External Advisory Board

Bob Doyle

President and CEO, Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants

EAB member through May 2025

Bob Doyle is President and CEO of the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), serving in that capacity since early 2020. With over 17,500 members representing the organization in accounting, finance, administration and education, Bob continues the MICPA’s long-standing mission of serving its members and the accounting profession through advocacy, collaboration and education.

Bob holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering, a M.S. in Engineering Management, and a M.A. in Public Relations & Organizational Communication. His education and experience provide him a unique perspective on both human and technological issues, one which he has successfully leveraged throughout his career. He was previously Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Advocacy at the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) in Ann Arbor, a not-for-profit robotics and automation focused trade. Prior to his work at A3, Bob was the marketing and communications manager at the Environmental Quality Company after progressing through several engineering roles at General Motors.

Active in the community, Bob currently serves on the board of the Michigan Society of Association Executives. He is also a member of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s 2022 Leadership Detroit Class XLII. He is on the external advisory board of the Pavlis Honors College at Michigan Technological University, as well as the executive advisory board of Winning Futures. He also mentors high school students through the Winning Futures program. Bob previously served on the board of Lighthouse (formerly South Oakland Shelter).

Michael Dorsey

Chief Operations Officer, Wyrd Ventures and Consulting Inc.

EAB member through May 2026

Michael Dorsey was born and raised in Detroit, MI. He graduated from Detroit Renaissance High School, has four children, and is married to Latoya Dorsey. Mr. Dorsey earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Michigan Technological University, located in Houghton, MI.

In 1998, Michael's entrepreneurial spirit led him to start his own financial services business as a licensed financial representative. His leadership and business acumen were evident as he successfully ran the business until 2004. In 2004, Michael's career took a new turn when he joined National City Bank as a financial consultant. In this role, he not only provided financial education and investment portfolios to many families but also assisted small businesses in achieving their financial goals through the bank’s lending options. In 2005, while working at the bank, Michael opened CM3 Solutions, a real estate investing company. For the next three years, his company purchased, refurbished, and sold homes in the Metro Detroit Area.

In 2008, Michael continued to assist small business owners and the private sector in finding solutions to their capital needs by establishing relationships with lenders worldwide. The needs of his clients ranged from single-family residences to new technology development. In 2018, Michael began helping small business owners realize their dream of becoming franchisors. He has since advanced to the position of Executive Vice President of The Franchise Enterprise, where he assists the President and staff with consulting businesses through the franchise development process.

Currently, Michael is a partner at Wyrd Ventures and Consulting Inc., a black-owned tech company that he runs with two dynamic men of standard. As the Chief Operations Officer, he facilitates company operations, practices, and functions. This company provides cutting-edge technology products and has positioned itself to be a major force in the tech industry. WYRD has launched a prolific mobile application named LiveWaves.

Lisa Genslak 

Ford Motor Company (retired)

EAB member through May 2025, Current EAB Chair

Lisa Genslak retired from Ford Motor Company with over 33+ years of experience in IT. Lisa Genslak was the director for the Enterprise Technology IT Operations organization at Ford Motor Company. She supported a world class infrastructure organization which was the backbone of Ford’s Global Digital transformation. This always on organization ensured the delivery of capabilities across the enterprise and a support model that ran and protected Ford Motor Company. Lisa was responsible for delivering intelligent infrastructure that is architected to support Ford’s multi-cloud strategy and best in class Enterprise Data Centers. She ran an advance infrastructure group that demonstrated innovation of emerging technologies such as edge computing, 5G, IOT, AI/ML. She also lead Ford Collaboration transformation to support the new hybrid-model for Ford employees to work. She lead the service transformation for operations by leveraging agile methods, DevSecOps and SRE process thru automation to ensure an excellent customer experience.  The global services she was responsible for employed over 2,500 Infrastructure engineers and $1.0B of annual budget. The services are helping Ford become the most trusted company and deliver Mobility Solutions to create smart vehicles for a smart world.

During her 33+ years at Ford, Genslak has held many roles within IT. She has managed multiple interactions with suppliers and business partners to develop and maintain corporate strategies, operational efficiencies, and technology innovations. These roles have spanned operational support, application and product development, and IT strategy and planning. Additionally, Genslak led all IT learning and development activities and research services, and she drove the transformation of IT through effective communications and culture changes. Genslak creates a culture that fosters innovation and collaboration which “Puts people first.” Running and Protecting Ford requires her to be “Built Ford Tough.”

Genslak earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science Engineering from Michigan Technological University and a Master of Business Administration from Wayne State University.

Erin Gustafson

UX Researcher, GE Aerospace

EAB member through May 2025

Erin Gustafson is a UX Researcher for GE Aerospace. She spends her days advocating for the user by applying human-centered design principles to translate needs into design concepts and requirements that speak to engineers. Erin is able to work with complex and high-consequence systems related to automated intelligence, autonomous systems, and communications across both government and commercial settings.

Erin has a passion for getting involved and making a difference in her community. She previously served on the executive council of San Diego’s Society of Women Engineers (SWE) chapter as the recording secretary. She currently serves locally to the Keweenaw as the Social Media Chair for Keweenaw Wild Ones, promoting the use of native plants in home and community gardens.

Erin is a graduate of the Pavlis Honors College and visited Ghana with the program in 2016. She received both her B.S. in mechanical engineering and M.S. in applied cognitive science and human factors from Michigan Technological University. During her time on campus she was a success coach and mentor in the Waino Wahtera Center for Student Success, enjoyed volunteering for several student organizations, and was granted the Vice President of Student Affairs and Advancement Award for Service.

SherAaron Hurt

Director of Workshops, The Carpentries

EAB member through May 2026

SherAaron Hurt serves as the Director of Workshops for the Carpentries, and plays a crucial role in developing and overseeing the organization's workshop initiatives worldwide. Her responsibilities encompass the strategic planning and execution of workshops, ensuring high-quality content delivery, and nurturing a vibrant and diverse instructor community. SherAaron's commitment to diversity and inclusion is reflected in her efforts to create safe spaces for underrepresented communities within the Carpentries, while empowering researchers globally with data skills.

SherAaron obtained her Bachelors of Science degree in Business Management and Marketing, with a Global Technological Leadership Certificate from Michigan Tech in 2009. She was a part of the very first cohort of the Pavlis Institute that traveled to Ghana, Africa. Leaving one peninsula for another, she went to Florida International University to obtain her Masters of Science in Hospitality Management. SherAaron enjoys anything related to physical fitness, luxury travel and experiencing culture through food!

Maureen Kelly

Chief Creative Officer, Transcend Creative Group

EAB member through May 2026

Maureen is a strategy developer, creative problem solver and implementer. CX, and human-centered experience design, is her business. Creating trust and focusing on how people feel are critical to her work. Currently, she is working on the most interesting aspect of retail - purposefully transforming the retail experience by implementing effective human-focused experiences.  She is focused on developing leaders and disruptive, tactical customer-facing strategies.

Maureen’s experience includes working with trend-setting, luxury retail companies and start-ups - Lincoln, Ford Model e, Volvo, Maserati, EmbarkBeyond, and more - to hands-on create guest and customer experiences that are unrivaled - complete with tangible, implementable, off-the-chart results.

Otha Thornton

Owner and Principal Consultant, Thornton Consulting Group

EAB member through May 2025, Former EAB Chair

Otha Thornton is owner and Principal Consultant for the Thornton Consulting Group.  He is also a Senior Operations Analyst with General Dynamics in Fort Stewart, Georgia and the Immediate Past National President of National PTA. He is a retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel and his last two assignments were with the White House Communications Agency and United States Forces-Iraq in Baghdad. Thornton earned the Bronze Star Medal for exceptional performance in combat operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom 2009-2010. 

Previously, Thornton served on National PTA’s Board of Directors, Legislative, Membership, Organizational Effectiveness, Communications, and Executive Search Committees. Thornton served as a member of Anne Arundel County’s Superintendent High Performing High School Task Force. In addition, he was appointed by the governor of Maryland to serve on a Maryland Education Task Force. 

Thornton is active in the community. Otha serves an Advisory Group member for Georgia’s Partnership for Excellence in Education. He is an active member of Richmond Hill of Christ and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He is a life member of the National Eagle Scout Association and has more than 25 years of active service in the United States and around the world. He has won numerous awards to include: Ebony’s 2013 Power 100 List, Morehouse College Alumnus of the Year, and Michigan Technological University Outstanding Young Alumni Award. 

Thornton received his bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Morehouse College and a master’s degree in communications from Michigan Technological University. He was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Michigan Technological University.

Carolyn Yarina

Owner & Principal, Yarina Consulting LLC

EAB member through May 2025

Carolyn is a two-time founder/CEO with a proven track record of execution. She is currently applying her 13 years of startup CEO leadership and investor management experience as management consultant to early stage companies and new VC funds. In her most recent venture-backed startup, she raised and managed $5M and led growth of a novel surgical device from idea through the first $1M in revenue. She has deep operational expertise through every phase of new technology development; from early-stage research to design thinking, medical device regulatory, and through the first million dollars in revenue. Her extensive travel and business operations in the US, Africa, Asia, and Europe provides experience in a wide variety of healthcare environments and ensures an expansive business network.

In addition to a focus on business profitability and helping save thousands of lives through her companies, she has received over 50 company-level awards, 25 direct personal awards, and 80 global press features. Her awards include: Forbes 30 under 30 while leading her global medical device company (Sisu Global), featured as a “Best” Startup by Entrepreneur magazine for the first venture she founded (CentriCycle), and Entrepreneur of the Year at the University of Michigan while getting her Chemical Engineering Degree. Carolyn is passionate about increasing access to capital for women entrepreneurs and about improving glaring gaps in our US healthcare system, especially for women & minorities. As such, she is a regular keynote and panel speaker, a mentor in several entrepreneurship programs, serves on three Boards and is an advisor to two early-stage VC funds in the process of formation.

Carolyn is a Keweenaw native. She grew up on a sheep farm in Tapiola, took her first university classes at MTU, and was a member of the research team at two MTU research labs. After living in Turkey, India, and in 5 cities across the US including Baltimore and Ann Arbor, she is now again based in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula.