Advisory Board

Constance Bender

Constance is a quality professional with experience in the medical device, blood and tissue, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing industries. She has held quality management system leadership roles which include senior management representative, audit program manager, and supplier relationship development. Connie holds a M.S. degree in quality management from Eastern Michigan University and a B.S. degree in Chemistry from Brigham Young University. She is an ISO lead auditor and recognized by ASQ as a Certified Quality Auditor and Certified Quality Manager/Organizational Excellence. She is also recognized by the Project Management Institute as a Project Management Professional.

 

Mike Brucker

Michael leads a silicon wafer technology manufacturer GlobalFoundries’ AutoPro™ Solutions initiative and has led automotive electronic and metallurgical quality efforts at Motorola, Texas Instruments, and Silicon Labs. Mike earned his MS in Quality Management from Eastern Michigan and his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Villanova. He is an American Society for Quality Certified Quality Manager, Engineer, and Auditor and has presented at several ASQ conferences and workshops. Mike and his beautiful wife Linda have two adult(ish) sons, Connor and Dylan. For amusement, Mike leads a dads rock band and coaches youth lacrosse.

 

Wanda Colon-Rivera

Wanda I. Colón-Rivera is a Corporate Quality Manager at Neapco Holdings. She has over 20 years of experience in the quality profession on medical devices, chemicals, and automotive industries. Wanda has a Bachelor’s in Science in Industrial Engineering and a Master’s in Science in Quality Management. She is a senior member of the American Society for Quality and has been a member leader of the Ann Arbor, MI Section for several years. She is a Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), Certified Quality Auditor (CQA), Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB), and Certified Manager of Quality and Operational Excellence (CMQ/OE).

 

Cody Hughes

Cody earned his bachelor’s in industrial and systems engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s in quality management from Eastern Michigan University. His career has allowed him to focus on managing the interconnected areas of Quality, Product Safety and Compliance across consumer products ranging from toys and juvenile products to PPE-rated apparel and accessories. He currently serves as Director of Quality for RefrigiWear where he works to align the company’s quality goals with customer expectations.

 

Beth Jones

Beth Jones is the Associate Program Manager of Integrated Michigan Patient-centered Alliance in Care Transitions (I-MPACT), the first patient-focused collaborative quality initiative housed at the University of Michigan’s Medical School, funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM). Beth has a master’s degree in Quality Management and an undergraduate degree in Industrial Distribution from Eastern Michigan University. Beth has been with U of M for 10 years. Prior to U of M, Beth has extensive experience in non-profit leadership, development, and management. She is focused on using continuous improvement and customer service to drive improvements in patient care and outcomes.

 

Dr. Prakash Sathe

Prakash is a Senior Executive with extensive experience in Global Quality Assurance Management and internal consulting with leading OEMs and major Tier One suppliers. Prakash was the Chairman of the Board of Exemplar Global, a leading training developer. Since 2010, he is a member of the IOE faculty at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Prakash is also the President of Global Management Consultants — a global consulting and training organization specializing in Lean Six Sigma, Manufacturing productivity, QMS certification, Product Risk management and large data analytics. Prakash earned his Ph.D. in reliability engineering/operations research and MSIE from the University of Michigan.

 

George Smith 

George earned his bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Systems from Southern Illinois University and his Masters of Science degree in Quality Management from Eastern Michigan University. His long professional career includes the Aerospace defense industry as a manufacturing engineer, and the automotive industry as a quality and reliability engineer. George retired from Magna Powertrain as the Technical Subject Matter Expert in Reliability. George is a Certified Quality Engineer, Certified Reliability Engineer, and Six Sigma Master Black Belt. He continues to enhance his skills by both studying the science of Quality, Reliability and Manufacturing as well as teaching these subjects to new engineers and students. He is working as an independent consultant in Reliability and Engineering.

 

Dr. Jianhua Zhou

Dr. Jianhua Zhou is ASQ Fellow and consultant at JHZ Strategic QA. Dr. Zhou retired from Ford Motor Company after 28 years of dedicated service. At Ford, he was Vice President of Ford China Quality and New Model Program Launch, Vice President of Ford Asia Pacific Quality and New Model Program Launch, Ford Corporate Executive Technical Leader and Member of Technology Advisory Board. Dr. Zhou is Associate Editor of SAE International Journal of Materials and Manufacturing and serves on SAE Advisory Board. Dr. Zhou has published more than 30 technical papers, held a US patent on vehicle durability, and been keynote speaker and panelist at various international and national conferences and symposiums. Dr. Zhou earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from University of Michigan.