Andy LaBarre

TRANSCRIPTION: Caroline MacGregor: This is WEMU, and it's time for our monthly look at the business community in Washtenaw County. I'm Caroline MacGregor, and welcome to Washtenaw Business Lens. Each month, we partner with the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber to look at how the news of the day impacts the local business community. Andy LaBarre is executive vice president and director of government relations for the chamber, and he is, of course, part of each month's conversation.

ABOUT DR. RICHARD BROWN: Poka Snack creator Dr. Richard Brown. Richard Brown is a successful nuclear medicine physician, emeritus professor, and healthcare executive. Now this first- time consumer product founder in Ann Arbor has taken a consumer product idea toward commercialization at 71. Poka Snack™ is a patent-pending reusable tool that makes it easier to freeze and coat bananas and other fruit. We launched on Kickstarter August 4 and are already over 78% funded.

ABOUT KEVIN PARVIZ: Kevin Parviz, Ph.D., is a detective/corporal with the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office and a longtime specialist in digital forensics and cybersecurity. With more than 27 years in law enforcement and over 22 years conducting computer and mobile-device forensic examinations, he has worked on hundreds of investigations.