Our Staff

Beth Heffernan, President	Beth is a former Hewlett Packard employee who has used Design of Experiments herself to manufacture printer products, and holds patents in the field. Beth has a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley. Her goal is to share the benefits of Design of Experiments with you.
Bill Kappele, Technical Director	Bill is responsible for workshop and supplementary software development. He answers technical questions and is the lead instructor. You can read his resume.  After you finish that, please have a look at what other people think of him on the testimonials page.   Please take a look at his story too.
Paula Bartolomei, Training Director	Paula is your personal customer service representative. She knows how important it is to provide clients with exceptional service. Paula received her Bachelor's degree in History from California State University; she is a former private banker with Wells Fargo Bank. To succeed against global competition, Paula strongly believes that American industry must train their technical staff to use the power of our Design of Experiments strategy.
Robin Baskette, Instructor	Robin Baskette has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, and a M.A. in Math Education from Eastern Kentucky University. During her work at Lexmark International, she used DOE to develop inks and select adhesives for inkjet printer cartridges. Then, she taught math for three years before starting a family. Robin believes that DOE is the best tool for scientists and engineers to maximize positive results in their work. The technique provides an organized, detailed approach to problem solving. Robin enjoys being an instructor for Objective Design of Experiments because it is the perfect mix of teaching in a technical environment, and she enjoys helping scientists and engineers tackle their problems.
Bob Johnson, Design of Experiments and Statistical Process Control (SPC) Consultant	Bob has an M.S. and PhD in Metallurgy from Iowa State University and an M.S. in Statistics from Northern Illinois University, Bob was a materials scientist and statistician for 30 years with DSM Desotech. He successfully used Design of Experiments and SPC to maximize DSM's productivity. Bob is excited about bringing the many benefits of Design of Experiments and Statistical Process Control to you.
Dr. Charles Whitman -- Design of Experiments and Reliability Consultant	Dr. Charlie Whitman has a Ph.D. in Materials Science from Northwestern University and a M.S. in Statistics from the University of Kentucky. Charlie works at RFMD as a staff reliability engineer in RFMD’s wafer fabrication facility. Previously, Charlie worked for Lexmark International and Lucent/Agere Systems as a device reliability engineer. Customers need to know how long their parts will last. Charlie uses several different types of experiments to estimate product life. Charlie has combined Design Of Experiments (DOE) and reliability procedures to provide a reliability “map” for products. Using a variety of statistical procedures, laboratory results are translated into a predicted range of product life.
John Raffaldi --Design of Experiments and Measurement Systems Consultant (MSA and GR&R)	John Raffaldi has over twenty years quality assurance experience. He uses statistical methods to reduce manufacturing variation, improve yields, and evaluate metrology systems. John wrote the software "Easy Gage R&R" and many articles and papers on metrology system evaluation, measurement uncertainties, and DOE in Quality Magazine, the International Dimensional Workshop, and the Measurement Science Conference. John was a technical representative on the ASME B89.4 metrology committees, where he contributed to national and international metrology standards. John looks forward to tackling your experimental design and measurement system evaluation needs.