Instructors

Richard Alamo

Biography : Richard began his public safety career in 1999 with the Sacramento Fire Department as a Firefighter/Paramedic. He has held the ranks of Fire Engineer, Fire Captain and most recently was appointed by the Fire Chief as the Behavioral Health Coordinator. After graduating from Montclair High School in 1994, Richard relocated to Northern California to attend the Fire Technology program at Sierra College in Rocklin, California. Richard holds an Associate of Science degree in Fire Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Health Science from Arizona State University. Richard has been a contributing member to the Sacramento Fire Department’s peer support for the past 5 years. Richard has completed training in peer support, Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) for individuals and Critical Incident Stress Management for groups. He is experienced in CISM defusing, substance abuse programs, 12-step work, and crisis intervention. Richard has taught first responder awareness in the Sacramento Region and has responded to assist first responders process traumatic events. He is a member of the California State FIRESCOPE behavioral health subcommittee and the Regional Local 522 Behavioral Health Committee. Richard is an Ironman triathlete and in November 2022, completed his 12th Ironman; an endurance event that includes a 2.4-mile swim, 112- mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run. Besides his love for physical training and traveling, Richard enjoys spending time with his lovely wife and daughter.

Gonzalo Barriga

Biography : Gonzalo Barriga Jr. has over 20 years of experience in public health and environmental protection working for Los Angeles County, Public Health and Los Angeles, Sanitation & Environment. Currently, he is a Special Assistant to the General Manager at Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. He has a Master of Science in Environmental and Occupational Health from California State University, Northridge and is active in developing and implementing environmental compliance, enforcement and emergency response policies and procedures pertaining to encampment clean-ups, environmental crimes and illegal dumping. Gonzalo has been an active member of the City of Los Angeles, Environmental Protection Strike Force and on the CalRecycle's, Illegal Dumping Technical Advisory Committee (IDTAC) standards committee, co-chair of the IDTAC enforcement subcommittee and a member of CHMIA. His most pertinent 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 P.O.S.T. 832

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.

Brett Bigger

Biography : Brett is an Engineer/Haz-Mat Technician with the Renton Fire Authority in Renton WA. He has been with Renton for over 25 years and served as Haz-Mat Team Leader since 2000. Brett is an instructor with the FEMA Urban Search and Research program and has been an instructor with HazMatIQ for over 10 years.

Daniel Casner

Biography : Fire Service background with current employment with CalOES/CSTI in the Haz-Mat Division as an Instructor II.

Kathryn Ann Dollarhide

Biography : Kathryn Ann Dollarhide RN, BSN, CEN, CEM® Kathy Dollarhide is the Director of the Dignity Health St. Mary Medical Center Disaster Resource Center Program. She is a Certified Emergency Manager via the International Association of Emergency Managers. She is a certified HAZMAT Instructor via CSTI teaches nationally and coordinates multiagency disaster drills in Long Beach, California. She has coordinated mass casualty multiagency drills and HAZMAT training for over 20 years. She has been instrumental in placing Stop the Bleed Tourniquet kits everywhere there is an AED in the City of Long Beach as a city wide initiative including training all agencies on tourniquets and Mass Casualty Incidents. Kathy has been the training nurse for the LA FBI Swat Team in advanced airway and active shooter drills and runs table top exercises for Federal and private agencies on Burn/Trauma Surge/MCI and HAZMAT. She is an instructor and drill coordinator working with the California Border Protection and has been instrumental in coordinating Rescue Task Forces with Long Beach Fire Department and Long Beach Police Department in large scale community drills. For the past 15 years she has coordinated multiagency drills at the Long Beach Airport, Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles as well as in 2018 a large scale Terrorist attack at the Carnival Cruise Terminal in Long Beach. She coordinates active shooter drills at all of the local universities. Kathy has been an civilian instructor for the Combat Care Casualty Courses teaching the Trauma Nursing Core Course, Combat Casualty as well has been a training officer for the Defense Medical Readiness Training Institute (DMRTI) for the Department of Defense at Fort Sam Houston. Prior to St. Mary Medical Center she was the Emergency Preparedness Consultant at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Disaster Resource Center, the American Heart Association Community Training Coordinator and has been an ER nurse for 30 years. Her greatest accomplishments in life are her two children Kiely and Jeremy who are both in nursing school becoming ER/trauma nurses.

Mark Durno

Biography : Mark Durno received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. At EPA, Mark has served as an On Scene Coordinator, Supervisor, and Deputy Chief in the Emergency Response Branch of the Superfund Program in Region 5 since 1997. He currently serves as Regional Homeland Security Advisor. As part of his Homeland Security work, Mark coordinates Region 5’s Continuity of Operations and Disaster Recovery programs. Mark’s efforts have included numerous emergency response actions to chemical and oil spills in Region 5; support to national counter-terrorism planning and exercises; and, international biological response planning. Notably, Mark has worked on or coordinated major incidents, including the Capitol Hill Anthrax response in Washington, D.C; Hurricane Katrina/Rita disaster response in Louisiana; and, the Flint Drinking Water Incident in Michigan. For his accomplishments, Mark was named EPA’s National On-Scene Coordinator of the Year in 2007, received a Gold Medal for Exceptional Service in 2017, and received EPA’s National Homeland Security Award in 2022.

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 is a member of the International Association of Firefighters, the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters. Since 1993 Mr. Finkelstein has been a USEPA certified CAMEO instructor. He has been an instructor and course developer for Louisiana State University National Center for Biomedical Research and Training since 2003 and has presented programs at numerous hazmat and emergency planning conferences. Alan also is a hazmat instructor at the Center for Domestic Preparedness. Currently he is employed as a Peer Support Specialist for first responders at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Center. He is a member of the National Tribal Emergency Management Council and the National Tribal Toxics Council.

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 now 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.

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.”

Steve Gonzalez

Biography : Steve manages OSPR’s public affairs and government outreach unit. He first joined the department as a public information officer in 2013, after a nearly two decade-long career as a multimedia journalist with Sacramento NBC affiliate KCRA. Gonzalez also worked in the communication departments of Caltrans, and CDFW headquarters before his promotion at OSPR in January 2017. He has deployed to numerous oil spill responses statewide, including the Refugio Beach spill near Santa Barbara in May 2015 and recently the P00547 pipeline spill in Orange County in 2021.

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.

Steven Hamilton

Biography : Steven Hamilton has worked for the Los Angeles City Fire Department for 23 years as a firefighter/paramedic and currently as a inspector II within the CUPA Unit. He has a background as a hazardous materials specialist and FAA Certified drone pilot. Inspector Hamilton is constantly working with outside companies to push the use of drones in the hazardous materials worlds. Steven Hamilton is currently a Los Angeles Lead UAS pilot and works hard to push the program into the future.

Scott Hartley

Biography : Dr. Scott Hartley is the Chief Executive Officer of Proengin Inc where he is responsible for the overall management of Proengin's product and business lines in the United States. He is passionate about teaching and educating on detection technologies and helping solve problems. Prior to working at Proengin he worked in various management, business development, program management and engineering roles at BAE Systems and Gentex Corporation. Dr. Hartley has undergraduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics, Master's degrees in Finance and Operations Management and his Doctorate in Technical Systems Management. He has been published multiple times and holds 12 United States Patents.

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 Captain. 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 2003. He served in that capacity until retirement in January of 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 from 2003 to present. He was a significant contributor as a subject matter expert to the NOVA (Northern Virginia) Regional Fire Departments 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 47th 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 and Ethanol Emergency Response Safety training emphasizing strategy, tactics, management, and mitigation.

Ronald Huffman

Biography : Ron has instructed students for over 30 years. He is a strong advocate of training and responder safety. Ron holds several certifications including Fire Investigator, Fire Inspector, Safety Officer, IMT‐SOFR, Hazmat Technician, EMT, Rope Rescue Technician, IMT PIO and more. He opened “Responder Training” in 1989 to share the knowledge that he was gaining working in the propane service industry at Paul Akers (www.paulakers.com) and share it through classroom and hands-on skills with all responders. The 14 years he spent working in the propane service industry gives him a perspective that most don't have. Some of duties included servicing MC331’s, construction and repair of L.P. Gas Bulk Plants, Anhydrous Ammonia Plants, Bulk Truck and Transport Rebuilding, Industrial Stand‐By Systems, Meter and System Repair. His courses train students in the art of assessment, approach and management of multiple types of propane incidents along with other courses. He and his programs are one of a kind. He has taught his program on location around the Country, at multiple National Level Conferences in the United States and presented Internationally.

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

Jordan Malacaman

Biography : Jordan Malacaman, Marketing and Sales Specialist with Berkeley Nucleonics. I am responsible for various event training by BNC. Coordinating and teaching first-responder groups about our Radiation Detection Equipment. Going over the equipment, best practices and other technical support.

Eric Nold

Biography : Eric Nold has been a Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the EPA since 1998 and worked as a technical assistant to the EPA emergency response program for 5 years prior to that. Eric has responded to, assessed, and cleaned up numerous mercury spill of various sizes over the years. Eric has been instructing mercury response classes for 25 years training over 2,500 federal, state, and local responders. Eric was part of a nationwide EPA team that wrote the current EPA National Elemental Mercury Response Guidebook.

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.

Winston Perez

Biography : Graduated from CSUN with a B.S. in Environmental and Occupational Health in 1985. Currently employed with Los Angeles County Fire Dept as hazardous materials specialist. 17 years as haz mat responder with LACOFD 15 years as haz mat inspector with LACOFD 1 year as haz mat investigator with LACOFD

Michael Pixton

Biography : Michael Pixton worked for the Dept. of Toxic Substances Control from 1989 to 2019 conducting hazardous waste inspections, enforcement, and emergency response. He also acted as the Terrorism Liaison Officer from 2003 to 2019. Prior to his retirement he was the technical expert for the department on mixed waste, methamphetamine cleanup, XRF use, off-road driving, infrared camera use, and chemistry.

Robert Rezende

Biography : Robert Rezende is a Battalion Chief for the San Diego Fire-Rescue (SDFD) Department with 16 years of service. Chief Rezende holds a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and two master’s degrees from San Diego State University in Exercise Physiology and Nutritional Sciences. Chief Rezende is currently assigned to Special Operations as the Hazmat Program Manager. He is a CSTI Hazmat Instructor teaching first responders and hazmat technicians in the public and private sectors throughout California. He has been a proud member of SDFD Special Operations since 2008 as a member of the FEMA Urban Search & Rescue Team, Technical Rescue Team, Hazardous Incident Response Team, and the US Forest Service’s All Hazard Incident Management Team.

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.

Scott Russell

Biography : Scott Russell is a 28-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 15 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, part of the ANSI/ASSP Z10 subcommittee, 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.

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.

Gary Smith

Biography : Gary served 32 years in the fire service, 20 as fire chief for the City of Watsonville. He also served as the City’s Director of Emergency Services and managed three federally proclaimed disasters. In 1987 Gary co-founded the Ammonia Safety & Training Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing or stopping chemical emergencies when they are small. Gary retired from the fire service in 2003 and continues to serve as President and CEO for ASTI today. ASTI collaborates with governmental, industry, and public safety responders (the “Tripod”) to perform training that supports the “prevent them all or stop them small” theme. ASTI is currently involved with a Chemical Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Dept. of Homeland Security. One of our goals is to develop methods and means for local response teams to engage faster and more purposefully with the industrial facility and the regional, state, and federal responders when dealing with catastrophic hazmat events.

Fred Stroud

Biography : Began responding to oil and chemicals spills in 1972 with local and the State of Georgia's Environmental Protection Division joined EPA's Emergency Response Program as an OSC in 1975 moved over to the Environmental Response Team in 2003. have worked on oil spills and Superfund sites since 1975; responded to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, the Kuwaiti Oil Fires(first Gulf War,1991), Uzbekistan oil well blowout(1992), Hurricane Andrew 1992, Atlanta Olympic Games,1996, lead OSC for Federal Resources, responded to the World Trade Center attack, 2001, lead OSC for first Anthrax terrorist attack at AMI Building, Boca Raton, FL(2001), responded to Hurricane Katrina(2005) developed Debris Disposal Plan for the mitigation effort, responded at UNEP team member to 7.9 earthquake Sichuan Province, China in 2008.. remained in country thru early 2010 providing debris disposal assistance and providing the China EPA training in oil spill response and Superfund type site cleanup methods, responded to the BP Oil Spill Gulf of Mexico, 2010, serving in a number of positions related to oil spill mitigation and dispersant technical assistance to the Unified Command. Instructor in EPA's Inland Oil Spill Training course since it's inception in 1991. Have responded to numerous oil spills from 1 gallon to 270 million gallons!!

Daniel Talbot

Biography : Talbot Bio – 02-17-20 Chief Talbot started his career with CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department in April of 1985. Chief Talbot served as a Firefighter/Paramedic and Fire Apparatus Engineer/Paramedic in various locations in Riverside County until his promotion to Fire Captain in 1989. In his almost 20-year tenure as a Fire Captain, Chief Talbot served as an Engine Captain, Truck Captain, HazMat Captain, and Training Officer. Chief Talbot served on the FIRESCOPE Hazardous Materials Working Group and the FIRESCOPE High-Rise Working Group during this same period. The aforementioned groups developed nationally recognized standard command and control structures for hazardous materials and high-rise emergencies. Chief Talbot served on the Riverside County dedicated Hazardous Materials Response Team from 1991 to 1996. Chief Talbot was promoted to Battalion Chief in July of 2009 and was assigned to the Indio Battalion. In November 2015, Chief Talbot was promoted to Division Chief and oversaw the West Desert Division of Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department. The cities of Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells, Desert Hot Springs, and large areas of unincorporated Riverside County make up the West Desert Division. Chief Talbot received a promotion in November of 2016 to Deputy Chief of the Eastern Operational Area. The Eastern Operational Area consists of three Divisions, six Battalions, 32 fire stations, and the Oak Glen Conservation Camp. Over four hundred Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department personnel are assigned to the Eastern Operational Area. From January to August of 2018, it was Chief Talbot’s honor to be the acting Cal Fire Unit Chef and Riverside County Fire Chief. Chief Talbot worked diligently to keep the Department moving towards the transition to the permanent Unit Chief/Fire Chief. Chief Talbot retired from Cal Fire in November of 2018 after 33 years of service. Chief Talbot acknowledges that his career would not have been possible without the support of his wife, Catherine.

DANA VON KOLEN

Biography : Retired Phoenix Fire Department including 23 years on the hazmat team. Recipient of the Phoenix Fire Department Ricky Pierce Hazmat Award for outstanding contribution and excellence. Graduate UCLA and certified instructor since 1995. Certified in multiple technologies including IMS, GC/MS, IR, RAMAN, XRAY, etc. President of VON KOLEN Hazmat Training since 2001 specializing in customized hazmat training & education. Continuing Challenge Instructor since 2003.

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.

Scott Walden

Biography : Scott Walden has over 20 years of experience within the Natural Gas & LNG industry.  Professional responsibilities have included, manager level leadership, consulting, Terminal Operations & Maintenance supervision, Facility Security Officer, training & coaching and Compliance & Regulatory Affairs.  He is a member of the NFPA 59A Technical Committee, AGA Supplemental Gas Committee, API/INGAA LNG Working Group and is a Subject Matter Expert concerning LNG Codes/Standards, functioning as liaison with multiple regulatory agencies at the Federal, State and local level. Scott’s training expertise was acquired while serving his country.  As a reactor training specialist, in the United States Naval Nuclear Power Program, he became skilled at sharing information in a manner which proved to expedite the acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities required for safe and effective job performance. From Naval Reactor operations & training, Reliability Engineering, Terminal Reactivation and multiple expansion projects at the Elba Island LNG facility; Scott is a proven leader with subject matter expertise in various technical and training disciplines. He is an accomplished communicator with a passion for safe, reliable, cost-efficient operations with-in the LNG industry.

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 30 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 : Chief White, Ret. brings with him over 38 years of experience responding to EMS, fire, rescue, hazmat, maritime, and other emergencies including acts of terrorism initially serving in the capacity of a firefighter, then later as a fire captain, fire battalion chief, , fire marshal, deputy fire chief and finally as fire chief with a focus on emergency response, consequence management, special operations, training and administration. Chief White, was also a founding member of FEMA US&R Task Force-3 with deployments to Hurricane Iniki, Northridge Earthquake, the World Trade Center and Hurricane Katrina. Chief White has much experience developing and implementing and managing training programs both domestically and internationally for EMS, the fire service, private industry, and special operations groups. Since, 2012 Chief White worked for the Bay Area UASI coordinating the US&R and Hazmat scenarios for Urban Shield and as its CBRN Program Manager. More recently, Chief White has been planning and coordinating multi-disciplinary, performance-based HSEEP compliant exercises such as the Bay Ferry, Bay Guardian and Sentinel Response exercise series. Chief White also serves as a Warrant Officer with the California Military Department and is attached to the 49th Military Police Brigade's Support Detachment and the CBRN Homeland Response Force it commands.

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.

Daniel Wright

Biography : Daniel J. Wright Assistant Head Deputy District Attorney Los Angeles District Attorney Environmental Crimes Division EXPERIENCE As an attorney for the Los Angeles Distinct Attorney, I investigate and litigate complex, environmental and OSHA cases in a variety of forums, including civil and criminal enforcement. For over seventeen years I work closely with California and Federal regulatory and environmental agencies such as the Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board, California Water Board, The South Coast Air Quality Management District, Cal-OSHA, Los Angeles County Health HAZMAT, Department of Health, Radiation Management, Joint Terrorism Task Force, EPA, FBI WMD Directorate and numerous Certified Uniform Program Agencies.

eric bald

Biography : Biography of Eric Bald Eric Bald has 24 years of experience with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Health Hazardous Materials Division. He began his service as a Hazardous Materials Specialist conducting inspections of hazardous materials handlers, hazardous waste generators, hazardous waste treatment, and aboveground storage tank facilities. He promoted and worked in the Investigations Unit for six years, where he investigated environmental crimes and filed civil, criminal, and administrative cases. He is currently a hazardous materials responder in the Emergency Operations Section. His education includes a Master of Science from Cal Poly Pomona. He possesses his Engineer-In-Training and is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager.

tom bergman

Biography : Tom is a Certified CAMEO Instructor and enjoys conducting CAMEO training classes all over the world. In 2014 and 2015, Tom conducted CAMEO training in Istanbul Turkey, Rabat Morocco, Nairobi Kenya, and Vilnius, Lithuania. Tom has provided CAMEO training in Szezcin, Poland as part of the USDOD Partners for Peace program attended by HazMat planners and responders from the nations of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Ukraine, Poland, and Russia. Tom has conducted CAMEO classes in 45 U.S. states, and for a number of military and U.S. government agencies, including the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, USEPA, NOAA, FEMA, and USDOT. Tom is the Lead Developer and Senior Instructor for the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Domestic Preparedness, “Introduction to CAMEO” courses delivered nationally by the National Center for BioMedial Research and Training (NCBRT). Tom has received several awards including the 2009 USEPA National Notable Achievement Program, CEPP State Partner Award and the 2014 Oklahoma Emergency Management Association Outstanding Contributor of the Year Award.

lori copan

Biography : Lori Copan, PharmD, MPH, is the Section Chief of the Exposure Prevention and Education at CDPH. Lori has worked in Public Health for over 35 years and has always focused on the need for good science and action to be informed by the experience of impacted communities. For 21 years Lori has worked at the Environmental Health Investigations Branch at CDPH where chemical exposures in disproportionately burdened communities is at the forefront. In the past decade, Lori has served as the subject matter expert for mercury exposures and has worked closely on response activities with DTSC and the U.S. EPA. She also coordinates poisoning medical management with California Poison Control, local health officers, physicians, families, and communities. Over the past four years her section has extended into forming community partnerships to identify skin creams being sold in markets and online, and conducting mercury and other heavy metal testing events.

eric roberts

Biography : Eric happily serves in the Homeland Security Division of the Los Angeles City Fire Department as the HAZMAT CBRNE Coordinator. He oversees four Captains assigned to administrative duty who deliver all elements of training, equipment, response, and intelligence surrounding the HSD mission. He is a HazMat Specialist, Instructor, and has numerous CBRNE related certificates. The LAFD HazMat program has over 200 active members spread out over Four HazMat Task Force Stations who serve millions of residents and travelers. The active program operates at hundreds of HazMat incidents per year and is constantly evolving to meet the changing threat landscape.