Ric Barton
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Senior Lighting Specialist Ric has worked for GE since 1968, primarily in the lighting business. He has held positions in manufacturing engineering, quality control, marketing and sales. A licensed professional engineer, Ric has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the George Washington University as well as an MBA from Case Western Reserve University. He has extensive experience with the lighting business in Europe, the Middle East, South America, and the Asia/Pacific area. Ric is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) and has a Lighting Certified (LC) credential from the NCQLP. |
Jerry Flauto
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Senior Lighting Specialist For over 40 years, Jerry has worked for GE in a variety of lighting roles involving the design, engineering, manufacturing and application of halogen and high intensity discharge sources. Jerry specializes in industrial and outdoor lighting applications. He is a member of the Progress Committee of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) and has a Lighting Certified (LC) credential from the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions. |
Mary Beth Gotti
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Manager, Lighting & Electrical Institute Mary Beth is the manager of the GE Lighting Institute and has over 25 years of experience with GE Lighting. She has held a number of positions in lamp technology and marketing, including Lamp Development Engineer for both incandescent and metal halide lamps, Senior Product and Application Specialist, and Manager of Lighting Education. She has BS and MS degrees in Physics and earned her MBA in 1992 from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. Mary Beth is active on several committees of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), and served on the Board of Directors for 5 years. She is Lighting Certified (LC) by NCQLP (National Association on Qualifications for Lighting Professionals). |
Joe Howley
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Manager, Industry Relations and Environmental Marketing Joe is Manager of Industry Relations and Environmental Marketing for GE Consumer and Industrial. He has over 20 years of experience with GE and has worked in several technical marketing positions. Joe has an Architectural Engineering Degree from Penn State University and an MBA from Lake Erie College. He is past Chairman of the Lamp Section of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and Chairman of Electro-Federation's Lamp Committee in Canada. In addition, Joe is the past Chairman of the ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1 National Building Energy Code Lighting Subcommittee and is a member of the Energy Management Committee of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA). |
Cheryl Maenza
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Lighting Specialist Cheryl Maenza is a Lighting Product & Communications Specialist who has been with Lighting since 1987. As product specialist, she interacts with customers, sales people and product management on a daily basis, answering technical questions and communicating product information to our sales force and its customers. Cheryl publishes a newsletter targeted to the specification community and plays a key role in the coordination and communication of events relating to the prestigious GE Edison Award. Having been with GE more than 30 years, she has a diverse background in various GE businesses and has held positions in sales, purchasing, customer service, and marketing. Cheryl is also a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA). |
Bill Neely
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Senior Electrical Systems Specialist Bill has worked in the electrical field for more than 30 years. Over 24 years of that time has been with General Electric. During that time, he has held positions as an Electrician, Distributor Sales Manager, Automation Sales Specialist, Field Sales Engineer and Training Specialist. He most recently became a member of the GE Lighting and Electrical Institute at Nela Park in Cleveland Ohio. He designed, developed, and presented over 300 "on the Road" classes over the past 10 years. Bill is a graduate of the University of Louisville Speed Engineering School with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and holds Professional Engineering credentials in both Mechanical and Electrical disciplines. |
Kathy Presciano
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Lighting Specialist Kathy joined GE Lighting in 1994 as a specialist for residential, contract interior and holiday lighting. In addition to lighting, Kathy is a specialist in space planning and interior architecture for commercial, retail, and residential spaces. Until joining GE Lighting, she had her own business, Interior Environments, Incorporated. Kathy has a BA in Interior Design from Kent State University and a MA in Educational Administration from Ursuline College. Currently Kathy teaches at Kent State University in the School of Architecture and Environmental Design. She is a professional member of the American Society of Interior Design (ASID), and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) and has both sales and contracting experience. |
Sri Rahm
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Senior Lighting Specialist Sri Rahm, M.S.(Physics); M.B.A., joined GE Lighting in 1980 as a Physicist in the Metal Halide Engineering Department. Between 1987 and 1999 Sri worked in a number of different capacities in the Lighting Industry including engineering, marketing, training and consulting, and returned to GE in 1999 as a staff member at the Institute. He teaches Physics as a part-time faculty member at Case Western Reserve University. Sri is Lighting Certified (LC) by the NCQLP and is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) where he serves on the Papers Committee. |
Roy Sierleja
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Senior Lighting Specialist Roy has worked for GE for over 30 years in the lighting business, including positions in product engineering, manufacturing and marketing and sales. He was formerly the Manager of GE's Product Testing and Evaluation Laboratory where he was involved with all phases of fluorescent, HID and incandescent product testing including photometry, colorimetry, and life testing. Roy has been a speaker at a number of conferences including Lightfair, IES, NALMCO, PRSM, FMI and NAESCO. He specializes in discharge lamp/ballast systems and energy saving strategies in lighting. Roy is a graduate of Cleveland State University, a member of IESNA and holds a Lighting Certified (LC) credential from the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions (NCQLP) |
Mike Smith
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GE Ballast Manager Mike Smith has been with GE since 1994. Prior to that, he spent 14 years with General Motors as a Facilities Engineer, where he provided new building designs and retrofits of existing electrical and lighting systems. He is a frequent guest speaker at the Institute, and teaches part-time at Sinclair College. He is on the Advisory Board for Adams Wealth Group and the University of Dayton Industrial Board for Engineering. |