Most recently the Center Director for sister-agency MassMEP, Kathie Mahoney joined Polaris MEP in September of 2020. She is responsible for leading Polaris MEP’s team in its support of Rhode Island’s manufacturers, helping clients grow and become more competitive.

Kathie is a member of the MEP National Network Center Leadership team. Her deep understanding of and connections to national resources will be an asset to the state’s manufacturing sector.

Kathie has worked with manufacturers for more than two decades, improving operational efficiencies, solving workforce challenges and implementing innovative solutions that lead to growth. In addition to her detailed knowledge of manufacturing, she has an extensive background in grant management, financial oversight, marketing management, and leadership.

Kathie holds a Bachelors in Business Administration from Assumption College and a Master’s of Science in Professional Communication from Clark University. She is a Graduate of the NIST Emerging Leaders Program.

Polaris MEP Project Manager Nathan A. Bonds has over 20 years of manufacturing experience as an Assembler, Supervisor, Coordinator, Engineer, Continuous Improvement Manager and Quality Manager. He has worked in the Automotive Industry, Injection Molding, Electroplating, Manual Hand Spraying, Paint Automation, Vibe, Polish and Buffing, Sublimation, and Precious Metals Industry.

As a Quality Manager, Nathan championed the compliance of Management Systems to ISO 9001; as well as developed and implemented new testing methods due to technological advances at his end user Customer. As a Continuous Improvement Manager, he performed training on Team Management, Facilitation, Structured Problem Solving, 5-S Execution, and Preventative Maintenance Scheduling. He also developed new processes for new product development, streamlining the process, and seeing through to production.

As a Plant Scrap Coordinator, he championed a Team of individuals using Lean Methodologies to reduce the highest scrap product lines in each department and drive change management. He is a passionate trainer and teacher. He has certifications in ASQ Training, Root Cause Analysis and is a member of Gemba Academy, Lean Six Sigma and ASQ.

Project manager Chris Cinieri has over 20 years of manufacturing experience working in a commercial food environment. He has worked in production, distribution, and quality systems; most recently serving as a Continuous Improvement Manager.

Chris has vast experience from production planning through manufacturing, all the way to sales and distribution. Chris holds a Quality Auditor Certification and a Six Sigma Black Belt from the American Society for Quality and serves on the local ASQ leadership team.

Polaris MEP Project Manager Jeff Stevens has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing as an Engineer, Continuous Improvement Coordinator, and Quality Manager. He has worked in the wire & cable, glass-to-metal seals, aerosol packaging, urethane molding, jewelry, stamping, drawn tube & waveguide, injection molding, and metal turning industries.

As a Quality Manager, Jeff championed the compliance of Management Systems to ISO 9001, Pharmaceutical cGMP’s, and the 16949. He has performed Quality Management System audits in the U.S., Canada, and England. As Continuous Improvement Coordinator, he performed training on Team Management, Facilitation, Structured Problem Solving, 5-S Execution, and SPC. He also led management in their Strategic Planning System, coordinating Capital Budgeting, Sales Forecasting, Resource Planning, and Continuous Improvement Team Chartering.

Jeff holds a B.A. in Materials Engineering from Brown University and is certified by the American Society for Quality in Auditing, Quality Engineering and Management.

Polaris MEP Project Manager, Phil Ward, has 35 years of manufacturing experience in the semiconductor industry (including 30 at Intel), with wafer fabrication, assembly and test. He has held staff level positions within Operations, Engineering, Planning and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).

Phil is a recognized, hands on innovative LEAN leader, educator, facilitator and coach with global experience and is a certified Job Instruction Trainer. As the Director of Manufacturing he led a 591,000 Sq. Ft. Assembly/Test facility with > 500 pieces of equipment and 1100 people. As a TPM Manager, he developed an innovative Maintenance Bootcamp that helped improve the average availability of > 400 machines 7% in 9 months at a wafer fabrication facility and lowered the average product cycle time by 25% by reducing the variability of preventative maintenance scheduling at an assembly/test facility. He has demonstrated routine reductions of 30 -70% in equipment maintenance times while improving product quality through machine stability.

Phil also has experience in machine design, process change management, waste elimination, inventory control, structured problem solving, process and value stream mapping, facilitating Kaizen events, 5S workshops and other lean initiatives. Phil has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University Institute of Technology.

Polaris MEP Operations Manager Sarah Reggio has helped small to mid-size businesses with strategic plan development, metrics evaluation and best practices implementation during periods of establishment, growth, and transition. Prior to joining Polaris MEP, she supported the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Chapters of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with client cultivation, event management and marketing.

Sarah earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University.

Program Manager Kayla Viveiros brings several years of experience working in Composite Manufacturing and as a Campaign Manager for a Massachusetts State Senator, which has given Kayla a competitive edge and customer service perspective. Kayla is excited when touring companies, building rapport with new clients and helping them succeed.

Kayla serves as point person for Polaris MEP’s implementation resource network. She vets, match-makes and manages projects leveraging specialists in cybersecurity, leadership, marketing, safety, sales, strategic business planning and more.

With full attention to the client’s needs, Kayla builds a personal understanding of what her client’s needs, wants, and wishes are, to help fulfill their business goals. She’s dedicated, knowledgeable, and committed to supporting manufacturers in the State of Rhode Island.

For the last 12 years, Lindsey Brickle has worked as a strategic program and development consultant with organizations in the nonprofit, public and private sectors. She provides guidance and supports the implementation of programs in workforce development, STEM education, water sanitation and hygiene, refugees and migration, monitoring, evaluation and gender mainstreaming.

In addition to managing Polaris MEP’s workforce programs — helping manufacturers create jobs, retain talent and train workers for tomorrow’s challenges — Lindsey is a director of The Leadership Partnership of Rhode Island.

Lindsey has a master’s degree in sustainable international development from The Heller School at Brandeis University, a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Northeastern University, and is passionate about human rights, social and environmental justice, and economic empowerment. She lives in Barrington with her wife and three children.

Margo Karoff-Hunger has over ten years of industrial and artistic metalworking experience and over five working in Rhode Island’s workforce development sector. She earned several welding certifications from the Advanced Welding Institute in South Burlington, Vermont and has since worked as a shipyard welder.

As a welder/fabricator at The Steel Yard, Margo has taught various welding and fabrication courses to a wide variety of audiences. Her years of coordinating a unique welding-based workforce training program helped to more than double The Steel Yard’s capacity and to acquire the its first federal funding.

With experiences both as a tradeswoman and in the human services sector, Margo views assisting manufacturing companies in jobs creation and talent retention and supporting human-centric and industry-driven job training programs, as one of the most impactful ways to improve the quality of life of all Rhode Islanders.

Erin Read joined Polaris MEP as the next step in a marketing career driving demand for a wide variety of B2C and B2B organizations, everything from logistics software to leisure communities, from homecare to high-tech. She has extensive experience developing strategic, integrated marketing programs that support corporate growth. Erin applies this expertise to the benefit of both Polaris MEP and our client manufacturers.

Erin is a passionate champion of the “voice of the customer,” devoted to seeking out and responding to client insights. At Polaris MEP, she focuses on delivering clear, relevant communications that help our Manufacturers improve their businesses.

Kara Chatowsky is the bookkeeper at URI Ventures (formerly the URI Research Foundation). She provides finance and administrative support to the Director of Finance in handling various tasks of the accounting department. Kara has spent the majority of her career in public accounting preparing individual, corporate and partnership work papers and tax returns. She has experience handling a vast array of financial reporting and accounting functions.

Prior to joining Polaris MEP, Kara served as Staff Accountant with DiSanto, Priest & Company in Warwick, R.I. Previously, she worked for 23 years at Markarian & Meehan, LTD CPA’s in Wakefield, R.I. Kara earned her Associate degree in Accounting from the Community College of R.I.

Formerly Polaris MEP’s Center Director, Christian Cowan is a senior executive with more than 20 years of experience in technical manufacturing operations and marketing in the IT networking, energy and textile industries.

He brings both domestic and overseas hands-on manufacturing experience to the University of Rhode Island Research Foundation (URIRF), Polaris MEP’s parent organization. He now holds dual roles as Chief Operating Officer for URIRF and Executive Director of 401 Tech Bridge, an initiative which connects manufacturers, small businesses, research and development entities, trade organizations and state and defense agencies to collaborate in the development of new advanced materials, technologies and products for the purposes of commercialization and economic growth.

Christian earned his BSEE degree from Villanova University and his MBA from the University of Rhode Island.

Mary Springer is the Director of Finance and Operations at URI Ventures (formerly the URI Research Foundation), which provides oversight for Polaris MEP. Mary has spent most of her 30-year career as a CPA in public accounting, providing auditing and consulting services for small 501(c)3 non-profit organizations. Her experience includes financial management and reporting of federal and state grants.

Prior to joining the URI Research Foundation, Mary served as Chief Financial Officer of C.H.I.L.D., Inc., a private non-profit Head-Start agency. She previously served as the Controller at Specialty Chemical Systems, an affiliate of Technic, Inc., a global leader in the chemical/precious metal manufacturing industry. Mary earned her B.S. in Business Administration/Accounting from Bryant University.