About us

Art has more than 30 years of experience as an environmental chemist, regulatory manager, and environmental attorney. He specializes in litigation support, transactional support, due diligence, and regulatory compliance matters and has extensive technical experience as both a project manager and analytical chemist. Art regularly oversees facility compliance auditing and pre-acquisition investigations. He also provides regulatory counseling and consulting to clients appearing before state and federal administrative agencies, administrative law proceedings, and plenary courts. Art assists with negotiations regarding permitting and regulatory compliance matters, and also supports regulatory enforcement defense. He has designed and implemented regulatory compliance and auditing programs for a number of clients, and has created subject matter newsletters and alerts to private and public sector clients. In addition, Art has led international and domestic due diligence teams in the investigation and assessment of pre-acquisition liabilities. He also counsels clients on sustainability matters, renewable energy, and green leases. As First Environment’s corporate quality assurance manager since 2010, he develops and manages the firm’s quality programs; authors standard operating procedures; and oversees execution of program and project plans, audits, and corrective actions.

Betsy has diverse expertise in the areas of sustainability, environmental, health, and safety which are based in a thorough understanding of effective management procedures. Her project management experience includes greenhouse gas emission reduction and climate action planning; global climate change adaptation work; quality, environmental, health, and safety management system development; compliance auditing; and regulatory compliance support. She works collaboratively with federal agencies, public entities, and communities to develop climate action plans and integrate sustainability initiatives into existing management procedures. Betsy currently serves as a council member of the American National Standards Institute – American Society for Quality National Accreditation Board, the U.S. accreditation body for management systems certification bodies. She also served as a contributor to the American Public Transit Association (APTA) Recommended Practice: Guidelines for Climate Action Planning, and has presented at several national conferences on the topics of climate change risk assessments for asset management as well as integrated approaches to climate change, sustainability, and adaptation.

Tod is the founder and president of First Environment, as well as a veteran of the U.S. Army. Since the firm’s inception he has provided direction, management, and technical oversight of the most complex project across all service areas. For First Environment’s litigation practice, he serves as an expert witness for natural resource damages cases, and has testified in more than 30 litigations involving the management, disposal, and handling of chemicals in the context of CERCLA, RCRA, state-law cleanup statutes, and toxic tort lawsuits. He has prepared expert opinions for clients in a number of states—including New Jersey, New York, California, Washington, New Mexico, Louisiana, Georgia, and Maryland—and has testified in both federal and state courts. For First Environment’s work in the federal sector as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, Tod provides senior level management and quality oversight of deliverables. As a chemical and environmental health engineer, he also reviews all designs of remedial systems for our site investigation and remediation projects. In the 1990s, Tod initiated the firm’s early involvement in climate change mitigation, participating in the development of standards as a technical expert and/or international coordinator for ISO 14064 parts 1 and 2, ISO 14065, ISO 14066, and ISO 14067 regarding greenhouse gas verification and carbon footprinting. His continued involvement in international standards for climate issues includes his role as the elected Chair of ISO’s Climate Change Coordinating Committee, formed in 2014 to support the development of standards and best practices for mitigation and adaptation worldwide. Tod continues to grow the diverse collection of service First Environment offers, branching out into emerging areas such as environmental product certifications, green/climate bonds, and renewable fuel certification.

Devin has more than 15 years of experience providing in-house and external multi-media environmental compliance and management assistance across multiple regulatory program areas and technical disciplines. His project management and support experience with First Environment has spanned third-party compliance auditing, environmental management system implementation, litigation support, sustainability action plans, permitting, CERCLA environmental clean-ups, wastewater engineering and design, and green-technology stormwater controls. As the lead project manager for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Devin has administered more than 30 federal contracts on behalf of the agency. Devin also serves as the company’s Director of Federal Programs and leads federal teaming initiatives, contract pursuits, and proposal development.

Scott is an accomplished environmental consultant, licensed Professional Geologist, and project manager with more than 25 years of experience. He has expertise in the pollution insurance industry, having worked for AIG for 13 years providing in-house technical consultation and remediation oversight services for claims throughout the U.S. Specifically, he develops detailed annual and life-cycle cost estimates, pollution event cost allocations in addition to providing technical support to claims analysts during coverage determination. Scott has evaluated hundreds of claims pertaining to whether incurred pollution costs were reasonable, customary, and consistent with industry standards and whether the work performed was required by environmental law. Scott has worked closely with claims analysts and their insured’s to provide closure option evaluation. The evaluation includes site and remedial options assessment, feasibility analyses, discussion and schedule for the site exit strategies, including detailed task-based cost estimate to allow stakeholders to decide on the best site closure strategy. In addition, Scott has conducted dozens of Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, UST investigations and remediations, Brownfields and manufactured gas plant site investigations, feasibility studies, groundwater/solute transport modeling, and risk assessments. He also supports First Environment’s litigation support and expert testimony group; for example, he has implemented 3-D computer model visualization using Environmental Visualization System and animation to describe subsurface conditions for the purposes of litigation. Scott is a member of the ASTM International D18 Soil and Rock subcommittee and provides input to the development of new industry environmental and geotechnical standards. He also provides training to the environmental and drilling industry for numerous soil and groundwater sampling methodologies using direct push equipment.

Mike Levy is a chemical and plastics industry executive and life cycle expert with more than 40 years of diverse experience. He has overseen new recycling and recovery technology for the plastics industry; conducted health, safety, and life cycle assessment (LCA) studies, coordinated government relations activities; and led stakeholders from government and industry organizations as part of the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO’s) LCA standard development. Notably, he authored the executive guide for LCA titled “How to Know if and When it’s Time to Commission a Life Cycle Assessment,” which serves as the basis for the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment’s (ACLCA’s) Certified Lifecycle Executive (CLE) certification. Mike spent a significant portion of his career in the chemical and steel industries supporting long term strategic goals. His tenure at the American Chemistry Council (ACC) involved spearheading advocacy efforts for new technologies, life cycle policy activities, and education programs promoting recycling. Mike has also contributed to the development of international standards, including serving on ISO’s working groups on environmental management activities as well as the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI’s) subcommittee on life cycle assessment. Currently, he serves as the Vice-Chair, Secretary for the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment (ACLCA). His most recent assignments include supporting corporate initiatives to address life cycle issues and develop circular economy practices. He also provides third party assessments for organizations to benchmark internal practices with industry best practices and/or standards.

Jay has a background in environmental policy, economics, and law and manages First Environment’s greenhouse gas (GHG) services group, which assists in the development of corporate inventories, inventory verifications, emission reduction projects, methodology validations, and project verifications and validations. He is responsible for the development of corporate climate change strategies and GHG management programs, as well as technical and financial evaluations of GHG management projects. He also serves as an internal reviewer on project verifications in a variety of sectors, including oil and gas, power generation, mining and metals, transportation, waste management, manufacturing, and more. Jay is a lead certifier of GHG reports approved by the California Climate Action Registry and California Air Resources Board. He is knowledgeable of all major North American offset programs, including the Climate Action Reserve, Verified Carbon Standard, American Carbon Registry, and others.

Scott has more than 30 years of experience providing management and technical leadership for site investigations, Superfund remedial investigations, remedial actions, and green mining technology and application for a variety of federal, public, and private clients. His primary expertise is in the application of novel biotechnologies for the treatment of heavy metals in soil, sediments, and groundwater. He has served as program manager and principal investigator for CERCLA restoration programs at federal installations across the country. For these sites, he implemented innovative technical and management approaches to expediently identify environmental issues that may impact mission critical activities. In addition, Scott has worked with the EPA’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory in evaluating advanced remedial technologies for the clean-up of some of our nation’s most contaminated sites. He also has experience in alternative energy as a research scientist, having led coal characterization and oil shale laboratories for the development of synthetic fuels.

Cristy is a principal environmental scientist with 25 years of experience in the development and supervision of environmental projects for various government and private sector clients. Responsibilities have included the preparation of environmental impact statements (EISs), environmental assessments (EAs), Phase 1 and 2 Environmental Site Assessments (Phase 1 and 2 ESA) and environmental permit applications for projects in accordance with federal laws including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and applicable state environmental laws within Florida and throughout the nation. Her primary responsibilities have included coordination with client and agency representatives, engineers, planners, landscape architects, etc.; and preparing permit applications, mitigation plans and monitoring permit compliance. Additionally, Cristy has managed numerous pre-purchase site feasibility studies, habitat/biological assessments, bio-community mapping, wetland delineations, and listed species surveys.

Ms. Callahan is a young engineering professional with a diverse and thorough educational background. Her civil engineering education provided insight to a variety of relevant civil engineering subjects such as construction management, structural engineering, and environmental engineering. Her master’s education provided education on a variety of current environmental concepts and remediation technologies. Ms. Callahan’s time at Manhattan College culminated with a term project consisting of a literature review of multiple remediation technologies concerning the removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from drinking water. Remediation technologies studied in this literature review include granular activated carbon (GAC), ion exchange (IX), and electrocoagulation. As a junior engineer, Ms. Callahan assists on a variety of projects pertaining to environmental engineering including industrial hygiene, contamination remediation, and development of climate action plans.

Michael provides greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and offset project verification as part of First Environment’s GHG services group. His work also includes technical assistance on the development of offset projects as well as corporate GHG inventories. He has a technical background in environmental economics, policy, and management concentrating on climate change issues. Michael manages projects involving GHG inventory verification, verification of methane destruction offset projects, and strategic GHG management. His expertise and clients span a variety of industries including the oil and gas, power generation and distribution, mining and metals, transportation, waste management, manufacturing, and livestock sectors. Specifically, he has participated in more than 250 GHG validations and verifications, serving as the lead auditor in more than 100 of these engagements.

Mr. Carolan brings over eight years of environmental consulting and contracting experience. Throughout his career, he gained experience in UST removals and site remediation with the NJDEP compliance of proper sampling and reporting. He has a strong understanding of groundwater sampling, calibrations, soil sampling, soil classification, site investigations, and reporting. Additionally, he handles site work plan development, and work plan execution. He has worked directly with residential homeowners, insurance adjusters, and town officials. This exposure allowed him to master communication of project goals and issues on multiple levels. Mr. Carolan expands on this experience to incorporate much larger scale projects and learn to manage the new obstacles that come with scaling. Mr. Carolan is also knowledgeable about base site diagrams in both AutoCAD and ArGIS. These site diagrams are the basis of all figures for use in NJDEP regulatory reports and Phase I/II Environmental Assessments.

Kristy is a marketing professional responsible for corporate communications, strategic planning, business development, and proposal management for First Environment. She works closely with technical staff at all levels of the company and across all of the firm’s service areas and sectors on capture planning, developing marketing content, tracking opportunities, and coordinating meaningful participation at industry events across the country. Kristy also initiated and continues to manage the company’s social media and targeted digital marketing efforts. She supports project managers with graphic design, review of deliverables, client meetings and presentations, training, and marketing research and budgeting.

Mr. Cicolello has more than 28 years of experience involving environmental investigation and remediation and has worked on numerous commercial and industrial sites, from local gas stations to Superfund sites. Notably, he recently served as a licensed claims adjuster in the environmental claims department for a commercial insurance company. During that time he managed environmental storage tank claims as well as general property damage and personal injury claims; he also managed litigated claim matters. Prior to becoming a claims adjuster, he worked for 13 years as an in-house technical consultant for AIG’s environmental claims department. In this role he provided environmental technical consultation and remediation oversight services to the Environmental and Pollution Insurance Products Claims Departments for claims throughout the U.S., while also supporting underwriting. Mr. Cicolello prepared Pollution Source and Timing as well as Cause and Origin reports to evaluate pollution claim coverage. He has evaluated hundreds of claims to determine whether incurred pollution costs were reasonable, customary, and consistent with industry standards and whether work performed was required by environmental law and covered specific to the pollution policy. In addition, Mr. Cicolello is an experienced project manager of environmental site investigation and remediation projects of varying complexity, from residential underground storage tanks (USTs) to large complex industrial site cleanups. He has gained valuable boots-on-the-ground experience conducting Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments, UST investigations, and remedial applications.

Ken supports First Environment’s site investigation and remediation group. He manages diverse and complex technical projects including the preparation of Preliminary Assessments in accordance with the NJDEP’s Technical Requirements for Site Remediation, as well as Phase I Environmental Site Assessments. Ken oversees a variety of soil and groundwater investigations; these sites have ranged from undeveloped vacant properties to complex manufacturing operations. He also provides oversight and technical guidance for the installation of soil borings and the installation of monitoring wells within unconsolidated and bedrock aquifers. Ken’s project experience also includes the removal of both regulated and unregulated underground storage tanks and related site remediation, including soil excavation, enhanced fluid recovery, vapor intrusion investigation, in-situ chemical oxidation, soil vapor extraction, and dual phase extraction. His experience includes the implementation of groundwater recovery and groundwater treatment systems and he has prepared and analyzed years of groundwater compliance monitoring data to evaluate system performance in accordance with NJDEP permitting. Ken also regularly prepares Remedial Investigation Reports, Remedial Action Progress Reports, Remedial Action Reports, Site Investigation Reports, Receptor Evaluation and Ecological Evaluation Reports and Vapor Intrusion/Investigation Reports. Ken also prepares Discharge to Surface Water Permit Applications and Remedial Action Permit Applications for Groundwater for NJDEP review.

Jeff supports First Environment’s greenhouse gas (GHG) services group and provides climate change management services with a focus on offset project verification, inventory development, and technical assistance. As part of managing verification and inventory development projects for private clients across the U.S., he has worked directly with the Climate Action Reserve’s protocols, The Climate Registry’s (TCR’s) General Reporting Protocol and Electric Power Sector Protocol, various Clean Development Mechanism methodologies, and has provided validation and verification services under the Verified Carbon Standard program. Through his work on offset projects, Jeff is familiar with landfill gas operations, anaerobic digester operations, wind power generation facilities, and waste to energy facility operations. He is also a certified lead verifier under the Climate Action Reserve and verifier of greenhouse gas emissions data reports under the California Air Resources Board.

Sunita is an air quality expert and routinely provides air permitting and regulatory compliance services to a variety of public and private sector clients, including colleges, universities, hospitals, small and medium industrial facilities, and municipal and county facilities. She assists facilities in maintaining compliance with New Jersey and New York state and federal air regulations. Sunita also has experience with greenhouse gas emissions evaluation and profiling services. In addition to providing air compliance services, she has extensive experience conducting environmental compliance audits, as well as providing health and safety oversight during environmental site assessments and remediation. Sunita also assists clients with stormwater regulatory compliance. She has taught environmental regulatory and health and safety courses for several years at a number of colleges and universities, and is an NJDEP Qualified Environmental Air Compliance Auditor.

Issac is a skilled field laboratory manager and chemist who routinely collects and analyzes on-site samples for hydrogeologic studies, air sparging, pump-and-treat, and vacuum extraction systems. He has more than 27 years of experience in the sampling and analysis of soil, groundwater, surface water, air, asbestos, hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, and wastewater. The type of field sampling and analysis he conducts provides near-real-time data that saves time and money by providing information to direct and focus the investigation. Issac also has significant experience in materials sampling techniques, including asbestos and mold surveys. His project experience has also included management of a full-scale environmental laboratory for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which studied pesticides and herbicides in the bayous and tributaries of the Mississippi Delta area; he has also analyzed soil from ammunition dumps for the U.S. Army and evaluated stormwater run-off for the City of Jackson and other industrial and municipal sites. His capabilities and competencies include the use of instruments such as gas chromatograph, atomic absorption, infrared spectrophotometer, calorimeter, pH meter, dissolved oxygen meter, photo-ionization detector, and flame ionization detector. He also has significant experience in real-time polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) assessment and remedial effectiveness testing using portable field equipment and immune-assay analytical techniques.

Rich manages First Environment’s state and local government sector work, encompassing environmental consulting and regulatory compliance services. He specializes in working collaboratively with municipal utility authorities and wastewater treatment plants to develop environmental programs that maximize resource use and recovery of derived waste, as well as identify available public funding for such projects. By integrating sustainability objectives and solutions with existing systems, Rich helps agencies create new revenue streams, promote beneficial reuse, and realize significant cost savings over time. He also has experience creating, revising, and invigorating recycling programs to help clients reduce solid waste and the disposal costs associated with it. All of the recycling programs he has developed and managed have been coordinated into a multi-media approach for pollution prevention planning and environmentally sound sustainable development. Rich also helps public and private clients manage corporate environmental requirements such as Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), pollution prevention plan design, stormwater permitting, spill prevention and control, hazard communications, Title V facility air permitting, air pollution, and hazardous waste reporting.

Ken is a project manager for First Environment’s site investigation and remediation group. His project experience involves management of Phase I environmental site assessments, industrial site investigations, and Preliminary Assessments for facilities ranging from retail/commercial space to industrial and manufacturing operations. Specifically, he has managed the remediation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds in subsurface ranging from shallow to deep bedrock aquifer systems. Regarding remedial approaches, Ken has experience implementing a variety of in-situ chemical oxidation treatments and has used bio-remediation materials to reduce contaminant concentrations; he regularly assists in the design and scope of the remedial injection systems, and directly oversees the installation through performance of these systems. Ken is also competent in site remedial modeling for engineering-related calculations, and has experience in computer modeling software such as AutoCAD, TDAST, and SURFER designing, as well as in NJDEP regulatory agency programs for remediation attainment, such as ProUCL and ArcGIS. He typically prepares Licensed Site Remediation Professional documents as well as full submittals to NJDEP for Remedial Action Workplans, Remedial Investigation Reports, and Remedial Action Reports. He is knowledgeable of NJDEP’s Technical Requirements for Site Remediation as well as the Administrative Requirements for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites.

Mr. Galusha is a licensed Professional Geologist with more than 23 years of experience in the environmental industry. Prior to joining First Environment, he provided direct environmental technical support to attorneys administering environmental insurance claims. He facilitated the evaluation of environmental insurance claims by applying his extensive expertise of environmental investigation/remediation techniques, regulatory knowledge, and industry contacts. Specifically, he evaluated pollution claims involving source and timing, environmental history, regulatory requirements, and validity of investigation/remediation activities as well as related costs. Mr. Galusha also provided guidance relating to the direction of ongoing pollution conditions, as well as projections of future costs and risks. He has conducted numerous investigations evaluating the merit of environmental insurance claims based on the particular policy provisions and known environmental history. Types of environmental claims Mr. Galusha has worked on include: storage tank, truck and auto service stations/refueling centers, all manner of soil and water remediation, indoor air mitigation, historic fill, clandestine disposal sites, asbestos, and mold. In addition, he has nine years of experience coordinating emergency environmental response for all manner of spills and catastrophic toxic events. The quick mobilizations he initiated minimized further environmental damage, and his continued oversight reduced both the cost and duration of the environmental cleanup process. Mr. Galusha has also conducted numerous multi-media environmental investigations throughout the U.S. under various federal, state, regional, and tribal regulatory programs. He also has extensive experience developing and implementing environmental investigation and remedial strategies to resolve complex environmental issues. Specifically, Mr. Galusha has been responsible for preparing and implementing Phase I and II environmental site assessments, soil and groundwater investigations, ISRA compliance plans/reports, remedial reports, UST closure plans/reports, quality assurance (QA) program plans, and discharge monitoring reports.

Josh is a litigation support and sustainability specialist with 30 years of experience in the federal, private sector, civic, and international arenas. He is knowledgeable of federal standards and specifications based on his education and experience, which includes extensive research for complex environmental litigations. He has performed hundreds of company evaluations and site assessments related to transactional due diligence; supervised environmental and social aspects of investment portfolios; and worked on comprehensive town planning. Josh regularly conducts research, administers and uses litigation support databases, and develops expert reports. Many of his cases have involved the use of chlorinated solvents by aircraft industries during the World War II era. Most of his matters require review, culling, and synthesis of information gained from hundreds—if not thousands—of open source publications and case-specific documents. Underpinning our litigation and mediation successes, Josh is centrally involved in the development of case strategy; performance of technical and historical research; data analysis; development of demonstratives; and drafting of expert reports and rebuttals.

Ms. Hennessy provides administration and human resources support for First Environment and has more than 15 years of experience providing administrative support. She possesses exceptional organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills and is adept at multi-tasking to meet critical deadlines. Her core responsibilities include recruiting and hiring for new and replacement positions in the firm, onboarding new employees, benefits management, coordinating HR mandatory internal training, and helping develop and maintain the firm’s integrated management system. Ms. Hennessy is also an assistant to the President, Dr. Delaney, and helps coordinate logistics for his international speaking engagements, expert testimony schedule, and other project-related engagements.

Sergio has more than 20 years of environmental and regulatory experience, including more than 12 years of direct experience in the insurance industry. He has managed environmental projects ranging in value of from $10,000 to $25M and involving diverse technical areas, including remediation management, litigation support, vetting experts, report preparation for in-house attorneys, and expert report review. Through this experience, Sergio is adept at quickly analyzing remedial strategies, evaluating risk, assessing claims coverage, and recommending the most effective and timely remedial options to achieve regulatory and claims resolution.

Vanessa is a distinguished recent graduate from Stevens Institute of Technology, where she excelled in the field of chemical engineering. Throughout her academic journey, she spearheaded numerous environmentally focused projects, with a keen emphasis on CO2 mineralization and the conversion of biogas to renewable natural gas (RNG). Her technical expertise is underscored by her mastery of Aspen Plus modeling, skillfully utilized to assess and compare three distinct conversion processes: water washing, amine scrubbing, and membrane filtration. Vanessa's proficiency in this area showcases her commitment to advancing sustainable solutions in the energy sector.  

Mr. James is an environmental scientist and marketing professional responsible for content creation, digital marketing, proposal management, and other marketing support assignments for First Environment. He works closely with the marketing manager and technical staff across all service areas to develop content, materials for conferences and presentations. Mr. James also coordinates proposal creation through; editing content, developing graphics, and adhering to the strict content formatting requirements dictated in Request for Proposals to ensure compliance. His scientific background involved studying and creating remediation techniques to remove heavy metal toxins from stormwater runoff and contaminated soil. He is accomplished in graphic design and presentation tools including Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.), Microsoft Office, QGIS, ArcGIS, Canva, as well as other video editing and online.

Scott has served as an integral part of First Environment’s management team for more than 25 years in support of the accounting, IT, and human resources departments. He is currently responsible for recruiting and hiring, benefits management, and providing IT support to ensure data and network integrity. He consistently builds and maintains relationships with vendors, staff, and executive management, bridging the gap between cross-functional teams. Scott is knowledgeable of financial management systems and also serves as the company’s Microsoft Network Administrator.

Dan is an environmental specialist with a specialization in marine science. While earning his undergraduate degree in marine biology, he took part in field studies related to salt marsh dynamics, fish assessments, and shellfish conservation. After graduation, he completed a GIS Certificate Program from Michigan State University, which included applications of geospatial technology and geographic information systems, principles of cartography, remotely sensed imagery interpretation, and spatial analysis using ArcGIS Pro.

Mr. Lindemuth is a seasoned geospatial professional with more than 20 years of demonstrated experience in program management, data management, programming & automation, web development & administration, and spatial analysis. His experience expands in environmental, utility, telecommunication, and federal and local government spaces. Mr. Lindemuth also has experience in both commercial and open source applying geographic information system software solutions. He is a former Veteran that served in U.S. Army from 1998 to 2000.

Dr. Ludvigsen has more than 30 years of experience, including advanced decision support related to complex environmental litigation, cost allocation and environmental finance. In addition, Dr. Ludvigsen has a proven track record of risk management and program development with a successful history of directing technical and financial aspects of multi-million dollar projects. Notably, Dr. Ludvigsen helped manage a $25 million strategic investment fund for American Reinsurance (now part of Munich Reinsurance America) focused on environmental loss prevention and cost control. While at American Re, he also served as senior technical advisor on establishing over $1 billion in Environmental Impairment Liabilities (EIL) risk reserves. With regard to environmental financing, Dr. Ludvigsen co-developed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) due diligence work stream frameworks for some of the largest pension funds in North America. He was the first Responsible Investment Professional in North America to be certified via the Responsible Investment Association. Dr. Ludvigsen was recently appointed as the global chair to the International Standards Organization’s Subcommittee on Environmental Performance and sits on the ISO standard’s ESG coordination committee. He has authored several articles on clarifying ESG and advanced topics in green bonds including risk management.

Mr. Luer is a Professional Geologist with more than 17 years of experience providing site investigation and remediation services to a variety of private, public, and federal clients. He has extensive experience developing and implementing environmental investigation and remedial strategies to resolve complex environmental issues. Among projects supervised are large scale bioremediation jobs as well as more traditional methods of remediation such as excavation, pump and treat as well as vapor extraction. Mr. Luer has extensive experience with field data collection in soil, water and vapor mediums as well as logging soil and bedrock boreholes. He also observes and supervises demolition and sampling of large industrial properties and is highly experienced with chlorinated solvents and petroleum contamination.

Garry manages field operations at First Environment, overseeing various aspects of field investigation activities, including the mentoring of junior staff, equipment usage training, field investigative and monitoring techniques, and compliance with applicable field sampling procedures. In this capacity, Garry provides direct oversight to field remediation projects on an as-needed basis and possesses OSHA Site Supervisor status. Garry also regularly uses, maintains, and repairs a variety of field and office equipment, including: Construction Lift 5604, jet power washers, air monitors, lead monitors, groundwater sampling equipment, electrical power generators, demo saws, super vac trucks, scissor lifts, manlifts, loaders, dump trucks, jackhammers, air respirators, and self-contained breathing apparatuses.

Valerie has served as an administrative assistant with First Environment for more than 16 years and is an expert in providing administrative support and coordination. She has exceptional organizational and communication skills and is adept at multi-tasking in order to meet critical deadlines. Her core responsibilities include document processing, serving as the primary point of contact for printing and office equipment vendors, drafting correspondence and reports, and preparing letter proposals to state and local clients. Valerie also maintains and arranges repair for a variety of office equipment, including photocopiers, telephone systems, binding equipment, and other tools.

Carrie’s environmental consulting experience encompasses site investigation and remediation, wetland delineation, mitigation and permitting, and implementing GIS and CAD software in environmental applications. Her responsibilities include project management, coordination and oversight as well as providing technical support to Licensed Site Remediation Professionals. She has managed Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments as well as remedial investigations of impacted soil and groundwater for private residences, public properties, and industrial sites. She also has extensive experience in GIS and CAD mapping and data analyses, ecological evaluations, floodplain management, stream processes, and field investigation activities.

Kelliann has seven years of experience within the environmental field working for various government and non-government agencies on a variety of projects and contracts. Her expertise includes habitat evaluation, data collection, NEPA review and report development, and wildlife field surveys. She is knowledgeable of habitat management to aid in the presence or removal of target wildlife species around the U.S. Her knowledge of soil, flora/fauna, and wildlife species is extensive. She is proficient in technical research, permit development, and habitat management plans.

Ernie is a licensed Professional Engineer with more than 30 years of experience in environmental engineering, environmental consulting, and project management of large-scale environmental remediation sites, including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to the BP oil spill) of 2010. Over the past 12 years, Ernie has performed engineering review registrations and quality assurance audits for more than 250 renewable fuel facilities across the county under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. He has conducted reviews of ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel, and biogas facilities. In addition, Ernie has prepared Separated Municipal Solid Waste Plans for the acceptance of these feedstocks to produce cellulosic biofuels and generate Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs). Under the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), he has performed CA-GREET Carbon Intensity (CI) modeling for several different types of renewable fuel facilities across the country. This modeling work helps facilities determine the value of their CI in order to generate credits under the LCFS program. Ernie is also a certified Lead Verifier in the California LCFS Verification Program and has completed several facility validations required for initial registration in the program. With his extensive and diverse industry experience, Ernie is a recognized subject matter expert in the renewable fuels industry. He has provided both technical and economic consulting to biofuel producers, biofuel consumers, and investors looking to fund projects or contribute to research in the industry.

Walker is a hydrogeologist with nine years of professional experience in contaminated land and groundwater. He has worked in three continents characterizing former industrial sites and contributing to development of complex, high resolution conceptual site models and innovative remediation systems and designs. Recently he has leveraged his educational background in chemistry to provide consulting services related to emerging contaminants - in particular PFAS - conducting audits and risk assessments.

Pakarat is an environmental engineer who brings more than six years of diverse international experience, including construction and development expertise, in the areas of water, wastewater, renewable energy, and LEED. Her expertise includes monitoring, reporting, and verification of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects; assessment of carbon footprints; greenhouse gas emission reductions for projects involving biogas technologies; and design of wastewater collection, stormwater drainage, water supply, and irrigation management systems. At First Environment, Pakarat provides technical assistance in the areas of life cycle assessment (LCA) and ISO 14040/14044 peer reviews, carbon intensity (CI) studies utilizing the California and EPA/Argonne GREET model, engineering reviews regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) consulting, circular economy, and low-carbon fuels.

Stephanie is a biologist and environmental scientist with 15 years of experience providing environmental consulting services. She has experience in wetland delineation and monitoring, threatened and endangered species surveys, and environmental permitting. Her professional experience includes work on ecological risk assessments, environmental screenings, NJDEP Freshwater Wetlands General Permit applications, Coastal General Permit applications, and Flood Hazard Area Individual Permit applications. With regard to environmental remediation, Stephanie has experience in managing contaminated site investigations and remediation at residential, commercial, and industrial properties. She has prepared various submittals to the NJDEP under the LSRP program. These submittals included Preliminary Assessments for the Green Acres Program, Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, Site Investigation Reports, Remedial Investigation Reports, Remedial Action Reports, Remedial Action Workplans, and various NJDEP Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) forms.

d is a professional geologist with more than 25 years of environmental consulting experience at a variety of sites requiring hazardous waste assessments and remediation, including Department of Defense facilities; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) sites; Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) sites; and underground storage tank (UST) sites. For these projects he manages project start-up and planning, client interface, field supervision of environmental investigations, and technical reporting. His field experience includes supervision of soil boring, monitoring well, aquifer air sparging well, and soil vapor extraction well installations; aquifer characterization tests; and groundwater sampling. Ed frequently prepares hydrogeologic investigation reports for UST, metals, and hazardous waste sites, as well as corrective action plans and feasibility studies. He also has extensive construction oversight experience, including bioremediation, chemical oxidation, and pump/treat systems. He has performed more than 250 environmental studies for private and public sector clients in New Jersey and across the southeastern U.S.

Ellen is a professional geologist with nearly 20 years of experience, who provides a range of environmental consulting services, including site investigation and remediation, regulatory compliance, and climate change management. Specifically, she has supported hazardous waste assessments and remediation for sites including Department of Defense facilities; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) sites; Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) sites; and underground storage tank (UST) sites. For these projects she manages project start-up and planning, client interface, field supervision of environmental investigations, and technical reporting. For First Environment’s greenhouse gas (GHG) services group, Ellen manages emission inventory and offset project verification and technical assistance contracts for industries including oil and gas, power generation, mining and metals, transportation, waste management, manufacturing, and more. In support of our regulatory compliance service area, she also serves as a lead auditor of environmental management systems and multimedia compliance assessments. Additional technical experience includes certification as an Erosion and Sediment Control Level II Design Professional in Georgia (under GASWCC).

Carrie is an environmental consulting professional with more than 25 years of experience in environmental risk management for industrial, military, and public entities. She has an extensive background in environmental litigation/mediation support, compliance, and remediation projects. Her expertise includes liability investigations and preparation of technical deliverables, including expert reports and position papers. Carrie also has technical expertise in contaminant source, chemistry and data, and fate and transport evaluations with a focus on assessing historical site processes and the specific associations of such with contaminants in the environment. In addition to assessing compliance for liability investigations, Carrie has managed compliance projects and programs in association with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Army Reserve Command, including hazardous materials and waste management, environmental site assessments, health and safety, personnel training, permitting, storm water pollution prevention, and cultural resources management.

Logan is an environmental specialist with a background in environmental economics and policy concentrating on climate change issues. He works with First Environment’s greenhouse gas (GHG) and green bond verification team. He focuses on assessing conformance requirements of bond offering documents and green bond frameworks to international standards and best practices. His multidisciplinary background provides him with technical knowledge and analytical skills to understand the complexities of each project and deliver information in a way that can be easily understood.

Michael has more than 25 years of experience in the field of environmental engineering and science. He formerly served as a Branch Chief in the Assessment and Remediation Division of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), where he managed Superfund, Brownfield, Voluntary Evaluation Program, and Uncontrolled sites. His technical experience includes project and resource management (including the revitalization and re-use of sites) complicated by the presence or perceived presence of contamination. He has prepared numerous Environmental Site Assessment reports for multiple clients and has experience with associated activities requiring sampling and analysis, investigation of environmental impacts of proposed public works projects, preparing capital improvement reports for public water supply systems, writing environmental reports and associated activities in regard to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) applicable projects, and providing general consultation related to state and federal regulatory requirements. Michael has provided management oversight and assistance, including preparation of work products during emergency response actions, remedial investigations, feasibility studies, risk assessments, remedial design and action phases, and operation and maintenance programs. He has also performed environmental assessments and investigations of hazardous waste facilities listed on EPA’s Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) list. Michael has also provided technical assistance to NASA and Department of Defense facilities. He is an active member of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists and was the recipient of the EPA Region IV’s award for “Excellence in Site Reuse” for his work on the cleanup and redevelopment of a Region IV Superfund site.

Chason is a geospatial professional with more thanthree years of experience in program management, data management, and spatial analysis. She has two years of experience working with current utility industry GIS and WMIS programs. She is proficient with the placement and maintenance of graphical features in GIS systems such as Intergraph FRAMME, Small World, and G-Tech. Chason is well-versed in creating customized GIS workflow and software programs for data collection, engineering, and environmental applications. She is also adept in computer programming and ESRI ArcGIS products.

Ms. Suppes serves as First Environment’s administrative coordinator and has more than 15 years of experience in customer service and administrative support. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources Management. She possesses exceptional organizational and communication skills and is adept at multi-tasking to meet critical deadlines. Her core responsibilities include coordinating calendars, monitoring office inventory, coordinating meetings and travel arrangements, and assisting with document processing. Mrs. Suppes’ software capabilities include Microsoft Office Suite of products (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) as well as internet resources.

Ron has more than 30 years of professional expertise in the areas of air emission assessment, evaluation, monitoring, measurement, inventory, and modeling. He possesses a PhD in bio/fluid engineering, has been certified as an indoor environmentalist, and maintains a laboratory certification for the company for analyzed-immediately geochemical parameters. He has taught college level engineering and environmental courses, and supervises and directs field and office activities in environmental projects. Ron’s experience also includes air emission health risk assessment, air dispersion modeling, and continuous emission monitoring, compliance testing for stationary sources, field instrumentation and analysis of chemical contaminants, and operation of soil and groundwater remediation system.

Mete is an expert in environmental engineering applications and specializes in soil and groundwater investigations and remediation, vapor intrusion investigation and mitigation; modeling; litigation support; and project management. He has noteworthy experience with respect to engineering design, installation, and operation of soil vapor extraction/air sparging and enhanced fluid recovery systems throughout New Jersey, and is extremely familiar with system maintenance requirements. A recognized pioneer and expert in vapor intrusion, Mete’s research regarding unsaturated zone and vapor contaminant transport modeling was instrumental in the advancement and understanding of vapor intrusion mechanisms and has been cited in articles and review papers collated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other independent investigators. On a part-time assignment, Mete teaches a senior-level core course for Rutgers University’s Bioenvironmental Engineering Program, which exclusively covers the design of various remediation and mitigation systems. Over his career, he has also managed and/or directed numerous projects involving groundwater monitoring for natural attenuation and regulatory compliance purposes. As a New Jersey Licensed Site Remediation Professional and a registered Professional Engineer in various states, he brings value-added expertise regarding New Jersey’s Site Remediation Reform Act, Administrative Requirements for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites, and Technical Requirements for Site Remediation compliance, as well as the design and implementation of alternative treatment systems. As a nationally recognized Certified Ground Water Professional and a leading expert in the fields of environmental fate and transport theory and modeling, Mete has also developed various qualitative and quantitative subsurface contaminant fate and transport and hydrogeologic models under diverse environmental and man-made conditions using finite difference models such as MODFLOW, MODPATH, MT3D, and RT3D, and finite element model FEFLOW in Groundwater Modeling System (GMS), and GIS platforms. He develops conceptual site models that account for the mass of contamination in various transport and degradation scenarios including the effect of sewer infrastructure on the migration of dissolved contamination plumes and various physical, chemical, and biological degradation scenarios. In addition, he routinely conducts comprehensive forensic engineering analyses for contaminant source and release pathway identification and plume age-dating in support of litigation.

Rob is an environmental compliance expert who specializes in supporting municipal and county clients in the state of New Jersey improve regulatory compliance, increase energy independence, and reduce environmental impacts. Notably, he serves as a compliance auditor responsible for more than 300 municipalities and 80 municipal utilities authorities in the state of New Jersey under the Environmental Joint Insurance Fund; in this role he is also for conducting on-site claim investigations for hazardous material releases. As a Certified Recycling Professional, Rob has managed recycling program enhancement projects for Essex County, Union County, and Maplewood Township for which he helped improve municipal and county-wide recycling and solid waste management programs. He also regularly attends and presents at bi-monthly Recycling Coordinator/Solid Waste Advisory Council meetings. Additional experience includes the completion of recycling tonnage grant applications; EPA spill prevention control and countermeasure plans; groundwater sampling; wastewater sampling; and air permitting for various combustion, pollutant, and particulate emission sources. Rob also owns his own business manufacturing, repairing, and restoring telescopes (for more information visit http://www.teeterstelescopes.com)

Andrew is an Environmental Scientist with more than eight years of experience providing site investigation and remediation services on a variety of private, public, and federal projects. He is responsible for managing and implementing creative remediation techniques on large scale industrial sites, from bio-augmentation and remediation, ISCO remediation, and dipole-dipole resistivity (2D and 3D), to traditional excavation and pump and treat methods of remediation. Andrew has a broad range of project experience from preliminary site evaluations and underground storage tank (UST) closures to comprehensive subsurface investigation and remediation services (soil, vapor, and groundwater). He has also been responsible for the on‐site execution and management of anaerobic bioremediation injection programs that successfully treated soil and groundwater impacted by petroleum hydrocarbons as well as aromatic and chlorinated solvents at several commercial and industrial sites in northern New Jersey. Mr. Truman frequently works under the direction of LSRPs and has independently prepared a broad range of reports for Phase I ESAs, Phase II Site Assessments, and remedial actions through final remedial action outcomes (RAOs) in compliance with the NJDEP’s technical requirements.

Sneha is a marketing professional responsible for content development, digital marketing, proposal management, and other marketing support assignments for First Environment. She works closely with marketing manager and technical staff across all service areas to develop content, materials for conferences and presentations, update master resumes, project descriptions, and other qualifications material used in proposals. She also supports updates to website content, social media accounts and company blog. Sneha also assists in the proposal pursuit efforts including editing proposal content, developing graphics, adhering to strict content, and formatting, requirements in Requests for Proposals to ensure compliant submissions. She is adept at graphic design and presentation tools including Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.), Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Timeline, and Sharepoint), Canva, as well as other video editing and online graphic design tools.

Mr. Vorhies provides litigation support on complex environmental and regulatory cases, including those involving investigation and cleanup liability at federal Superfund and state-lead cleanup sites. He also supports project teams on litigations involving petroleum contamination sites internationally. Mr. Vorhies is skilled at conducting technical and historical research for each case and distills all findings to their essential components to ensure project teams have succinct and relevant information. He has experience working in-house at law firms providing support for court proceedings and using tools such as Westlaw, Bloomberg, and LexisNexus. He has also applied his background in government to help draft environmental policy and support public outreach and education efforts. In addition, he is fluent in Spanish.

Maya is an environmental specialist with a specialization in water management, greenhouse gas measurement and verification, and emission reduction regulations. She has conducted various research projects on water management and climate-related environmental impacts and has assisted in developing alternative strategies to resolve issues. She is also adept in ArcGIS Pro, R Studio, and Environmental Impact Assessments.