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Pensacola Staff
(Covering Escambia & Santa Rosa Counties)

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Larry Strain UWF SBDC Executive Director   Larry Strain joined the  Small Business Development Center at the University of West Florida as Executive Director in November 1997. In addition, he is an Instructor in the Department of Management and MIS. Prior to coming to UWF, Larry spent over nine years as Director of the Lehigh University Small Business Development Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. While at Lehigh, Strain was also an Adjunct Professor of Marketing and Management for Allentown College St Francis de Sales, and was a frequent seminar leader on such topics as strategic and business planning, marketing planning and entrepreneurship. Since moving to Pensacola, Larry has been named to the Boards of Directors of the World Trade Council of Northwest Florida, Junior Achievement, University of Virginia Alumni Association, Florida SBDC Professional Development Board, is a member of the Florida Economic Development Council, the Enterprise Florida Partners Council and he formerly chaired the Small Business Council of the Pensacola Area Chamber of Commerce. He currently serves on the Chamber’s Entrepreneurial Development Council and Existing Business Task Force.

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Dan Cavanaugh Manager, Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties   When he joined the SBDC at the University of West Florida in 2000, Dan already had over twenty years of business management and financial administration experience from the private sector.  He holds a B.S. in Agriculture from the University of Missouri and a B.A. in Accounting and an MBA from the University of West Florida.  Dan also holds various professional certifications and licenses.  Prior to working in the private sector, Dan was commissioned in the United States Navy, and served in Viet Nam as a Naval Aviator.  In addition to his duties at the SBDC, Dan serves as a professor with the UWF College of Business, Management Information Systems department.

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Thawanna Price Manager, Special Group Emphasis Center, DETA Specialist   Thawanna has more than 15 years experience in the areas of small business consulting; management training; providing technical assistance; coordinating, planning, and implementing small business programs; fundraising; research; and community resource partnership development. Thawanna has a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Florida A&M University and a M.B.A. from the University of West Florida. She began her tenure with the SBDC at UWF in June 1988.

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Janet Etheridge Certified Business Analyst   Janet Etheridge joined the Small Business Development Center at the University of West Florida as a Business Analyst to work with Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) personnel exploring alternatives to traditional employment.  Prior to coming to the SBDC at UWF, Janet was a regional planner for economic development at the West Florida Regional Planning Council.  During her tenure as regional planner, Janet managed more than $6 million in Federal Economic Development Administration grants which helped to create more than 1,700 jobs in the West Florida region.  She also worked for Imperial County, California as a Social Worker and Administrative Analyst.  She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in International Business from San Diego State University.    In 2007, Janet served on the Governor’s Committee for a Sustainable Emerald Coast Economic Diversity and Prosperity Subcommittee.  She currently serves on the Board of Governors for the local chapter of the Propeller Club, is a member of the Florida Economic Development Council and the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce.

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Joshua Stewart Certified Business Analyst   Joshua has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of West Florida and is currently completing an MBA. He enjoys applying knowledge gained from his MBA courses to real life situations at the Small Business Development Center. Josh is a native of Pensacola but has also lived in South Florida and Israel. He enjoys playing chess, going to the beach, and spending time with family. Josh is an active tournament-level chess player and the father of a very active 7-year-old chess player. Josh wants to bring chess to Pensacola and the surrounding area in a big way. In  2007 he founded Junior Chess, a scholastic chess instruction company whose mission is to enrich children’s lives through chess. Josh currently has chess programs in six local schools, and he is planning to expand.

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Diane Miller Office Specialist

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Kilty Spoke Office Administrator