About Us

Nicholas Campanelli is currently the Director of Engineering for Curtiss Wright Target Rock in Farmingdale, NY. He is responsible for leading the entire Engineering Department for all company offerings including nuclear valves, actuators, and flow control equipment. He has been with Curtiss Wright for 26 years and prior to that, worked for General Dynamics Electric Boat Division, producing nuclear submarines for the US Navy.

Mr. Campanelli holds a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Marine Engineering from SUNY Maritime College and is a NYS Registered Professional Engineer.

Carl Froehlich received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Hofstra University in 1993, attending classes part time in the evenings. Over the last 27 years, Carl has held management positions predominately in the manufacturing sector, product development engineering, and more recently, project management. He has worked for companies in both regulated-commercial and consumer products industries, including Safe Fleet Corporation, Samsung Electronics America, Northrop Grumman, Schaltbau NA and Esselte Corp.

Chris Guagliano graduated from Hofstra University in 2016, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering with minors in Mathematics and Computer Science. He serves as co-chair of Hofstra University’s Engineering Industry Advisory Board. From 2016 to 2022, he worked on cloud-based GPS algorithms, cognitive electronic warfare/electronic attack systems, inertial navigation systems, and artificial intelligence for Lockheed Martin. In parallel, Chris completed his Master of Science degree in Computer Science with a concentration in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning from Johns Hopkins University. Since May 2022, Chris is working as a senior artificial intelligence engineer at Microsoft. On the weekends, you can find Chris surfing in Long Beach, NY or snowboarding in Vermont.

Malika Hall graduated from Hofstra University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, and she is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Engineering Management. During her time at Hofstra, Malika was actively involved in NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) and Residential Life. Since then, she has gone on to work for United Parcel Service, Estee Lauder Companies, and Amazon Web Services. She currently works within Estée Lauder Companies as the Director of Business Process. Estée Lauder is the global leader for prestige beauty. Since graduating from Hofstra, Ms. Hall has transitioned through roles in continuous improvement, supply chain and technical project management exploring the various applications of industrial engineering. She currently serves as a youth advisor within the fellowship board at St. Paul’s Methodist Church, and co-chair of WSC (Women in Supply Chain Board) at Estee Lauder companies. She has a vast number of personal interests including traveling and spending time with her family. She shares a great deal of passion for driving the numbers of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers as well as helping support those trying to break into this industry.

Ian Harris, retired in 2023 with more than 50 years of experience in the semiconductor industry. He was Vice President for Microchip Technology in Hauppauge NY, a supplier of embedded controllers, non-volatile memories, mixed signal and analog products and led the Microchip Computer Products Business Unit supplying specialized embedded controllers and associated products to the PC and server markets. In this role he was responsible for business unit profitability and revenue growth and the management of the engineering, marketing, and sales/applications support functions. Prior to being acquired by Microchip Technology in 2012, Ian was at SMSC for 26 years growing from a Principal Design Engineer to Vice President of Engineering then Vice President of the Computing Products Business Unit. Throughout Microchip Technology and SMSC roles he led new product introduction and development, coordinating with key clients and infrastructure partners to enable cost-effective innovative solutions for the management of the PC and server environment. Some functional examples of these solutions are PC input/output capability, motherboard communications, thermal and sensor management, and platform secure boot. Ian also drove the selection of the manufacturing CMOS semiconductor technology used by these products, both logic and non-volatile memory.

Ian has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Digital Techniques from Herriot Watt University in Edinburgh Scotland.

Michael Hrybenko has been President of Comtech PST Corp. since 2014. Comtech PST designs, developments and manufactures a wide range of high-performance, high-power RF and Microwave products for the electronic warfare, communications and radar markets. Comtech PST products, used in a wide range of industrial and military systems, are developed by a diverse team of engineering talent in the fields of business development, RF/Microwave circuit design, mechanical design and product manufacturing.

Michael joined Comtech PST as Director of RF Technologies in 2004 and became the Vice President of Engineering and RF Technologies in 2005. Michael demonstrated strong leadership as he became well versed in all aspects of the business, leading to his position as President.

Prior to joining Comtech PST, he held engineering management and design positions at Powerwave Technologies from 2003 to 2004, Ericsson Amplifier Technologies from 2000 to 2003 and Microwave Power Devices from 1987 to 2000. Michael received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Polytechnic University / New York University.

Although born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut, Amanda put her roots down on Long Island after graduating from Hofstra University’s Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science in 2013. She started her career as a manufacturing engineer at Spellman High Voltage in Hauppauge after working there as an intern during her last two years at Hofstra. Eventually, she had the opportunity to join North Atlantic Industries in Bohemia as an industrial engineer, a position which has allowed her to develop and lead many different teams and gain widespread experience in electronics manufacturing over the last six years. She has mentored several industrial engineering interns at North Atlantic, and continues to support Hofstra and its engineering students as a member of both the Engineering Department IAB and SEAS Alumni Association Committee.

Since May 2018, Frank Jacovino has held the position of Vice President Operations and Product Development for Advanced Convergence Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, APlus Technology & Security, APlus STEM Labs, and IPVideo COrporation. Prior to this role, Mr. Jacovino served as Vice President Product Development at IPVideo Corporation since 2015, where he guided the strategic direction and product development for their Physical Security Integration Management, Video Management System and Audio-Visual product lines.

From 2010 to 2014 he held the position of Vice President of Worldwide Engineering for Vicon, a manufacturer of cameras and video management software for the security industry. In prior years, 2001 to 2009, Mr. Jacovino held the position of General Manager for RVSI, a manufacturer of cameras LIDAR and 3D machine vision software for the semiconductor industry. In 1989, RVSI disrupted the Semiconductor Inspection industry when it introduced the LS-200 family of Inspection technology. The 3D LIDAR technology enabled the semiconductor industry to transition from the thru hole semiconductor packaging to surface mount by inspecting the semiconductor chips and ensuring they could be properly soldered to printed circuit boards. In 2004 RVSI introduced the WS-3000 Wafer Inspection System. The WS-3000 utilized 3D Lidar to inspect semiconductor wafers and their micron sized features allowing the Semiconductor Industry to transition to Wafer Level Packaging.

Mr. Jacovino joined RVSI in 1985 as a software engineer and held leadership positions of increasing responsibility in both the engineering and operations organizations. The team at RVSI grew revenues for the corporation from under $10M in 1986 to over $250M in the year 2000. He is co-owner of two patents developed while he was at RVSI. Mr. Jacovino holds BSEE and MSCS degrees from Polytechnic University.

Senior engineering professional with 25+ years of experience in technology development (thermal/fluids engineering & applications, electro-mechanical systems for automation and control, micro-systems, experimental methods, metrology & sensor development for challenging applications).

Since September 2018, Mr. Philips has been the President of GeoSync Microwave, Incorporated, a leading developer and manufacturer of microwave communications products with the principal application in satellite communications. GeoSync is an independent, Hauppauge, Long Island-located company founded in 2008 and has consistently grown and prospered over the past decade. Prior to assuming the presidency of GeoSync, Mr. Philips was the Vice president of GeoSync for six years leading the engineering design team in creating the microwave products that drove the company’s growth. Before joining GeoSync, Mr. Philips was at MITEQ, for 25+ plus years rising from a technician to the satellite communication (Satcom) division head responsible for over $40 million in annual sales and supervising a staff of 130.

Mr. Philips has a BSE from Widener University and has completed advanced graduate work in business administration from Brooklyn Poly. A long time native of Long Island, Mr. Philips is married with three children. He is active in community affairs and is a leader and contributor to the local Boy Scouts troop.

Christopher W. Robinson, P.E. is President and Managing Partner of R&M Engineering, a multi-faceted civil engineering firm located in Huntington, NY. After earning his BS in Civil Engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1986, Christopher honed his craft at a well-established civil engineering firm on Long Island. He founded R&M Engineering in 1999 to provide his clients with more personal and individualized service. Over the past 20 years, R&M has grown to over 30 employees that serve the Long Island and New York City markets. Christopher’s area of expertise is land development, land use planning and construction engineering. He resides in Northport, NY with his wife, Margot, and has three grown children.

Michael Licata oversees LiRo’s MEP, Telecom, Civil/ Structural Engineering divisions, which typically have a portfolio of 250-300 active projects. He has helped manage more than 200 projects in the last five years, totaling more than $200 million in construction costs.

When Mike first joined LiRo, he managed a team of seven employees who mostly designed healthcare spaces for a single client. Since Mike took on his leadership role, MEP staff increased by more than 500 percent to 36 people and gross revenue increased by an average of 30 percent per year. Mike diversified the MEP project portfolio to include public sector projects, energy sector projects, and K-12 projects in addition to healthcare projects. Under Mike’s leadership, LiRo established a heavy MEP presence in Buffalo, N.Y., and New York City, and LiRo acquired a new telecommunications division.

Mike fostered growth in the MEP design division by ensuring LiRo design documents are technically sound and high quality. He starts by identifying, interviewing, and hiring talented staff. He creates, communicates, and enforces quality control procedures for all calculations and design drawings and specifications. He standardizes management tools and procedures that keep projects moving on schedule and within budget. Mike maintains high employee morale by encouraging social employee events and by creating an open forum for employee input during monthly meetings. He identifies projects that LiRo is well suited for and writes up compelling proposals that win LiRo the work. Mike’s success as a leader directly results from the skills he brings to the position. His carefully developed project management tools and procedures that minimize inefficiency. His unique ability to anticipate and identify problems in both project management and design minimizes risk. And his dedication to producing high quality, technically sound products has earned LiRo a spot on the MEP Giants Ranking.

Mike holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Hofstra University and earned his Certificate in Building Electrical Systems Design from NYU. He is a Professional Engineer (NY, NJ, CT, LA, GA, NC, FL, TX, KY, MA, MO, NV), CEM, CEA, HFDP, and a licensed contractor in Louisiana.

Brandon Sulikowski is the founder and president of Klima New York, LLC, one of the fastest-growing manufacturer rep firms in the New York metropolitan area. He has worked in the HVAC industry for more than 15 years, with roles in consulting engineering, manufacturing and contracting. Brandon graduated from Hofstra University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Wayne Thompson is VP of Telecom and Internet Management at Altice, overseeing voice engineering and operations, voice and data expense management, vendor relationship, contract management, and circuits and capacity management for Altice.

Prior to joining Altice, Mr. Thompson owned a telecommunications and engineering company and worked at Verizon. He is the founder and executive director of Strategic Opportunities Achieving Results (S.O.A.R!), a nonprofit organization focused on mentorship, scholarship and educational assistance. Additionally, he is president of the board for the Child Care Council of Nassau County, a board member of the Black Employee Affinity Network at Altice, Urban League of Long Island, and Bethel Christian Church. He the chief organizer of the Long Island Entrepreneurship Conference (LIEC), bringing together entrepreneurs to share insight, information, resources, and networking opportunities.

Mr. Thompson earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, was honored in Luminaries Class of 2019 by National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC), one of the 40 emerging leaders under the age of 40 in Cable and Telecommunications and as one of Cablefax’s most influential minorities in Cable. He was also recognized with the YGB Community Empowerment Award for his work with S.O.A.R!

Michael Viggiano, Executive Vice President for Skanska USA Civil, has overall responsibility for Skanska operations from Washington DC up through Boston. Under Mr. Viggiano’s leadership, Skanska’s Northeast operations have successfully averaged over a billion dollars in revenue over the past five years. Skanska is currently working on or has completed some of New York City’s largest and most difficult projects like the World Trade Center, Second Avenue Subway, Kosciuszko Bridge, Moynihan Train Hall, and the redevelopment of Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport.

Michael has over 26 years with Skanska, working his way up through the organization starting as a field engineer back in 1993. Michael has been serving as the Executive Vice President since his designation back in 2011. His resume includes some impressive projects like the modernizations of the Herald Square, Penn, and Times Square subway stations, as well as the design build of the Corona Maintenance Facility and Yard.

Mr Viggiano is very active within the New York construction industry, serving in several key industry positions. He is the former President of the General Contractors Association, and is an active member of the Moles, as well as a member of the Deep Foundations Institute and the American Society of Quality Control.

Michael is a graduate of Hofstra University with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering, and is also a New York State-licensed Professional Engineer.

Michael is a longtime resident of Long Island and is currently living in Centerport. He is very happily married to his wife, Deborah, and he has two great kids, Georgia (21) and Nicholas (18). Mike enjoys spending his weekends boating, spending time with his family, and playing a little softball and golf.

Aaron Choo is the Vice President of National Grid’s Downstate New York Gas Field Operations & Programs, responsible for the financial, operational, and customer-focused performance of Gas Field Operations and managing relationships with regulators, government officials, and the communities National Grid serves in the New York Metro area and on Long Island.

Aaron is committed to ensuring the delivery of safe, reliable, resilient, and affordable gas service to 1.8 million customers in National Grid’s Downstate territory, as well as to advancing National Grid’s and New York’s clean energy goals.

In his 20-year tenure at National Grid and its legacy companies, Aaron has served in several operational roles, most recently serving as Director of Gas Field Operations in National Grid’s NYC territory. Aaron has held leadership positions with responsibility in, Community and Customer Management, Customer Operations and Electric Generation, that has enabled him to become a dynamic energy professional.

He is a former board member of the Association of Black Professionals, an employee resource group, which provides support and resources for the professional growth of National Grid employees and advances the company's inclusion and diversity vision. Aaron is also a member of the American Association of Blacks in Energy which is a national association that focuses on representing the voice for African Americans and other minorities on energy policy, regulations, and environmental issues. He is a current board member and serving as Secretary of Empire Clean Cities (ECC), a not-for-profit environmental organization with a mission of advancing the nation's economic, environmental, and energy security by reducing petroleum consumption in the transportation sector and ensuring clean air for future generations. December 2021, Aaron was elected to the Board of Directors for United Way of Long Island. UWLI is an organization whose mission is to advance the common good, helping to create better lives for the most vulnerable and at-risk communities throughout Long Island.

Aaron has a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Hofstra University and a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from Baruch College. He is a licensed fundamental engineer in New York State. Aaron is also one of the first Gates Millennium Scholars, which provides good-through-graduation scholarships for 1,000 talented students each year nationwide.

Will Velkoff is a Professional Engineer in the State of New York. He is a graduate of Lafayette College in Easton, PA (2010) with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and a graduate of SUNY at Stony Brook with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (2014). He is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration with Hofstra University.

Currently, Will is the director of engineering at Curtiss-Wright, Target Rock Division in Farmingdale, NY. He has been in this role since August 2022. Prior to this role, he was the design engineering manager (2017-2022), a project engineer (2012-2017), and a design engineer (2010-2012). Curtiss-Wright, Target Rock Division is a designer and manufacturer of valves used in critical nuclear reactor power plant systems. In his current role, he is responsible for overseeing all engineering activities, including research and development, production engineering, and welding engineering for his 40+ employee team. On a day to day basis, the engineering team is responsible for performing valve design and analysis in accordance with various military and commercial codes (ASME), manufacturing and qualification testing of new and improved products, and managing all roles of production valve projects from specification review, drawing release, and manufacturing/assembly support.

Additionally, Will has approximately 13 years of experience working as an automotive race engineer. He has had a key role in projects ranging from Formula SAE at Lafayette College (where he won the Senior Capstone Design Award), racing shock/strut design, and suspension design, analysis, and manufacturing. Will works part time as a race engineer for a Semi-Pro Formula 2000 team, and owns/races a formula car as well.

Richard Ocken is founding president of MLJ Contracting, a public works general contractor in New York that performs heavy civil projects for all local infrastructure agencies including the MTA, Port Authority, and NYC agencies. MLJ is a member of the Iovino Enterprises family of companies, and commenced operations in January 2018. To date, MLJ has acquired a portfolio of projects having gross value in excess of $2 billion. MLJ’s projects include some of the highest profile in the city including the reconstruction of the Times Square/Grand Central Shuttle; restoration of the Brooklyn Bridge’s arches and towers; and the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project for the NYC-DDC. For more than 35 years, Richard has held executive positions as contractor, construction manager, and agency executive (including as founding deputy commissioner of the NYC-DDC). He has a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania, and a master’s degree in management from the MIT Sloan School. 

Bob O’Neill is the vice president of operations for Silverite Construction Company. He graduated from Hofstra University in 1973 with a BS in engineering science with the structural option, and went on to spend 15 years with the design firm Ebasco Engineering Corp. Bob then joined the team at Silverite Construction Company Inc., where he has spent 30 years specializing in NYC Public Works projects. He began Silverite as project manager overseeing the detailed construction operations onsite. For the last 10 years, Bob has been vice president of operations managing all aspects of construction projects.

Bob is a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam.