BEAM Collaborative
Joel Burstein is the CEO and co-founder of BEAM Collaborative, a strategic advisory firm focused on strengthening the small business ecosystem in southwestern Pennsylvania. Founded in 2020 in response to the region’s growing economic disparities, BEAM creates inclusive, sustainable pathways to business ownership through acquisition, succession planning, and long-term growth support.

Burstein’s entrepreneurial journey began with Keep It Simple Training and Development, a company he built to deliver high-impact leadership development and operational training across multiple industries. He then launched BEAM to address systemic gaps preventing small businesses from scaling—particularly in communities where ownership transitions and local wealth-building opportunities are often missed.

With more than a decade of experience as a Fortune 500 manager overseeing 70+ employees, Burstein has worked with executives, mid-level leaders, and front-line supervisors alike, advising on everything from strategic planning to daily execution. His consulting background combines deep operational knowledge with a talent for simplifying complex challenges and aligning teams around measurable results.

Burstein serves on the boards of the Pittsburgh Walk of Fame, Neighborhood Allies, and the Team Pennsylvania Foundation, where he continues to champion economic development and locally rooted entrepreneurship.

Solutions21 

Albert Ciuksza Jr. works with organizations to develop leaders, navigate succession, and drive performance through practical, experience-based approaches. 

As Senior Vice President of Growth and Development at Solutions 21, he leads the firm’s leadership development and strategic consulting offerings. His work focuses on helping organizations prepare the next generation of leaders and execute through leadership, including programs such as Next Leader Now. He coaches executives, facilitates leadership programs, and advises organizations on strategy, succession, and organizational performance. 

Ciuksza brings firsthand entrepreneurial experience as a startup co-founder and executive, where he built and led teams, secured patents, raised capital, and led commercialization efforts that culminated in a successful exit in 2025. 

He is the co-founder and vice chair of Food Assistance Match (FAM) and a founding committee member of Club 66, a program of the Mario Lemieux Foundation. 

Patrick Gallagher is an experienced digital transformation technology executive with a diverse background that includes software development, executive level consulting, business development, and project management. 

 A computer scientist by degree, Gallagher’s career began by designing, developing and installing process control and other information management systems for domestic and international manufacturing companies.  

Gallagher joined Management Science Associates (MSA) in 1992 after MSA acquired his software integration company. He has progressed through a number of positions within MSA and was President of two MSAsubsidiaries. His current title is Senior Vice President, and he has responsibility for MSA’s Metals and Advanced Manufacturing Division and also works closely with MSA’s Corporate Business Development group. 

Gallagher holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Western Michigan University and is a frequent speaker, author, and session chair at numerous professional conferences, symposiums and seminars. 

In 2023, Dr. Alfred Kuehn donated all of the shares of MSA to two entities: a for-profit purpose trust (MSA Purpose Trust) and a non-profit organization (the Dr. Alfred A. Kuehn Innovation Institute). 

Gallagher is one of three trustees of the MSA Purpose Trust and one of four Directors of the Dr. Alfred A. Kuehn Innovation Institute. 

Pitt Business Center for Sustainable Business
Chris Gassman is Executive Director and Interim Faculty Director of the Center for Sustainable Business, a leading business strategy innovation and implementation hub at the University of Pittsburgh. The Center partners with organizations to innovate and implement resilience strategies that overcome existential disruptions.

Gassman previously served as Chief Commercialization Officer of a service-disabled veteran-owned small business addressing climate change, modern slavery, and innovation. He is a social intrapreneur with decades of experience across the U.S., Egypt, Germany, China, and beyond, helping organizations thrive.

He has mentored thousands of professionals pursuing purpose-driven careers, produced two podcasts featuring executive interviews on ethical business practices, and contributed to multiple books on similar themes. His five-year BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) is to help generate $1 trillion in revenue by making the world a thriving place for all.

Gassman earned a joint MBA and Juris Doctor degree from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colorado Boulder with a double major in International Affairs and Political Science.

Pittsburgh Chamber of Cooperatives
Ron Gaydos has extensive experience in economic development, organizational strategy, and cooperative business models. In 2015, he co-founded the Pittsburgh Chamber of Cooperatives, the region’s hands-on resource for cooperative business development, and contributed to the Pittsburgh Task Force on Employee Ownership hosted by the City of Pittsburgh.

Gaydos was introduced to cooperative economics through the EF Schumacher Society, now the New Economy Coalition, by Pittsburgh community leaders. He has also trained in consent-based governance and conducts training sessions for cooperatives and workgroups seeking efficient, non-hierarchical collaboration models.

Gaydos has started three businesses and has consulted for many others. He was a founder and operator in construction and real estate development for 15 years. After earning his Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College, he led major residential and industrial site development projects. He is a longtime advocate for equity, community engagement, and fairness in economic development.

Denise Graham-Shealey is a community development professional with over 20 years of experience in management, customer service, and finance. She currently serves as a Loan Officer with a Community Development Financial Institution, where she supports small businesses by providing access to capital, technical assistance, and strategic guidance. 

Known for her hands-on approach, Graham-Shealey works closely with entrepreneurs to help them build strong, sustainable operations. Deeply rooted in service, she is passionate about economic equity, community empowerment, and creating pathways tolong-term stability and generational impact. 

Ian Iuliucci is a Senior Vice President and Commercial Relationship Manager at Northwest Bank, where he specializes in advising and financing lower middle market businesses. In his role, hepartners with business owners of any industry, investors, and advisors to structure capital solutions that support acquisitions, ownership transitions, recapitalizations, and ongoing growth. 

As a commercial relationship manager focused on the lower middle market, Iuliucci works with privately held companies to navigate complex financial decisions tied to liquidity events and succession planning. He brings a consultative approach to banking, helping clients evaluate capital structure, align financing with transaction strategy, and position their businesses for successful transitions. 

Iuliucci has nearly 10 years of experience in commercial lending and banking. Early in his career, he focused on financing private healthcare practices across the dental, medical, and veterinary sectors, building a strong foundation in underwriting, cash flow analysis, and niche industry lending. 

A Western Pennsylvania native, Ian grew up in Washington, PA. He earned his degree in Economics from Washington & Jefferson College and further broadened his global perspective through studies at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. 

Siena Kane is Director of the Commercial Lending Department at the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the City of Pittsburgh’s Economic Development Enterprise. In her role at the URA, Siena has underwritten and helped deploy millions of dollars in loans to support small businesses across the city of Pittsburgh—from acclaimed local restaurants and beloved neighborhood bakeries to trendy fashion boutiques. She works daily with lending staff and resource partners to support Pittsburgh-based businesses and entrepreneurs in gaining access to financing and technical assistance.

Siena has worked in the community and economic development field for over fifteen years, first at small to midsized community development organizations and later at the URA. In that time, she has managed
community outreach programs, supported neighborhood strategic planning and implementation, spearheaded business district revitalization efforts, and helped hundreds of entrepreneurs start and grow
their businesses.

Siena has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh. Siena is an avid cyclist, a dedicated yoga practitioner, and a budding gardener. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and two daughters.

Zolidar
Sonali Kothari is Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Zolidar, a company building digital infrastructure for business succession and employee ownership transitions. Previously, she served as COO and Chief Product Officer of Kiva, helping scale the organization to more than $1 billion in loans.

She also served as COO of JFFLabs, where she helped launch programs and partnerships focused on workforce innovation and economic mobility. Her work centers on designing scalable systems that expand access and strengthen local economic resilience.

Kothari holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management and a degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

BEAM Collaborative
Joseph A. Massaro is Chief Strategy Officer of BEAM Collaborative, a strategic planning consulting firm designed to turn uncertainty into clear decisions for the people and organizations strengthening our local economy. BEAM creates strategic corporate supplier partnerships to improve the quality of Black lives in Pittsburgh.

Massaro believes the best leaders empower employees to be independent and efficient in their work. He specializes in helping teams create a common work language so managers and employees can operate more effectively together.

Sincerely committed to the organization’s mission, vision, and core values, his leadership is a driving force behind Massaro Construction Group’s sustained success. He also serves on the boards of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children, Gateway Rehabilitation Center, Oakland Catholic, and the Pennsylvania Economy League of Greater Pittsburgh. He is also an MAAPE Examiner (Mid-Atlantic Alliance for Performance Excellence).

PaCEO (Pennsylvania Center for Employee Ownership)
Kevin McPhillips has more than 30 years of leadership experience in both nonprofit and private sectors. Before joining the Pennsylvania Center for Employee Ownership, McPhillips served as CEO of 1000 Museums, the leading online destination for museums and exhibitions worldwide.

Previously, he was President and Partner at The Princeton Companies, which was recognized by the Governor’s Office as a model of New Jersey business growth. He also served as President and co-founder of Direct Group, one of the nation’s largest direct marketing firms, and spent eight years leading nonprofit centers for citizens with special needs.

His experience managing and owning businesses has reinforced his belief that employee ownership and investment is good business. McPhillips is a graduate of Northwestern University.

Alex Moss is a Founding Principal and former president of Praxis Consulting Group, Inc., where he advises employee-owned, nonprofit, and mission-driven corporate clients in fully engaging employees to drive organizational performance. His expertise includes ownership culture, strategy, governance, leadership, and workforce education and engagement, and he is a frequent speaker and author on these matters. 

Moss is a Trustee of the Employee Ownership Foundation and he serves on the ESOP Task Force of the Private Directors Association. He is a past member of the Boards of Directors of both the National Center for Employee Ownership and The ESOP Association. He has chaired The ESOP Association’s professional advisory committees on Fiduciary Issues and on Ownership Culture, and he has served the employee ownership community in numerous other capacities. He received The ESOP Association’s Life Service Award in 2011. 

Alex serves as an Independent Board member of four ESOP companies, and chairs two of those. He has served on the boards of a number of cooperative and nonprofit community organizations, and he previously managed the social enterprise initiatives of a nonprofit community organization. He holds a Master’s degree in Public and Private Management (MPPM) from the Yale School of Management and an AB from Brown University. 

Ohio Employee Ownership Center
Michael Palmieri is Associate Director at the Ohio Employee Ownership Center (OEOC) at Kent State University. Since joining the OEOC in 2018, he has helped lead programming, research, and outreach efforts focused on expanding employee ownership.

His work includes developing educational resources for employee-owned companies, supporting business succession planning, and conducting applied research. Palmieri holds a PhD in Political Science from Kent State University, is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), and is a Fellow at the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing.

Hyper Networks, LLC
Jon Sirken is President of Hyper Networks LLC, a leading full-service integrator specializing in the design, engineering, and maintenance of telecommunications and utility infrastructure. With decades of leadership experience in the telecommunications industry, Sirken has a proven track record of scaling complex operations while maintaining a people-first organizational culture.

In 2025, he led Hyper Networks through a landmark transition to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), a strategic move designed to preserve the company’s legacy and empower its workforce. Under his leadership, Hyper Networks has grown into a premier infrastructure partner known for resilience and operational excellence. Sirken is also a member of the HB Global leadership team and is dedicated to fostering environments where employee ownership and community engagement drive long-term business success.

HB Mechanical Group
With nearly two decades of dedicated service to the organization, Adam Smith serves as Chief Operating Officer of HB Global, a role he assumed in 2025.

Smith began his journey with HB McClure in 2008, working directly in the field. This foundational experience informed his subsequent leadership roles as Account Manager, Sales Manager, and Vice President of Service. He became President of HB McClure in 2021.

Beyond day-to-day operations, Smith has served as an Internal Trustee for HB Global since 2017. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Penn State University in 2005 and an Executive MBA from Villanova University in 2017.