Speaker Biographies: LEA/CIWMB Partnership Conference, 2001

Annual Partnership Conference: August 21-23, 2001

Speaker Biographies

Gary Beale: Dr. Beale, a noted sports psychology consultant, has been recognized throughout the sports world for his contributions to the training efforts of world class and world record breaking amateur and professional competitors. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Dr. Beale holds a Ph.D. in Education and Psychology. His progressive work in preventive psychology and performance enhancing techniques has been acknowledged by universities nationwide and he has received accolades from athletes and coaches on all competitive levels.

Michael Bledsoe: Mr. Bledsoe is an attorney in the Board’s Legal Office. He works primarily in the areas of solid waste facility permitting and enforcement and California Environmental Quality Act compliance. He also supports the Recycling Markets Development Zone and Facility Compliance loan programs. Mr. Bledsoe has been with CIWMB since 1998. Prior to coming to the Board, he had a private law practice in Sacramento concentrating in real estate, land use and environmental matters. Mr. Bledsoe received his law degree from the University of California, Davis, in 1986. He also has a master’s degree in city planning from the University of California, Berkeley, and an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College.

Mark de Bie: Mr. de Bie is currently the Manager of the Permitting and Inspections Branch. He came to the Board eleven years ago after leaving a position with the Stanislaus County Department of Environmental Resources. He has been a field inspector and a supervisor for various sections including Inspections, CEQA, and LEA training.

Dennis Corcoran: Mr. Corcoran, M. Sc. works with CIWMB's LEA Training Section staff and has helped develop and produce the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Annual Conferences as well as other LEA training classes. He has over 20 years of work experience with various State environmental programs and is the senior author of Pollution Prevention Primer. At UC Davis, he studied environmental pollutant impact analysis and mitigation. His auto license plate is Avogadro's Number.

Kevin Cullen: Mr. Cullen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the California State University at Sacramento and is a California registered Professional Civil Engineer. Kevin has spent more than ten years in the solid waste industry in both the private and public sectors and both the operations and regulatory sides of the industry. His experience is primarily in landfill operations and construction oversight. Kevin is an Environmental Engineer for Solano County's Environmental Health Services Division and has shared or full responsibility for several programs including: the Solid Waste Local Enforcement Agency, onsite sewage disposal through alternative disposal systems, state small water systems and special projects including a 2,000 acre sediment disposal and wetland restoration project.

Randall L. Erickson: Mr. Erickson is a partner in the Orange County, California office of the law firm of Crowell & Moring LLP, with offices in Washington D.C., Irvine, California, and London, England. He has over 30 years’ experience in the construction industry, specializing in construction claims and construction defect disputes, public contracts and bid disputes, labor law issues, real estate development, and related environment concerns. He has represented clients in arbitrations, trials and mediations, and has served as an arbitrator and mediator and expert witness as well, and is on the Large and Complex Case panel at the American Arbitration Association. He has been actively involved in a variety of environmental remediation disputes

Peter Fuller: Mr. Fuller is a graduate of California State University at Los Angeles in Geology/Geography. He has over 30 years of professional experience with both private and state service in the fields of water and water quality. He is presently responsible for providing professional consultation to the staff of the Regional Water Quality Boards, other governmental agencies, and the public. His duties include hydro-geologic matters pertaining to the laws and regulations governing the disposal of wastes to land. Peter is also responsible for the coordination of California’s U.S. EPA-sponsored Alternative Cover Assessment Program. At the present, there are four sites throughout California participating in this national study.

Alan Glabe: Mr. Glabe has been with the Board for one year and researches solid waste issues that may potentially impact public health, safety and the environment. Currently, Alan is examining possible health related risks associated with composting such as bioaerosols. Before coming to the Board he was a post-doctoral fellow specializing in biomedical research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Davis School of Medicine.

Michael Geraghty: Mr. Geraghty has 15 years corporate global business experience including as the head of international purchasing for a Fortune 500 company. He has given more than 2000 presentations world wide, and is the author of The 10 Commandments of a Successful Entrepreneur.

Melissa Gunter: Ms. Gunter is a Waste Management Engineer in the Remediation, Closure & Technical Services Branch. She currently works on the identification and investigation of closed, illegal, and/or abandoned disposal sites throughout the State. Melissa has a bachelors degree in Geological Engineering and Geology from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where she concentrated her studies on environmental remediation. Her career goal is to save the world, one little dump at a time.

Richard Hanson: Mr. Hanson is a 1966 graduate of San Diego State with a degree in Geography and an emphasis in Cartography and a minor in History. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia from 1967-1969 working in Community Development and as a Cartographer for the Colombian government. He was employed by the County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services from 1969 to May of this year as an Environmental Health Specialist. He worked in the LEA program for 18 years and was its Chief from 1990 until his retirement. He is a past Chair of the EAC and has been a speaker at many training sessions and symposia covering numerous topics including Landfill Gas. One of his current hobbies is the study of Paleoclimatology.

Patricia Henshaw: Ms. Henshaw is the Acting Program Manager for the Local Enforcement Agency program for the County of Orange and has worked at the County of Orange Health Care Agency since 1984 and since 1992 in the LEA section. She is one of the technical support members for the CCDEH Solid Waste Policy Committee and was a team member on the original Partnership taskforce group that was instrumental in establishing the LEA/CIWMB Partnership Conference. Patti originally comes to CA from Seattle and looks forward to seeing the University of WA (her alma mater) at the Rose Bowl in the near future.

Robert Holmes: Mr. Holmes is the Regulations and Legislation Coordinator for the Permitting and Enforcement Division. He has been with the Board for 11 years in various capacities, including acting as the enforcement agency in jurisdictions where the Board is the enforcement agency. Prior to coming to the Board he worked for the Orange County Health Care Agency as a Hazardous Waste Specialist.

Geoffrey Hunt: Mr. Hunt received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Santa Clara in 1975 and a Juris Doctor from Duquesne University in 1978. He was admitted to the California Bar in 1978. Since 1986 he has been with the County Counsel’s Office of the County of Orange and in 1992 he began representing the County’s Integrated Waste Management Department, the landfill-operating department of the County. Mr. Hunt’s experience has involved representing entities that are the subject of regulatory enforcement actions and representing governmental entities in an investigative and prosecutor role.

Russhawn Jackson: Dr. Jackson is a Toxicologist with Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in the Integrated Risk Assessment Unit. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Jackson holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology. Prior to joining OEHHA in 2000, Dr. Jackson worked for the Wisconsin Division of Public Health where her efforts were focused on Brownfields Redevelopment Site Assessments.

Christine Karl: Ms Karl received her B.S. in Natural Resource Management from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She is has been an Integrated Waste Management Specialist with the Board since 1991. And, since 1996 has been in her current position in the Permitting & Enforcement Branch, Region I, Northern California. Currently, her assignments are Placer/El Dorado, Nevada, Glenn, Butte, Tehama, Del Norte, Humboldt and Solano counties.

Rebecca Lafreniere: Ms. Lafreniere has been with the City of San Diego Solid Waste Local Enforcement Agency for 2 ½ years. Rebecca has fourteen years experience in the environmental field, nine of which have been in solid waste regulatory programs. She has extensive background and experience in field inspections and investigations, enforcement, CEQA, permitting and closure of solid waste facilities. She was a member of the San Diego County Hazardous Materials After-hour Emergency Response Team for six years. Rebecca received her Bachelor’s of Art degree in Biology from the University of San Diego and she is a Registered Environmental Health Specialist and Certified Hazardous Materials Specialist with the State of California.

Brian Larimore: Mr. Larimore has worked for the California Integrated Waste Management Board for 11 years in various capacities, including enforcement, CEQA, permitting and inspections, and LEA support services. He currently is assigned to the CIWMB's Organic Materials Management program in the Waste Prevention and Market Development Division.

Mark Leary: Mr. Leary is currently the Acting Executive Director of the CIWMB. His permanent position is as the Deputy Director of the Special Waste Division of CIWMB. He manages the Board’s market development and local assistance efforts for waste tires, used oil, and household hazardous wastes. Before joining the Board in September 1999, Mark managed the Browning-Ferris Industries’ (BFI) government affairs program in the western United States and Canada.

Howard Levenson: Dr. Levenson is the Supervisor for the Organic Materials Management Section at the CIWMB. He served as Advisor to Board Member Paul Relis from 1991 through 1998. Prior to that, he was a Senior Associate in the Oceans and Environment Program of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), a non-partisan analytical support agency of the U.S. Congress. He has worked on a range of environmental issues, including marine pollution and municipal and industrial solid waste management. He was the primary author of OTA’s 1989 assessment, “Facing America’s Trash: What Next for Municipal Solid Waste?”

Sue Markie: Ms. Markie is currently the Supervisor of the Enforcement Assistance Section at the CIWMB. Her current duties include overseeing responsibility for the Board serving as the enforcement agency in five jurisdictions; administrating the Facility Compliance Loan Program and offering enforcement assistance statewide as necessary with local and state agencies. She has 12 years of environmental work experience previously working for the Department of Conservation and the Department of Fish & Game.

Theresa McGarry: Ms. McGarry received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from California State University of Sacramento in Environmental Studies with a minor in Biology. Ms. McGarry is also retired from the United States Air Force, after completing 4 years active duty and 21 years of Active Reserves. During these years, her job titles were T-39 airplane scheduler and Headquarters staff assistance inspector. She started State service with the California Integrated Waste Management Board in 1984, working in the Resource Recycling program. Since 1986, she has worked at the Department of Toxic Substances Control in the Surveillance and Enforcement Program, Transporter Section and the Site Mitigation, Office of Military Facilities. She is a project manager overseeing the cleanup of portions of Former Hamilton Army Airfield. Additionally, her job includes facilitating the State regulatory role in federal property transfers at several closed military facilities to ensure property is safe for reuse. Part time, Ms McGarry teaches dance classes for the Ballroom of Sacramento.

Rachel Morton: Ms. Morton has been with the LEA Support Branch of the CIWMB since 1994. Rachel is the LEA Round Table coordinator and assists on compostable materials issues. Rachel received her Master's of Science degree in Agriculture from Cal Poly Pomona. Her prior experience includes 13 years investigating pesticide-related incidents with the Department of Pesticide Regulation.

Janet Munger: Ms. Munger has been with the Board just over one year where she has been working in the LEA Outreach and Issue Research section. Janet coordinates the Enforcement Advisory Council (EAC) meetings, makes outreach presentations at Regional California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health (CCDEH) meetings, provides support to Regional Roundtable meetings and CIWMB/LEA workshops. Before coming to the Board, Janet worked as a Hazardous Materials Specialist for the Department of Corrections and as a Water Quality Control Assistant with the Department of Fish and Game.

Julie Nauman: Ms. Nauman is the Deputy Director of the Permitting and Enforcement Division at CIWMB. She is the former Chief Deputy Director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development. She has an extensive background in land use planning and policy.

Dawn Owen: Ms. Dawn Owen is a Waste management specialist with a Bachelors degree in Environmental Studies (focus biology). She worked for the Air Resource Board for a year in Vapor Recovery before coming to the Waste Board. She now works in the Closed, Illegal and Abandoned site investigation section assisting LEA's with their closed sites.

Darryl Petker: Mr. Petker P.E. is a Senior Technical Waste Management Engineer with the CIWMB. He is currently developing California Waste Stream Profiles to display and share information on the World Wide Web for workload and decision support. He is a registered civil engineer and has 16 years experience with both the CIWMB and private industry in dealing with solid waste issues, which include planning, landfill design, construction, operations, closure, site assessment, and construction and maintenance.

Allison Reynolds: Ms. Reynolds has worked for the California Integrated Waste Management Board for 11 years in various capacities, including as facilitator for the nonhazardous ash regulations and the transfer/processing operations and facilities regulations. She currently is assigned as the Construction and Demolition Regulations facilitator in the Permitting and Enforcement Division.

Mark Stevens: Mr. Stevens has been with the San Bernardino County LEA for 15 years.He teaches the solid waste portion of the REHS Exam prep course at UCR-Riverside Extension. He has 27 years experience in environmental health programs. Mr. Stevens has a BS in Public Health, MS in Nutrition and Food Science, JD (Law) and is a member of the State Bar of California.

Georgianne Turner: Ms. Turner received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the Humboldt State University and has worked for the Integrated Waste Management Board for ten years. Ms. Turner has experience in permitting, enforcement, solid waste cleanup, training and regulation and policy development.

Scott Walker: Scott Walker: Mr. Walker is the Supervising Engineer, managing the Integrated Waste Management Board's Remediation, Closure and Technical Services Branch. He is a California Registered Professional Civil Engineer (PE) and Certified Engineering Geologist (CEG) with over fifteen years experience including the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (from 1986 to 1992) and the Waste Board since 1992.

Jeff Watson: Mr. Watson investigates regulatory and operational challenges that compostable material processors face in California. As regulatory lead in the Board’s Local Enforcement Agency Support Services Branch, he facilitates preparation of proposed regulations for compostable materials. He has been in public service for the State of California since 1987, as a trainer, field inspector, and information duty officer. Jeff blends his experience in industrial construction project management with an ongoing interest in the sciences (Environmental Studies). “To live is to serve.”

Jon Whitehill: Mr. Whitehill has worked at the CIWMB since 1990 assisting LEAs with the permitting and inspection of solid waste facilities. Currently he is the project manager for the design and implementation of the online permit-process reference manual.

Shirley Willd-Wagner: Ms. Willd-Wagner is the Manager of the Used Oil and Household Hazardous Waste Branch at the California Integrated Waste Mgmt Board. She oversees the technical assistance, education and outreach and grant administration programs. Before coming to the Board in 1992, Shirley’s career included fifteen years in Parks and Recreation Administration at the city and county level. Shirley has a Master’s degree from California State University, Northridge in Parks and Recreation Management.

Lynda Williams: Ms. Williams is an attorney in the Board’s Legal Office where she works primarily in waste tire enforcement and Native American issues. Prior to coming to the Board in 1999, she worked as a Deputy District Attorney for Contra Costa County, represented Californian’s Against Waste Foundation with respect to enforcement of new legislation, worked as Associate Director of a conservation non-profit group in Seattle, and also worked as Director of Environmental Programs and in-house counsel for the Nez Perce Tribe’s ERWM program in Idaho. Ms. Williams received her law degree from McGeorge School of Law, in 1988.

Michael Wochnick: Mr. Wochnick is the Senior Waste Management Engineer in charge of the Integrated Waste Management Board's Closure and Technical Services Section. He has been with the IWMB for ten years. During this time he has been in charge of the Closure Section except for a brief time when he headed the EA Section. Previously, he spent ten years with the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board where he was in charge of the Regulation and Enforcement Section, which was responsible for all permitting, inspection, monitoring, enforcement, and closure for all disposal sites. Mr. Wochnick is a registered professional engineer (civil) in the State of California.

Glenn Young: Mr. Young is a Senior Waste Management Engineer at the CIWMB and administers the Closed, Illegal and Abandoned Site program. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota and is a registered Mechanical and Civil Engineer in California. He has worked for the Board since 1992 on landfill and disposal site investigations, closures, and remediations. He is also a Major in the Air Force Reserve and is the Commander of the 940^th Civil Engineer Squadron at Beale Air Force Base, California.

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Last updated: October 05, 2001