Kent County Economic Summit Conference - Speakers and Panelists

Michael Quaranta Keynote Speaker

Mike Quaranta joined the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce as its president in May of 2018.

A Capitol Hill veteran, Mike spent 35 years in various policy making capacities in Washington, D.C. Mike began his career as a professional staff member for the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. In that role, he was a policy specialist for issues related to capital budgeting and federal procurement. He gained valuable experience as the legislative assistant for former Senator David F. Durenberger (R-MN), where he directed policy efforts on banking, housing, insurance and other subjects. From 2003 to 2010, Mike served as chief of staff for Congressman Michael Castle (R-DE).

Mike spent time in the private sector as well, serving as senior legislative associate at the Financial Executives Institute. He was also director of federal government affairs at TRW, after serving as their manager of state government affairs. His last position before jumping back into the public sector with Congressman Castle was with Experian Information Solutions, where he directed the development of policy goals and tactics in support of the company’s products and services.

Prior to joining the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, Mike was a Principal at Podesta Group and later at Cogent Strategies. At Cogent, he provided high-level strategic guidance to the firm’s clients, utilizing his vast experience in financial services legislation as well as regulation and education policy. He also conducted outreach efforts to House Republican leadership.

A native of the Chicago area, Mike earned a Master of Public Policy (ABT) from Georgetown University and a bachelor's degree from Minnesota State University. He also participated in the Stennis Congressional Staff Fellows Program.

His wife, Michelle, is a native Delawarean, and together the couple have four children and live in the City of New Castle where Mike serves on the City Council. 

Dr. Mark Brainard

Dr. Mark T. Brainard, a proud graduate of Delaware Tech, was appointed the College’s fifth president on August 4, 2014. Previously, Dr. Brainard spent over three decades in a series of executive-level leadership roles in the higher education, business, government, and legislative arenas in Delaware. One of his priorities as president is to employ his knowledge, experience, and leadership skills to ensure that today’s students continue to receive the same foundation and opportunities he received as a student of the College over three decades ago.

After earning an associate degree in criminal justice from Delaware Tech in 1981 and a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science from Wilmington University in 1983, Dr. Brainard embarked upon a career in public service that began in the Delaware legislature, where he ultimately served as chief of staff for the House Minority Caucus for seven years. In 1991, he began attending law school part time while continuing to work full time.

He left the legislature in 1993 when he was appointed director of external affairs at the Delaware Department of Transportation. After his graduation from Widener Law School in 1994, Dr. Brainard was named assistant vice president for personnel and legal affairs at Delaware Tech, where he managed all human resources programs and provided legal counsel regarding employment law and students’ rights issues.

In 1999, he became executive vice president of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, where he managed the overall operations of the 3,000-member, 22-employee organization with a budget of $3 million. He left the Chamber in 2002 to serve as Governor Ruth Ann Minner’s chief of staff. In spite of a difficult economy, he helped to develop aggressive agendas, which led to the passage of landmark legislation such as the Student Excellence Equals Degrees (SEED) scholarship; the Delaware Cancer Treatment program; workers’ compensation reform; and a series of education initiatives including the statewide implementation of full-day kindergarten and the placement of reading and math specialists in public schools.

At the end of the governor’s term, he returned to Delaware Tech and served in a number of leadership positions until he was appointed president of the College in 2014. In a short time, he has implemented a number of initiatives, including creating a collegewide culture that embraces innovation; developing a statewide program for high school students to address the manufacturing skills gap in Delaware; and establishing a variety of support programs for veterans, earning the College its “Military Friendly School” designation for three years in a row.

Dr. Brainard is a member of the Delaware Business Roundtable, the Delaware Workforce Development Board, and the Phi Theta Kappa Advisory Board. He is also an Honorary Commander with the Delaware National Guard and serves on the board of directors for the Delaware BioScience Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, First State Innovation, and United Way Delaware.

Donald Chupp

Donald J. Chupp is the President of Fireside Partners Inc. Fireside Partners specializes in helping organizations take care of their most important asset – their people. Don develops and conducts specialized emergency response programs, provides educational seminars, and works in partnership with other safety and emergency response professionals around the world. Currently Don is working extensively with the corporate and business aviation industry developing emergency response plans, training programs, and exercises.

Prior to his work with Fireside Partners, Don was the Program Director for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Academy. In this role, he managed the daily operations of the Academy and developed courses and workshops for the transportation industry and governmental agencies involved in disaster response, safety, and accident investigation.

Before coming to the Training Center, Don was the Assistant to the Director for the NTSB Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance. In this role he provided post-disaster family assistance for victims and their families after major transportation accidents. He managed the family assistance role in numerous accidents, including Comair flight 5191 in 2006, US Airways Express flight 5481 in Charlotte, NC in 2003, American Airlines flight 587 in New York City in 2001, and United Flight 93 following the attacks of September 11th, 2001.

Don is an Adjunct Faculty Member at Wilmington University Business Department, and holds an AAS Degree in Aerospace Systems Maintenance Technology, a BA in Psychology, and an MS in Community Counseling. He is certified by the National Board for Certified Counselors, and holds certifications in Critical Incident Stress Management, and Disaster Management.

Elizabeth “Liz” Keller

Elizabeth “Liz” Keller strives every day to promote Delaware as a preferred tourist destination. As Delaware Tourism Director she oversees the state’s tourism sales, marketing and public relations teams.

Liz joined the tourism office eight years ago as Marketing & PR Specialist and has been promoted multiple times since then. She has been the behind-the-scenes force for many of DTO’s biggest initiatives – the Endless Discoveries brand, a relaunched VisitDelaware.com, numerous TV/print ad campaigns and much more.

In addition, Liz’s significant expertise in social media led to 16000% growth in followers for the Visit Delaware Facebook page and 12000% growth on Twitter. This has led to her being asked many times to speak regionally and nationally as a digital marketing expert.

In previous roles Liz served as an Americorps VISTA and worked on the Dover Library Job Center program, which has been implemented statewide. She also works with various charitable organizations, including Gals That Give.

Liz lives in Smyrna with her husband, their four fur-babies. She is an enthusiast of all things Disney (and even worked at Walt Disney World).

Sean Mace

Sean graduated from Mt. Carmel High Area School in Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania, studied Radiologic Technology at Williamsport Area Community College (Pennsylvania) before enlisting in the United States Air Force where he worked as a registered Radiologic Technologist and Medical readiness Instructor. After four years in the USAF, he graduated from Gwynedd-Mercy College (PA) in 1994 where he earned a certificate as a nationally registered Radiation Therapist. Sean completed his clinical rotation at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia and was employed for ten years at Bayhealth Medical Center in Dover, Delaware as a Radiation Therapist and Manager of Radiation Oncology. He graduated from Wilmington University in 2001 and 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resource Management and a Masters of Business Administration, respectively. In 2004 Sean accepted a position as Practice Administrator for Surgical Associates, P.A. in Dover, DE and immediately became involved in the land acquisition of the former Eden Hill Farm - now the site of Eden Hill Medical Center. Along with being the vice president and chief operating officer of Eden Hill Medical Center (EHMC), Sean is also an owner/founding member and managing partner of Eden Hill SNF (real estate) and president and chairman of the board of The Center at Eden Hill; an 80-bed sub-acute care facility located on the EHMC campus in downtown Dover. Sean is a 2012 graduate of Leadership Central Delaware and a 2018 graduate of Leadership Mastery. He has served on the board for the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce for over 9 years, currently serving as chairman of the board.   

He resides in Dover with his wife Debbie. They have 2 children (Kyle, 23, a 2017 DSU graduate and Andrew, 21, a senior at Salisbury University, MD). They have 1 dog, “Rico” (Yorkshire Terrier).

Linda Parkowski

Linda is the Executive Director of the Kent Economic Partnership which is the economic development agency for Kent County Delaware. Linda is charged with business attraction and business retention and expansion in Central Delaware along with business assistance for Kent County.

Prior to taking her position at the KEP she was the Acting Director of the Division of Small Business for the state and prior to that position she was Director of Tourism for the State of Delaware implementing many forward thinking and results oriented programs to grow the industry from a 1.5 to 3.3 billion dollar industry.

Justin Smith

Justin Smith is the Assistant Director of Information Technology at Del-One, where Justin leads a talented team of professionals through the ever changing landscape of technology.

Justin has been with Del-One for 8 years and a credit union member since 2004. Justin’s background is primarily in technology deployment but his experience extends into VMware, MDM solutions, and endpoint security.

Additionally, Justin serves as the Vice President of the Del-One Foundation.