Major George Durgin is one of the founders of Practical Quality Solutions, Inc. Major George A. Durgin, US Army, Retired, brings a deep understanding of management dynamics and processes to PQS. Among his many industry achievements, he is an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer and Certified Manager of Quality/Operational Excellence. George received a BSEE from the University of Southern California and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

As an educator, George has taught for the American Management Association, the Canadian Management Centre, the Mexican Miquiladoras in Mexicali and Tijuana, Oklahoma State University, Colorado State University, California State University Northridge, and the ASQ. Over the past 25 years, he has led coursework on a plethora of subject areas, including Quality Engineering, Reliability Engineering, Quality Management, Quality Supervision, Quality Mechanical Inspection, Statistical Process Control, Sampling Theory, Quality Costs, Japanese Versus American Quality Techniques, Statistics, and Motivation & Human Factors.

George is a past ASQ Section Treasurer, Section Newsletter Editor, Section Secretary, Section Conference Chairman, Section Vice Chairman, Section Chairman, and ASQ National Director for six years.

Sharky Watkins is one of founders of Practical Quality Solutions, Inc. A highly accomplished Quality Management professional with extensive, multifaceted experience, Sharky is well-versed in the intricacies of quality management, process improvement, quality engineering, statistical and analysis reporting, and production management. Sharky is focused
and driven in his business practices, as evidenced by a proven track record in dramatically improving production quality, operating stability, efficiency, and profitability. As the anchor of the PQS enterprise, Sharky strives to provide a resource for professionals who seek real-world solutions to challenging development- or manufacturing-related concerns

Sharky's career experience spans more than 20 years of increasing responsibility in the rapidly changing Quality field. Sharky's educational achievements include an MBA with a minor in New Venture Management and a California State Teaching Credential. Notably, Sharky is also ASQ certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt, Quality Manager/Organizational Excellent, Reliability Engineer, Quality Engineering Software Quality Engineer, and Auditor.

Sharky is also a senior member of the American Society for Quality, past Section 703 Chairman, and Deputy ASQ Region 7 Director. To add to his growing list of distinctions, Sharky is one of the principles responsible for starting the Temecula Valley, Tijuana, and Mexicali Sections while teaching Quality System courses and consulting for industry in both the US and
Mexico.

With a lifetime of diverse industry experience, Tony Duarte is a well of knowledge and
perspective. He has spent more than 30 years in the nuclear, aerospace, military, commercial
manufacturing, and medical device industries and garnered extensive experience in auditing,
supplier development, risk management, and training.

Tony's academic achievements include a BA in Manufacturing Operations Management, an AA
in Quality Assurance, and an AA in Industrial Technology. He holds professional certifications
from the ASQ, CQE, CQA, CMI, and CQA-HACCP. He is also an active member of the ASQ
and has held positions as Section Chair, Vice-Chair, and Treasurer for the San Diego and
Temecula Valley Sections. Tony was responsible for developing the ASQ Section in Temecula
Valley and supported the establishment of the Medical Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point
(HACCP) Alliance.

Currently, Tony is the West Coast Program Coordinator for the Virginia Tech Center for Applied
Sciences in Health Products and Processes. He teaches courses in HACCP Quality Auditing,
and Mechanical Inspections. He has also organized and presented at various risk management symposiums, seminars, and ASQ functions.

As a consultant, Tony works with startup companies to develop quality systems and programs
required for product release.

John is a Quality Professional who is ASQ-Certified Quality Engineering and Reliability Engineering with thirty years of professional experience in Quality Assurance which includes 20 years in Aerospace and 10 years in Medical Device as a Quality Engineer and Quality Manager.

John's expertise includes statistical Techniques, ASTM/ANSI Y14.5 techniques, Quality System Development, MS Excel and MS Access Programming, Lead Auditor, CAPA, New Product Development and Protocol Development.

Eleanor Dempsey has been in Quality Engineering for more than 20 years. Through her experience in training, technical writing, manufacturing, and auditing, she has worked with foreign student trainers, missiles, telephones, and medical devices. An alumna of Northeastern University in Boston (BS Management Information Systems), Eleanor also has extensive experience in the software development life cycle.

Tatiana Watkins is an experienced administrator in processes, maintaining corporate records, executive schedule, and planning business activities.