Leadership
Kent Rose - Board Member
Mr. Kent Rose is a seasoned Information Technology professional with over 25 years of experience in state and federal organizations providing finance, purchasing, and management of IT resources/services. He is the owner and operating manager of Earthwinds, LLC which has been in business since February 2005. Mr. Rose started his career after graduating from the University of Alabama in 1962 with a BS in Mathematics. He spent 5 years at IBM Corporation building expertise with Alabama state government clients as an account manager. Mr. Rose left IBM to work directly for the State of Alabama with increasing responsibilities; first as an Information Technology Manager, and later as the Director of Client Services for the Information Systems Division (Dept. of Finance). This 13-year job provided Mr. Rose with a wealth of experience in procurement processes, IT budgets, and Project Management in the government sector. Mr. Rose accepted a position as the Director of Purchasing for the Department of Finance for the State of Alabama. While in this position from 1987 to 1999, Mr. Rose managed a staff of 25, with overall responsibility for purchasing all personal property bought by the state, with purchases totaling $250 million. Mr. Rose also championed legislation to upgrade the competition bid laws to increase contract periods and sealed bid amounts. Mr. Rose concluded his 25 years of service for the State of Alabama with retirement to the private sector. In the private sector, Mr. Rose gained invaluable knowledge providing IT services in a to a Montgomery-based company, Enterprise Technologies, LLC for approximately two years before forming Earthwinds, LLC.
Karen Rose - Board Member
Karen Rose retired in June 2005 as assistant superintendent of Sand Springs Public Schools following a very successful career in the educational arena. Beginning as a classroom teacher, she quickly moved into school administration as a school principal in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and served on the advisory board for the College of Education at Oklahoma State University. Following her 13 years as a principal, she held positions as director of personnel for Norman Public Schools and as a coordinator and consultant for the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education. A graduate of Oklahoma State University, Karen earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in elementary education and her doctoral degree in educational administration and higher education. Although, her profession was in the public school arena, she maintained active positions with various civic and nonprofit organizations on a local and statewide basis believing in the importance of fostering collaboration between business and education to achieve goals. Karen truly adhered to what her grandfather frequently said to her and her sisters, “Education first!” According to Karen, “Grandpa strongly believed in our having an excellent education and work ethic. We’ve been living his motto.”
Tom Short - President
In the late 60's and early 70's, Tom Short was an executive with North American Aviation District Office working on the Apollo Program. In 1973 he was promoted to the position of Vice President of Field Operations for the North American Rockwell Space Division in Downey. California. Subsequently, this business unit was awarded the Space Shuttle prime contract. In 1976, Tom accepted an offer to become the president of an oil and gas services company in Calgary. This led to his ownership of several successful companies in that industry. In 1987, he returned to NASA projects when he and two partners purchased Johnson Engineering (JE). Former Astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man on the moon, was the Chairman and Tom was the President and CEO. Together they built JE into a highly successful company with over 800 employees. JE was acquired by SPACEHAB in 1997. Tom stayed on as a Senior V.P. of SPACEHAB until July 2001. He was then recruited to lead the formation and development of Anadarko Industries as the President and CEO.