Staff
Annette Zinky, Director
Annette has over a decade of experience in small business management and is still an active partner in a small business she co-founded in 1997. Starting out as home based business, Annette and her partner (who heads the product design aspect of their company) quickly grew their manufacturing business and eventually moved to a more industrial setting here in Flagstaff. The success of their company was featured in an Entrepreneur Magazine article back in 2000. Some of Annette's areas of expertise include bookkeeping, human resource management, international trade, intellectual property issues and manufacturing production management.
Annette has worked as Business Analyst or Director in the SBDC since March 2006. She holds a degree in Spanish from Arizona State University and can offer assistance to clients in both English and Spanish. She understands the need for creating a confidential and comfortable setting for counseling and is especially talented at providing research assistance to our clients.
Kurt Haskell, Business Analyst
Kurt brings to the Small Business Development Center over 25 years of business management experience. This experience includes business start up, business acquisition and sale, consulting, and ownership of several local small businesses. Kurt has been President of several specialty manufacturing firms that produce high-reliability electronics used in the International Space Station, implantable cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators, oil exploration, nuclear research, and other industries. One of his companies has been nationally recognized in publications, and twice recognized by the State of Nevada as one of “the Top 10 Fastest Growing Companies”. Kurt holds several patents, and has published technical papers including a chapter on Electrostatic Energy Storage in the American Physical Society’s Encyclopedia of Applied Physics. The US Space Foundation inducted Kurt and his team into its hall of fame in April of 1999 in recognition of their contribution to the technological advancement of portable medical devices. Kurt has extensive experience in international trade and has participated in Trade Missions with the State of New Mexico.
Kurt has a Bachelor of Science - Business degree from the University of Redlands and extensive management experience in manufacturing, sales and marketing, administration and finance.
Eva Spencer, Program Specialist
Eva is currently attending Northern Arizona University where she is studying public relations and advertising. Originally from Yuma she first attended Arizona State University planning to major in business. After 1 year she left to complete an internship for Walt Disney World in Buena Vista, Florida and spent another 2 semesters at Miami-Dade College.
Once Eva returned to Arizona she continued working toward a degree and picked up an internship in the Public Relations/Marketing department of Coconino Community College. In January 2008, she joined the Small Business Development Center which allowed her to continue her customer service skills, marketing knowledge and provides the new and exciting challenge of business.
Eva will be receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in May of 2008.