Board Members

PRESIDENT

Zachary Hobbs is Director of Engineering at Sydor Optics; having been with the company since 2008. Zach has been in the precision optics industry for over 20 years; beginning as an optical technician before transitioning into mechanical and process engineering. He holds a B.S. in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Technology from the Rochester Institute of Technology, as well as completing a New York State Toolmaker Apprenticeship. Zach has also been a co-author on multiple journal publications, technical presentations, and white papers.

PAST PRESIDENT

Lee Steneken is President of Esco Optics in Oak Ridge, NJ. Lee grew up in the family business and developed a passion for optics, working in the fabrication shop early on. He has worked hard to refine the business from the ground up. His best achievements come when employees and customers succeed together. Lee loves a challenge and thrives when pushing boundaries in optics.

PRESIDENT ELECT

Tim Kennedy is the Sr. VP of Global Sales & Marketing for Edmund Optics. He has a global mindset and cultural awareness developed from spending nearly 20 years living and developing operations in various countries across Asia. One of his key strengths is his ability to communicate on a more personal level with native speakers in Japanese, Mandarin and Thai. He is hard working, always available for his team, and committed to the stakeholders of the organization. Tim graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Optical Engineering from the University of Arizona Optical Sciences department in 1999. He then continued his education to receive a Global Executive MBA from INSEAD in January 2021.

TREASURER

David Mohring is the Metrology Coordinator at OptiPro Systems. He has over 30 years of experience in the precision optics industry. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology. David has designed precision automated manufacturing systems and developed advanced fabrication and inspection techniques to address the challenges of making precision optics.

SECRETARY

Christopher Russell is a Field Application Engineer with a demonstrated history of working in the precision optics industry and has worked for Universal Photonics for almost 20 years in various positions. He works all over the world with small to very large optical, IR, crystal, plastic, and many other polishing industries. He has countless hours of hands-on experience with machining, grinding, lapping, and polishing glass, crystals, ceramics, and metals, and is skilled in relationship building, troubleshooting, problem management and containment, manufacturing, lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, project management, and general engineering practices. Chris graduated with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University in 2005.

Mitzi Brennan has been with Pureon Inc. for the last 4 years, and was previously at Eminess Technologies Inc., which was acquired in 2020 and is now Pureon. Pureon is a global company based in Lengwil, Switzerland and manufactures polishing consumables for high tech materials. Their products range from slicing, grinding, lapping and polishing applications across many different materials. Mitzi has had a  consumable polishing focus for the last 12 years. Eminess was founded on semiconductors, but she began meeting and calling on optics customers, learning and building relationships to understand where they could provide value. They realized that their company could provide products to the optics community, and this realization led them on a journey of product development for the optics market. Mitzi is currently Pureon’s General Manager of North America Sales.

Brian Myer is Engineering Manager of Manufacturing Technology at Optimax Systems, Inc., after joining the company in 2014. Brian started in the industry as an R&D engineer and now focuses on fabrication and metrology. He holds a B.S. in Applied Physics from Appalachian State University, and a Master’s degree in optics from the Wyant College of Optical Sciences in Tucson, Arizona. Brian has written and contributed to numerous journal publications, technical presentations, and white papers. He loves long walks on Lake Ontario beaches with a winter coat and waterproof boots.

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Dave Shelton earned his PhD and Master’s degree in Materials Science and Optics from the University of Central Florida studying under Prof. Glenn Boreman in the CREOL Infrared Systems Lab. In 2010, Glenn and Dave founded Plasmonics Inc, which Dave ran as CEO until 2016. Dave then moved on to serve as the Chief Scientist with St Johns Optical Systems, and later oversaw day to day operations. Moving from component development to mission system integration work, Dave did took on a program management role in the image processing center of excellence with L3 before moving to a role as senior scientist with BAE Systems FAST Labs. Dave then went to Ball Aerospace where he served as an advanced systems manager and a responsible engineer role on several space programs. Dave is a subject matter expert in infrared detectors, radiometry, and EOIR systems engineering. He has a deep understanding of the defense industry from time working for prime contractors and has worn many hats with start up companies working in the defense industry. Dave has also served as an adjunct professor teaching graduate level classes in infrared systems and radiometry. He is currently the President and CEO of the American Center for Optics Manufacturing (AmeriCOM).
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ACADEMIC MEMBER

Alexis Vogt, PhD is a tenured professor of optics and the endowed chair of the Optical Systems Technology program at Monroe Community College (MCC) as well as executive director of workforce and higher education at AmeriCOM. Since joining MCC, Dr. Vogt has secured more than $12M and graduated the largest class of optics technicians in the program’s 60-year history. Dr. Vogt received her B.S. as well as her Ph.D. in Optics from the University of Rochester Institute of Optics. Prior to joining MCC, Dr. Vogt worked at Melles Griot and Bausch + Lomb. In addition to her industry experience, Dr. Vogt holds three patents and has authored numerous papers, presentations, and publications in the field, including the definitions of “light” and “polarization” for The World Book Encyclopedia. Dr. Vogt is the recipient of numerous international awards including the 2023 SPIE María J. Yzuel Educator Award for outstanding contributions to optics education. In addition to serving on the APOMA Board, Dr. Vogt serves on the Board of Trustees for the Rochester Museum & Science Center, New York Photonics, and SPIE.