About Us

Joan Michel first had the idea for The Government Entrepreneur training program when she worked for the US Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and was helping to transform the organization into an entrepreneurial enterprise. During her tenure there, the Center grew rapidly. The number of staff members doubled and the reimbursable funding budgets tripled as the customer base grew to include almost every federal agency. Since leaving government service, Joan has provided professional development and consulting services to local, state, and federal organizations, as well as nonprofit and commercial enterprises. Over her 25 years of professional experience, Joan has developed a keen understanding of challenges and opportunities for science and technology organizations.

Mike Penkethman brings 20 years of experience providing training, business consultation, and coaching for clients in the pharmaceutical and insurance industries. Mike is a highly rated and sought after speaker and trainer because of his unique results-driven approach and entrepreneurial experiences, which include building multiple million-dollar enterprises. With Butcher Consulting Group for over 10 years, Mike works with science and technology organizations to improve the performance of individuals and teams. His clients include pharmaceutical giants Sanofi, Novartis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genzyme, Novo Nordisk, and Otsuka, and government and academic organizations including US Department of Agriculture, Superior Courts System for the State of New Jersey, Lehigh University, and University of Massachusetts.

Monica Heyl develops science and technology solutions for industry, government, and international organizations to address high hazard environments. While in government service as a supervisory physical scientist at a federal laboratory, Monica built a thriving multi-million dollar government enterprise that made field sampling and analysis faster, safer, and more accurate for US and allied warfighters. Monica recently retired from government service and is provides consulting to government agencies in the US and abroad.