TSANet Staff OLD

Dennis Smeltzer – President

Dennis is President of TSANet and has provided leadership to the organization since its inception in 1993. Beginning with the original 11 sponsor member companies, he is largely responsible for TSANet’s growth to its current membership in the hundreds.

Formed originally as a single many-to-many relationship, Dennis worked with the members to create a global support relationship infrastructure, which now serves the industry with a variety of relationship options. As a not-for-profit association, Dennis has worked under the leadership of the member-elected board of directors. During his tenure, he directed a small staff to advance TSANet in becoming the world’s largest technical support alliance for the IT industry. Prior to TSANet, Dennis was the Editor for Service and Support Management and Microservice Management magazines.

Dennis has over 35 years of experience in the IT industry and has held several positions, from Field Service Engineer to Director of Support Operations, for an OEM in the Dallas, Texas area. Dennis is also active as a volunteer and works with local Emergency Management and is a board member of the Citizens Corp Council in Johnson County, Kansas. Dennis holds a commercial pilot’s license and part 107 UAS (Drone) FAA license.

Paul Esch – Director of Strategy and Business Development

Paul is responsible for strategy and business development at TSANet. Working with the TSANet president and board of directors, Paul is tasked with creating, communicating, executing and sustaining the organization’s strategic initiatives. This role was introduced in 2012 with the goal of increasing the value of TSANet for our members.

Paul brings over 25 years of experience in the technology support industry, managing products in consumer electronics, IT security and telecommunications. Prior to TSANet, Paul worked for Nokia where he was responsible for global contact centers, social media and online support. Paul holds a MBA in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix.

Deborah Barnes – Finance Consultant

Deborah has been with TSANet since January 1995 and is now enjoying semi-retirement. During her 27+ years at TSANet, she managed financial systems, event planning and marketing projects. She also maintained the organization’s not-for-profit compliance and status.

Since October 2021, Deborah has been training Kelly Haake to take over the role of finance manager. Kelly has now assumed the finance manager position full time. Deborah will remain on staff as part time finance consultant throughout 2022 to assist as needed.

Stephanie Benson – Membership Services Coordinator

Stephanie is the Membership Services Coordinator for TSANet. Based in the United Kingdom, she has worked for TSANet since 1999.

Prior to TSANet’s globalization, Stephanie served as TSANet Europe Ltd.’s Membership Services Director. Her global responsibilities include member sales, communications and member relationship implementation. As a consultant, Stephanie’s vast experience in TSANet provides the organization expanded time-zone coverage for a variety of member services. She also serves as a liaison for Europe members, representing the needs of EMEA-based members and providing insight into the overall global organization.

Stephanie’s previous experience includes work with Apple UK where she implemented and managed the Apple Developers Program. She’s also worked as a voiceover artist and market research consultant.

Kelly Haake – Finance Manager

In October 2021, Kelly joined TSANet as assistant finance manager. As Deborah eases into retirement, Kelly has taken over the role of finance manager.

Kelly’s main areas of responsibilities involve financial transactions for TSANet such as invoicing, collections, accounts payable and payroll. Kelly works closely with member services in the process of on-boarding new members and membership renewals. She also manages HR administration and financial reporting.

Prior to TSANet, Kelly worked in various purchasing and administrative roles for a worldwide parts and equipment supplier company, as an office manager in a chiropractor’s office, and a manager at a local restaurant. She received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Kansas in 2016. She has a background in financial management, including payroll. Kelly’s exceptional organizational skills and experience are an asset to the TSANet team.

Brittany Jimerson – Marketing and Operations Manager

Brittany is responsible for the Marketing and TSANet Connect Operations. As a Manager, the position includes developing plans and managing projects that supports the overall TSANet Strategy. She joined TSANet in 2013.

As the Marketing Manager her main areas of responsibilities are social media, blogs and digital marketing including the Public Web and lead generation activities. As the Operations Manager her main areas of responsibilities include management of Member data in both TSANet Connect, Salesforce and related systems, TSANet Connect Release Management including member feedback, quality testing and communication, and TSANet Connect Operations Management including Member onboarding, Change Management and Partner programs. Brittany has been with TSANet since 2013.

She received a B.S. in Journalism with an emphasis in strategic communication from the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas in 2012. During her time at KU, Brittany was a part of the implementation and execution of a strategic campaign, “Txt L8r Drive Safer”, for the Kansas Department of Transportation. She also had the opportunity to conduct research and write social media posts and news releases in her journalism courses.

Rainer Zielonka – Senior Consultant, TSANet EMEA Representative & Chairman of EMEA and India Focus Groups

Rainer is the chairman of the TSANet EMEA focus group, an informal network of tech support executives, he represents TSANet in Europe to drive TSANet’s regional business and membership growth.

Rainer Zielonka, Senior Technical Consultant, has a long history as leader of technical support organizations with over 35 years of experience in the IT industry. As a former chairman he served on the TSANet Board for over ten years. In his role as chairman of the TSANet EMEA focus group, an informal network of tech support executives, he represents TSANet in Europe to drive TSANet’s regional business and membership growth.

” I am thrilled to be part of the TSANet team” said Rainer. “The TSANet organization has a winning strategy, a highly talented team and a unique value proposition”

TSANet Staff