Judy Vann (NJ CAR Academy Director of Training)
With nearly three decades experience in the retail auto industry, Judy Vann specializes in training for sales and marketing, F&I, and management. Judy is an AFIP Accredited Facilitator for the AFIP Certification Program and has taken hundreds of F&I managers through the program over the last five years. Her proven training methods have resulted in some of the highest scores in AFIP history. In addition to her work with AFIP, Judy is also the training specialist for the NJ CAR Academy. Her company, JV Solutions, enables dealers to maintain the standards and ethical practices necessary in today’s ever-changing environment. She has also helped dozens of dealer groups with their Safeguards and Red Flags Rule policy implementations. Through needs analysis, problem solving, strategic planning, coaching, and training, her company has created educational programs that are designed to use a real-world approach to increasing confidence and performance during each stage of the selling process.
Christine Andrews (Academy Presenter)
Christine is a consultant with the accounting and consulting firm of The Mironov Group, LLC. Her responsibilities include evaluating and critiquing safeguards and expense controls in place at dealerships and establishing internal controls that lead to more secure methods for safeguarding the dealership’s assets. Christine has worked with more than 100 franchised dealerships and has conducted numerous training sessions for dealership Controllers and Office Managers. She has over 15 years of experience working in almost every dealership administrative position, along with several management positions, including Finance Manager and Controller.
Lauren Bailey
Lauren Bailey is the manager of State Law and Regulatory Affairs for the NADA Regulatory Affairs and Legal Affairs Group. Lauren handles dealer interests with various federal agencies including the Department of Labor, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Labor Relations Board. She also handles matters of state law involving franchise issues. Before joining NADA, Lauren worked in state government relations for a number of trade associations. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the Pennsylvania State University and a juris doctorate from the Catholic University of America.
Rob Campbell (Academy Presenter)
After 17 years as a dealership consultant and trainer, and over 20 years in automotive, Rob continues to have a passion for the automotive retail business. He currently serves as one of the resident dealer analysts and consultants for WithumSmith+Brown (formerly The Mironov Group, LLC), working with dealerships to improve operations through better planning and financial review. He is nationally recognized for helping dealers understand and get better results from their fixed operations. He also helps dealerships develop better internal controls with his training and experience in fraud investigations. Rob also serves as contributing editor for DealersEdge and is a frequent and popular speaker at industry events across the country. Rob has considerable experience within dealerships, having worked as a manager in all areas of fixed operations, as well as retail sales.
Ken Carlson (Academy Presenter)
Ken Carlson has over 28 years of Retail Automotive experience. He is AFIP Certified and has extensive experience in Sales Force Training, Finance and Insurance Management Training, Sales Management Training, Service Manager/Advisor Training. He has previously worked as Vice President of Business Development and National Sales Trainer for Pat Ryan and Associates/Key Royal.
Becky Chernek
Chernek Consulting
Eric Clauburg (Academy Presenter)
Eric Clauburg, President of Clauburg and Associates, is one of the industry leaders in automotive recruiting. Clauburg and Associates has been serving dealers since 1990. Eric has worked with Ford, General Motors and a number of 20 Groups to help turnaround struggling dealerships. This unique background of building winning teams gives Eric great insight into proper recruiting methods.
Gary Coleman
Gary Coleman attended Grove City College and following stints selling encyclopedias and cookware door to door and working as an assistant manager in a large supermarket, he found his way into the family business, joining Coleman Oldsmobile and Subaru in 1972. He worked on the floor for six years, moved into the F&I office for one year and then moved to the position of New Car Manager. He was also responsible for sales training under the auspices of Automotive Profit Builders (APB). From there he managed the used car department and opened a JD BYRIDER store one year after completing a ten-year buyout of his father. During those years, Coleman Auto Group acquired Jeep, Kia and also opened a second location with Jeep and Chrysler. Gary trained every sales person hired in both locations over 33 years. Well-traveled and well-read of the major national trainers, he was convinced that there was a huge need for outside trainers to work with auto dealerships. 40 years to the day he entered the business, he took a buyout from his brother and left to start a training company in March 2013. In January 2016, Gary partnered with Richard Sabo and formed a new company, G&R Training LLC, DBA Dealer S.T.A.R. Solution sales training and recruiting systems.
Patricia Covington
Patty Covington, a partner in the Hudson Cook LLP law firm, has been practicing in dealer and consumer financial services law since 1997, prior to which she did legal commercial loan work, M&A and bankruptcy law for 5 years. She’s seen how businesses work and how they haven’t worked. She’s worked in-house, as well as an outside lawyer to dealers and finance companies. Patty is a frequent speaker on compliance topics, including presenting twice at NADA (2015 and 2016). She also publishes and is quoted in publications on compliance matters.
Michael Dachille
Michael Dachille is Managing Director of Business Development for Micro Graphic Information Services. Appointed to this position in August, 2012, Mr. Dachille is responsible for sales strategy and execution, acquisition, retention, customer service, marketing communications and general operations for all markets nationwide related to AutoTrieve.com. Prior to his current role, Mr. Dachille served for 15 years as Global Managing Director of Business Development for AlephGlobal-TransDev, where he grew market-share nearly 2000% during his tenure through innovative Strategic Planning, Marketing Communication & Sales Strategy, Channel Reseller Dev., Key Strategic Client Acquisition & Retention, Commercials & Contract Negotiations and more.
Gregory Deieso (Academy Presenter)
Gregory’s history reflects a mix of over 11 years of corporate experience with one of the best manufacturers in the world, BMW. 20 years of retail experience managing two of the premier high line auto groups in the NY metro market, extensive marketing and advertising experience with a major advertising agency, and finally the experience of owning an innovative mid-size automotive technology company. Automotive Manufacturer experience: BMW NA; held senior management positions in sales, marketing, and distribution. Automotive Retail experience: General Manager /VP of Operations for Paul Miller Auto Group, and for Jack Daniels Motors. Automotive Technology: SVP of Automotive Sales and Operations for Webnet Services. Marketing and Advertising: SVP for The Magna Group, one of the largest automotive marketing agencies in the US.
Paul Gillrie (Academy Presenter)
Paul founded the Gillrie Institute in 1992. Acclaimed as an auto dealer advocate and seminar speaker, Paul Gillrie is a favorite at local and national conferences. He has long served a diverse client base of dealers, CPA firms and attorneys. His unbiased reviews of the latest products from vendors have made Paul “the” authority on dealer technology and cost reduction. Gillrie was the Director of Training for a Dealer Management System (DMS) industry giant for fifteen years. To date, he and his team have assisted over 7,000 car dealers and groups in successful negotiations to purchase or update their systems.
Thomas Grenci (Academy Presenter)
Thomas Grenci is a Technical Manager and Principal for Environmental Compliance Monitoring, Inc. (ECM). Mr. Grenci has more than 30 years of experience working in the environmental field. His experience includes environmental management, regulatory compliance training, hazardous waste management, site remediation, laboratory analysis, ecological studies, and safety. Mr. Grenci has developed and implemented compliance training programs for staff, professional seminars, trade associations, and client based groups for multiple compliance topics. Training topics include health & safety, chemical hygiene plans, USDOT hazardous materials transportation, dangerous goods shipping, RCRA and CERCLA regulatory compliance, and laboratory procedures.
Randy Henrick (Academy Presenter)
Randy Henrick is DealerTrack’s Associate General Counsel for regulatory and compliance matters. He authors DealerTrack’s annual Compliance Guide and writes articles that appear in numerous legal and auto industry journals such as Dealer magazine as well as articles and video blogs on www.thecomplianceguide.com. Randy has over 30 years experience in banking and consumer financial services. Prior to DealerTrack, Randy served on the legal staffs of GE Capital, Citigroup, MasterCard International, and FleetBoston Financial. He lectures extensively to dealers on consumer credit laws and regulations, privacy, identity theft prevention, fair lending, the CFPB and other consumer auto finance compliance topics. In April 2011, Randy appeared as a panelist in Detroit at the FTC’s “The Road Ahead: Selling and Financing Automobiles” fact-finding roundtable. Randy also appeared as a commenter at the CFPB’s Auto Finance Hearing in Washington, DC in November 2013. Randy is an Adjunct Professor of Law at New York Law School where he teaches a course on U.S. Consumer Credit and Privacy Law and is the former Chairman of the Consumer Financial Services Committee of the New York State Bar Association. He is also a Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist and an AFIP Certified F&I Professional.
Scott Hubbard (Academy Presenter)
Scott serves as the corporate Compliance Manager for ECM and has over 25 years of experience in the management and implementation of environmental, health and safety (EHS) projects. Scott directs the ECM Compliance Department and also oversees the implementation of EHS training and practices for the company and for corporate and municipal clients. Scott graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelors degree in Environmental Science, is an active member and sits on the Safety Council of the New Jersey Water Environment Association (NJWEA), is a Council Member of the New Jersey Green Automotive Repair Program (NJGARP), and is a Senior Level Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (Institute of Hazardous Materials Control).
Brian Hughes (NJ CAR Director of Communications)
A 1992 graduate of Rutgers University, with degrees in English and Journalism, Mr. Hughes began his career as a reporter for the Forbes Newspaper chain. He wrote briefly for an international pharmaceutical publisher before moving into Corporate Communications, first at a Princeton-based telecommunications company and then at an insurance company in New York City. For the past 8 years, Mr. Hughes has served as Director of Communications at NJ CAR, responsible for all member communication vehicles including the NJ CAR NewsLetter, New Jersey Auto Retailer magazine, the NJ CAR website and social media, as well as other member and marketing collateral.
Dina Mastellone, Esq.
Dina is the Director of Genova Burns LLC’s Human Resource Training & Audit Programs Practice Group and is Counsel in the firm’s Employment Litigation Practice Group. She provides employment law counseling and establishes and audits human resources policies and procedures. Dina also conducts training sessions on matters ranging from anti-harassment policy compliance, best HR practices, document and discipline to leaves of absences in accordance with all employment laws. She also conductions on-site harassment and whistleblower investigations and drafts and negotiates employment-related agreements.
Bruce Mazzarelli
Bruce works at Fotek Insurance Solutions, a division of HUB International.
Ali Mendiola
Ali Mendiola is Manager, Business Development- Digital Retailing Solutions, at Dealertrack Technologies. She is responsible for educating dealers on current and projected automotive shopping habits, as well as technological advancements that will allow dealers to cater to their online customers.
Paul Metrey (Academy Presenter)
Paul D. Metrey is the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the National Automobile Dealers Association. He represents dealer interests before, and educates dealers on, regulations promulgated by several federal agencies including the Federal Reserve Board, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, Department of the Treasury, and Internal Revenue Service. Metrey is the author and editor of several NADA publications, including the 2014 NADA Fair Credit Compliance Policy & Program. He frequently speaks to dealers, Automotive Trade Association Executives, dealership compliance professionals, and other industry groups on an array of regulatory topics, including recent federal developments in the areas of credit, privacy, identity theft, telemarketing, and taxation. Prior to joining NADA, Metrey served as an attorney with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and as an active duty Army JAG officer. Metrey obtained a Juris Doctorate degree from Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Virginia Tech.
Brad Miller, Esq.
Brad Miller, Esq. is the Associate Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs in the Legal and Regulatory Group of the National Automobile Dealers Association. He represents dealer interests before numerous federal agencies, and educates dealers on regulations promulgated by those agencies including the Federal Reserve Board, FTC, FCC, IRS and Department of the Treasury. Brad reports on regulatory developments in several association publications and serves as a primary staff advisor to NADA’s Regulatory Affairs Committee. He has spoken to dealer groups and others around the country on federal regulatory issues facing dealers, and is the author and editor of numerous NADA publications on an array of regulatory topics. Prior to NADA, Brad was in private practice with the Washington, D.C. law firm, WilmerHale where his practice included representing companies and individuals in state and federal litigation and before numerous federal agencies.
Bill Parlaman (Academy Presenter)
Bill Parlaman is Vice President of VP of Digital Marketing at Stream Companies and is responsible for the SEO, PPC, Social Media and Inbound Marketing teams. Prior to joining Stream, Bill founded Radical Marketing Solutions, a Philadelphia-based small business Internet marketing and SEO agency. He launched his first online business in 2006 and quickly learned there was a lot more to running an online business than simply creating a website. He took the leap into direct response marketing, SEO, website design, social media, and website conversion optimization.
Glenn Pasch (Academy Presenter)
Glenn Pasch is a trainer, speaker, writer, coach and operations strategist as well as a customer service fanatic. As the COO and Partner of PCG Digital Marketing and PCG Consulting he works with executive management and internal teams to develop new strategies around Digital Marketing initiatives that will enable businesses to achieve their desired objectives and priorities. Glenn has more than 20 years of experience with a proven track record of leading diverse teams of professionals to new levels of achievement in a variety of highly competitive markets and fast paced environments.
Brian Pasch (Academy Presenter)
Brian Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital Marketing, has built his business insights and strategy on a foundation consisting of over 20 years of Information Technology and Marketing leadership. His career history includes work in the public sector, Senior Telecom Analyst on Wall Street and has an incredible talent for building successful private enterprises. Since 1984, Brian has been recognized as a builder of world-class data warehousing models, a creator of award winning search marketing strategies and the highest rated Internet Trainer in the automotive industry. Brian’s ability to speak authoritatively to business leaders and their technical teams on business architecture, marketing, and sales helped to catapult their growth and credibility. Brian is an active speaker at automotive industry conferences, 20 Groups, and digital marketing workshops. His popular training programs makes him an in demand speaker.
Perry Pittenger, Esq.
In 2000, Perry Pittenger, along with Ted Schiller, established Schiller & Pittenger, P.C., which offers legal services in a wide variety of practice areas. Prior to establishing Schiller & Pittenger, Perry served as Vice President and General Counsel of Toresco Auto Group, a privately held management company that operated multiple automobile franchises in a number of states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Florida.
David Regn (Academy Presenter)
David Regn co-founded Stream Companies in 1996. The company began as a traditional advertising company, but has grown into a full-fledged digital agency as well, featuring a full production suite, web development team and experts in SEO, SEM and social marketing. David currently oversees all daily operations.
Tom Rizzuto
Tom Rizzuto is a Managing Director and Counsel working in the Private Non-Profit department of Bond & Professional Products in New York. Tom has previously held both management and non-management claim positions with AIG, CNA and Gulf Insurance, handling mostly Employment Practices Liability claims. Additionally, Tom was a Specialty Claims Attorney for the Technology Claims Department of Travelers handling technology claims which encompassed cyber liability, intellectual property, copyright and trademark as well as errors and omissions liability. In his current role, Tom manages a team dealing with EPL, D&O and Fiduciary claims. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Adelphi University and his Juris Doctor from New England Law School.
David Robertson
David Robertson is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals (AFIP), a nonprofit continuing education association that certifies in-dealership financial services practitioners to applicable state and federal regulations and implements an enforced code of ethics. He also works as an expert witness, consultant, lobbyist and spokesman for issues related to the F&I segment.
Mark Rodriguez (Academy Presenter)
Mark Rodriguez is President and founder of Auto Client Care, Inc, a provider of Sales and Fixed Operations solutions. Mark has served the automotive industry for the past twenty years. He brings his passion for coaching and training to those who have the desire to take their automotive phone skill sets to the next level. He has had the opportunity to work with and learn from some of the more progressive dealerships on the East Coast. Whether conducting in dealership training or conducting monthly Sales and Service BDC workshops, his straightforward approach to training and not leaving anyone behind has made him a very sought after trainer and coach.
Michael Roppo (Academy Presenter)
Michael Roppo is considered one of the most influential service business performance Analysts and Trainers in the automotive dealership industry. Michael specializes in Fixed Operations, service, and selling management driven training concepts. He has authored many highly acclaimed books and publications including How To Master The Art Of Selling Value Added Service, Dealership Training manuals and dealership management newsletters reporting on the industry. He is recognized as a true professional when it comes to influencing the service business with a focus on customer retention, loyalty, and professional development. Michael Roppo heads Fixed Operations Training and Consulting and is a Partner of Automotive Domain Consulting, Training & Business Development/ a consulting division of The Mironov Group, LLC. Michael presents at many automotive industry seminars and runs quarterly roundtable service and sales meetings.
Richard Sabo
Richard Sabo’s automotive career spans over forty years. A Scotch Plains native, his high school auto shop teacher can be credited with the development of Richard’s fascination with cars and how they represent one’s personality. After rewiring the harness of his first car, Rich moved on to racing cars as a young adult. The thrill of racing and the intricacies of performance vehicles were the gateway to a highly successful career in the auto industry following his college experiences and Hofstra certifications. Influencing his career, experiences with Joe Verde, Jim Ziegler, and Automotive Profit Builders, add zeal to the personal attention Richard focuses on in his performance in dealership roles as well as his role as sales trainer. Serving as Sales Manager, General Sales Manager, Finance Manager, Used Car Manager, Service consultant, and an Auction Ace, Richard sees the automotive industry from many points of view and expertise. With a focus on highly satisfied customers and dealer profit, proper planning and preparation, he promotes performance in all phases of successful sales. Sharing successful strategies and techniques are highlights of Richard’s sales training sessions.
Susan Sbarro (Academy Presenter)
Susan Sbarro, Director of NJ CAR Motor Vehicle Operations, is responsible for the various divisions, procedures and staff at the Coalition’s 770 River Road location. Ongoing communication with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and direct involvement with day-to-day procedural changes enable Sue to provide dealers with an annual edition of the NJ CAR Motor Vehicle Training and Reference Manual. This material is incorporated into Motor Vehicle training seminars that take place in Spring and Fall each year.
Stan Sher (Academy Presenter)
Stan Sher is the president of Dealer eTraining, a full service automotive internet sales, business development, and digital marketing consulting firm. A true internet professional, Stan has increased sales, improved processes, presence, and results to generate more profit for automotive dealerships nationwide. Stan has been proven to be effective as a sales consultant, sales manager, eCommerce director, and BDC Director. Dealer eTraining was built in order to help automotive dealerships improve sales from internet departments and digital marketing tactics. Stan is widely published and is also a recognized speaker.
Steve Sirko
Manager of ACV Auctions, Inc.
John Vreeland, Esq.
John is with Genova Burns.
Mike Waterman
VP of Sales at ACV Auctions, Inc.
Lou Young
Louis Young is the director of client services with WithumSmith+Brown (formerly The Mironov Group, LLC). He manages business practice issues, regulatory oversight issues and state tax compliance. He also provides assistance with business brokering and business development. Lou’s responsibilities include coordinating specialized services for clients. These include, but are not limited to, line-item benchmarking, internal controls, financial statement analysis, fixed operations financial analysis, information safeguarding, operational reviews and warranty analysis. He assists clients with state regulatory oversight issues, including general compliance, consumer affairs and sales tax issues. He also provides assistance in the merger or acquisition of businesses in the automotive industry and markets the firm’s accounting and consulting services to this sector.
Stu Zalud
Director of Strategic Business Development, ACV Auctions