The Ohio Federal Research Network Team

General Bartman is the founder of 9G Consulting LLC and currently serves as a consultant to the Senior Vice President of the Office of Research, The Ohio State University. General Bartman’s most recent military assignment was as the Adjutant General, Ohio National Guard, Joint Force Headquarters, Columbus, Ohio, from 2015 to 2019. He was a member of the Governor’s cabinet and was responsible for the command of the Ohio National Guard and the military readiness of the Ohio Militia. General Bartman graduated from The Ohio State University in 1982 and entered military service in September 1982 through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program as a distinguished graduate from Detachment 645. General Bartman has served in numerous staff and operations positions in the United States Air Force and the Ohio Air National Guard to include serving as the Air National Guard lead to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force for the Total Force Task Force and commanding the 180th Fighter Wing. He is a command pilot with more than 3,200 flying hours, including 29 combat missions in Operations Provide Comfort, Northern Watch, and Southern Watch.

Ms. Becky Mescher is the Ohio Federal Research Network (OFRN) Program Coordinator and has been a part of OFRN since its inception in 2015. In her role, Becky ensures that research projects are developed and executed in accordance with program criteria and partner expectations. Becky joined Parallax Advanced Research in 2014 as the Communication and Event Manager for the Alliance for Human Effectiveness & Advancement (AHEAD) program. Prior to joining Parallax, Becky served as the Assistant Director of Administration & Operations at the University of Dayton Center for Leadership. During her 25-year tenure at the University, she managed professional development programs for businesses throughout the Dayton region. Becky has an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in management from the University of Dayton. Becky has over 30 years of experience in program coordination and event planning, as well as is certified in Personnel Decisions International (PDI) 360 assessments for executives and managers.

John Owen, MPA, is an accomplished program manager with a proven record of securing funding for workforce, community, and regional economic development. Currently he holds the position of Program Manager at Parallax Advanced Research, a private 501(c)3 nonprofit research institute, where he manages efforts to build entrepreneurial and research networks.

Over the last decade, John’s focus has been on building a strong entrepreneurial and commercialization ecosystem in Dayton, Ohio. This led to the creation of the Dayton Tech Guide which eventually became Launch Dayton, a partnership of 20+ entrepreneurial organization committed to building an intentionally inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem in Dayton, Ohio. This has transitioned from early stage, grass roots community building and awareness campaigns to the systematic development of programs and resources needed as the community scales.

John’s educational background encompasses a Bachelor of Arts from Baldwin-Wallace College and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from Wright State University. In addition, John earned his Certified Nonprofit Professional from the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, is a certified Innovation Strengths Preference Indicator Certified Practitioner. John is a graduate of Leadership Dayton, a Dayton Business Journal 40 Under 40 winner, and has completed the Stretch Strategic Leaders program.

Beyond his professional endeavors, John worked extensively with TEDxDayton from 2013-2022 in logistics and production committee chair roles and chaired the entire event in 2018 and 2019.

Ms. Jessica Pacheco has nine years' experience in marketing and communications across non-profit, for-profit and government industries. She is certified in Google Analytics, content marketing, search marketing and competitive analysis. Ms. Pacheco has a Master of Media Communications and a Bachelor of Linguistics.

Ms. Emma Zardo has eight years’ experience in marketing, communications and design across academia, nonprofit, and government sectors. She is skilled in written and verbal communication and specializes in content creation. Ms. Zardo has a Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies with a concentration in Business Administration.

Steven Price is an associate with the Ohio Federal Research Network (OFRN). He supports OFRN by connecting academic, industry, and federal partners to collaborate on government areas of interest. Steven began working with OFRN during round 6 opportunities, where he successfully assisted the team by reaching out to more Ohio academic institutions, leading to higher proposal involvement.

Steven also has a background with the military. He has served in the U.S. Air Force for ten years, where he received training to configure, maintain, and upgrade computer networks. He served seven years on active duty, where he spent the entirety of his operational time with the 2d Communications Squadron at Barksdale AFB in Shreveport, Louisiana. While there, he completed two deployments to the Middle East supporting Operation INHERENT RESOLVE. After finishing his active-duty commitment, Steven transitioned to the Ohio Air National Guard, where he currently serves with the 251st Cyberspace Engineering Installation Group in Springfield, Ohio. There, he helps plan training objectives for unit exercises so that members stay qualified on job requirements before heading out for deployments.