Team
BBCetc was formed as Biotechnology Business Consultants in 1990 to assist early-stage life science companies with technology commercialization strategy and implementation. Since then, the company has evolved and grown, now training and consulting with a wide range of clients from individual companies and entrepreneurs to universities, SBDC’s and tech-based economic development organizations across the U.S. We are a team with expertise in all 11 participating federal agencies as well as grants/contracts management and commercialization planning.
Becky Aistrup, MBA
Managing Partner & Co-owner
SBIR/STTR training, commercialization planning and SHARPhub Principal Investigator
Kris Bergman
Managing Partner & Co-owner
BBCetc business management, grants and contracts management, budget consulting and administrative support for all agencies
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Becky joined BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting as a Principal Consultant in 2012 and became a Managing Partner and co-owner in 2016. She is a well-known SBIR/STTR program expert, regularly speaking at national conferences and frequently serving on proposal review panels for NSF, DOE and USDA. Becky conducts SBIR/STTR-related training for BBCetc clients throughout the U.S. and consults one-on-one with companies on proposal development, offering special expertise in the DoD, NIH, NASA and DHS programs.
As a previous VP and Corporate Officer for a successful SBIR firm, Becky is uniquely able to relate to the issues faced by SBIR/STTR applicants. Her professional background includes over 30 years of experience working within the medical, biotech, advanced materials and electronics industries helping companies successfully win SBIR/STTR funding. Becky also served as SBIR/STTR Program Director for the state of Minnesota. She holds a BA in Chemistry, an MBA in Marketing Management and a Master’s Certification in Interactive Marketing. becky@bbcetc.com
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Kris is a Managing Partner and co-owner of BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting. Prior to purchasing the company in October 2016, Kris was Principal Consultant for Grants and Contracts Management, having joined BBCetc in 2000. In addition to BBCetc’s financial and business management, Kris assists clients in preparing to receive and manage federal grant and contract funds. This includes advice on financial policies and procedures, DCAA compliance, budget development, indirect cost negotiation, Just-in-Time response, using QuickBooks and preparing for government audits. Prior to joining BBCetc she owned and operated two different service startups before becoming the Global Sales Administrator for a major software development company. kris@bbcetc.com
Shannon Bass
Sr. Principal Consultant
NIH, commercialization planning, post-award management
Amanda Barnhart
Principal Consultant
DOE, DOD, DHS, DOT, NSF, USDA, NASA, ED, commercial planning, and post-award management.
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Shannon Bass joined BBCetc in April 2018 bringing with her 28 years of management experience in the biotechnology industry and as an independent SBIR/STTR consultant. She holds B.S degree in Agriculture from Murray State University in Kentucky. Her career began with an animal health start-up out of the University of Kentucky, which was later purchased by Neogen Corporation. She continued in senior management with Neogen for 17 years in the areas of quality control/ assurance, regulatory, pharmaceutical manufacturing and technical services. Later she became CEO of a biotech start-up which brought to market a veterinary research device and president of another medical device firm developing a product for treatment of late-stage lung cancer. With experience as a PI on multiple SBIR NIH research grants, Shannon has assisted numerous startups in developing competitive NIH grant submissions, post-award management, commercialization, project management and building an effective team. shannon@bbcetc.com
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Amanda Barnhart joined BBCetc as Principal Consultant in 2020 after serving as the Director of Business Development and Regulatory Affairs for a Michigan manufacturing facility producing medical isotopes for cancer therapy. In addition to her directorial responsibilities, Amanda worked as a nuclear engineer, project manager, and program manager to secure over $60 million in Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and private investor funds. Her grant writing and negotiation skills have won over 30 Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III contracts through the SBIR/STTR program and she has managed the post-award administration process for five universities and six national laboratories. Amanda secured three licenses and 20 amendments from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and established facility registration and Drug Master Files with the Food and Drug Administration. She has an Executive MBA in Integrative Management from Michigan State University and a Bachelor’s in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. amanda@bbcetc.com
Jerry Hollister
Sr. Principal Consultant
DOE, NSF, DOD, DHS, NASA, USDA and commercialization planning
Andrea Johanson, Ph.D.
Sr. Principal Consultant
NIH program manager, resource creation and knowledge base expert
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Jerry Hollister is a BBCetc Principal Consultant, having joined the company in 2017 with 30 years of leadership experience in government, higher education, non-profit and for-profit enterprises. After earning an engineering degree from the University of Michigan, he served as commissioned Naval Officer in the Civil Engineer Corps and a warranted Contracting Officer for the Dept. of Defense. Prior to joining BBCetc, Jerry was Chief Operating Officer for Michigan-based Niowave, a developer of superconducting electron accelerators, where he worked to build the successful start-up company from 2008-17. Jerry was instrumental in Niowave receiving $20 million in SBIR awards. Niowave was named the 2010 SBIR/STTR Small Business of the Year by the Dept. of Energy and, in 2016, was honored with the S.B.A.’s Tibbetts Award, which recognizes the best in SBIR achievement. Before joining Niowave, Jerry served in a number of non-profit and educational roles following his honorable discharge from the Navy. jerry@bbcetc.com
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Andrea is a BBCetc Principal Consultant with over 25 years of experience in leading international collaborative research projects. Prior to joining BBCetc in 2006, she was responsible for developing a portfolio of agricultural biotechnology projects at Michigan State University’s Institute of International Agriculture, and for reporting to federal funding agencies about the program. Andrea has also served as a consultant on a broad range of issues relating to international agricultural development, biotechnology, biosafety, intellectual property rights and technology transfer. She holds a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Reading University, UK, a Masters in Plant Pathology from Cornell University, and a Master of Arts in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University, UK. andrea@bbcetc.com
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Monique has 22 years of experience in the DOD and government sector. Monique joined the United States Air Force in 1999 in the Battle Management Command and Control field and has an M.B.A in Aviation from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. While in the Air Force she served as a Quality Assurance personnel of government contracts and a Resource Management Officer. Monique transitioned her career from military to government Prime Contractor at Raytheon, capturing and managing DOD Command and Control Contracts. Monique moved to the Air Force Space and Missile System Center (SMC) and became the SBIR/STTR commercialization expert. Monique’s work was instrumental in finding leveraged funding from government, academic, and private sectors, as well as writing intricate transition management plans led to the successful commercialization of SBIR topics such as DSS, Roll-Out Solar Array, which is utilized on the International Space Station. Monique was able to garner leveraged funding for commercialization for over 20 SBIR topics in the highly regulated and risk averse space sector. She later became the Program Manager at SMC for SMC University, which provided educational classes to contractors and government personnel on acquisitions and contract management. Monique has received awards from SMC for Innovation and leadership. Monique has an honorable discharge from the United States Air Force. Monique@bbcetc.com
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Megan joined BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting as a Principal Consultant in 2019 with a wealth of experience in leading biological technologies on the path to commercialization. As CEO of FibrosIX Inc., a Michigan company developing compounds for the treatment or prevention of fibrosis-related disorders, Megan was involved in all aspects of planning and operation of the company. This included writing an SBIR grant proposal, which was awarded from the National Cancer Institute. Her prior experience includes serving as an Entrepreneur in Residence for Michigan State University’s Spartan Innovations where she assisted MSU researchers in translating their technologies into startup businesses. While at MSU, she managed the launch of two startups and assisted in preparation of both NIH and NSF SBIR/STTR proposals. A former Research Associate of the Scripps Research Institute, Megan received a B.S degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a PhD from Boston University. megan@bbcetc.com
Jodi Bergman
Administrative Manager
Contract management and customer engagement
Amy Davis
Program Support Director
Michigan SBIR/STTR Assistance Program coordination
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Jodi joined BBCetc in 2016 to help us with such things as CMS maintenance, billing support, contract support/management, training arrangements, webinar support, and other needed assistance to keep us organized and running smoothly. In addition to her behind-the-scenes responsibilities, Jodi is also the first point of contact for many of our callers, providing information and connecting them with the appropriate consultant to respond their inquiry. Her positive attitude and readiness to help enables the BBCetc staff to focus on the needs of our clients and operate more efficiently. jodi@bbcetc.com
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Amy joined BBCetc after 13 years at medical research company and multiple SBIR awardee, NeuroNexus Technologies, where she was most recently Senior Sales and Marketing Associate. In this role, she was responsible for development of trade show and promotional materials, web presence, management of customer and distributor relationships, order processing and revenue tracking, and other marketing tasks. At BBCetc, Amy focuses on the Michigan SBIR/STTR Assistance Program, which makes BBCetc’s training and one-on-one proposal support available to Michigan-based technology companies. She handles outreach to partner organizations and other stakeholders, manages BBCetc’s Michigan training programs, and manages marketing communications. Amy is a graduate of Washtenaw Community College. amy@bbcetc.com