Daniel E. Berry
President and Chief Executive Officer

Daniel E. Berry is president and chief executive officer of MAGNET, the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET), located in Cleveland Ohio. MAGNET’s purpose is to help manufacturing companies become more competitive and to grow. The organization provides consulting services to companies on top line growth issues and bottom line efficiencies. It is also working with others to building a service infrastructure to support manufacturing competitiveness in the State and northern Ohio region. MAGNET is an Ohio Edison Technology Center and a contractor with the Ohio Department of Development Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, funded in part by the National Institute of Standards.

Berry joined MAGNET on a permanent basis in May 2010 after serving as interim CEO for several months on loan from the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP). When he left the GCP, Berry was executive vice president for strategy, membership and marketing. Previously, he was senior vice president, strategic integration, for the Greater Cleveland Growth Association, which he joined in 1995 as vice president for workforce development. While with the Association, he helped manage and conclude the merger negotiations with Cleveland Tomorrow and the Greater Cleveland Roundtable that created the GCP in 2004. In his capacities at GCP and the Association, Berry helped with planning for the creation of organizations such as Team NEO and MAGNET.

Prior to the Growth Association, Berry spent 13 years with The George Gund Foundation and was serving as associate director when he left the organization. In that capacity, he was involved with helping build organizations such as Neighborhood Progress Inc. and the Great Lakes Science Center. Berry also has worked with The Charles F. Kettering Foundation in Dayton, Ohio where he was an urban affairs program associate from 1979-1981.

Berry holds a doctorate in management from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and earned both a B.A. and M.A., both in political science, from Kent State University. He has served on the boards of numerous civic and public sector organizations and is presently a trustee of Vocational Guidance Services and NewBridge, previously known as the Cleveland Center for Arts and Technology. He and his wife, Mary Jo, live in Orange Village, Ohio, and have one son, Douglas who lives in Atlanta with his spouse.

Fatima L. Weathers, Ed.D.
Executive Vice-President

Dr. Weathers has a strong electronics technical background and 25 years of industry experience. Prior to MAGNET she worked at Ohio Nuclear, Picker International and 3M Corp. Weathers has consulted locally and nationally with government agencies and private corporations on issues ranging from innovative training models for engineers, workforce development programs and organizational behavior.

Weathers joined MAGNET in April 1993. Since then she has held responsibility for managing projects funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Labor and local foundations. As COO, Weathers has overall responsibility for MAGNET’s operations. She is the acting director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program and represents MAGNET at regional and national conferences.

Weathers is a graduate of Notre Dame College, MS in Information Science and Physics, the Weatherhead School of Management, MS in Organizational Behavior and Columbia University, Doctorate in Leadership and Organizations., She serves on the board of Notre Dame College, the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council, and the Northern Ohio Minority Business Development Council.

Jerry A. Gifford
Chief Financial Officer

Jerry Gifford has been an integral part of MAGNET's growth and development for nearly 20 years. He holds a Bachelors degree in accounting from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. After serving two years as an assistant controller with Prototype Development, Inc. in Valley View, Ohio, Gifford joined CAMP (now MAGNET) in 1989 as Accounting Manager. In that position he was integrally involved with government contract negotiation and administration through compliance, proposal preparation and negotiation of sub-contracts.

Gifford was promoted to Corporate Contracting Manager responsible for contract administration for Federal, State and Foundation grants, contracts and agreements. He negotiated terms of Federal awards and audit closures with several different Department of Defense and Department of Commerce agencies.

Gifford also served CAMP as Program Integrator for five Electronic Commerce Resource Centers located in Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio; Fairfax, Virginia; San Antonio and Palestine, Texas. The ECRC Program was a Department of Defense (DoD) initiative to train DoD and civilian personnel to use electronic commerce.

In 2002, Gifford was promoted to Director of Finance and elected as a Corporate Treasurer. In 2005, he became Chief Financial Officer, overseeing all of MAGNET's financial affairs and administration.

Michael R. Morgenstern
Chief Development Officer

Michael R. (“Mike”) Morgenstern brings extensive experience in the development and leadership of major advancement initiatives for non-profit organizations in Northeast Ohio.

Morgenstern most recently served as Director of Development Services at JumpStart Inc. since 2007, where he directed and provided advancement support for JumpStart’s innovative public/private partnerships that established the organization as a leading national best-practice model for non-profit venture development and entrepreneurial-assistance services. Morgenstern previously served as Director of Development Research and Senior Research Analyst at Oberlin College from 2000 to 2007/. Early in his career, Morgenstern served as Campaign Research Administrator at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland (1998-2000), Associate Editor at Gray & Co., Publishers in Cleveland (1996-98), as well as Assistant Editor with The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History project (1992-1996).

Morgenstern holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Purdue University, and a Master’s in Social Policy History from Case Western Reserve University. He currently serves as a Trustee and Board member for the Lakewood Soccer Association, and also serves on the Development Committee for Beth Israel—The West Temple in Cleveland. He has previously served as a Board member for the Ohio Prospect Research Network (OPRN), and is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).

Gregory M. Krizman
Senior Director, Marketing

Greg Krizman began his public/media /corporate communications career by serving as Press Secretary to George Voinovich during his first two terms as Mayor of Cleveland (1979-1983).

He moved to Los Angeles in 1983 to work on the 1984 Olympic Games. As Senior Public Information Officer for Security Pacific National Bank, the largest financial services company headquartered in Los Angeles at the time, Krizman helped coordinate Security Pacific’s multi-million dollar sponsorship effort of the 1984 Games.

In 1985 Krizman joined KCET/Los Angeles, the public TV station serving Southern and Central California, as Associate Director of Public Information and Talent Relations. In 1996, The Screen Actors Guild, the world's largest union of performers, hired Krizman as Assistant Director of National Communications. In 2000, SAG named him Acting Director of National Communications.

Upon returning to the Greater Cleveland area in 2002, Krizman joined Cuyahoga Community College as Executive Director of Marketing & Communications. During his tenure, the college won 27 National Council for Marketing and Public Relations awards. In August 2005, Krizman received the College’s District Professional Excellence Award.

In March 2007, Krizman joined MAGNET where he is helping implement the organization's new public relations strategy, reflecting its expanded mission to promote and nurture manufacturing in all of Northern Ohio.

Carol M. Patterson
Director of Human Resources

Carol M. Patterson joined MAGNET, the Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network, in 1999. She began her service to the organization in the Accounting Department but was promoted to the position of Human Resources Manager in 2004, then appointed to the management position of Human Resources Director in 2006.

As Director of Human Resources she is responsible for the overall administration, coordination and evaluation of human resource functions for this Northeast Ohio-based economic development organization.

Patterson has upgraded policies and procedures related to MAGNET's human resource operations and recommended many best-in-class HR practices to the senior management and Board of Directors..

Patterson has implemented numerous improvements in MAGNET’s equal employment opportunity, benefits, retirement, medical, worker’s compensation, professional development and performance evaluation programs. Patterson also designs and coordinates employee recognition programs and events, organizes the company’s various charitable campaigns and insures compliance with local, state and federal employment legislation.

Before joining MAGNET, Patterson spent 14 years at Corel Corporate Seating, a manufacturer of ergonomic office and industrial seating products located in Mansfield, Ohio. Patterson managed the company's finance and human resources department.

Patterson also worked as a credit supervisor for Sears Roebuck & Company in St. Paul, Minnesota and had a staff of 30 credit department employees covering eight store locations under her leadership.

Patterson is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Employment Resource Council (ERC). She attended Ohio’s Ashland University where she studied accounting and finance.