AmeriCOM Team Members

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. He then moved on to serve as Chief Scientist with St. John’s Optical Systems, and later oversaw its day-to-day operations.

Moving from component development to mission system integration work, Dave assumed 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. His career then took him to Ball Aerospace where he served as an advanced systems manager and a responsible engineer 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 in the defense industry. He has also served as an adjunct professor teaching graduate level classes in infrared systems and radiometry.

Alexis Vogt, PhD serves as executive director of workforce and higher education at AmeriCOM. Dr. Vogt is also a tenured professor of optics and the endowed chair of the Optical Systems Technology program at Monroe Community College (MCC), the first college worldwide to award associate degrees in precision optics. In her first five years at MCC, Dr. Vogt secured over $6 million for the program.

Under her leadership, program enrollment and completion rates increased exponentially and laboratory renovations yielded 7,500 square feet of teaching space in four optic labs making use of $3.5 million of state-of-the-art optics manufacturing and metrology equipment. In her position at AmeriCOM, Dr. Vogt will expand her successful work at MCC to AmeriCOM partner colleges, faculty, students, and employers across the nation.
Prior to joining MCC, Dr. Vogt worked in the optics industry as Applications & Business Development Manager at Melles Griot (IDEX) and previous to that, designed contact lenses and intraocular lenses for Bausch + Lomb. In addition to her industry experience, Dr. Vogt holds three patents and has authored hundreds of papers, presentations, and publications in the field, including the definitions of “light” and “polarization” for World Book Encyclopedia. Dr. Vogt received her B.S. as well as her Ph.D. in Optics from the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester where her research focused on polarization engineering, coherence theory, and microscopy.

Dr. Vogt is an active member of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics and a senior member of Optica, formerly OSA, the Optical Society of America. She serves as a board member for the American Precision Optics Manufacturers Association (APOMA), the Rochester Museum & Science Center, the New York Photonics/Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster (RRPC), and the MCC Optical Systems Technology Advisory Board. In addition, she serves on the University of Rochester Hajim School of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council, the University of Rochester Institute of Optics Industrial Associates Director’s Advisory Council, and as the MCC Optics Club advisor.

Dr. Vogt is the recipient of the 2021 RRPC Leadership Award, the 2020 IEEE Technical Skills Educator Award, the 2018 National Women’s Hall of Fame Keeper of the Flame Award, and the 2017 New York Photonics Education Award. Her professional efforts have also been recognized with the Rochester Business Journal 2016 “Forty Under 40” award, the 2015 IDEX KEEP award for high performance, and the 2012 Bausch + Lomb CEO Award. With a commitment to the future of OPI industries, Dr. Vogt dedicates time to youth outreach and has been involved with coordinating and presenting optics demonstrations to children and educators both within the Rochester community and internationally. She is respected nationally as a speaker and role model for young women in optics.

Justin Sigley brings extensive research and hands-on development experience to his position at AmeriCOM. He earned his PhD in Physics from Wake Forest University specializing in microscopy techniques for hemostasis, cancer, and regenerative medicine research. Justin then moved on to serve as a research scientist at Tesseract Sensors developing porous silicon rugate filters for anti-counterfeit applications and covert optical gunshot sensors for schools and civic buildings. He then moved to St. Johns Optical Systems where he designed and managed a laboratory for developing low-cost MWIR focal plane arrays for defense and commercial applications.

Justin then accepted the role of Advanced Product Manager at BEAM Engineering for Advanced Measurements where he spent six years developing liquid crystal based diffractive optics and optical systems for applications ranging from non-mechanical beam steering to circular dichroism spectroscopy.

Justin is a subject matter expert in electro-optical systems engineering and has worked under several large defense programs including Army MAPS, DARPA WIRED, and DARPA POWER. Justin is an inventor on two patents, has written numerous publications, and has briefed members of Congress and ONR leadership on past research efforts.

Josanne DeNatale brings deep experience and energy to her role as workforce strategy and communications director.

She is responsible for the AmeriCOM brand identity and all external communications. Josanne also developed the strategic marketing campaign, The Future Is Optics, which raises awareness of the optics industry and builds interest in the many career pathways it supports. The awareness campaign also guides learners to the colleges where AmeriCOM has set up new programs for the training of optics technicians. Josanne’s work is built upon close collaboration with partners in secondary schools and institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, and industry in the development of workforce training ecosystems.  Through her communications strategies, Josanne promotes the urgent need for a trained optics workforce, gains the buy-in of educational partners, and simplifies the pathways for students to learn and enter into optics careers.

Before joining AmeriCOM, Josanne was president and co-founder of Cognitive Marketing Inc., a brand development and strategic marketing consultancy based in Rochester, NY, serving universities, colleges, independent schools, educationally oriented nonprofit organizations, and economic development initiatives across the country.

Josanne is particularly focused on educational equality and served as immediate past chair of the Board of Advisors of the Horizons Student Enrichment Program at The Harley School of Rochester and as an advisor to the Rochester College Access Network (RCAN) of the Rochester Education Foundation. She is a member of SPIE and represents AmeriCOM at the American Association of Community Colleges.

Bill Strong joins the team as the Director of Engineering, overseeing the operations of the AmeriCOM lab facility and activities in support of AmeriCOM’s research mission to develop advanced precision optics manufacturing technologies, testing equipment, and specialized materials required to support scalable manufacturing of lenses and optical components.

He has decades of experience in optics manufacturing and engineering roles having previously served as Director of Product Engineering at Rochester Precision Optics, a globally recognized manufacturer of precision optics for night vision applications. He was responsible for directing manufacturing operations, and led a team of engineers who created fixtures, improved yields, created work instructions, and continually improved areas in operations.

Bill graduated from Monroe Community College’s Optical Systems Technology Program, and later taught there as a full-time instructor for three years before returning to industry in an engineering leadership role. He also earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and an Executive MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Kirsten Nobel, PhD serves as Program Manager for Workforce and Higher Education, working with college partners and experts from industry to set up training labs for tomorrow’s optics technicians. The Workforce Development team seeks to expand AmeriCOM’s reach to new community colleges in optics-rich areas around the country.

Kirsten holds a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Rochester, specializing in human and machine vision, optical properties of the human eye and neural mechanisms of visual perception. Prior to joining AmeriCOM, Kirsten was a Solution Engineer in biometrics, designing face, finger and iris recognition systems used by the federal government for counter-terrorism and passport issuance.

Adam Dunn brings over a decade of experience in the optics industry working in various roles. Early on in his career Adam worked at OptiPro Systems supporting industry leaders and their needs to develop processes and solutions for optical fabrication and metrology. Adam then moved to Rochester Precision Optics (RPO) where he worked as Business Development and Marketing Manager, and later transitioning to Program Manager, supporting both commercial and Department of Defense-related programs of record.

In Adam’s most recent position with RPO he repeatedly demonstrated his ability to successfully lead cross-functional teams supporting multiple initiatives throughout the company, including but not limited to product development, DARPA/SBIR-funded initiatives, contract manufacturing, and lean manufacturing initiatives.

Adam was born and raised in Rochester, NY, and studied Business and Communications at St. John Fisher University. He is enthusiastic about the optics industry and is eager to contribute to the growth of technology and the workforce.

Peggy Trabert is AmeriCOM’s Marketing and Communications Manager. She works to promote both the AmeriCOM corporate mission and its marketing campaign, The Future Is Optics, which brings awareness of the optics industry and helps increase the national workforce of optics technicians. Peggy collaborates with creative support teams and with the academic, corporate, and non-profit partners established to build the workforce training ecosystems.

Peggy’s experience spans both graphic design and marketing. She started her career as an Art Director at a small Rochester ad agency, and then moved on to Sigma Marketing Group for 13 years as Associate Creative Director. While at Sigma, she grew her direct marketing skills as the age of personalized communications exploded. She was also self-employed for almost two decades as a graphic designer and marketing consultant with a variety of clients ranging from engineering companies and financial institutions to national non-profit organizations.

Donna Smith is AmeriCOM’s Science Educator Liaison, working to educate teachers, students, and the public about the role of precision optics in modern society and the opportunities available in the workplace.

She taught physics, earth science, and a dual credit optics class during her 30-year high school teaching career. Donna received the Excellence in High School Teaching Award from the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester and the Education Award from New York Photonics.

Donna has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from SUNY Geneseo and a Master of Science degree in Secondary Education from SUNY Brockport. She holds New York State certifications in physics, earth science, biology, and chemistry.