About Us
Strategic Sustainable Solutions
We are proud to be woman owned and operated and encourage and appreciate the diversity of thought and experiences our collective team shares. Our consultants have expertise in business, engineering, nonprofit leadership and capacity building, chemistry, biobased product development, commercialization, and DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion).
Whether you’re starting a new business, developing a new product, moving into a new market, or looking to enhance your business or organization with strategy, teamwork, and diversity education and tools …
We’d love to share our expertise to help you meet your challenges and achieve your goals.
Our Team
Lee Ann Keller
LEAN STRATEGIC PLANNING | QUALITY | CAPACITY BUILDING | DEI
I am the president and chief executive officer of Omni Tech. Educated in mechanical engineering and business, I am also the chief strategist. I run the company, manage client relationships and specialize in Strategic Planning, Quality Management, Capacity Building and DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion). I am a problem solver by nature and apply my creativity and technical expertise to help clients make a difference in their world. I like working on a number of diverse projects at one time.
As a born and bred “Yooper” (someone from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan), I am an avid outdoor adventurer and love to travel. When I’m not working, I’m usually doing something artsy, or trying to cook something complicated! You can often find me biking or hiking through northern MI or playing fetch with our fur babies Rocco and Sasha.
Ann Fillmore
LEAN STRATEGIC PLANNING | QUALITY | CAPACITY BUILDING | DEI
I am the senior non-profit advisor and a consultant for Omni Tech. My role is to position non-profits for long-term success by assisting them in all aspects of business development and management. To my role, I bring 25 years of executive non-profit experience including executing a $5 million annual community campaign. I truly believe relationships are the cornerstone to success which is why I enjoy working at Omni Tech. We make it a point to develop a trusted relationship with each client so we can help them reach their goals.
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my high school sweetheart who I’ve been married to for many years and spoiling my two amazing grandsons.
Bre Sklar
LEAN STRATEGIC PLANNING | QUALITY | CAPACITY BUILDING | DEI
I am the Project Manager and Strategic Planning Consultant of OmniTech International. I have an education in Accounting and Business Management and have been able to focus my expertise in the small business, corporate, non-profit, and government sectors. I have strong relationship building skills with a decade of experience with project management, strategic business planning, and data analytics. I am passionate about creating and integrating changes that enforce efficiencies, accountability, and continuity.
As a military veteran and an advocate for community collaboration I love to act as a servant leader. In my spare time I love to think of different ways to create inclusive environments and how we can move the needle on social change as a collective body. I bring my two young daughters everywhere with me. We love to volunteer, explore nature, experience the arts, and try new things together.
Lee Walko
BIOBASED COMMERCIALIZATION
I have worked in the chemical industry for over 43 years with the last 16 years focused on the bio economy. I bring extensive experience in new business development, innovation and technology analysis to the biobased sector. I joined Omni Tech 10 years ago and lead our efforts in assisting clients navigate commercial offerings with their sustainability strategy and biobased raw materials and products.I hold Bachelor of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering and Applied Mathematics from the University of Colorado.
Kris Weigal
BIOBASED COMMERCIALIZATION
With over 34 years of operations, marketing and commercial leadership roles in the chemical industry, I specialize in business strategy for both petrochemical and renewable specialty chemical companies. I have a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry-Business and an MBA in Operation and Production Management from the University of Wisconsin. I serve as vice-president on the board of directors for the Chicago Paint and Coatings Association. My other hobby is managing our other businesses — Environmental Testing and Remediation.
Larry Armbruster
BIOBASED COMMERCIALIZATION
For the last 10 years, I have been a technical and marketing consultant regarding marketing agricultural products to replace petroleum-based materials. All in all, I’ve been in the polymers industry for over 35 years, 15 of which I spent at Bayer in a variety of roles. My studies began at Michigan State University then took me to Notre Dame and the Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota. I currently have two patents on the production of soy polyols.
Dwight A. Rust
BIOBASED COMMERCIALIZATION
I am a consultant for Omni Tech focused on composites, lubricants, surfactants, thermoset and thermoplastic resins, and specialty chemicals with a focus on biobased materials. This is my retirement job after decades of working at Ashland Performance Materials where I served in various roles including global business development manager for the Composite Polymers business unit, management positions in technical service, and a developer of resins with biobased content. I am a Purdue University alum where I majored in Chemical Engineering, and a University of Dayton alum where I received an MBA.
Rick Heggs
BIOBASED COMMERCIALIZATION
I started working at Omni Tech in 2018 and currently serve as the director of business development. My expertise lies in soybean oil chemistry so my days are filled with developing new industrial uses for soy products. I coordinate activities among a soy commercialization team and work with leading research organizations in academia and the industry to bring new soy products to market.
John Fischer
BIOBASED COMMERCIALIZATION
I bring more than 25 years of agri-marketing experience as market development manager. In this role, I orchestrate a variety of communications and customer outreach programs, including trade shows and sponsorships. The value I offer is bringing a strategic focus in this role, helping to target outreach programs to develop new commercialization opportunities. My experience has been shaped by work at several public relations agencies with clients including DuPont, BASF, Bayer and various associations.
Rob Roe
BIOBASED COMMERCIALIZATION
Over 40 years of industrial experience in materials manufacturing and agribusiness has allowed me to develop skills in commercialization and management of operations in a variety of corporate settings. As a biobased business development senior consultant for Omni Tech, I develop an industry network throughout the value chain and help drive new opportunities for biobased products such as bio-lubricants, coatings, plastics, surfactants and chemicals.
Steve Block
BIOBASED COMMERCIALIZATION
Bringing new chemical technologies to market has been the foundation of my work through commercial and technical leadership. I have been at the center of growing and building successful businesses, which is the intersection of addressing unmet customer needs and the development of technical innovations. Broad experiences in the Personal Care, Building Materials, Coatings, Home Care, Electronics, and Agrochemical industries have provided a broad set of opportunities to develop business involving biobased technologies. I have a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Missouri Science & Technology and an M.S. in Engineering Management from Wichita State University.