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The Enterprise Center Management Team

The Enterprise Center of Johnson County is managed by a team under the leadership of Dr. Joel Wiggins.

                                         
                                    
Dr. Joel Wiggins: President, CEO-
Dr. Wiggins joined the Enterprise Center of Johnson County as President and CEO in 2005. He came to Kansas from Texas where he was the Director of the Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) at the University of Texas at Austin from 2000-2005. He is also a knowledgeable business plan coach, entrepreneurial educator, and consultant. Dr. Wiggins earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas in Communications Studies.  Wiggins is a member and past Chair of the National Business Incubation Association Board of Directors.  He has consulted on incubation and technology commercialization in more than a dozen countries.
Joel lives in Lenexa, KS with his wife Kathy. They have two grown children. Joel likes sports, travel, reading, and BBQ and is active in his local church.

Clara Hemphill: Vice President-Finance & Administration -
Clara came to the Enterprise Center in March of 1999, after 5 years as the business manager at the Kansas Innovation Corporation, a business incubator located in Lawrence, Kansas. Clara has extensive experience working in the banking industry and as a statistical analyst for companies such as Waddell & Reed and the H.D. Lee Corporation of Kansas City. Clara's responsibilities include consulting with Enterprise Center clients in the areas of finance and accounting. 
Clara is a CPA and received her MBA in Finance from Rockhurst University.  She lives in Lawrence, Kansas with her husband and has a married daughter living in Dublin, Ireland.

Rick Vaughn: Vice President of Business Development -
Rick joined the Enterprise Center in January 2006 as Vice President of Business Development. Before joining ECJC, Rick was co-founder and COO of Inventive Play, LLC, a direct marketer of products for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. Prior to that, he was general manager of Allied Products, Inc., the start-up gift division of a diversified manufacturing company. Rick also has extensive business development and mergers and acquisitions experience from positions he held at Hallmark.com and Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Rick received his MBA in Finance from Rockhurst University. He lives in Overland Park, KS with his wife and two daughters.

Sarah Hemann, Receptionist and Administrative Assistant
Sarah joined the Enterprise Center staff in August 2009 after graduating from the University of Iowa with a degree in Marketing and a certificate in Entrepreneurial Management. Sarah’s work experience includes two different Internships where she gained experience with the 3PL industry and served as a marketing assistant for a magazine while studying abroad at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Sarah also served as a Peer Advisor with Office for Study Abroad at the University of Iowa. Sarah is new to the Kansas City area coming from Rochester, Minnesota and enjoys golfing, astronomy and vacationing with family.