Instructors

Brian Abeel

Biography : Mr. Brian Abeel’s HazMat experience spans 34 years working with various Federal, State, and local agencies, as well as the California Public. In 1988, Brian began his working career for the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), as a student assistant while attending college. After graduating in 1990 from the University of California at Davis with a Biochemistry B.S. degree, Brian continued his career with DTSC as a Hazardous Substances Scientist inspecting hazardous waste generator, treatment, storage, and disposal facilities, and investigating hazardous waste crimes. In 1999, Brian transferred to the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services working in the Hazardous Materials Section as a Hazardous Substances Scientist, and then, as a Senior Emergency Services Coordinator, planning and coordinating emergency response and recovery, implementing spill release reporting and community right-to-know laws, inspecting and training HazMat teams, and responding to major HazMat incidents and disasters in the State of California. In 2018, Brian returned to DTSC, where he works as a Senior Environmental Scientist Specialist in the Emergency Response Unit, assisting local agencies with chemical removal actions at Off-Highway and Illegal Drug Lab incidents, and residential and business properties damaged by disasters (e.g. fires and floods).

Richard Alamo

Biography : Richard began his career in public safety in 1999 when he joined the Sacramento Fire Department as a Firefighter/Paramedic. Over the years, he has held different positions, including Fire Engineer, Fire Captain, and most recently, the Behavioral Health Coordinator, a role he was appointed to by the Fire Chief. After graduating from Montclair High School in 1994, Richard moved to Northern California to attend the Fire Technology program at Sierra College in Rocklin, California. He earned an Associate of Science degree in Fire Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Health Science from Arizona State University. For the past five years, Richard has been an active member of the Sacramento Fire Department's peer support program, where he has completed training in peer support, critical incident stress management for individuals, and critical incident stress management for groups. He has helped diffuse critical incidents and assisted with substance abuse programs, 12-step work, and individual crisis intervention. In addition to his passion for public safety, Richard is also an Ironman triathlete. He has completed the grueling endurance event 14 times, which involves a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run. When not training or working, he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter.

Vance Bennett

Biography : Hazmat instructor at CSTI. Retired from the USCG.

Kenneth R. (Ken) Beutler

Biography : An American Board of Industrial Hygiene - Certified Industrial Hygienist, with over thirty-five years of experience in providing training and on-site health and safety support to first responders, regulatory agency inspectors, and hazardous waste workers. Areas of expertise include: indoor air quality, ergonomics, bloodborne/airborne pathogen infection control, hazardous waste remediation, confined space work, lead and asbestos health hazard awareness, abandon mine site hazard awareness, wilderness first aid, off-road driving, traffic control, and as an outdoor guide.

Danene Birtell

Biography : While earning her B.S. in Biology and Marine Sciences from Rutgers University Danene began volunteering at the Adventure Aquarium in NJ and had the opportunity to travel to South Africa to support the wildlife rehabilitation efforts during the Treasure Oil Spill. Since then, Danene earned an A.S. in Veterinary Technology and has responded to greater than 30 oiled wildlife incidents. In 2007, she joined the oiled wildlife response team at Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research and remained there until 2018, aside from spending a few years in Houston, TX. Danene has also contributed multiple spill response exercises, training workshops, and has participated in wildlife response planning nationally and internationally. Since 2018, she has been with the Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) at UC Davis’ School of Veterinary Medicine.

Mark Bridges

Biography : Mark retired from the Santa Monica Fire Department in July, 2014 as a Battalion Chief and Hazardous Materials Specialist. He currently serves as a Senior Instructor with the Industrial Emergency Council/IEC, teaching all the hazmat classes on the CSTI roster and other specialized courses. Mark's extensive work experience as a firefighter, fire captain, battalion chief, paramedic, and hazardous materials specialist and formidable experience as an innovator of ideas, including the introduction of a creative learning environment to the classroom, all add to making the classes he teaches first rate. Some of his many accomplishments include being the first paramedic to teach the EMT course in Ventura County, being the first paramedic in the City of Camarillo and being selected firefighter of the year twice. Mark also developed and coordinated several regional hazmat exercises in Los Angeles County and beyond. Several of these exercises received recognition and funding from the Department of Homeland Security. At his retirement from Santa Monica FD, Mark was presented a California State Assembly Proclamation for his work in the field of hazardous materials response.

Michael Brogan

Biography : Michael is a Press Officer in Region 9’s Office of Public Affairs covering Central and Southern California. In his role, Michael coordinates with different divisions and Headquarters on writing press releases, responding to media inquiries, assisting with media and community outreach efforts, and supporting EPA Emergency Response efforts. Additionally, Michael serves as a Special Emphasis Program Manager for the Experienced Federal Workers (E-FEDS) Employment Program in Region 9. Michael entered federal service in February 1991 as a member of the Air Force. He has almost 30 years of experience in public affairs as a public affairs specialist, radio show host, television and radio reporter, newscast anchor, and Public Affairs Officer. He served in the Air Force for nearly 24 years before retiring in 2014, then worked as a DoD government civil servant for an additional five years in Tokyo, Japan. Prior to joining EPA in July 2022, Michael was a Public Affairs Officer for the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System from 2019 to 2022.

C Scott Bunning

Biography : Scott has been with AristaTek for nearly 10 years as their Director of Marketing and Sales. In that time, he has trained 1000's of PEAC users all over the world on best practices in using the PEAC software in hazmat and CBRN scenarios.

Paul Christensen

Biography : Paul Christensen works for the Utah State Fire Marshal's Office in the hazardous materials section. Paul has served in the fire service since 2000, with specialties in wildland fire suppression, then shifting his interest to hazardous materials. After completion of the hazardous materials technician program, Paul found his interest in radiation and radiological response. Curiosity being the driving force, Paul has spent the past 10 years honing his knowledge surrounding radiation incident response to help responders understand some of the basics when the call comes in. Over the years Paul has taught a number of courses concerning radiation response throughout the state of Utah, and has also coordinated courses for other US first responders within the exclusion zone of Chernobyl Ukraine. Paul started teaching within the fire community in 2005 within the state of Utah. He has taught courses concerning numerous subjects including wildland fire, recruit school, and he has also been involved in education for Emergency Medical Services. Previous to transitioning to the Fire Marshal's Office, he worked as a firefighter and paramedic, serving the people within the community.

Jim Cornish

Biography : Biography Jim Cornish Applying Fourier Transform Infrared Gas Analysis (FTIR) for quantification and identification of gas measurement to the tool kit of Emergency Responders is a relatively recent event. Although the technique of FTIR has been around since the 1960’s, it has until very recently remained a laboratory analytical technique. Advanced design of the inner workings of the FTIR (Interferometer) in conjunction with today’s powerful computer processors now allow this powerful analytic technique to be used in the field by emergency responders whom can rapidly assess toxic gas concentrations at sub-ppm levels or utilize the technology to assist identify “unknown” gases at an incident site. Jim Cornish holds a B.Sc. degree in Applied Chemistry received from Deakin University, Geelong in Australia. Working initially as a Petroleum Chemist with Esso and SANTOS and gaining hands-on experience with gas chromatography and other laboratory instruments before switching continents and professions. Since 1986, Jim has been actively involved in the field of environmental instrumentation as applied to air, water and soil remediation. Through this period, Jim has gained comprehensive first-hand experience in applying various field analytical measurement technologies including Gas Chromatography UV fluorescence and optical measurement technologies such as NDIR, Photoacoustic IR, NIR, UV and more recently FTIR. In 2008, Jim joined Gasmet Technologies inc., the North American subsidiary of Gasmet Technologies Oy, a manufacturer of industrial FTIR gas analyzers and systems. Jim’s core job function is to provide application & instrumentation support to Gasmet’s diverse users in Hazmat, Environmental Health, Environmental & Research communities. Jim’s presentation includes discussion of the many What’s & Why’s of the technology including : What is FTIR? How does it work? History of FTIR When is it a useful technology? Advantages over other types of detection equipment What are it's limitations? as applied to hazmat and emergency responders making use this new field technique in their site assessment tool kit.

Robert Dunivin

Biography : Robert Dunivin has over 30 years fire service experience 22 of it with the Los Angles Fire Department. Currently Robert serves as a Fire Captain and has been assigned to the LAFD CBRNE/Hazmat Section JHAT Unit for the last 7 years. Robert has been a Hazmat Technician/ Specialist for most of his Fire Service Career and is also a Hazmat Specialist on CATF-1. He is also is a CSTI and CSFM Certified instructors and teaches a variety of subject throughout the State. Robert also serves as the Secretary for the Firescope Hazmat Sub-committee.

Marcus Dunlap

Biography : Captain Dunlap began his career with CAL FIRE as a seasonal Firefighter in 2005. He is now a station captain in the San Luis Obispo unit and a member of the HazMat Team. He has a Bachelors degree in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology, is a registered State Fire Training instructor and CSTI Outreach Instructor. He is currently serving as the Chair of the FIRESCOPE Hazardous Materials Subcommittee.

Brian Escamilla

Biography : Brian Escamilla is a retired Criminalist from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Laboratory of Forensic Services. While serving as the Lead Criminalist with Sacramento County in the Controlled Substances section, Mr. Escamilla responded to and analyzed the evidence for over 200 clandestine laboratory scenes. Mr. Escamilla has extensive knowledge in the assessment, processing, and sampling of clandestine laboratories and a court qualified expert in the areas of controlled substances, blood alcohol, and clandestine laboratories. Mr. Escamilla has also researched and manufactured methamphetamine, PCP, MDMA, methcathinone, fentanyl, euphoria, and various other drugs in a controlled laboratory setting. In addition, Mr. Escamilla has published over 30 papers, conducted over 70 workshops, and given numerous presentations related to narcotics and clandestine laboratories at conferences all over the United States. During his 19 years of service with Sacramento County, Mr. Escamilla also served as the Laboratory Safety Officer and was in charge of all hazardous waste handling, hazardous waste storage, health and safety programs and associated training, and ensuring the Laboratory complied with all OSHA regulations. This also included the maintenance of all respirators, air monitoring equipment, fume hoods and biological cabinets, fit-testing of employees, and record-keeping requirements. Mr. Escamilla has Bachelor’s Degrees in Biology and Chemistry, both from California State University, Sacramento. Brian has been an instructor with NES since 2002 and has trained thousands of personnel across the United States in various narcotic related classes. Brian is currently the Clan Lab Program Manager and a Principal Instructor with NES.

Alan Finkelstein

Biography : Alan Finkelstein retired in 2016 after 34 years in the fire service. He had worked for the Strongsville Fire and Emergency Services Department in Ohio since 1986. Mr. Finkelstein performed inspections, code enforcement, responded to fire and hazardous material emergencies, develops and implements emergency plans, , and serves on county and state advisory committees as a subject matter expert on topics such as hazardous materials, WMD and continuity of operations. His background also includes extensive experience in emergency response, command and control, and emergency planning.. Mr. Finkelstein is vice chair of the Cuyahoga County Local Emergency Planning Committee and sits on the Emergency Management Advisory Board, and is a member of the International Association of Firefighters, the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters. He is also a member of the National Tribal Emergency Management Council and the NationalTriba l Toxics councylSince 1993 Mr. Finkelstein has been a USEPA certified CAMEO instructor. He has been an instructor and course developer for Louisiana State University’s CAMEO training program since 2003 and has presented programs at numerous hazmat and emergency planning conferences including one in India. Alan also is a hazmat instructor at the Center for Domestic Preparedness.

Harvard Fong

Biography : Harvard Fong has been with the Worker Health and Safety Branch of the Department of Pesticide Regulation since 1980. He had conducted several worker exposure and environmental fate studies of pesticides, has trained County Agricultural Commissioners and pesticide handlers on safety regulations, investigated pesticide related illnesses, and done several large-scale monitoring studies of structural fumigations. He has been a Board-certified Industrial Hygienist since 1994 and Senior Industrial Hygienist since 2001.

Solana Foo

Biography : Solana Foo has been working in GIS for 20 years, applying the technology to community development, water utilities, land ownership, transportation planning, flood modeling, and environmental emergency response. She enjoys working with field teams to make technology work for them, and using various data visualization tools to help management make more informed decisions and extract derive data-driven insights.

Toby Frost

Biography : Battalion Chief Toby Frost is a member of the Lafayette Fire Department in Indiana. He is a Team Leader for their HazMat Team and is the founder of their Illicit Lab Response Team. He is a department instructor for fire fighters, recruits, and local industry teaching fire science, technical rescue and hazardous materials. He is a continuing lecturer at Purdue University in the School of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. He has presented across the country at hazmat conferences including the IAFC International Hazardous Materials Conference, The Hot Zone, and at the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC). As a contract instructor Toby has helped train federal, state and local responders across the country and internationally. Toby serves as a HazMat Specialist for FEMA -INTF-1. Toby is a principal member of the NFPA Hazardous Materials Committee. He is a current Board Member for the Indiana Alliance of Hazardous Materials Responders. BC Frost is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with a BS in Fire Science Engineering Technology and of the NFA Executive Fire Officer Program. In 2018, Toby was recognized by the IAFC Hazardous Materials Committee with their “Level A” Award and in 2019, by the Hot Zone Conference with the “In the Zone Award”. Toby is the Training Manager for Safeware Training/Hazard3

Sheldon Fung

Biography : Sheldon Fung has a BS in Biochemistry from UC Davis and a Master’s in Criminology/WMD from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He was a Police Officer for the city of Sacramento before becoming a Special Agent in the FBI. At the FBI Sheldon worked counter terrorism and counterintelligence cases and was awarded the Attorney General’s Award for his work on the Chi Mak Espionage case. Because of his biochemistry background, Sheldon has worked WMD matters for more than 20 years, serving as the WMD Coordinator of the Sacramento Division of the FBI for more than 10 years. Sheldon has 15 years of experience as a Special Agent Bomb Technician and has conducted classified research in this area. Sheldon retired in 2019 from the FBI, to become an Assistant Chief and WMD Coordinator for the California Office of Emergency Service, where he currently serves. Sheldon still serves as a Task Force Officer and Assistant WMD Coordinator for FBI Sacramento.

Juan Garcia

Biography : Juan Garcia Emergency Preparedness Health Physicist California Department of Public Health Radiologic Health Branch (RHB). Juan is the CA ROSS Coordinator. He is tasked with creating a ROSS team in Northern and Southern CA, coordinating training for ROSS certification progression, radiological emergency preparedness/response training for RHB staff, help with exercises/drills for radiological or other public health emergencies throughout CA, provide outreach/training on radiation related topics throughout CA, helping state/local planning efforts for radiation emergencies, advise on reducing/preventing public/environmental rad exposure.”

Brandon Gayle

Biography : Lieutenant Brandon Gayle began his fire service career in 1997 with the City of Raleigh Fire Department and has served as a HazMat Specialist for the department since 1999. He became a certified Fire Service Instructor for the North Carolina Office of the State Fire Marshal in the field of Hazardous Materials Response in 2006 and has been training emergency responders ever since. Mr. Gayle is also the President of Gayle Training Solutions, LLC which opened in 2011 and provides training and consulting services for several instrument manufacturers and distributors. Mr. Gayle has had the privilege of training Fire, EMS, LE, EOD and HazMat responders as well as Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, both nationally and internationally, in most disciplines of hazardous materials and CBRNE response with a focus on detection and identification technologies. Mr. Gayle is OEM certified to teach air monitor maintenance and repair, chemical response software, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (solid, liquid, and gas), Raman spectroscopy, ion mobility spectroscopy, high pressure mass spectrometry, gas chromatography mass spectrometry and radiological monitoring and isotope identification technologies. His specialty is teaching how to integrate data from modern technologies and apply it to risk assessment, making for safer and faster incident mitigation. Gayle Training Solutions offers competitively priced courses in recon air monitoring, chemical identification, hazard/risk assessment, and PPE selection customized to the customer’s response inventory.

Christopher Gould

Biography : Chris Gould: Risk-Based Response To Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Vehicles Chris currently resides on the west central coast of Florida and is a Battalion Chief with Southern Manatee Fire Rescue where he has spent over nine years as Manatee County's Hazardous Materials Response Team Leader. He started his career in 1990 as a firefighter with Southern Manatee Fire Rescue and moved into Special Operations in 1996 specializing in hazardous materials response. Chief Gould is a member of the Tampabay Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and is an active member of the Training Sub Committee. He is a Florida Certified: Hazardous Materials Technician, Arson Investigator, Instructor, Fire Inspector II, Paramedic, Firefighter and regularly instructs various hazardous materials, CNG and drone related classes throughout the country. He holds degrees in Business Management and Fire Science and is and regularly instructors at Florida’s Annual Hazardous Material Symposium and has presented Haz Mat programs at the CBRNe World Convergence, Washington Council of Governments, and TRANSCAER among many others. He is well known as a pioneer in regards to utilizing drones for sampling and plume tracking during large scale industrial hazardous materials incidents but his expertise lies mainly with CNG response where he is often called upon to assist various jurisdictions with CNG related incidents. In 2014 drawing from his experience with large commercial vehicle fires he identified life threatening hazards that CNG powered vehicles pose to responders where incorrect tactics can cause these vehicles to explode with a bomb like detonation that can send shrapnel up to three quarters of a mile away. Since then he has been traveling and teaching a responder orientated CNG program that allows responders to safely mitigate these incidents and then safely dis-arm the damage and potentially explosive CNG cylinders that remain afterward.

M HAYNES

Biography : Lead Instructor Biography: Haynes, Michal, Air Quality Insp. III, Toxic and Waste Unit Lead Instructor: Asbestos Compliance Class Current Assignments: Lead Smelters, Bridges/ Overpasses, Aerospace/Refineries, Battery Manufacturing Plant, Wastewater Treatment Plants and VOC Contaminated Soil Remediation Projects Certificates: Hazwhopper, Asbestos Contractor Supervisor, Haz Waste and Homeland Security-Bio Terrorism Agency/Company: SCAQMD Mailing Address: 21865-Copley DR. City: Diamond Bar State: CA Zip Code: 91765 Phone: 909.396.2369 Email: [email protected] I (Michal Haynes) am a 30-year plus, veteran in the Engineering and Compliance Division -Air toxic and Waste unit of the SCAQMD, a regional Governmental Agency. As a Senior Compliance officer/ Inspector assigned to the Toxic and Waste unit I perform and/or participate in High priority Complaint and Process/ APC equipment breakdown investigations, joint agency audits, team compliance inspections and Toxic/Haz wastes investigations. Currently, I am assigned to investigations and compliance audits that require an elevated level to details/ knowledge/ sensitivity. I have and currently serve as one of the agencies expert witness in hearing board/court/depositions regarding asbestos, lead and contaminated work sites. Also, I teach the asbestos contractors compliance class and perform outside speaking engagements regarding Asbestos and Asbestos related rules and regulations. I have expert knowledge of AQMD rules and regulations and have OSC experience on Emergency response investigations and have working experience regarding remedial actions associated with DTSC, Cal-OHSA, Fed-OSHA, DOD, DOE, Classified and Biological contaminated waste sites and Landfills. I interface with AQMD Executive officers, Attorneys, Managers and Staff, providing them with final reports and status updates as needed. Also, I meet with and discuss AQMD rules and regulations with General/ Demo contractors, DOSH-Certified Asbestos Consultant (CAC/CSST), DTSC/ EPA/ Fireman/ Corporate Environmental Officers, Health Department and other Business and Government representatives. I have excellent communication and public relation skills. Investigation Types: • Asbestos Release • Site Inspection /Preliminary Compliance Actions • Site Stabilization • Site Sampling (Asbestos Survey) • Survey Results • Mitigation/ Cleanup Plan • ACWM Storage • Haz and Non-Haz Manifest / Disposal Sites • Final Compliance Actions • Fines and Penalties • Rules/ Regulations Handling an Emergency Chemical Release/ Spills at Port facilities, Refineries, Chemical plants, Trains and Airports.

Gary Havner

Biography : I started my career with Hazardous Materials doing Lead abatement in the late 1980's . In 1990 I went to work as a Journeyman Painter doing predominately light industrial work becoming educated in respiratory, fall protection and confined space entry and some disposal of hazardous materials. On Sept. 2nd of 1997 I was employed as a Painter II for the California Department of Corrections and utilized my abovementioned skill set working within several Correctional Facilities. In 2013 I promoted as a Regional Safety Officer for Inmate Ward Labor a division of the California Department of Corrections that does construction utilizing Inmate Labor with Journeymen hired out of local Labor Unions .In the last seven years thanks to some excellent mentors I have become a "Safety Resource" and a trainer with over a thousand hours of training experience .Regularly dealing with site excavations, fall protection, hazardous material disposal , respiratory protection, confined space entries and train in the previously mentioned . I began receiving OSHA training in 1997 and became a Construction Safety and Health Trainer ( to Cal OSHA standards) in 2014 and a Disaster Site Worker Trainer in 2019.

Joel Hendelman

Biography : Battalion Chief (Ret.) Joel Hendelman - During his 34-year career with the City of Fairfax and Fairfax Volunteer Fire Department in Fairfax Virginia Chief Hendelman served in every operational career capacity from firefighter/driver-operator to Battalion Chief. He transferred for 5 years into Fire Prevention and Arson Investigations, obtaining the rank of Chief Fire Marshal before his return to emergency operations, and was ultimately promoted to the rank of Battalion Chief in 2002. He served in that capacity until retirement in January 2009 but continued to serve in the City of Fairfax Volunteer Department for an additional year as Deputy Fire Chief, retiring in 2010. Chief Hendelman is recognized as an expert in flammable and combustible liquid firefighting operations; teaching hazardous materials tactical operations, incident management principles, and mitigation techniques at national and regional conferences since 2002. He was a significant contributor as a subject matter expert to the NOVA (Northern Virginia) Regional Fire Department's Flammable Liquid Firefighting Tactical Operations Manual originally released in 2002 and revised three times since its inception. The manual is still in use today by 15+ jurisdictions within the Northern Virginia region protecting almost 4+ million citizens and has been shared with countless other local, regional, and state emergency response organizations across the USA. Now in his 48th year in emergency services, Chief Hendelman has traveled to 39 states, serving as a technical consultant and subject matter expert teaching Incident Management, Emergency Operations Center Management, mitigation techniques, Managing LNG Incidents, and Ethanol Emergency Response Safety training emphasizing strategy, tactics, management, and mitigation.

Ernie Hernandez

Biography : Ernie Hernandez is a Supervising Hazardous Materials Specialist with the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), Health Hazardous Materials Division, Emergency Operations Section. Ernie's 25 years of experience include 2 years as a field chemist for the hazardous waste services industry; 5 years working as an emergency response contractor for the U.S. EPA Region 9 Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team; and 18 years of CUPA inspections and emergency response for LACoFD. He holds a master degree in chemical engineering from Cal State University Long Beach and two bachelor degrees in chemistry and environmental science from Whittier College.

Jim Hosler

Biography : Chief Jim Hosler has been with CAL FIRE-Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) since 2016. He first started his career with the State as a pipeline Safety Engineer. Prior to State service, Jim worked in the oil pipeline industry for 30+ years and comes from varying operational and maintenance backgrounds. His career started in the hazardous waste industry in 1988 and has been within the pipeline industry until 2016. He has held several key positions within the industry and with several pipeline companies, ranging from LA Basin crude supply control, Control Center Supervisor, Control Room Management, Assistant Area Manager, and Pipeline Terminals Manager. Jim holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management.

Scott Hudson

Biography : Career federal government health physicist, last 19 years with EPA, prior 10 with US Army (civilian). Experience in medical, industrial and NBC-related radiation safety response, training and preparedness. Recently focused on late-phase recovery planning for a large-scale radiological release.

Pete Jensen

Biography : Battalion Chief Peter (Pete) Jensen Ventura County Fire Protection District in Camarillo, California Chief Jensen recently semi-retired after over 33 years the fire service. He started his career on the Ventura Co. Fire Dept. on the hand crew fighting wildland fires. In 1990 he joined the Point Mugu Fire Dept. at NAS Point Mugu as a civilian federal firefighter and progressed up to the rank of Captain. During his tenure there he was a plank holder in the creation of that department’s hazmat and urban search and rescue (USAR) teams. After almost 9 years with that department he started over as a rookie firefighter with the Ventura County Fire Dept. and again has promoted back up through the ranks through Captain, the department’s Hazmat Officer and finished as a Battalion Chief in Operations. Chief Jensen has a Masters degree in Emergency and Disaster Management from American Military University, a Bachelor’s degree from California State University Long Beach in Occupational Studies and an Associate’s degree in Fire Technology from Oxnard College. He is a certified instructor from the California State Fire Marshal, The California Specialized Training Institute, FEMA and the National Sheriffs’ Association. As part of his service to the fire service and the hazmat communities, Pete serves on a number of committees and working groups with the most notable being Firescope’s Hazmat Working Group, NFPA 470 Technical committee, The International Association of Fire Chief’s Hazmat Committee, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Emergency Services Sector’s Information Sharing and FGA Working groups. Pete is a certified Hazmat Specialist and a CSTI Outreach Instructor. He is also a qualified Division Group Supervisor, Strike Team Leader, Type 3 Safety Officer and Type 3 PIO through the federal NWCG incident qualification System ( ICS).

Daniel Keenan

Biography : Dan Keenan has been a firefighter and Hazardous Materials Specialist/responder for the Oakland Fire Department, Oakland, CA since 1991. He is certified by CSTI (California Specialized Training Institute) as a Hazardous Materials Instructor for the entire Technician/Specialist curriculum. Dan felt a need to promote hazardous materials training with the use of live chemical demonstrations, and this interest fueled the development of his course called “Fun With Chemistry” http://www.efilmgroup.com/HazMat-Hazwoper/Fun-With-Chemistry-Video.html for which Dan received the James H. Meidl “Instructor of the Year” Award in 1999 – sponsored by CA State Fire Marshall. Dan’s expertise in chemical demonstrations has been featured in the Emergency Film Group’s video, “Introduction to Hazardous Chemicals” and the “Hazmat Operations” series of films. Dan Keenan is a member of the Emergency Film Group’s Technical Committee. Dan was a Faculty Member in the Fire Service Technology Department for Chabot Community College, Hayward, CA, where he taught the course “Fundamentals of Fire Protection Chemistry” - Physical & Chemical characteristics of matter and fire. Dan received his formal Chemistry education from the University of Rochester, New York. Dan is a consultant to HazTech Systems Inc., manufacturer of the HazCat Kit ®. He has been teaching “Field Identification of Unknowns” classes for over twenty years and was featured in the American Chemical Society’s “What Chemists Do” Video series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CWy2R23qlI He has made use of his experience and expertise to teach Advanced Field Identification of Unknown Hazardous Substances to federal EPA On-Scene-Coordinators at their Nationwide Training conference, and is called upon to teach Field Identification of Unknowns during CSTI’s Technical Reference Specialist Course. Dan was a consultant with Davis Defense Group where he taught response to Chemical Warfare Agent laboratories to the CST’s. He is also a consultant for the Industrial Emergency Council and has taught countless “Basic Chemistry” and “Applied Chemistry” courses, each a 40 hour curriculum, to responders throughout the State of California. In addition to teaching all the HazMat Tech/Spec modules, Dan teaches HAZWOPER and Haz Comm Standard to private & public sector employees. Dan is a Subject Matter Expert on the California Specialized Training Institute’s curriculum review committee for the rewrite of the Hazardous Materials Technician 1A – Basic Chemistry course. Dan has been a member of the Environmental Crimes Investigator’s Association and has taught a course called “Practical Chemistry for Environmental Investigators & Field Officers” to several Environmental Crimes Task Forces including San Diego, Imperial County and has put on seminars at the annual CHMIA conference. In 2018 Dan was awarded the William J. Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award. This award is presented to the individual who has dedicated a “lifetime” of commitment and sacrifice in creating and/or promoting innovations and achievements in hazardous materials response, management and/or leadership

David LeDuff

Biography : David works for the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California’s Environmental Programs Support Team in the Hazardous Materials Program. He has worked in public health for over 29 years, with the past 23 years being in the hazardous materials arena as a CUPA inspector and manager, environmental compliance specialist and environmental specialist. David has experience with hazardous material emergency response, enforcement, and environmental compliance activities and currently helps manage MWD’s hazardous waste program. He has a B.S. and M.S.in Environmental and Occupational Health from California State University, Northridge (CSUN), an M.P.H. with an emphasis in epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) credential.

Adam McFadden

Biography : Adam is a Hazmat Technician, Shift Training Instructor and Former Recruit Training Officer for Canada’s Largest Urban Fire Service; as well as a member of the Joint Response Hazmat & CBRNE Team. He is also the owner of Firehouse Training, a Canadian private-industry fire service training company, developing various programs in the areas of hazardous materials spill response, terrorism awareness and flammable liquids training. Adam has over 20 years of experience in the Hazmat industry, has completed Cargo Tank Hazmat Specialist Training, Hazardous Materials Incident Command & Safety Officer training programs with the Michigan State Police Academy. He was also a participant at the Tracking Terrorism: Countering the Threat Symposium in Durham Region, Canada. Adam has spoken previously at various Hazmat Conferences including the Florida State Hazmat Symposium, Hazmatcon: Hazardous Materials Virtual Conference based out of Michigan, and Ontario Hazmat Responders Association Hazmat Conference, in Niagara Falls, Canada.

William Miller

Biography : William Miller began his Fire Service career in 1991 as a FireFighter/EMT with the Tacoma Fire Department (WA) and joined its HazMat response team in 1995. At the time of retirement in May 2017 he specialized in HM/CBRN instrumentation, research/analysis, system integration, and grant writing. In addition to serving as lead HM/CBRN response instructor for TFD, he also taught at the Washington State Fire Training Academy covering subjects in chemical/ physical properties and CBRN/terrorism response. Education includes a B.S.in Business Administration from Central Washington University with extensive coursework in chemistry and biology. Mr. Miller also served on Washington USAR-FEMA Task Force 1 for 23 years starting as a Rescue Specialist followed by 12 years as a HazMat manager. Currently Mr. Miller provides training and advice primarily to Fire Dept. based HM/CBRN response teams.

Michael Mudgett

Biography : Michael is the Course Manager for the Specialist F&G weeks, ASO, and Railcar Safety courses. Serving as the Haz Mat Lead, Michael is responsible for managing the CSTI Field Training Facility, CSTI partner sites, coordinating with other Haz Mat Program Managers, and preparing updates to the training curriculum . He has a background in Fire/Haz Mat, with over 27 years experience in response, mitigation, and management. Michael is retired from the City of Santa Barbara Fire Department.

Gail Obeso

Biography : Ms. Obeso’s background experience consists of a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science, Registered Environmental Health Specialist, Hazardous Materials Specialist and Master Exercise Practitioner. She has served as the Counter-terrorism/Hazmat Coordinator for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. She also served as the liaison to Public Health, Hospitals, Civil Support Teams and Law Enforcement communities. Ms. Obeso has 30 years of experience in hazardous materials response, enforcement and investigations. Additionally she has environmental health experience in vector control, and food services and worked in the Public Health Lab. She has taught ICS 100, 200, 300 and 400 for various disciplines across the country. Ms. Obeso has taught at the national level for the FBI, several Civil Support Teams and the CDP for over 15 years and is currently an adjunct instructor for the Center for Domestic Preparedness. Ms. Obeso has responded to more than 2000 clandestine labs, 3 major train derailments and numerous Public Health emergencies which included Avian Flu, Anthrax/white powder calls and recently served on the Covid Task Force. Primary roles on these incidents ranged from Entry Team, Safety Officer, Logistics, Operations Chief to Incident Commander. Philosophy of Training Emergency Responders: What we do is serious business. Training prepares us for serious business but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun!

Carl Palladino

Biography : Mr. Carl Palladino has over 25 years experience as an environmental consultant. He is a principal health physicist for The Palladino Company and provides a wide range of environmental, radiological, training, and emergency management services. Mr. Palladino has diverse experiences as a responder to hazmat emergencies; managing hazardous/radioactive waste investigation/remediation projects; consulting for emergency management projects including exercise design, implementation, and evaluation, as well as developing radiological response plans; and developing/conducting health and safety trainings. He is recognized as an effective trainer and has taught over 350 radiological, technical, and safety classes to thousands of professionals and emergency response personnel.

Chris Pfaff

Biography : Chris Pfaff is a Fire Captain and prevention officer at West Pierce Fire & Rescue. He has been a firefighter, engineer, rescue technician, and hazmat technician throughout his 19 year career. Capt. Pfaff has multiple degrees in the field of firefighting and emergency response and his most recent degree is from Oklahoma State University with a master’s in Fire & Emergency Management Planning, since becoming a prevention officer, Capt. Pfaff has worked with Seattle Fire, the Washington State Patrol, ATF, TEEX, FSRI, and others to build a body of research in relation to Lithium Ion battery safety. Concepts, presentations, and technical panels that Capt. Pfaff has either worked on, or is currently working on are; Fire Code Action Committees - Electric Vehicles, Battery Recycling, Listed equipment requirements, Spokane Li-Ion Town Hall, Pasco, WA Energy Symposium, Washington State Hazmat Workshop, Houston Hotzone, PPE contamination testing, and others. In addition to this work, Capt. Pfaff has been a certified hazmat & technical rescue instructor since 2009 and has instructed Law Enforcement, Fire Service, EMS responders, and other occupational workers on various hazards through multiple instruction fields, including www.HazmatAndRescue.com, which he is the lead instructor, and InSource Fire Training & Consulting, where he is the compliance manager. Between these two companies, Chris has instructed multiple Hazmat Technician classes, hundreds of Hazmat Operations classes, and over 30 Hazmat On-Scene Incident Command classes.

Jon Poganski

Biography : Firefighter Poganski Started in the fire service since 1999, Firefighter Jonathan Poganski started his career as a Fire Explorer with the Newcastle Fire Protection District and worked through the ranks as a volunteer and part-time firefighter from 1999 to 2009. He also spent two years, from 2003 to 2005, with Cal Fire as a resident firefighter. He joined the Placer County Interagency Hazmat Team as a volunteer in 2003 and still remains active within the agency. In 2005, Jonathan joined the UC Davis Fire Department as a full-time firefighter and hazmat specialist, and still finds time to be a part time firefighter with the Placer Hills Fire Protection District.

Karen Riveles

Biography : Karen Riveles is a toxicologist with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) and works on emergency planning, preparedness and response. Karen's work focuses on the identification, characterization, and risk assessment of toxic air pollutants and assessing health effects and characterizing risk to public health and the environment from toxic chemical releases in the environment. Karen also helps to develop public health messages during and after chemical releases. Karen has been teaching at the Continuing Challenge for over ten years.

Frank Roberts

Biography : Frank Roberts has 8 years of Hazardous Materials and CBRN(E) experience, along with 10 years of service in the United States Marine Corps. Frank began his background in HazMat/CBRN(E) in 2015, when he was assigned to the Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF), the Marine Corps’ premier CBRN(E) response unit, providing support for Presidential events in the National Capitol Region, Republican and Democratic National Conventions, State Funeral for Former President H.W. Bush, and State of the Union Addresses. Frank continued his education in HazMat/CBRN(E), attending advanced technical courses for decontamination, search and extraction, and identification and detection. Frank also holds an undergraduate Emergency Disaster Management degree with American Military University.

Adam Roha

Biography : Sergeant Roha is a 26-year veteran of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and has been involved in all aspects of the CHP's hazardous materials enforcement, compliance, and response programs for over 18 years. Currently, he supervises the Hazardous Materials and Training Unit at the CHP's Commercial Vehicle Section, in Sacramento. His unit is responsible for providing instruction and oversight on-highway commercial vehicle enforcement, environmental crimes investigations, and the transportation of radioactive materials.

Rich Ruelas

Biography : Graduate Loyola Marymount University '94, BS Biological Sciences Registered Environmental Health Specialist 1996-2005 Peace Officer, California Highway Patrol 1999-2003 Fire Firefighter '03-'06 Firefighter Paramedic '06-'13 Firefighter Specialist '13-'14 Fire Captain '14-Present Fire/Arson Investigator '15- Present Reserve Deputy Sheriff (Los Angeles County Sheriff Dept) '09- Present As a Firefighter/Peace Officer for over 20 years, I have had the privilege of working for 3 of the largest and most respected Departments in the country. I have worked with several multi- agency Task Forces and have garnered subject matter expert status in Arson Investigation, Large Vehicle Fire Investigation and Illegal Fireworks Enforcement. I have spoken at numerous symposiums and industry seminars in the fields of Arson Investigation and Law Enforcement investigation techniques.

Scott Russell

Biography : Scott Russell is a 30-year Veteran of the Baltimore County Fire Department where he began his career as a Paramedic assigned to the Hazmat Team. He is now a Captain with the Hazardous Materials Response Team. He also volunteers his time as a member of the NFPA 470 committee and is on numerous research and development task groups vetting and collaborating on the next generation of Hazmat PPE and equipment. He also is a IAFF Hazmat instructor bringing quality training to Fire Departments around the country. Scott retired from the Air Force after 27 years of service as a Lieutenant Colonel with the Delaware Air National Guard’s 142nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. He spent 27 years performing Aeromedical Evacuation of wounded, deploying nine times in support of four different overseas contingencies. He also performed Disaster/Emergency planning with the Air National Guard specializing in Hurricane evacuation/disaster response. Scott’s education consists of an AA Emergency Medical Services, BS in Nursing, and a MS in Disaster/Emergency Management. His love is First Responder training and instilling the basics through his Safety Through Knowledge™ concepts; his company creates training focused on the responder with the principles of STK™ and the KISS (keep it simple stupid) concept. He is passionate about First Responder training, getting off the computers and training hands on in person. His goal is to promote Survival and Safety on incidents and to prevent Cancer in first responders. Scott further founded the non-profit organization Society of One America’s Defenders which is dedicated to building houses for combat wounded Veterans.

Patrick A. Ryan, CIH, CSP, CHMM

Biography : Patrick A. Ryan is the Hazardous Materials Manager at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. His responsibilities include oversight of hazardous waste on campus, and at related offsite locations. He has worked at MSU over 16 years and has worked with Hazmat for 30 years. He has extensive experience with large-scale chemical lab cleanouts and hazardous materials and waste management. He is a certified hazardous materials manager (CHMM), certified safety professional (CSP), and certified industrial hygienist (CIH). He is an active technical presenter with CUHMMC and current member of the Institute for Hazardous Materials Management (IHMM) textbook committee and CHMM exam committee. He has a strong passion for continuous learning and improvement.

Robert Salvesen

Biography : Since 1994, Bobby Salvesen rose from firefighter to Chief at East Meadow Volunteer Fire Department and became a HazMat specialist at FDNY's Special Operations. He studied Chemistry and continues education at SUNY Old Westbury. Bobby teaches at the New York and Nassau County Fire Service Academies, sharing his expertise in HazMat and rescue operations. He's a committed husband and father of two.

Rob Scott

Biography : I have been in the propane industry for the past 35 years. I have been involved in all different aspects of the industry from training new employees to regulatory liaison. For eleven years I worked in the ASME, DOT cargo tank manufacturing industry. Currently I serve as the consultant to the Western Propane Gas Association on hazardous material issues. I am also an instructor for certified employee training for the Western Propane Gas Association, as well as an instructor for the propane transportation emergency response program. I am an instructor for the California Dept. of Forestry propane fire safety training class. I am a member of U.S. DOT (COHMED) group this is a cooperative effort between DOT enforcement and industry on hazardous material issues and also serves as a cargo tank instructor for the Transportation Safety Institute. I have also written risk management programs for compliance with the clean air act 112 (r) of the US EPA and Fire Safety analysis.

Shannon Serre

Biography : Shannon Serre started with the EPA in 1998 in the National Risk Management Research Laboratory where he studied the control of pollutants from coal-fired utilities. Shannon joined EPA’s National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) in 2007 where he was the assistant program manager for NHSRC’s Technology Testing and Evaluation Program. Shannon is currently with the EPA’s Office of Emergency Management working in the CBRN Consequence Management Advisory Division. He is focused on the response and recovery from a chemical, biological or radiological incident. He has been involved in several field scale projects including: the Bio-response Operational Testing and Evaluation (BOTE) project, Underground Transport Restoration (UTR) project, Operational Testing and Evaluation of Chemical Remediation Technologies (OTECRA) and is now involved with the Analysis for Coastal Operational Recovery (AnCOR) project. The AnCOR project is focused on the restoration of a USCG facility or asset that has been contaminated with a biological agent. Shannon has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Utah.

Daniel Talbot

Biography : Daniel Talbot served 33 years with Cal Fire in the Riverside Unit and retired as a Deputy Chief in November of 2018. From 1990 to 1996, Chief Talbot served as a Fire Captain/HM Specialist on the Cal Fire/Riverside County Hazardous Materials Response Team. During his time with the Team, Chief Talbot responded to over 600 hazardous materials emergencies. Concurrently with his time on the Hazardous Materials Team, Chief Talbot was a member of the FIRESCOPE Hazardous Materials Specialist Group. During his tenure with the Hazardous Materials Specialist Group, Chief Talbot participated in developing the position manuals for the Hazardous Materials Module of the Incident Command System. As a Chief Officer, Chief Talbot responded to several significant hazardous materials incidents where he functioned as the Incident Commander. Currently, Chief Talbot is an Adjunct Instructor at Moreno Valley College’s School of Public Safety. Chief Daniel teaches Hazardous Materials Incident Commander, ICS 300, ICS 400, and the CSFM course, Incident Management of High-Rise Fires. In 2023, Chief Talbot participated in a multiagency group to develop the course Wide-Rise Fire Operations. The first Wide-Rise Operations Course was delivered in November of 2023.

Hoa Tan

Biography : Hoa is the Emergency Preparedness Program Manager with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). He provides leadership and oversight to the Center for Environmental Health emergency management programs, mainly the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) program. He also serves as liaison between CDPH, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, the CA Conference of Directors of Environmental Health (CCDEH) and the CA Conference of Local Health Officers (CCLHO) to achieve statewide emergency preparedness goals. Hoa is a Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) with over 11 years’ experience in the field of Environmental Health (EH). He previously worked for Yolo County as the former Cannabis Program Manager and has extensive experience working in multiple EH programs. He has worked in land use programs such as water wells, state small water systems; Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) program management dealing with the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS); the consumer protection programs dealing with food safety and recreational health; and most recently cannabis licensing, inspection and enforcement. Hoa’s primary area of expertise is with the Food Safety, Recreational Health and the Cannabis programs. He was a member of the Food Safety Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) group for Northern California, the Bay Area/Sacramento TAC group for Recreational Health and the Central Coast Counties Cannabis Forum.

Charles Tobias

Biography : Chuck Tobias Assistant Fire Chief, Fire and Rescue, Special Operations Hazmat and Urban Search and Rescue, CalOES Chuck joined the CalOES Fire and Rescue Branch in 2018. He has served as the manager of the Cal OES Regional Hazardous Materials Response program. This successful program oversees 12 Cal OES Hazardous Materials Response Teams located throughout the State of California. Chief Tobias recently completed a 36 year career with the Fresno City Fire Department. During his tenure in the Fire Service, he served in numerous capacities which include; Hazardous Materials Response Team Chief Anti-terrorism and Homeland Security Chief Metropolitan Medical Response System Program Manager FIRESCOPE High Rise Specialist Group Chair FIRESCOPE Hazardous Materials Specialist Group Member CICCS Safety Officer, PIO, and Strike Team Leader CSTI and SFT Outreach Instructor Paramedic Working for a large municipal fire department with an extremely busy emergency response load and his diverse background have provided Chuck with numerous opportunities to serve with national, State, regional, and local jurisdictions. He has represented Fresno, the State of California and FEMA Regions VIII, IX, and X at many meetings and conferences. He developed two Type 1 Hazmat Response Teams, one Type 1 USAR Team. Chuck graduated from Fresno City College and Columbia Southern University, Summa Cum Laude, and resides in Fresno, CA.

Jeremy VanAuker

Biography : Jeremy VanAuker is the Field Forensic Application Scientist for 908 Devices. He earned both his Master and Bachelor of Science degrees in Chemistry from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas and is currently working on his Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas. After earning his B.S., he briefly worked at an explosives manufacturing facility as a Laboratory Chemist. He then worked as firefighter/EMT-basic in Joplin, Missouri for almost five years specializing in hazardous material response and technical rescue. Before joining 908 Devices, Jeremy was a Forensic Drug Chemist II for almost nine years with the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas, Texas where he analyzed unknown materials for the presence or absence of controlled substances.

Nick Vent

Biography : Nick Vent retired after 28yrs as a Supervising Environmental Health Specialist with the County of San Diego. He managed the County of San Diego’s Hazardous Incident Response Team (HIRT), which responds to all hazardous chemical releases in a jurisdiction of 4200 square miles with 18 cities. Mr. Vent is a nationally recognized and award winning, state certified hazardous materials response instructor with 35 plus years’ experience training and certifying fire, law enforcement, and environmental professionals who respond to chemical emergencies. He currently is conducting Hazmat classes around the country, US Territories and even Europe. He has taught various environmental health courses at colleges in California and around the country. He holds degrees in Environmental and Occupational Health and Chemistry. But most he loves to travel the world and meeting people.

Amanda Wagner

Biography : Amanda Wagner has 10 years of experience participating on oil and hazardous materials emergency response projects, providing technical oversight on a variety of removal assessments and removals, and conducting a variety of technical trainings both online and in-person. She has proudly served in leadership roles on large scale high profile environmental emergency response sites as a contractor to US EPA. She has over 15 years experience conducting field sampling for soils, water and air quality projects in a variety of disciplines.

Chris Weber

Biography : Dr. Chris Weber is the President/CEO of Dr. Hazmat, Inc. which specializes in hazardous materials training and consulting for emergency responders, the military, and industry. His experience includes serving on the Washtenaw County (Michigan) Hazardous Materials Response Team for over a decade in positions that include hazmat technician, training officer, and deputy director. He also served as a member of the Longmont (Colorado) Fire Department Hazmat Team for seven years as a SME and hazmat specialist. He has been a firefighter for over 35 years and is currently a member of the Hygiene Fire Protection District. He has extensive experience involving hazardous materials chemistry, including a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology and biological chemistry from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Chris has authored the following books: Pocket Reference for Hazardous Materials Response; Hazardous Materials Operations (textbook); and Hazardous Materials Technician (textbook) and is a regular speaker at emergency response conferences around the world. He can be reached at [email protected].

Philip White

Biography : Fire Chief Philip White Ret. has over 30 years of experience in the fire service where he served in multiple capacities the last of which was 10 years as the fire chief for the City of San Francisco. As a a member of Urban Search and Rescue Task Force-3 (Menlo Park), he deployed to Hurricane Iniki, Northridge Earthquake, The World Trade Center and Hurricane Katrina. Chief White has also served as a consultant to local, state and the federal governments, private industry and special operations groups both domestically and overseas. Issues he has worked on as a consultant have included, regulatory compliance, workplace safety, CBRNE, emergency management and response. Throughout his career Chief White has also been an avid instructor. Some of the topics he has been asked to teach include, use of the incident command system, response to hazardous materials incidents, technical rescue, confined space rescue, swift water/flood rescue and other similar topics of interest to first responders. Most recently, Chief White has been asked to design and administer regional, multi-disciplinary land and maritime based full-scale exercises that have been based on complex coordinated terrorist attacks, detonation of radiation dispersal devices (RDD's) and improvised nuclear devices (IND's).

Leon Wirschem

Biography : Leon has been with County of San Diego DEHQ since 1999 and the Hazardous Incident Response Team since 2005. He has conducted thousands of compliance inspections, responded to thousands of incidents and most recently responded to Maui to assist the EPA Battery Team. Most recently Leon organized a lithium-ion battery study in San Diego with SDFD, SD Sheriff Bomb Arson, EPA and other supporting members to better understand how to protect firefighters, law enforcement, hazmat teams and the public. He is a co-chair of the ER TAG and used to be on the Hazardous Waste TAG, maintains a hazardous waste hauler variance and permit. He is here to help share information to help you do your job safely.

Robert Wise

Biography : Robert Wise has been a Federal On-Scene Coordinator with EPA Region 9 Emergency Response. Robert has 35 years experience in Superfund Emergency Response. 15 years as an EPA ER contractor and 20 years as an OSC. Robert is considered a national level expert on Mercury Response and serves on the EPA's Mercury Response Workgroup. Robert is also the Radiation Response Coordinator for EPA Region 9 and serves on the National Radiation Protection Work Group. Robert has designed and presented a number of classes at the Continuing Challenge, the CUPA Forum, Hazmat Explo conferences to name a few. During the COVID pandemic, FOSC Wise was instrumental in preparing the EPA Region 9 virtual 8-Hour HAZWOPER Refresher Training, Mercury Response and Cleanup and the Descent into Madness Classes that was made available for local, state and federal agencies nation wide. Robert has extensive experience in response operations. Robert was the Deputy Incident Commander for the Palestine Collection Base for the 2003 Space Shuttle Disaster, the Division Supervisor for the 2007 EPA San Diego FEMA Fire Recovery Fire Response, Deputy Area Commander for the 2015 Gold King Mine Spill and the High-Hazard Team Leader for a number wildland fire recovery operations in Northern California. Robert has also conducted over 100 CERCLA and OPA Removal actions over his 35 year career.

Howard Wong

Biography : Howard Wong is a 26-year veteran of environmental and hazardous materials response service. He has served as the Assistant Chief Environmental Compliance Officer with the City of Los Angeles Watershed Protection Division for five years. He held positions in several areas of public service, including Inspection Specialist, Environmental Compliance Inspector, Environmental Compliance Officer, and Lieutenant Environmental Officer. Mr. Wong has an extensive background in environmental and hazardous materials response, inspection of commercial and industrial facilities, investigation activities, cleanup, and abatement incidents. He is also a CSTI hazmat instructor, bringing quality training to the City of Los Angeles.

Chris Wrenn

Biography : Christopher Wrenn is the Vice President of Americas Sales for AEssense Corp., a Silicon Valley developer and manufacturer dedicated to providing innovative technological solutions for plant growers worldwide. He is a self-described “sensor geek” who used to use sensors to keep people alive now he uses sensors to keep plants alive and growing vigorously. AEssense makes turn-key aeroponic grow systems that use sensors and software to control the growth environment to produce bigger and more vigorous plants in less time. Chris has spoken or participated in roundtable discussions at a number of cannabis cultivation conferences. Previously Mr. Wrenn was Sr. Director of Sales and Marketing for Environics USA, a provider of sophisticated gas & vapor detection solutions for the military, 1st responder, safety and homeland security markets. Mr. Wrenn was also a key member of the RAE Systems team, helping to pioneer Photoionization Detectors (PIDs) sensors and portable wireless gas detection networks in the above-mentioned markets. A graduate of Cornell University, Chris has extensive experience teaching gas and vapor detection and has been a featured speaker at more than 100 international conferences. He has written numerous articles, papers and book chapters on gas detection in HazMat and industrial safety applications.