OCAST governing board elects Dr. Terry Salmon as chair

February 2, 2012

Dr. Terry Salmon of Oklahoma City is the new chair of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) governing board.  The business leader is founder of Computer System Designers LLC and is author of several books related to marketing in the software industry.

Sherri Wise of Tulsa will serve as vice chair of the board. She is a certified public accountant and president and CEO of the Osteopathic Founders Foundation. Ms. Wise has served on the OCAST governing board since 2004 and is former board chair.

OCAST is the state’s technology-based economic development agency.  The agency competitively funds Oklahoma researchers through an internationally-accepted method of outside peer review designed to select proposals that meet rigid criteria for scientific merit and potential for commercialization.

OCAST helped create and provides partial funding for the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance, headquartered in Tulsa, and funds the Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center which is operated under contract with i2E (Innovation to Enterprise) with offices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

Salmon earned a doctorate of education in Applied Educational Studies in Aviation and Space Education with a management option from Oklahoma State University. He holds a master of science degree from OSU and bachelor in computer science from Cameron University, Lawton. He has authored “Obtaining New Customers in the Software Industry,” and co-authored “CEO Best Practices: Skills, Values & Strategies for Successful CEOs.”

He and his firm have been honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Air Traffic Control Association and the Department of Commerce. He began his career with the Oklahoma State Department of Education as a computer programmer analyst and later served as an analyst for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Salmon has served on the board of advisors of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, Tinker Leadership Council, Air Traffic Control Association and the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association.

Ms. Wise has served as president and CEO of the Osteopathic Founders Foundation since 1996. She is a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma and chairs the Seed Capital Investment Fund for OCAST.

She is former president and current board member of the Oklahoma Educational Foundation for Osteopathic Medicine and has held office with the American Osteopathic Foundation.

Locally, Ms. Wise has served as a member of the board of directors for the Bridges Foundation, which serves individuals with developmental disabilities.  She is a long-time volunteer and officer for Special Olympics.

Wise is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association and the Oklahoma Planned Giving Council.  She is an alumna of Leadership Tulsa Class XVIII.