Patricia Devlin joined The University of Georgia’s Rome Office of the Small Business Development Center in  September  2020.  Patricia brings with her 28 years of financial service experience.  Before joining the SBDC Patricia worked in the Dalton Community banking industry.  Patricia has extensive knowledge in the areas of commercial and consumer lending, packaging loans, and business development.  Patricia is a native of Dalton.  She is excited to be a part of the SBDC and is excited to be able to continue helping clients in their small business endeavors.

Experience:

Assistant Vice President-First Bank of Dalton-Consumer and Commercial Lender, Branch Manager,  Loan portfolio of 300 + averaging $12,000,000.

Community Engagement Lead-Support many local non-profits such as The Whitfield County Miracle Field which serves local youth who have disabilities that let them have the same experiences of playing baseball just as the children that do not have a disability.

First Security Group-Vice President-Commercial Lender ; Loan Portfolio of 250+ $10,000,000

Education:

B.S. Business Organizational Management; Magna Cum Laude; Belhaven University 2015

Various Certificates from Georgia Bankers Association

Certificate of Achievement-Private Investigations, Dalton College Continuing Education

Certificate of Achievement-Paralegal Studies-Dalton College Continuing Education

Achievements:

2018 Business Person of the Year-Morris Innovative High School

Advisory Board Member-Dalton High School, Morris Innovative, Southeast High School

Advisory Board Chair-Whitfield County 4-H

Holding classes teaching Financial Literacy at the following schools:  Southeast Whitfield High School, Cohulla Creek High School, Morris Innovative School, Dalton High School, and  Dug Gap Elementary School.

Nora serves as a business consultant for the UGA SBDC in Rome. She has a diverse background with extensive experience in management, human resources, manufacturing, quality assurance, and accounting/tax planning. Prior to joining the SBDC, Nora worked for a fortune 500 manufacturing company, an international software/education company, and operated her own consulting firm. 

Nora was born in Michoacán, Mexico but moved to North Georgia at age 12. She attended high school in Rome and received her undergraduate and MBA from Shorter University.  When not at work, Nora continues to pursue her passion for helping others.  In 2010, she founded a non-profit entity, Casa Michoacán, with the mission of enhancing the wellbeing of the community through enhancements in infrastructure.   Nora is fluent in both English and Spanish. 

Education 

• MBA, Shorter University (Management) 
• BS,  Shorter University  (Business Administration) 

Certifications 

• QuickBooks Pro Advisor 
• Bookkeeping, American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers  
• Immigration Law Certificate University of Georgia 

Experience 

• UGA SBDC (Business Consultant) 
• NG Consulting, LLC (Owner CEO) 
• Shaw Industries (Training Manager ) 
• Wolters Kluwer (Tax and Accounting) 

Accomplishments

• Coordinated/led product-planning process between product manager, marking and sales departments.  
• Developed first Spanish language AIPB bookkeeping certification course for Wolters Kluwer. 
• Concept development, launch, and funding of a non-profit which funded infrastructure projects in Michoacán, Mexico. 

Leadership

• 20 under 40 for the Rome Life Magazine in 2016 

Dan Hudgins joined the UGA Small Business Development Center in 2020 and brings over 25 years of experience working in the textile and healthcare industries and public accounting. This experience included working in a family-owned carpet manufacturer where the margins were small and cash was tight, working for a Fortune 500 Healthcare company where he helped open a new hospital and served as CFO at four different locations, and serving as VP of Finance for a healthcare startup that had two hospitals. These experiences taught him how to work with small teams, manage cash, revenue cycle improvement, and financial reporting and forecasting.

When he’s not helping small businesses, Dan enjoys hiking, hunting, and riding his motorcycle.

Education

· Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting, University of Georgia Terry College of Business

Experience

· Carpet Crafts, Inc (Controller)

· St Catherine Healthcare (Sr VP Finance)

· Kindred Healthcare(CFO)

Accomplishments

· Improved profit from $20M to over $31M

· Decreased A/R Days from 90 to 54 and from 70 to 39

· Obtained $2.5M A/R financing for each facility

· Set up reimbursement for Behavioral Health Units

Mr. Montanaro brings more than 20 years of experience as a senior executive to his role as an SBDC area director. Montanaro’s industry experience includes textile and apparel manufacturing, specialty chemical manufacturing, and investment banking/consulting with responsibility for facilities and relationships in the US, Mexico, Central America/Caribbean, Spain, Northern South America and China.

Mr. Montanaro grew up in North Georgia attending high school in Dalton, receiving his undergraduate from Berry College in Rome, GA and receiving his MBA from Kennesaw State University. While Richard has spent the last several years working across the United States and internationally, he has always maintained his home in North Georgia. Mr. Montanaro speaks both English and Spanish fluently and is learning Brazilian Portuguese.

Matt’s previous work experience includes financial management positions in the computer, freight/logistics and investment management industries. He also owned a business in northwest Georgia. He has worked in the Fortune 100, international business, and start-up operations. He brings an extensive background in the areas of financial planning and analysis, general management, business modeling, cash management, management reporting, taxes, sale & acquisition of businesses, and payroll & personnel management. With this broad background and perspective, he is able to help his clients determine the best course of action for their businesses or situations.

Thalia Torres joined the UGA SBDC office as Program Coordinator in November of 2020. She graduated from Kennesaw State University with a B.S. in Exercise Science. For the last five years, she has played a crucial role in the operations of her family’s small businesses. She, also, has worked as a Customer Service Representative for Farmers Insurance. Her strengths and focuses are through healthcare, administration, marketing, blogging, writing, sales, and research. She has a passion and initiative to help small businesses, ranging from all kinds of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, succeed.