Alaska SBDC Business Advisors are experts in a wide variety of fields and industries. All of our business advisors have experience as business owners and several hold advanced degrees in relevant areas of study.
Alaska Small Business Development Center
About Us > Our Team
Expert Advisors
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Anchorage Center
Carlos Machuca
Carlos has 28 plus years of experience as a business developer/owner in a variety of industries including industrial and security printing, manufacturing, ERP software consulting, OSHA compliance training, and financial instruments consulting. For over 12 years, he has worked internationally in countries such as Argentina, Chile, Honduras, Mexico, and France.
Carlos has been responsible for developing several successful business divisions for small and mid-size companies in a variety of industries. He has a passion for helping small businesses grow by searching and exploiting hidden competitive advantages.
Carlos holds a Bachelor of Business Administration – Finance and a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis on entrepreneurship from the University of Alaska Anchorage. He is bilingual in Spanish and the current president of the Anchorage Midtown Rotary Club.
Misty O’Connor
Misty has over 20 years entrepreneurial experience as the founder of two successful businesses. As the owner of Point Click Learn, an educational technology company that sold proprietary software to schools and provided professional development to educators in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York for 15 years, Misty gained valuable insights into sales, marketing & advertising, professional development, grant writing, creating financial projections, and establishing distribution channels.
Misty’s second business was a family-owned special events venue located on her rural property. Misty, her father, and her two children ran the venue business hosting weddings, family reunions, graduation parties, bridal and baby showers, and garden club tours of the grounds. As outdoor and private venues for weddings and special events have become very popular, she looks forward to sharing her 15 years experience with the SBDC clients.
Misty has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from the University of Evansville, and a Master’s of Arts degree in English from the University of Central Florida.
Throughout her career and partnering with the SBDC at Gannon University in Pennyslvania, Misty used her knowledge and experience to assist other small business owners start their own businesses. Misty’s passion is working with people to see their entrepreneurial dreams become a reality and she’s now excited to assist in building and strengthening of Alaska’s small businesses.
Dan Golden
Dan Golden earned a full-ride football scholarship to attend North Carolina State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Parks and Recreational Administration. After graduation, Dan was commissioned in the US Air Force and served four years as a financial officer and squadron commander.
After his military service, Dan joined a leading Anchorage real estate company for seven years as an independent agent, focusing on commercial transactions, subdivisions, and staff management.
Later, Dan became a private consultant, providing problem-solving and project management services in real estate, broadcasting, natural resources, government, court systems, and a variety of other industries throughout Alaska.
Along the way, Dan earned an MBA from Alaska Pacific University.
Dan’s lifelong learning includes a private pilot’s license, realtor designations, forest service project successes, environmental protection documentation, and public participation training. All his professional efforts have been directed toward helping his clients be successful. Dan looks forward to assisting the SBDC clients with business plans, marketing, financial projections, cash flow management, expansion, and exit strategies.
Fairbanks Center
Russell Talvi
Russ has 30 plus years of experience as a manager/owner of multiple businesses in Alaska and Hawaii including destination resort, hospitality, food and beverage, and more.
He has personal experience buying and selling businesses and both asset sales and stock sales. Russ loves to help existing small businesses review their current financial performance, discover opportunities, and implement improvements to increase their profitability!
Russell holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology with a Minor in Economics from the University of Alaska – Fairbanks.
Jade Greene, MBA, PHR, SHRM-CP
Jade Greene is an accomplished professional with over thirty years’ experience offering entrepreneurs assistance and counseling in best business practices with creating or expanding their small businesses. She draws upon her expertise as a Consultant listening to the needs of clients to offer realistic and sustainable solutions for their business questions and/ or concerns. Her areas of expertise also include HR Management and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. She is also in the process of completing Lean Six Sigma certification.
Jade graduated from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature with a minor in Psychology. Her education continued, focusing on Global Management, with a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. Jade is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Capella University (specializing in Entrepreneurship and Leadership) which will be completed by the end of 2024.
Jade spends as much time as possible communing with nature by exploring the parks and wild areas that make Alaska such a unique place to live and work (she highly recommends the Sea Life Center in Seward). She also has an active interest in arts and crafts especially the beadwork of Alaska Natives.
Juneau Center
Kenai Peninsula Center
Cliff Cochran, MBA
Cliff Cochran has been involved with small business leadership in the Central Kenai Peninsula for over ten years. He started with Soldotna Aircraft Repair and later managed the warehouse department for Custom Seafood Processors. He also served as an officer in the Air Force, before returning home to Alaska in 2015. He specializes in financial analysis, feasibility studies, and business planning.
Cliff has a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Management from the University of Alaska Anchorage, a Master of Business Administration from Sonoma State University, and a Master of Public Administration from Golden Gate University.
Robert Green
Robert Scott Green is a successful business owner, Registered Investment Advisor, and Tax Preparer serving clients in Alaska and Texas.
Prior to joining the Alaska Small Business Development Center team, he worked as a Financial Advisor at Smith Barney in Anchorage, at Alaska Communications Systems as a Business Account Manager, and, at the time, was the only securities licensed personal banker on the Kenai Peninsula with Wells Fargo.
Currently and throughout his career, Robert personally assists many small businesses and individuals in their business and personal endeavors as an investment fiduciary, tax preparer, and advocate for their interests through advisory and personal relationships.
Robert came to Alaska in 1998 and his first work was as manager of, then, state-owned Chena Hot Springs Pool and Recreation where he instituted many processes that reduced losses to the state at that time in addition to creating safety measures to protect patrons while soaking their weary bones.
Kelly Ann Cavaretta
Kelly Ann Cavaretta lives and breathes small business. Her past 7 years have been predominantly defined in marine tourism – managing a push-the-limits seasonal small business explosion that Seward summers know best. An entrepreneur herself, Kelly Ann comes from a footing of shared experiences as SBDC’s newest Seward Business Advisor.
From working as an environmental consultant in San Diego, to managing 60 seasonal employees and a seasonal boat tour company in Seward, to starting her own small yoga studio and own nightly rental business, Salted Roots Cabins, to buying an existing downtown restaurant and long-term rental business, Thorns, Kelly Ann hopes to bring real time experience to her community clients.
To say Seward is her home is an understatement – She’s a proud resident of Seward, a community volunteer and board member, an avid recreationist in these coastal mountains, and a new mom.
Kelly Ann has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University.
Mat-Su Center
Trisha Sims
Trisha Sims has been involved with small and large business endeavors across the state of Alaska for over 25 years.
As the Director of the Mat-Su Center, Trisha strives to provide valuable resources, advice, and assistance that help small businesses start or grow and create measurable economic impact throughout the region and state. Trisha has a love of helping those around her harness their passions for entrepreneurship to not only benefit them as individuals, but the community as a whole.
She brings multi-faceted experience as a former Executive Director of a community and economic development organization in Southeast Alaska. In that role, she worked to improve port infrastructure to support the larger industries of mining, exporting, and tourism, and was able to grow her expertise in countless other aspects of small business development. In addition, Trisha successfully worked to secure multiple multi-million dollar grant awards for community organizations and municipal projects that benefitted both the public and private sectors.
When Trisha is not helping small business owners, she can be found painting landscapes and enjoying the beauty of Alaska with her family and friends.
Rural Center
Ian Grant
Ian Grant has experience as a small business owner in the restaurant industry. He specializes in assisting his clients with their business plans, financial projections, and cash-flow management. During Ian’s tenure at AK SBDC, he has assisted clients in a wide range of services including buying and selling a business, management, and strategic planning.
Ian holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art from the University of Alaska – Southeast.
Ruth Wolfe
Ruth is an Alaska Native Yup’ik with strong family connections to Nightmute and Perryville. As an enrolled member of Umkumiut Tribal Village and a shareholder in both Bristol Bay Native Corporation and Calista Native Corporation, she is deeply rooted in her heritage and has a passion for Indigenous advocacy, working to enhance the community, and cultivate sustainable growth for the next generation. She is a board member for the Alaska Native Professional Association and an active volunteer in her community.
Previously, Ruth worked in Commercial Real Estate helping small businesses and corporations buy, sell, or lease real estate in Alaska. Now, as a Rural Business Advisor, she provides valuable assistance to small businesses, offering financial analysis, marketing strategies, research support, and more.
Ruth’s upbringing in Seward, combined with her deep appreciation for her Alaska Native heritage, has shaped her outlook on life. She and her high school sweetheart now reside in the Mat-Su region, where they are fortunate to have breathtaking mountains as their backyard. Ruth holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences with a concentration in Psychology from the University of Alaska Anchorage.
When she’s not helping businesses grow, she’s enjoying physical fitness, expressing her creativity through art, skiing down slopes, or indulging in the power of a great book.