We Build Bridges for Collaboration, Communication
and Empowerment of Communities.
To improve the quality of life of the citizens or members of communities, SDI takes a holistic approach to understanding the myriad of sustainability and resiliency issues and their interdependencies, faced by communities. We focus on understanding where they are now and where they want to be, conducting gap analyses, and formulating proactive and collaborative approaches to build bridges for filling in the gaps in addressing community issues and challenges. We accomplish these objectives through our SMART Framework©.
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Our SMART Framework© provides a citizen-centric and holistic approach to solving many of the challenges faced by communities in tackling sustainability and resiliency issues to increase the quality of life of its citizens. Our approach centers on fostering collaboration among community stakeholders that may include the public, private, and academic sectors to serve the needs of the citizens of the community, leading to a shared purpose with communities for ensuring success. Complementing our approach is the combined expertise and resources of our staff and partners in supporting government programs and operations that serve the needs of communities.
Our Leadership
Roberto Llames
Director
Roberto Llames (Roberto) is the Managing Director of the SMART Development Institute (SDI), an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) non-profit firm (www.sdinst.org) and the President of Enterprise Solutions, Inc. (ESI), a technology management and consulting firm (www.enterprisesolutions.net). Roberto has over 25 years of experience in the software and information technology services industries supporting public and private sector clients. Roberto has established ESI as a reputable firm by providing reliable and effective enterprise-level IT solutions, knowledge management solutions, and business process improvement and transformation solutions to a diverse group of clients. As the Managing Director of SDI, Roberto leads the Institute in providing policy-driven technology solutions for empowering communities to transform them into smart communities addressing sustainability and resiliency issues. In addition to SDI, Roberto is an active member of several local non-profit organizations supporting various community and humanitarian programs. Roberto has also supported programs that tackle social problems in the sports industry and some of his notable achievements include: (a) spearheading the design and deployment of www.ConcussionTV.com to raise awareness of problems related to concussion, which was eventually turned over to EIC TV Network; and (b) Executive Producer of a documentary entitled “Tackle the World: Tough Game Tougher Women” that documented the challenging road of Team USA Women Tackle Football Team to winning the 2013 World Championship (https://vimeo.com/127521709) as well as demonstrated the importance of gender neutrality and diversity in any sports. Roberto also serves as a Member of the Board of Directors at the U.S.-Philippines Society (USPHS) and the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS). Roberto holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Averett University.
Michael Lee
Director
Michael Lee (Mike) is the Managing Director of SDI and the Executive Vice President of ESI. Mike has over 20 years of experience in forming and leading high-performance teams in implementing high-impact technology solutions for government and commercial clients. Mike is a subject matter expert on business process re-engineering, and enterprise architecture and integration. He previously served more than eight years in the Army National Guard as a Communications Specialist. Mike is also a Deacon and Treasurer of the Metropolitan Baptist Church where he supports and advocates for various church-sponsored community programs to help the poor and needy. As a Managing Director of SDI, Mike engages in formulating the Institute’s digital transformation policies, strategies, and solutions for smart community enablement as well as formation of high-performance teams to support SDI Programs and Operations. Mike received his Bachelor of Science in Business Management from George Mason University.
JiAe Sohn
Program Director
JiAe Sohn (JiAe) is the Program Director of SDI and SMART MoBee Corporation. JiAe has over 7 years of experience in supporting the public sector, serving agencies such as, the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korean Cultural and Information Service. JiAe engages in government programs aimed at boosting bilateral ties with foreign countries and formulating outreach programs to raise awareness of the government’s development policies toward underdeveloped countries. She was part of the Cultural Ministry’s delegation accompanying the President’s state visits to Washington D.C., France, Colombia, Iran, Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia, leading and organizing humanitarian and cultural exchange events. As Program Director for SDI, JiAe leads multiple projects and high-performance teams for smart community transformation through implementation of smart technologies and support for humanitarian projects. JiAe graduated Summa Cum Laude from Yeungnam University with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature.
Board of Academic Advisors
Marito Garcia, PhD
Fellow, Darden Business School
University of Virginia
Dr. Marito Garcia (Marito) is currently a Fellow at the Darden Business School, Center for Global Initiatives (DCGI), University of Virginia, USA, and Advisor to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank in the application of technology in education, such as online learning platform development, the use of artificial intelligence, digital credentialing and blockchain. He is currently Board Director of Learning Equality Foundation, a non-profit education technology company in California, USA which has a platform dedicated to bringing the internet offline -- helping learners with limited access to the internet. Learning Equality Foundation has an open-source platform called Kolibri, now used by over 6-million learners in 120 countries worldwide. Marito served as Practice Manager for Education at the World Bank in Washington, DC for 19 years. During his term at the World Bank, Marito managed the education sector portfolio in 32 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with an annual turnover of $2.8-billion encompassing lending for programs in skills development, K-12, higher education, and technical and vocational education, and e-Learning. Prior to the World Bank, he was a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington DC. Marito is the author of several books (available at Amazon.com) on consumer economics, conditional cash transfers, education, youth in the labor market, and early childhood development. Marito holds a PhD in Development Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam, Institute of Social Studies, the Netherlands, and completed Executive Program at the Harvard Business School.
Thomas Triscari, Jr.
Former Professor,
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Member of Board of Trustees, SRC, Inc.
Thomas Triscari, Jr., Ph. D. (Thomas) is a member of of SRC’s board of trustees. He was a career officer in the U.S. Air Force and retired from active duty in 1995 at the rank of lieutenant colonel. In the Air Force, Thomas held key technical, research and development positions. He was responsible for advancing and applying emerging technology to national programs in reconnaissance, surveillance, and intelligence, as well as command and control systems. After his retirement from the Air Force, Thomas founded Information Technology Management, Inc., a partnership of professionals providing specialized research, education, leadership training, and consulting services to a variety of customers, including public and private. Thomas serves on the board of the New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation. He is a member of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, Project Management Institute, and Decision Sciences Institute.
Jinhee Kim
Professor, Family Science
School of Public Health at the University of Maryland
Dr. Jinhee Kim (Jinhee) is a Professor in the Department of Family Science, School of Public Health at the University of Maryland. She currently serves as Assistant Director and Program Leader in Family and Consumer Sciences with the University of Maryland Extension, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Her main research areas are financial management, family well-being, and health outcomes. Her research also evaluates the impact of interventions aimed at improving financial security and family well-being.
Jinhee published three book chapters and 60+ journal articles and made 100+ invited and refereed presentations. Topics include workplace financial education, financial stress, family financial decision making, money and couple relationships, financial socialization, intergenerational transfers, savings behavior, asset ownership of immigrants, food insecurity, diet quality, and family health. She has successfully secured and managed over $10 million in external funding. She has led the development, delivery, and evaluation of extension education programs for various audiences. She has trained over 2,000 Extension and financial professionals and taught departmental courses addressing family financial management and credit. Jinhee served as the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education president and on national boards, including the National Consumer League, the American Council on Consumer Interests (ACCI), and the National Jump$tart Coalition.
Our Partners
