SVTC Board Elections

Kai Degner (*) | JMU Professional and Continuing Education | Harrisonburg

Kai serves as the Director of Professional Development in JMU Professional & Continuing Education (PCE), administering programs such as the JMU Project Management Certificate, JMU Lean Six Sigma Green and Black Belt Certificate, and human resources certification preparation. Kai’s focus at PCE is noncredit professional skills and leadership development.

Kai is enrolled in a doctoral program at James Madison University’s School of Strategic Leadership Studies, in the Organizational Science concentration.  His studies focus on communications and listening within organizations, and by leaders.  He is a double-graduate of JMU, receiving a bachelor’s degree in Integrated Science and Technology (’03) and a Masters in Business Administration (’05).

He served on Harrisonburg City Council from 2009-16, and as mayor 2009-10. Through that role and others, he has served on numerous community and local government boards and commissions. He has attended many SVTC events over the years and has been an active participant.

His previous employment includes 7 years as a full-time real estate agent, two years as executive director of the Arts Council of the Valley, and two years as a facilitator and trainer with the FairField Center.

Kai’s personal entrepreneurial efforts focus on listening training for leaders and teams offered through his consultancy, Listening Campaign LLC (listeningcampaign.com).

Kathleen Gass (*) | Blue Ridge Community College | Weyers Cave

Kathleen Gass was born and raised outside of Pittsburgh, PA. Kathleen have a BS degree from Penn State University in Chemical Engineering. She worked in manufacturing at two pharmaceutical companies, Merck and Gilead Sciences, for over 18 years. Most of her experience was in technical operations, working on scaling up new products from research to large-scale manufacturing at sites across North America and Europe and then ongoing process troubleshooting. Kathleen has had the opportunity to move both physically and with different job roles and organizations over the years to enrich personal growth: Pittsburgh > Philadelphia > Newcastle, England > Philadelphia > Mountain View, CA > Philadelphia > Harrisonburg.

Kathleen met her spouse at Merck when they both were sent to Mexico City to launch a new product. They’ve been married for 17 years and have 2 sons (rising 8th and 10th grade) in the Rockingham County school district. They moved to Harrisonburg in 2013, and Kathleen stopped working in 2014 to focus on her children and to better assimilate into the community. For the next 6 years, Kathleen volunteered heavily in the community. She worked as a CASA volunteer, Hope Distributed, and weekly at Cub Run Elementary school library. Kathleen has a passion for education and connecting all levels to industry which is why she decided to jump back into the workforce with the Regional Manufacturing Liaison position in January 2020.

Kathleen is working to ensure that Blue Ridge Community College and James Madison University are providing curriculum and students that meet Merck’s ever-growing needs. The plan is then to extend out to the other manufacturing companies in the Valley to see if these solutions meet their needs, as well. If not, Kathleen will work to help close their workforce gaps, too. She is excited to be nominated and look forward to serving on the Shenandoah Valley Technology Council board of directors.

Jason Monroe (*) | Virtex | Waynesboro

Jason Monroe is employed with VIRTEX, one of the top electronic manufacturing companies for the military, aerospace, and medical sectors in the United States. With eight facilities his focal point is business development, along with corporate marketing & branding for five locations on the east coast. He specializes in bringing complex products and technology to market from concept to prototype to completion. He is currently co-chairman of the Staunton, Augusta and Waynesboro Education and Employer Coalition, bringing awareness and insight for business, education, and government collective collaboration for a brighter future for Shenandoah Valley students. He is a board member of the COVID19 Local Response Fund, providing grants directly to charitable organizations supporting the residents of Staunton, Waynesboro, and the counties of Augusta, Highland, and Nelson impacted by COVID-19 and the economic consequences of the current pandemic. He is also active in the forming of a new organization, the Valley Career & Technical Center Foundation, which will form partnerships for new educational equipment and school expansion. Once formed and operational, Jason will serve as the foundation’s first president.

His involvement is not limited to community support but also creating a blueprint to bring more manufacturing and technology jobs to Waynesboro and the surrounding areas by facilitating multiple discussions on many platforms. I consider it an honor to be nominated to the Board of Directors for the Shenandoah Valley Technology Council. He will work diligently to facilitate networking and communications within local businesses, education systems, and local, state, and federal government contacts for the Shenandoah Valley Technology Council.

Alex Skinner (*) | InnoVault | Winchester

Brent Wilson (*) | Sproutly | New Market

Brent Wilson works for Sproutly in business development and finance. He is a Shenandoah Valley native – other than the four years he spent getting his business degree from Pacific Union College in California, this has always been home. Sproutly has been around for almost three years, specializing in software development, coaching, and media & design. Last year, we opened a South Carolina office. Brent, along with his wife and three daughters, recently moved to New Market, where he could walk to work if one was walking to work these days.

Ed Yoder | PBMares, LLP | Harrisonburg

Ed Yoder is a tax partner with PBMares. He has worked in public accounting for 23 years. Ed grew up in Kansas, graduated from Goshen College in Indiana, and spent four years living in Sarasota, Florida. His wife grew up in Harrisonburg and she moved them to the area in 2002. Ed worked for PBMares since 2005. In addition to being on the board of SVTC, he serves on boards of the following organizations: Park View Federal Credit Union, Massanutten Regional Library, Valley Baseball League, Crime Solvers of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir, Rockingham County Rotary Club, and Park View Mennonite Church.