ERIE — The Manufacturer & Business Association (MBA) recently announced its 2026 –2027 Board of Governors.
Chairman Jennifer Nelson serves as vice president of Sourcing for Molex ADS, based at the Lake City, Pennsylvania facility. In this role, Nelson leads global procurement and sourcing strategy in support of the company’s aerospace and defense business. Nelson previously served as vice president of Operations & Supply Chain.
A 27-year veteran of Molex, previously Air Born, Nelson has held leadership roles across finance, operations and supply chain management. Nelson is a graduate of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, holding a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and business administration.
Nelson is joined on The MBA Board of Governors Executive Committee by Vice Chairman Tom Tredway, president of Erie Molded Packaging; Treasurer Chuck Jenkins, president of E.E. Austin & Son; Secretary Tammy Lamary-Toman, vice president and employment attorney, MBA; Lori Joint, president and CEO, MBA; and, Immediate Past Chairman Matt Clark, vice president and general manager of Humes Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in Waterford.
New Board members appointed to three-year terms are:
Steve Gorman is president and CEO of Waldameer & Water World, a regional family owned amusement park and waterpark facility in Erie, Pennsylvania. Waldameer is the sixth oldest continuously operated amusement park in the United States, opening in 1896. He has been at Waldameer for over 30 years and has responsibilities and authority in all aspects of the business, working closely with his wife, Nancy, and son, Brian.
Gorman has held numerous positions in various organizations including president of the Pennsylvania Amusement Park Association, Board Member for VisitErie, committee member of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, and serves as a member on the Pennsylvania Amusement Ride Safety Advisory Board.
Prior to joining Waldameer, Gorman was manager of a mechanical design engineering group at GE Transportation Systems in Erie, where they manufacture locomotives, and was a mechanical engineer at GE Aircraft Engines in Cincinnati. He has a B.S. and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts and the University of Virginia.
Jaisen Kohmuench is president and chief executive officer of Eriez, a global manufacturer of separation technologies headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania. Since joining Eriez early in his career as a process engineer, Kohmuench has progressed through increasingly senior leadership roles spanning research and development, operations, international business, and executive management. He was named chief operating officer in 2022 and president and CEO in 2024.
Today, Kohmuench leads a diversified manufacturing organization with operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa, overseeing multiple manufacturing facilities and serving customers in mining, heavy industry and light industrial markets worldwide. His leadership focuses on long-term growth, operational excellence, workforce development and the transformation of complex global operations into aligned, market-driven organizations.
A licensed professional engineer, Kohmuench holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in Mining and Minerals Engineering from Virginia Tech. He has spent more than two decades helping translate advanced engineering and manufacturing capabilities into commercially successful products and sustainable businesses.
Kohmuench currently serves on the Behrend College of Engineering Board of Visitors at Penn State Erie and has held multiple other roles supporting technical education and economic development.
Douglas J. Prischak is the executive vice president of U.S. operations of The Plastek Group, a position he has held since 2023. Headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania, with manufacturing sites in North Carolina, Mexico, Brazil, and the United Kingdom, The Plastek Group, founded in 1956, is a global supplier of injection molding tools and rigid plastic-molded packaging. Prischak is also president and CEO of HaVACo Technologies, a manufacturer of heating and ventilating, and air-conditioning products — a role he has held since 2014.
Prischak earned a bachelor’s degree in operations management from Penn State-Behrend. He joined The Plastek Group as a tool maker and quickly rose through the ranks, holding the titles of process engineer, and general manager–Triangle Tool division. In 2002, upon the retirement of his father, Joe Prischak, who founded the company, Doug became executive vice president–global tooling and engineering. In 2023, he became executive vice president of U.S. operations. He and his brothers Dennis and Daniel run the company together as a second-generation family business.
Additional members of The MBA Board of Governors include Chad Betts, president and CEO of Betts Industries, Inc.; Scott Bonnell, owner of Bonnell’s Auto Sales; Gary Clark, CEO of Reed Manufacturing Co.; Bob Frost, vice president of Commodity Management, Wabtec; Andrew C. Renkey, president of Harmony Castings; Tricia Staible, president and general counsel of Robinson Fans, Inc.
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The Manufacturer & Business Association (MBA), founded in 1905, represents more than 2,000 member companies in 54 counties across the Commonwealth. The MBA is dedicated to helping employers face challenges by delivering services that lower the cost of doing business, ease the burden of compliance and increase productivity for its members. For more information, visit www.mbausa.org.