Laura is an experienced government contracting professional who provides strategic procurement technical assistance to businesses in the Capital Region and Upstate New York seeking to market and sell their products and/or services to federal, state, and local government agencies. Her career has focused on support, compliance, planning, record keeping, and execution for various government programs. In her most recent position at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Laura served as the program analyst for the Small Business (SB) and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, where she was responsible for supporting all aspects of the SB and SBIR/STTR programs for the Information Directorate.

Finn is an experienced professional who has worked in a variety of nonprofit and government organizations. He has considerable experience in supporting procurement teams throughout the contracting process, managing pilot contracts, and providing educational materials and support to new hires and business contacts.

Manna helps businesses of all sizes find and pursue government opportunities. Before joining the APEX Accelerator, Manna was a program manager and counselor for North Country Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). Before that, Manna was a plant manager at Artik/OEM and the defense subcontractor general manager at Tulmar Manufacturing Inc. He is a certified Lean White Belt from CITEC Business Solutions.

Mercy is an experienced professional who helps businesses of all sizes find and pursue government contracting opportunities as a procurement counselor. Before joining NYSTEC, Mercy was a counselor for the Monroe County Finger Lakes Procurement Technical Assistance Center (MCFL PTAC), where she counseled businesses in securing government contracts, supported clients with market research, and assisted them with local, state, and federal registrations and certifications.

Lenora is a program management professional. Before joining NYSTEC, she worked as the APEX Accelerator program manager for Cattaraugus County. In that role, she was responsible for developing annual goals and objectives and overseeing a program rebranding initiative to align with nationwide changes. Lenora has also held multiple program manager roles for regional organizations throughout her career.