Instructors

Michael Brogan

Biography : Michael is a Press Officer in Region 9’s Office of Public Affairs covering Northern California. In his role, Michael coordinates with different divisions and EPA Headquarters on writing press releases, responding to media inquiries, assisting with media and community outreach efforts, and supporting EPA Emergency Response efforts as a Public Information Officer. 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 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.

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.

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

Hasti Javid

Biography : Hasti Javid joined the Office of the Secretary in March 2021 as CalEPA’s first Environmental Enforcement Officer. Under the direction of the Deputy Secretary for Law Enforcement and Counsel, Hasti is responsible for planning, coordinating, and implementing several CalEPA-wide enforcement efforts, including the CalEPA Enforcement Training Program, the CalEPA Environmental Complaint System, and coordinating multi-agency enforcement efforts related to environmental crimes and first responder/public health threats associated with illegal cannabis cultivation throughout the state. During her 14-year career with San Diego County Hazmat, Hasti served in various roles such as but not limited to: Enforcement Coordinator, Training Coordinator, and Emergency Responder on the afterhours Hazardous Incident Response Team. Hasti is a Registered Environmental Health Specialist, a state certified Hazardous Materials Specialist, and an executive board member for the California Hazardous Materials Investigators Association (CHMIA) where she volunteers her time to promote CHMIA’s overall purpose and mission in encouraging the cooperation and coordination of environmental crimes investigations between law enforcement and regulatory agencies at the local, state, and federal level.

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).

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.

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.

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!

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 for over 18 years and has actively worked with Hazmat over 31 years. He has extensive experience with large-scale chemical lab cleanouts and hazardous materials and waste management. His training company, RIH Hazmat www.rihhazmat.com specializes in training simplified, rapid and highly practical Rapid Threat Assessment (RTA) chemistry to professional first responders. He is a certified industrial hygienist (CIH), certified safety professional (CSP), and certified hazardous materials manager (CHMM). He is an active technical presenter with CUHMMC, was part of the ANSI/ASSP Z10 committee from 2021 to 2024 and is a current member of the Institute for Hazardous Materials Management (IHMM) textbook committee and CHMM exam committee. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Occupational Health, from Cal State University Northridge, and has a strong passion for continuous learning and improvement.

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 40 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 traveling the world and meeting people.

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).

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 emergency response, inspection of commercial and industrial facilities, investigation activities, cleanup, and abatement incidents. His certifications include: State of California Certified Hazardous Materials Instructor (December 2019) State of California Certified Hazardous Materials Assistant Safety Officer (ASO) State of California Certified Hazardous Materials Technician/Specialist State of California and a P.O.S.T. 832.