Jay Patel possesses over 35 years of professional work experience in management and quality assignments, including consulting and training at Fortune 500 companies and training thousands of people over the course of his career. Jay has taught onsite to several public and private companies. He has instructed ASQ, PMI, and APICS Certification Courses, including related Lean Six Sigma and related ISO. He has presented speeches and seminars to various organizations such as the Project Management Institute, American Production, and Inventory Control Society, Institute of Industrial Engineers, American Society for Quality, and Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

Jay holds 10 ASQ Certifications including Six Sigma Certified Black Belt and Certified Quality Auditor. He has Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Engineering and an MBA. He is an Exemplar Global Quality System Lead Auditor and Environmental Auditor, and Jay holds several PMI certifications. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®), a certified Risk Management Professional (RMP®), and a certified Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP®).

Jay has served as Chapter President of the Project Management Institute and as Chapter President of Institute of Industrial Engineers. He has held a number of positions at Section and Region levels within ASQ. Currently, Jay is the Conference Chair of ASQ NEQC (North East Quality Council). Jay has been the National Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award Examiner and is an ASQ Fellow. He has co-authored the Quality Council of Indiana’s Six Sigma Black Belt and Green Belt Primers, which are used for ASQ Certifications.

Susan Serradilla-Smarth is Principal at Smarth Enterprises Inc. and brings professional expertise across project management, agile practices, Six Sigma, process improvement, and supply chain management. Her background combines practical business leadership with structured improvement methods that help organizations strengthen performance, improve execution, and build sustainable systems.

With credentials including ACP, PMP, CSSBB, and SCM, Susan supports organizations through a disciplined approach to planning, implementation, measurement, and continuous improvement. Her work aligns with QPS’s commitment to helping clients improve productivity, quality, operational effectiveness, and long-term business results.

Jack Reardon has over 40+ years of experience in the quality and business improvement field specializing in Computer industry, automotive industry, machining, contract manufacturing, robotics, and plastics as Quality Engineer, Quality Manager, Director of Quality and Plan Manager. Jack’s professional experience includes working in the manufacturing and service industries. He has provided training for Lean & Six Sigma, Design for Lean & Six Sigma, Auditing, Lead Auditor, and many ASQ Certifications.

Jack has successfully managed the quality systems and quality improvements of Quality Management Systems for 9001, 13485 & FDA, 16949, AS9100, 14001, and other standards for clients, including development of all documentation. Jack has taught courses in Lean Six Sigma for Yellow Belts, Green Belts, Black Belts and Master Black Belts. Jack is an ASQ Certified Black Belt. Jack is also certified Lean Expert, Master Black Belt and Design for Six Sigma Black Belt and has been a member of American Society for Quality for the last 25 years. He has also been active in ASQ NEQC (Northeast Quality Council), as Chair, Treasurer, Programs, and auditing for leadership committees.

Ed May has been the New Jersey Director of Quality & Productivity Solutions since 2013. Ed is an ASQ Fellow. He received ASQ Certifications as CSSBB, CMQ/OE, CQE, CQA and CSCP. He is an Exemplar Global QPS Master Black Belt. He served as ASQ Section 304 North Jersey Chair from 2021 to 2025. He is Chair of the Scholarship and Spring Quality Conference Committees.

He earned his undergraduate BE Degree Cum Laude at Stevens Institute of Technology and his MBA Degree at Harvard Business School. Ed held management positions in engineering, manufacturing, and quality assurance with various manufacturing companies before becoming a quality consultant, adjunct professor, and onsite instructor. He specializes in ISO, Lean, and Six Sigma which he has implemented at dozens of organizations. He teaches courses in Business, Statistics and Quality at New Jersey Institute of Technology, and has been named Newark College of Engineering Adjunct of the Year.

Patricia (Pat) Nira Smith has extensive experience as an Information Technology Specialist, Business Analyst, Project Manager, and People Manager. She has worked in the insurance, communications, and pharmaceutical industries, receiving numerous awards for implementing projects on time, within budget, and with excellence. Pat has a BA in Sociology and she has done work on a MA in Organizational and Corporate Communication. In addition, she is certified as a PMP, SCRUM Developer, SCRUM Product Owner, SCRUM Master, AGILE, and is a Certified Negotiation Associate.

Prabhakar Jain has more than 25 years of experience in the quality field, and has held wide-ranging positions including SPC Expert, Continuous Improvement Supervisor, and Black Belt at Wyman Gordon Company. He is a Certified Black Belt by Wyman Gordon Company. PJ has made breakthrough improvements using team concepts for cost reductions, quality improvement and customer satisfaction. He has also facilitated ISO certification processes.

He has worked as Lead Auditor in a number of assignments, including Wyman Gordon and Bose. PJ has trained personnel in the areas of Six Sigma and ASQ Certifications at Wyman Gordon and Bose. He has published papers and presented them at annual conferences. He is an American Society for Quality Certified Quality Manager, CQE, CRE, CQA, CSSBB, Certified Netware Engineer from Novell and Certified SPC Facilitator by the SPC Society. He is also a Certified Quality Systems Lead Auditor. PJ has a Bachelor’s degree in Science and a Master’s in Total Quality.

Richard Bivins is an experienced production and supply chain professional whose industrial experience encompasses heavy, high-tech, and military systems development and production, Theory of Constraints, Lean Six Sigma, and ISO 9000. His initial ISO training was done at Kite Systems International, Ltd., London, England. With CPIM, CSCP certifications plus Lean Expert, Lean Six Sigma Champion, and Master Black Belt, he is highly effective in solving problems creatively, on time, and under budget. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Boston Chapter of APICS.

A native of Texas, he holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from West Texas A&M University and did graduate early-stage work in microeconomic industrial behavioral psychology at Alliant International University in San Diego and holds State of Massachusetts Educator licenses in Business and History. His community activities include being a long-time volunteer with Youth Enrichment Services and volunteering for the Veterans’ Farmstead Initiative. He is a U.S. Navy combat veteran.

Rupal Patel has over 15 years’ experience in Project Management, Agile methodology, and scrum related for software and non-software Industries. As Program Manager, Auditor and Trainer at QPS, she manages corporate projects of all sizes, including strategic planning, systems management, new product development and human resources. Rupal earned her MBA from University of Chicago and a B.A. from Boston University. She is certified in Project Management and an Agile Expert Professional.

Sanjay Patel brings more than 12 years of experience in helping companies achieve success with their technology initiatives. He is Director of Systems at QPS, a leading Project Management and Business Improvement training organization. Most recently, Sanjay has helped launch Perpetuating Ventures here in the US and PSTPL in India, both of which have sponsored a number of early-stage investments in enterprise and consumer technology in emerging markets. Sanjay received his B.A. in Information Systems and Business from Carnegie Mellon.

Virat has over 28 years of professional experience in management systems auditing and training in all types of industries including software, IT Service, automotive, pharmaceuticals, aviation, and telecom, most recently leading the Business Units in TUV SUD South Asia as Assistant VP of Corporate Training and Third-Party Auditing globally. His accomplishments include hundreds of audits in 14 countries as he is a registered Lead Auditor for ISO 9001 and ISO 27001, proficient in all things ISO such as business continuity, sustainability, and data privacy, with expertise in 12 standards. After attaining degrees in Civil Engineering and Computer Application, he received his MBA from Karnataka Open University.

Virat holds many certifications; CPRE, PCI-DSS, ITIL – FND, and CISP, as well as an ISMS and GDPR professional with a Six Sigma Green Belt. Previous to all of his TQM work, he has been an Instructional Designer, System Analyst, and a trainer in Computer Science for ICM. Now, as an author, speaker, and coach, he continues to transfer his knowledge on many tools and techniques through the American Society for Quality, the Indian Institute of Management, and the RK University in part to his passion to lead positive change.