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.

Mike Pomerantz joins the AmeriCOM team as Director of Engineering and Manufacturing at our Fabrication Laboratory, or COM-Lab. Mike will lead the team that works with clients to help develop manufacturing solutions for industry and academic research using a wide variety of manufacturing and metrology tools.

Mike has 20 years of experience at Optimax Systems, Inc., where he held a variety of manufacturing and metrology roles as well as providing project planning, process development, and team leadership. He also spent 10 years in academia, as both researcher and educator, at the University of Rochester, where he  worked with graduate and undergraduate students at the Institute of Optics in the Center for Freeform Optics and Mechanical Engineering departments. Mike also serves as faculty at Monroe Community College, managing the manufacturing and metrology labs for the Optical Systems Technology program.

Born and raised in the Rochester area, Mike has a background in Mechanical Engineering. He is passionate about manufacturing and developing solutions that will advance manufacturing and metrology for the optics industry into the future.

Sarah Larysz is a cybersecurity and IT compliance expert with over a decade of experience bridging the gap between technical rigor and accessible communication. With her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Nazareth University and her Master’s degree in Cybersecurity Engineering from Utica College, Sarah brings a deep understanding of threat analysis, regulatory compliance (NIST, NERC CIP, SOX, ISO, HITRUST), and secure systems development to her work.

She has worked extensively in Washington, D.C., in the Government Sector, supporting NERC CIP and DHS audits through security analysis, access reviews, and evidence documentation. Also an experienced software engineer, Sarah has led custom web development and API integration projects with a focus on PCI compliance, data protection, and UX design.

Sarah is passionate about creating secure, user-friendly systems and communicating cybersecurity best practices through clear, actionable documentation. When not auditing systems or designing web applications, she teaches computer classes at local libraries, serves on the Board of Bristol Valley Theater, and works to increase cybersecurity and technical literacy in rural communities.

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 programs.

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.

Magda brings over a decade of experience in higher education. Previously, she served as the Outreach and Recruitment Specialist for the Accelerated Skills Training Program in Optics, Photonics, and Fiber Optics at Valencia College. In this capacity, she led the recruitment for the new precision optics, photonics, and fiber optics program at Valencia College, successfully filling the first three classes. Her earlier experience as a Student Services Advisor allowed her to provide comprehensive support to students throughout their academic journeys. Magda’s skills in program and career advising, admissions, and scholarship navigation significantly contributed to student success and retention.

A strong collaborator, Magda excels at building relationships with community members, organizations, and educational partners. This ability will be essential in addressing community needs and creating valuable partnerships in her new role. Her passion for community support and commitment to making a positive impact will drive outreach efforts at Americom, ensuring greater awareness and access to educational and career opportunities within the optics manufacturing industry.

Justin Ghyzel is an AmeriCOM Optical Technician. With 14 years of optical manufacturing experience, Justin doesn’t shy away from any project put in front of him. He enjoys getting his hands dirty with any task necessary and is excited to share his expertise to improve American optical manufacturing.

Justin’s career path started in high school, where he learned about CAM/CAD and was quickly interested in the field. He went on to earn his AAS degree from Monroe Community College (MCC) through the Precision Machining program. While attending MCC, he was hired by Optimax to generate and polish prototype asphere lenses. After four years of manufacturing asphere lenses, Justin moved into a new department to utilize more of his machining background. His day-to-day included programming, setting up, and operating ultrasonic 5 axis mills to achieve obscure shapes required for the optical market at the time. He also shared his problem-solving strength and engineered solutions to improve the daily operations of the area.

For the last five years, Justin has been starting up and leading a diamond turning area. This work utilizes his strong machining knowledge as well as his optical understanding to achieve polished surfaces on the crystal optics that are at the leading edge of technology today. He is excited to collaborate with industry leaders to improve single point diamond turning education and developments.

Jeff Iorio joins the team as an Optical Technician. He operates all facets of the AmeriCOM lab facility to support our research mission to aid development of advanced precision optics manufacturing technologies and testing equipment. The focus of the AmeriCOM lab is to use these technologies on the specialized materials required to support scalable manufacturing of lenses and optical components.

Jeff has almost a decade of experience in optics manufacturing through his time at Monroe Community College (MCC) and Optimax. While at MCC, Jeff joined the first NYS Certified Precision Optics Manufacturing Apprenticeship program. The program included three years of on-the-job training rotations across all departments at Optimax—equipping employees to become effective, proficient precision optics manufacturing technicians. During his time in the apprenticeship program, Jeff completed his associate’s degrees in MCC’s Optical Systems Technology Program and Precision Machining Program.

After MCC, Jeff took his knowledge of the manufacturing floor to the Optimax Spherical Laser Grade Optics department, where he manufactured high precision optics, generating, grinding, polishing, and edging them. He then moved to Optimax’s Coating Metrology department where he operated and oversaw the day-to-day operations and calibration of equipment. Jeff earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the Rochester Institute of Technology while working in both these areas.