sports Unlimited, and is a member of the Sports Lawyers Association.
Chris Moultrup is the Program Director of the MidMichigan Innovation Center and the Associate Director of the BlueWater Angels. As one of the first employees of MMIC, Chris started as an intern and has had the unique experience of working on a team to develop an incubator from the ground up. MMIC is a private, non-profit business incubator that focuses on creating an environment where entrepreneurs and start-ups can flourish with the ultimate goal of job creation in the mid-Michigan region. While with MMIC, Chris has held multiple positions including facilities management, marketing, and his current role as program director. Through his work at MMIC, Chris was involved in the start up of the BlueWater Angels investment group. Formalized in February of 2008, BlueWater Angels has grown to over 30 members with over $1.5 million committed for investment on an annual basis. Currently, Chris serves as Associate Director of the group with his work focused in club administration, deal flow development, and member recruitment. In addition, Chris is President of MMIC start-up Elpis Technologies, Inc.; a manufacturer of special effect pigments and performance additives for the paints and coatings industries. Chris serves on the Board of Directors of the MidMichigan Inventors Group as Vice President and is also a member of the Board of Directors at the Milestones Youth Center in Midland, MI. Chris received his BBA in Entrepreneurship Management from Northwood University in 2007.
Dr. Reed Shick is the President of Technology at Opportunity Analysts LLC. Prior, he was the Intellectual Capital Manager for Core Research and Development at The Dow Chemical Company. At Dow Chemical, he was responsible to direct and implement protection strategies for intellectual capital including; patent planning and obtention, trade secrets, technology licensed in or out, publication strategy, trademark obtention and obtaining freedom to operate opinions. This includes directing researchers and attorneys to obtain patents on new technology, directing research to obtain patents, and completing competitive analysis. Dr. Shick has made several connections between different technologies in Dow and was a contributor to six Invention Disclosures in 2008.
Reed Shick received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Michigan. During that time period Dr. Shick also co-founded the Midland Charter Initiative, a not-for-profit 501.c.3, which runs the Midland Academy of Advanced and Creative Studies. Dr. Shick has served in several community positions and is currently serving on the Ingersol Township Zoning Board of Appeals. His specialties include intellectual capital management and protection strategies, liquid formulations, surface science, licensing, patent planning, trade secrets, and educational startups. Currently he is interested in pursuing expertise consulting opportunities, new business ventures, and scientific research.
Michael Zimmerman, CPA is a Principal at Yeo & Yeo, CPAs & Business Consultants, in Midland. He leads the firm’s Computer Accounting Solutions team and is a member of the Construction and Tax teams. His expertise is in tax planning and preparation, management consulting for small businesses, and consulting for personal computer support services. He has 23 years of public accounting experience.
Mr. Zimmerman is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, Michigan Association of CPAs, and the Home Builders Association of Midland, and serves as a board member for the Northeastern Michigan Estate Planning Council. He has conducted seminars on income taxes and small business accounting software.
He serves the Midland community as president of the Literacy Council of Midland County, a member of the Leadership Midland Alumni Association, and past president of the Midland Jaycees.
Blake Imeson is pursuing his Bachelors of Science in Entrepreneurship at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. He is the founder and lead consultant for Sparkplug SEO, a small search engine optimization and web development company. Blake is also a passionate internet technologist, and a huge fan of the opensource projects, Firefox and WordPress. He has been a featured speaker at conferences and seminars on new internet technology, Search Engine Optimization, social media, blogging, and WordPress. When not glued to the computer screen, he enjoys woodworking and being in the mountains. Blake loves helping people with their web projects and is involved in a multitude of exciting web ventures. Blake is an avid blogger and zealous follower of more than 200 blogs. His favorite blogs are Seth Godin’s and Lifehacker.
Karen L. Kimble, Ph.D, JD received her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois followed by her Juris Doctorate from Indiana University in 1980. She also holds a variety of professional memberships, including the AIPLA, USPTO, and the Michigan State Bar. A brief overview of Karen Kimble’s impressive resume includes 38 years of a broad range of IP experience, working knowledge of over 125 countries IP laws and patent uses. Additionally, she has specific expertise in treaties relevant to intellectual property. Karen has written numerous agreements, e.g., JDA, licensing agreements, complex collaborative research arrangements, due diligence for mergers and patent purchases, and “red herring” documents for the SEC. She has also done research agreements, CDA/NDA and other related patent/technology agreements globally, agricultural patents and technology licensing. In addition she has done grant work resulting from NIH, DOD, DOE and small business development through State of Michigan initiatives. Currently she is the President of Technology Law, PLLC which specializes in technology licensing, patent drafting, patent prosecutions, and trademarks.
Mary Moyne, JD is an intellectual property attorney in the Lansing office of Fraser Trebilcock Davis & Dunlap, P.C.She has over 15 years of experience in the area of Intellectual Property. Her practice covers all areas of domestic and international intellectual property, including the procurement, maintenance and licensing of patents, trademarks and copyrights. She specializes in the procurement and licensing of patents in the mechanical and electrical fields, computer hardware and software-related inventions, as well as infringement and validity evaluations. She also counsels clients on brand management including trademark selection, acquisition and enforcement.
Ms. Moyne earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1987 and her Juris Doctorate from Wayne State Law School in 1991. She is admitted to practice in the State of Michigan and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
