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Emerald Research Analysts

Joseph W. Garner

Director of Research

Mr. Garner is Director of Emerald Research, and a member of the Portfolio Management team, as co-manager of the Forward Growth Fund. Mr. Garner's research efforts are focused on small and mid-sized firms in the Business Services, Capital Goods, Consumer, Financial Services, and Technology sectors. In 1997, he was named as a Home-Run Hitter by Institutional Investor magazine, and has appeared on Bloomberg Television and CNBC. He also has been quoted in Fortune, Bloomberg Business News, USA Today, Dow Jones News Service, Standard & Poor's, MarketWatch, Investor's Business Daily, Wall Street Journal, and other media. Mr. Garner currently serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors for the Millersville University Foundation and Chair of the Board's Investment Committee. Prior to joining Emerald, Mr. Garner was the Program Manager of the PA Economic Development Financing Authority (PEDFA); an Economic Development Analyst with the PA Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Development; and an Industry Research Analyst with the Pittsburgh High Technology Council. Mr. Garner received an MBA from the Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, and graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Economics from Millersville University.

Stan Corker

Director of Technology Research

Mr. Corker is Director of Technology for Emerald Research. Mr. Corker leads the Emerald Technology Research Team. With over 21 years in the computer industry, Mr. Corker has held key positions in engineering, sales, and marketing with both large and small computer equipment manufacturers. Prior to joining Emerald in 1996, he held the position of Director of Storage Research with International Data Corporation (IDC), where he provided market research and consulting services to leading computer and computer equipment manufacturers. He has been widely quoted in various national and trade media, including Investor's Business Daily and The Wall Street Journal, as an industry expert in computer storage. Mr. Corker graduated from Essex University with a B.A. in Computer Science, where he later conducted five years of postgraduate research in computer networking systems.

Steve Amsterdam

Sr. Research Analyst

Mr. Amsterdam is a Research Analyst for Emerald Research. Prior to joining Emerald Asset Management in 2001, Mr. Amsterdam founded SA Venture Consulting, a corporate positioning and strategy consultancy specializing in early-stage technology firms seeking venture capital. Previously, he was a founding managing director of Pennsylvania Early Stage Partners ("PA-ESP"), a $50 million venture capital fund associated with Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE), focused on early stage technology companies. The fund provides equity capital ranging from $250,000 to $2,000,000. While at PA-ESP, Mr. Amsterdam focused on Internet, electronic commerce, and enterprise systems investing and served as a director of seven portfolio companies. From 1991 through the formation of PA-ESP in 1997, he was a senior associate with TL Ventures, an $800 million venture capital management company also associated with Safeguard. While working with TL Ventures, he was directly involved with companies in electronic commerce, network management, multimedia training, residential management systems, 3-D software, and telemarketing. Mr. Amsterdam served on Philadelphia Mayor John Street's transition advisory team and was an advisor to former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell's e-Commerce Commission. He is a graduate of Lehigh University.

Joseph A. Besecker, M.D., FAAP

Research Associate

Dr. Besecker is a Research Associate for Emerald Research focusing on Life Sciences research. He practiced pediatrics for 37 years in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and was Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Lancaster General Hospital from 1968 to 1980. Dr. Besecker has been the Clinical Instructor to the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the Penn State Medical School from 1970 to present. He served on the Board of Directors at Lancaster General Hospital from 1996 to 2002. Dr. Besecker is a graduate of Penn State University and Jefferson Medical School.

Alfred J. Cooke, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Research Associate

Dr. Cooke is a Research Associate for Emerald Research focusing on Life Sciences research. Prior to joining Emerald, Dr. Cooke practiced orthopedics in Lancaster, Pennsylvania from 1971 through 1998. He has published various papers in the Journal of Bone Joint Surgery and the Journal of Orthopedics. Dr. Cooke graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame and received his M.D. from Jefferson Medical School, where he did both his internship and residency.

Derek L. Fisher

Research Analyst

Mr. Fisher is a Senior Analyst, Emerging Technologies, for Emerald Research. Mr. Fisher focuses his research efforts on emerging growth companies in the computer software, information technology, healthcare services and medical devices industries. He began his career at Emerald as an intern in 1995. Due to his generation of ideas, networking and due diligence skills, he progressed to Research Analyst in 1996 and to Senior Research Analyst in 2000. Prior to joining Emerald, Mr. Fisher attended the University of Delaware.

Harry Z. Rosengart

Research Consultant

Mr. Rosengart is a Biotech and Life Sciences Consultant for Emerald Research. He is President and CEO of HK & Associates, an investment and consulting firm, specializing in financial and strategic advice to small and medium-sized companies with an emphasis on life sciences. Mr. Rosengart is the founder of LigoTech, Inc., a privately held DNA / RNA and macromolecule bioseparations company, employing 14 individuals. For three years, he served as Chairman of its Board of Directors, President and CEO and is currently a Member of the Board of Directors. He raised $5 million in two equity rounds of capital. During his tenure, Mr. Rosengart consummated several licensing transactions, acquired Affinity Biotechnology and successfully integrated the acquisition into LigoTech and launched a number of products. Mr. Rosengart is also co-founder of SunPharm Corporation, an anti-cancer drug development-stage company. He is active in a number of civic and professional organizations and holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from Rutgers University.

Scott B. Blumenthal

Research Analyst

Mr. Blumenthal serves as a Research Analyst for Emerald Research. Mr. Blumenthal focuses his research efforts on the Capital Goods, Industrials, Materials, Aerospace, Construction, and packaging industries. Prior to joining Emerald, Mr. Blumenthal had eight years of experience in senior financial positions with various emerging growth companies and technology startups. He also served as a Business Consultant with Deloitte & Touche LLP. He has been involved in business transactions as diverse as raising venture capital, taking a company through a troubled debt restructuring, and three private company sales. Mr. Blumenthal received an MBA from the Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh and graduated cum laude with a BSBA in Operations Management and Business Logistics from Ohio State University.

Brian Miles

Research Analyst

Mr. Miles serves as a Research Analyst / Assistant to the Portfolio Management team for Emerald Advisers. He maintains research coverage of retail, apparel, and consumer goods. He began his career at Emerald as an intern in 2003. Mr. Miles graduated cum laude from Millersville University with a BS in Business Administration, with concentrations in Accounting and Finance. Currently, he is pursuing a Masters of Accounting and Professional Consultancy degree from Villanova University.

Terry Smith, MBA

Mr. Smith is a Research Analyst for Emerald Research, focusing on the Life Sciences. He spent the Summer/Fall of 2005 as an Intern at Emerald before joining the firm in the Fall of 2006. Mr. Smith will receive his PhD in Integrative Biosciences – Molecular Toxicology at the Pennsylvania State University, Hershey Medical Center – College of Medicine, in Fall 2006. He has co-authored several research abstracts and articles on 'the molecular signaling pathways involved in hormone induced cholesterol metabolism' for the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, as well as for the Society for Investigative Dermatology's annual international meetings. He received his MBA from the Pennsylvania State University (2004), where he also was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma National Business Honor Society. Mr. Smith received his BS degree in Biology (with a minor in Chemistry) from Messiah College in 2000.

Nishit Trivedi, PhD, MBBS, MBA

Dr. Trivedi is Vice President of the Life Sciences Team for Emerald Advisers, Inc., focusing on Biotech and Medical Device companies. Dr. Trivedi received his PhD in Pharmacology in 2005 and pursued his post-doctoral fellowship at Gittlen Cancer Foundation before joining Emerald. He has published several research articles in leading journals in the fields of oncology and dermatology and, at the 2004 Annual AACR Conference, Dr. Trivedi was the recipient of an award from the American Association for Cancer Research and AFLAC for his research efforts on melanoma. While at Penn State College of Medicine, he received the Rite Aid Graduate Fellowship Award in Pharmacology. Dr. Trivedi received both a PhD and an MBA from Pennsylvania State University. He completed his medical internship in 1999 and received his medical degree (MBBS) from Bombay University, India.