Statewide Engineering Technology Industry Advisory Board

The Florida Statewide Engineering Technology Industry Advisory Board (SETIAB) was created in Spring 2023 to engage Florida manufacturers with their state colleges that offer two– and four-year degree programs in Engineering Technology (ET).  The goal of SETIAB is to ensure that the more than twenty ET programs in the state continue to meet the rapidly evolving needs of industry, raise the visibility of the skills and competencies of the program completers, and to raise the visibility of the A.S. and B.S. Engineering Technology degree programs around the state. 

As of September 2025, the SETIAB Board consists of one or two industry representatives who support an engineering technology advisory board at each of the Florida colleges, a member from FloridaMakes, a representative of Florida’s K-12 education system, and a representative from the Florida Department of Education’s Adult and Career Education division. Supporting members of SETIAB include representatives from college programs that have an industry member on the board and representatives from FLATE. A college may have more than one industry representative on the board, which helps to ensure that the board has broad geographic representation and includes representatives of all manufacturing sectors.  

The Purpose of the Statewide Engineering Technology Industry Advisory Board 

The SETIAB is a “go-to” resource designed to: 

• Identify core curriculum standards that prepare competitive workforce technicians to support local and state business, industry and economic development 

• Identify the core structure of technical (Hands-On) training for Engineering Technology graduates supporting local and state industry and/or further expansion of education 

• Identify required components of short-term continuing education for incumbent employees utilizing college and industry resources: On-the-job training, internships, and Co-op programs 

• Identify required components of lifelong fundamental skillsets 

• Provide guidance on education and industry pathways to career growth for students/employees 

• Provide guidance for enhancing and aligning career and technical training with industry trends 

• Be the conduit between the Florida State Colleges, FloridaMakes, the Florida Department of Education, and the manufacturers across Florida in and for the development of a skilled workforce 

• {eventually} Support the outreach to students and the community to help fill the pipeline of workers for the Florida manufacturing industry 

SETIAB Meetings

SETIAB meetings are held twice a year during the Engineering Technology Forum (ETForum) meetings, unless additional meetings are required.  

• March 29, 2023: Minutes

• May 22, 2023: Minutes

• Sept 27, 2023: Minutes

• April 4, 2024: Minutes

• November 21, 2024 (Virtual): Minutes
  Fall ET Forum & SETIAB Meeting in September 2024 was cancelled due to hurricane  

• April 3, 2025: Minutes 

• September 11, 2025: Registration

Members:

Officers

	Dr. Dean Bartles – SETIAB Chair  President & CEO, Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group, Inc. Affiliated College – St. Petersburg College (SPC) Email: dean.bartles@mtdg.com Website
	Michael J. Emigh – SETIAB Vice-Chair  Senior Project Manager Supply Chain, Target Affiliate College – Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC)  Email: Michael.Emigh@target.com Website
	Vincent Harmon – SETIAB Secretary  Senior Manager of Operational Excellence, Coca-Cola Affiliated College – Polk State College Email: viharmon@coca-cola.com Website

Members

	Abraham (Abe) Alangadan CEO, Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Affiliated College – Florida State College at Jacksonville Email: abealan11@gmail.com
	Mike Aller Vice President, Strategic Program Development, FloridaMakes Email: info@floridamakes.com Website
	Robert “Bob” Blevins Assistant Director, Office of Career and Technical Education Florida Department of Education Email: Robert.Blevins@fldoe.org
	Kon Champavannarath Director of Operational Technology, UFP Packaging Affiliated College – Polk State College Email: kchamp@ufpi.com Website
	Peter Cirak Vice President of Quality, Seal Dynamics Affiliated College – Hillsborough Community College Email: petercirak@sealdynamics.com Website
	Joe Corley Mid-Florida Regional Manufacturer’s Association Affiliated College – College of Central Florida Email: Joe_Corley@outlook.com Website
	James Gillard Regional Human Resources Manager, Stellar Energy Affiliated College – St. Johns River State College Website
	Jessica Lovatt President & CEO, Volusia Manufacturing Association (VMA) Affiliated College – Daytona State College (DSC) Email: Jessica.Lovatt@VMAonline.com Website
	Paul McAllister Chief Operating Officer, Comfort Chair Manufacturing Affiliated College – College of Central Florida (CCF) Website
	Chris Nelson President, Machine Technology Manufacturing Affiliated College – South Florida State College (SFSC) Email: Chris@machine-Technology.net Website
	Josette Twait Assistant Director of Career & Technical Education Polk County Public Schools Affiliation – K-12 CTE Email: josette.twait@polk-fl.net

Non-voting Members:

Sponsorship

The sponsorship of the SETIAB is FloridaMakes, in coordination with the Florida Advanced Technological Education Center (FLATE). FloridaMakes is the official representative of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) in Florida, a program of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the Department of Commerce.  FLATE’s mission is to increase the quantity and quality of collaborations in curriculum development, reform and dissemination, faculty development opportunities, recruitment and outreach activities. 

FLATE will facilitate the efforts between the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), Florida’s Engineering Technology programs, Engineering Technology Forum (ET Forum), FloridaMakes Network, and the State Engineering Technology Industry Advisory Board (SETIAB).