2023 TRI National Conference

Michal Ilana Freedhoff is the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), effective June 2021. Prior to that, she joined EPA as the Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for OCSSP in January 2021.

Dr. Freedhoff has more than 20 years of government experience, most recently as the Minority Director of Oversight for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. She began her Congressional service in 1996 in then-Congressman Ed Markey's office as a Congressional Science and Engineering fellow after receiving a Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of Rochester.

Dr. Freedhoff has also served on the staffs of the House Science Committee, the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee. With environmental expertise spanning a range of policy areas, her legislative work includes the 2016 re-authorization of the Toxic Substances Control Act, 2019 legislation to address PFAS contamination, the fuel economy provisions in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, and a law requiring the creation of an online database of potential consumer product safety defects.

Dr. Boyd is a trailblazer, an advocate and renowned expert in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). She has nearly 30 years of experience leading, teaching, advising and mentoring students and early career enthusiasts in environmental and atmospheric science. She was the first African-American female to receive an undergraduate degree in Meteorology from Iowa State University in 1996. She continued her studies and received a double master’s degree in Meteorology and Water Resources in 1998. And in 2007, Dr. Boyd received her doctorate in public administration with a specific concentration in inter-organizational leadership and cultural values from Nova Southeastern University.

Dr. Boyd started her career as a GS3 student intern in the federal government, worked her way up through the ranks and accepted her first Senior Executive Service position in 2020. Throughout her career she has worked in three federal organizations: NOAA, NSF, and most recently EPA.

Dr. Jesse Berman is an assistant professor in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. He is an environmental epidemiologist, whose research investigates the relationship between human health and complex environmental exposures. Trained at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health for his PhD and Yale University for his postdoctoral work, he has an interest in evaluating how extreme weather, including drought, heat and precipitation, air pollution, and climate influence population-level health. He frequently uses spatial analysis and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to improve exposure assessment and better understand the role of environment with disease outcomes, including spatial and neighborhood disparities in risk. Most of his research involves analysis of large data sources, but more recent work has evaluated smaller cohorts and personal exposure data. His work also emphasizes policy relevant findings that can inform decision making to better protect public health. Recent collaborations include projects with the University of Minnesota Medical School, the Veterans Health Administration, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and projects funded by the National Institute of Health, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Tobias Muellers is a Science and Research Analyst with Abt Associates. Tobias leverages his expertise in green chemistry to provide technical support and data analysis for the TRI Program and other EPA programs focused on chemistry or toxicology. His support includes analyses of pollution prevention (P2) data and developing guidance for using this data to advance P2 activities in communities. Tobias also has experience in the rational design of safer chemicals, chemical hazard assessment, as well as life cycle analysis. He has a Master of Environmental Science degree from the Yale School of the Environment and a B.A. in chemistry from Williams College.

Sanjay professor in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media at the Middle Tennessee University, earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He also holds an MPhil degree in Philosophy and an MA Communication from the University of Hyderabad in India. He worked as a radio broadcaster at All India Radio (state-regulated network) in India, where he scripted, produced, and presented current affairs programs and documentaries on social and developmental themes. His major research areas include media and cultural studies, youth media education, international and global communication, and environmental and climate studies. He is the author of Innovative Practices of Youth Participation in Media (UNESCO, 2006), Youth Media Imaginaries from Around the World (Peter Lang, 2012), Media Information Literacy: Policy and Strategy Guidelines (co-authored, UNESCO, 2013), Palestinian Youth Media and the Pedagogies of Estrangement (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), and India’s State-Run Media: Broadcasting, Power, and Narrative (Cambridge University Press, 2019). Dr. Asthana completed fieldwork in India (Environments of the Poor and Political Ecology) as part of his U.S. Scholar Fulbright Award (March 2022 to September 8, 2022). He is currently working on a book manuscript on the genealogies of environment, media, and climate in India.

Sanjay Asthana Webpage

Debbie is a Senior Associate at Abt Associates where she supports federal programs, including TRI, with communication strategies, outreach campaigns, and stakeholder engagement. In addition, she develops performance metrics and evaluations to assess outreach and engagement tactics. Ms. Fleischer holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Phylicia is a Ph.D. candidate at Rice University, specializing in Environmental Sociology. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University at Buffalo, New York, and earned her M.A. in Sociology from Rice University. Her research as a spatial-quantitative scholar broadly focuses on the unequal burdens and inadequate policy responses faced by socially marginalized populations due to ongoing industrial pollution, intensified flooding resulting from the climate crisis, and the intersection of these phenomena. Phylicia’s research projects have resulted in multiple journal publications that have garnered recognition and coverage from national news platforms and government agencies. As part of her efforts to illuminate and remedy environmental injustices, Phylicia also serves on the board of directors at Appalachian Voices, a non-profit organization dedicated to Appalachian environmental and economic justice.

As Vice President of the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Division, Kimberly oversees the development of ACC’s policy positions in response to regulatory and legislative proposals. She also leads a staff of experts to identify, analyze and create technical and policy materials to serve as the foundation for ACC’s activities.

Kimberly has more than a decade of experience in the chemical industry, focused on managing science policy issues, scientific research, and product stewardship programs to inform regulatory decision-making. Most recently, she served as Senior Director for ACC’s Chemical Products and Technology Division. In this role, Kimberly supported federal, state and congressional advocacy on specific chemistries and led the development and communication of science policy and research. She also represented industry in chemical policy discussions with various audiences, including testimony to U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate Committees.

Previously, she served as a Scientific Advisor for the oil and natural gas industry where she was responsible for regulatory efforts and research programs focused on environmental, health, and safety.

Kimberly received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in biology and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Environmental Toxicology from Texas Southern University.

Dr. Naaraayanan is currently an Assistant Professor of Finance at the London Business School, and his research interests lie in the area of empirical corporate finance – including corporate governance, sustainable investing, financial intermediation, and law and finance. His ongoing research focuses on understanding the challenges of climate transition facing companies and investors. His research has been published in top-tier peer-reviewed academic journals, including the Journal of Financial Economics and the Review of Financial Studies. His research has won several awards, including the Moskowitz Prize for the Best Paper on Socially Responsible Investing, the European Investment Forum Research Award (Cambridge), among others. His work has been featured in leading media outlets such as the Financial Times, Financial Express, Forbes, International Pensions Europe, Oxford Business and Law, Principles of Responsible Investing, and the World Bank.

Dr. Zhang is a professor at the Department of Geographic & Environmental Sciences, University of Louisville (UofL). Also, he is a Ph.D. faculty member of the Urban Planning & Public Affairs and a member of the Center for Integrative Environmental Health Sciences at UofL. Dr. Zhang earned a Ph.D. degree in 2006 from the University of South Carolina, Columbia. At UofL, Dr. Zhang teaches courses including urban geography, population geography, geographic information systems (GIS), and spatial statistics. Dr. Zhang has published extensively on topics including urban crime, housing foreclosure, school segregation, environmental pollution and health disparities.

Dr. Lauren Padilla is the VoLo Senior Environmental Data Scientist at Environmental Defense Fund. Dr. Padilla earned her B.E. at Dartmouth College and Ph.D. at Princeton University in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, co-advised in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program. She has over a decade of experience in environmental data analysis in collaboration with academic, industry, government, and non-profit organizations. Her areas of expertise include air quality, environmental systems modeling, chemical fate and transport, data science, and air sensor technology. Her interdisciplinary research at EDF uses large data to understand localized patterns of air pollution and its root causes.

Tristan is an environmental officer for the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). He is responsible for developing contextual information and data visualization products on pollution as reported to the NPRI, conducting quality control, and administering the NPRI Academic Challenge. Previously, he was also responsible for implementation and compliance promotion for the NPRI. He began his career with ECCC in 2016, taking a short interval from 2019 to 2021 to work for the International Joint Commission where he supported the International Watersheds Initiative and the International Lake Champlain-Richelieu River Study Board. Tristan graduated from the University of Ottawa with an Honours Bachelor in Biology, and has since specialized in making organizational data accessible to the public through various online tools and reports.

T.J. Pepping is an Environmental Engineering Associate with Abt Associates, and has provided data analysis and visualization expertise to EPA for more than 8 years. Much of his work for the TRI Program and other EPA programs helps to take technical and complex environmental data and communicate it in ways that are easier to understand and more user-friendly. As part of this work, T.J. is the primary developer of the TRI Toxics Tracker online web tool, which offers users the ability to conduct custom searches of TRI data to learn more about chemical releases and pollution prevention in their communities. He has a Master of Environmental Management degree from Duke University and a B.S. in chemical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.

Juan is a civil and environmental engineer from Syracuse University who has worked at Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since 1999. Juan is the technical expert for the TRI-Made Easy web application (TRI-MEweb) application and oversees the TRI electronic reporting process at EPA Headquarters. Juan works on the annual development and operation of TRI-MEweb, which collects EPCRA Section 313 data from 22,000 industrial facilities. His duties include serving as a technical expert for complex issues regarding electronic reporting, cloud migration, data promulgation and distribution, maintaining downstream TRI apps and tools, supporting enforcement actions, and providing compliance assistance to the regulated community.

Cynthia Gould is the project manager for the Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) at Abt Associates. She has over 25 years of experience in model development, project management, data collection and evaluation, application development, and documentation and outreach. Her experience with the RSEI model began in 1998, and she has been deeply involved with every aspect of the model’s development since then. Ms. Gould has an M.A. in Economics from American University.

Danielle has worked in the CEC’s Environmental Quality Unit for over 16 years and is the Lead for the North American PRTR Initiative, a core project of the CEC since its establishment in 1994. She ensures the ongoing development and implementation of key activities and products including the Taking Stock Online website and integrated North American PRTR database, the Taking Stock report series, stakeholder engagement, and other PRTR-related efforts. Danielle has more than 20 years of experience in the development of international chemicals and waste management projects that have a strong stakeholder engagement component. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree with a specialization in urban-economic geography and a Master of Arts degree in public policy and administration (geography) from Concordia University in Montréal, Québec.

Abby is an environmental analyst at Eastern Research Group, Inc., has supported many projects for the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program including supporting development of the annual TRI National Analysis and supporting Region 9’s data quality outreach. Ms. Burton has a deep understanding of TRI data. Her work has also included projects focused on international analyses involving pollutant release and transfer registries (PRTRs) from other countries, such as supporting the development of the OECD report “Using PRTR Information to Evaluate Progress Towards the Sustainable Development Goal 12,” including compiling, harmonizing, and updating data from 7 distinct PRTRs used to develop the report.

Caitlin has been with EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory Program since 2010. In that time, she has served as the lead for a wide array of projects, including the TRI University Challenge, two National Conferences, and the TRI National Analysis. She also represents the TRI Program on the cross-agency Report on the Environment workgroup. Caitlin is currently the co-lead for TRI’s portfolio of international Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) work and represents the United States on the OECD Working Party on PRTR. Caitlin has worked with the OECD as well as the UN Institute for Training and Research to support the development of new PRTR programs around the world, including delivering training workshops in Vietnam and Indonesia. Just last month, she was named Chair of the OECD Working Party on PRTR. Caitlin earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resource Policy and Management from Cornell University, and her Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University. Prior to joining EPA, Caitlin worked for the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management. She lives in northern Virginia with her husband, their 1.5-year-old son, and two crazy kittens.

Alicia Berthiaume is a scientist at the National Pollutant Release Inventory at Environment and Climate Change Canada - ECCCC (Gatineau, QC), as well as PhD candidate in the Environmental Science department at Queen’s University (Kingston, ON). She holds a B.Sc. in Biochemistry (Carleton University) and an M.Sc. in Environmental Practice (Royal Roads University). Alicia’s professional experience has focused on various aspects of federal chemicals management, including pollutant inventory research, chemicals monitoring and surveillance, as well as laboratory analysis for both human metabolism, tree physiology and air quality investigations. Alicia has been with ECCC since 2006 and currently specializes in research to innovate and improve the NPRI as an indicator in sustainability analysis, and has authored and co-authored several research papers on the subject.

Jennie Romer is the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pollution Prevention at EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). In this role, Jennie oversees the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) and Safer Choice programs, P2 Grants, and Green Chemistry awards. Jennie also works to integrate pollution prevention considerations into OCSPP’s environmental justice work and OCSPP’s contributions toward addressing the marine litter crisis.

Prior to her appointment at EPA, Jennie was a Legal Associate at the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit environmental organization, where she led the Plastic Pollution Initiative. She is the author of Can I Recycle This?: A Guide to Better Recycling and How to Reduce Single-Use Plastics and has more than a decade of experience in plastic pollution prevention policy and recycling. Her advocacy began by founding plasticbaglaws.org in 2010, by which she established herself as a national expert on single-use plastic reduction policy. She was instrumental in passing landmark bills at the state and local levels in California and New York that have since become the model for plastics-reduction policies nationwide.

An attorney by training, she is a member of the state bars of both California and New York and earned her J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law. She also holds bachelor’s degrees in zoology, environmental studies, and Black studies from University of California, Santa Barbara.

Dr. Voutchkova-Kostal is the Director of Sustainable Development at the American Chemical Society, where she leads the Green Chemistry Institute and ACS Campaign for a Sustainable Future. She is also an Associate Professor of Chemistry at George Washington University. Her research group focuses on development of methods that facilitate circular economies through catalysis and designer solvents. In addition to research, she has been committed to green chemistry education, serving as co-Directing of the MS program in Environmental and Green Chemistry at GWU, and as curriculum developer for green chemistry coursework through ACS Green Chemistry Institute and the NGO Beyond Benign. She is also Principal of Designing Out Toxicity LLC, a service provider of predictive toxicology tools for hazard evaluation and design of functional and safer commercial chemicals. Prior to starting her independent career, she served as Research Associate at the Yale Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering and obtained a PhD in organometallic chemistry from Yale University with Bob Crabtree. She holds a BA in Chemistry from Middlebury College.

Mahelet holds a Ph.D. in economics from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and is an associate professor of economics at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Mahelet Fikru’s research focuses on energy and environmental economics looking at the complex interaction between consumer preferences, producer strategies, and government actions in different types of market structures, and how these interactions affect the natural environment. She has published over 45 peer-reviewed articles and is an associate editor for Energy Reports.

Dr. Troy D. Abel is an award-winning author, teacher, and Professor of Environmental Policy in the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning at Western Washington University, and an affiliate faculty member of Seattle University’s Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability. He has a bachelor’s degree in Public Health from Indiana University, and from George Mason University he earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Ph.D. in Public Policy. Dr. Abel’s expertise includes environmental justice, public policy, political science, sociology, and geography. His research includes measurement and modeling of risk geographies; social and ecological systems governance; state and local environmental policy analysis; environmental information disclosure; industrial environmental performance; and civic ecology.

Alex holds a B.S. in Biology from Appalachian State University and an M.S. in Marine-Estuarine Environmental Sciences from the University of Maryland, where she conducted research on the occurrence and degradation of pharmaceutical and personal care products in freshwater. She is currently an environmental data analyst at ERG. Her work at ERG has included collaborating with the EPA to compile public water system service area boundaries on a national level and collaborating with OSHA to model the types of violations associated with severe injury report notifications.

Dr. Kelly G. Pennell is a Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Kentucky and the Director of the University of Kentucky Superfund Research Center (UKSRC), which is funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. UKSRC focuses on reducing health risks posed by environmental contaminants in communities. It investigates the impact of persistent halogenated organics, aims to reduce the toxic effects of these chemicals, and seeks to promote health equity in communities. Dr. Pennell is a licensed professional engineer with previous experience working for an international consulting firm. She earned her PhD from Purdue University in Civil Engineering and has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, advised dozens of graduate students, and influenced science-based decision making at federal and state and local levels. She is a well-known expert in stakeholder engagement, modeling fate and transport processes, vapor intrusion science, and preventing and reducing chemical exposures in communities.

Dr. Rena Jones is an Investigator in the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics (DCEG) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), where her intramural research program seeks to identify and clarify the role of environmental exposures in the development of cancer. Dr. Jones’ work relies on the application of geospatial data and methods to assess long-term exposure to environmental hazards and investigate their role in cancer etiology. She leads large-scale, multidisciplinary efforts to characterize general population exposure to widespread environmental contaminants, including air and water pollutants, often leveraging regulatory and environmental monitoring data. She Co-Chairs the NCI DCEG Geographic Analysis Working Group and is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology and the International Journal of Health Geographics. She received her MS and PhD degrees in Epidemiology from the University at Albany, State University of New York.

Joseph is a T32 postdoctoral fellow in cancer prevention and control at Virginia Commonwealth University and Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. He obtained his Ph.D. in biostatistics from VCU in May of this year. His research interests are spatial statistics, environmental exposures, and Bayesian methodologies.

Dr. Jalonne L. White-Newsome joined the Biden-Harris Administration in June 2022 as the Senior Director for Environmental Justice at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Under her leadership, the Environmental Justice Team is working to deliver on President Biden’s ambitious environmental justice agenda, including implementing the recently signed Environmental Justice Executive Order, releasing the first-ever Environmental Justice Scorecard, advancing the Justice40 Initiative, and launching the White House Campaign for Environmental Justice. Dr. White-Newsome became the first-ever Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer in 2023.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Dr. White-Newsome has tackled environmental challenges from a wide range of positions and perspectives, including in the grassroots environmental justice movement, environmental philanthropy, state government, private industry, and academia. Before joining the White House, Dr. White-Newsome founded and led Empowering a Green Environment and Economy, LLC (EGE2), a strategic consulting firm that focused on transforming communities by using people-centered solutions to combat climate change, improve public health, pursue environmental justice, and advance racial equity. She also served as the first Director of Federal Policy for WE ACT for Environmental Justice, managing their federal policy office in Washington, D.C. Dr. White-Newsome’s early environmental justice advocacy and research has focused on air pollution, climate-driven extreme heat and flooding, and improving the health of low-income, communities of color.

Dr. White-Newsome earned a Ph.D. in environmental health sciences from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Southern Methodist University, a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University, and a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University. She is a proud wife and mother of her daughters.

Court is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Addressing Rural Cancer Inequities through Scientific Excellence program at the University of Kentucky. She earned her Ph.D. in Epidemiology and Biostatistics Ph.D. program from the University of Kentucky (2021) and her Bachelor's degree from Berea College (2013). Dr. Walker's research is at the intersection of environmental health and maternal-child well-being. Her work investigates the profound influence of place on health, with a specific focus on environmental exposures on maternal health and child development.

Lisa received her doctoral degree in Psychology from the University of Southern California in 2003. She is currently a Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State. Her expertise is in the area of social behavioral neuroscience, and environmental influences on neurodevelopment.

Dustin received his PhD from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in environmental science studying federal government procurement from firms that own Toxics Release Inventory facilities. His research includes applying spatial statistics to link environmental exposures to human health outcomes. Dustin’s research occurs within the socio-ecological paradigm of equity and the environment, with a focus on the use of big environmental datasets to inform policymaking and improve human and ecosystem health. Dustin is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Syracuse University in Upstate New York and he provides support to the New York State Department of Health’s wastewater surveillance network through spatial modelling of infectious diseases.

Cheryl is an engineer with Eastern Research Group, Inc., has supported the TRI program for over 20 years, including support for the annual the TRI National Analysis, data quality, data analysis, outreach, and projects focused on international analyses involving pollutant release and transfer registry (PRTR) data from other countries. As a credentialed TRI inspector, she gets to dig into facilities’ TRI data regularly, and she leads annual training webinars for industry on TRI reporting. Cheryl also supports EPA’s Pollution Prevention (P2) Program in their development of tools and resources that assist in identifying and implementing P2 opportunities.

April Nowak has been with EPA for 13 years. Her experience includes 7 years in the EPA Region 8 Environmental Justice Program and 6 years as the Region 8 TRI Coordinator. Her expertise in grants, passion for supporting communities, and knowledge of the value of the Toxics Release Inventory bring her the 2023 TRI National Conference. Prior to joining EPA, April worked at the National Park Service and US Army Corps of Engineers as a Community Planner Intern while completing her Bachelor of Science in Geography and Environmental Planning and Master of Urban and Regional Planning.

Mr. Edgar, MS Chemical Engineering, in his role as a consultant with Abt Associates has served the TRI Program for over 13 years. Mr. Edgar has supported the TRI regulatory process through leading economic analyses to estimate industry costs for reporting changes, under which he's supported over 15 rulemakings for the TRI program. Beyond his role with economic analyses, he supports the annual update of the Reporting Forms and Instructions, the TRI Training slides, and creating or updating the TRI Guidance Documents. Mr. Edgar also the lead developer for the TRI GuideME platform, a comprehensive repository hosting all of TRI's reporting guidance. Mr. Edgar has provided EPCRA Section 313 compliance assistance trainings to thousands of attendees, including helping reporters keep track of recent changes to TRI reporting requirements.

Ms. Sinclair is a Managing Consultant at Trinity Consultants and office manager in the West Burlington, Iowa office, where she assists with and manages construction and operating permit applications, emissions quantifications, Title V renewal applications, Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP), National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting, Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plans, and hazardous waste determinations. Additionally, she is a key Trinity resource for TRI and Tier II reporting. She has assisted more than 60 sites with navigating TRI reporting and threshold analysis. Ms. Sinclair has her BS and MS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Missouri. 24.

Kelli is a Principal with Ramboll based in Kansas City. She has lead projects in environmental consulting for the past 22 years, with specific expertise in air quality, compliance, and environmental justice. She leads Ramboll’s Midwest air practice team, is a member of Ramboll’s cross practice environmental justice task force, and co-leads the air quality service line environmental justice workgroup. She has extensive experience in air quality permitting and environmental compliance, including annual emissions reporting, toxic release inventory (TRI), Tier II, Title V, PSD, and greenhouse gas inventories. She successfully manages projects for individual sites and for corporate fleets with multiple sites across the country. She has served clients in many industries including chemical manufacturing, petroleum products terminals, oil and gas production and processing, power generation, data centers, cement manufacturing, distilling, metals manufacturing and surface coating, as well as numerous other general manufacturing industries.

Matt has served as a pollution prevention (P2) specialist for over 10 years, working with businesses across a variety of industries to develop cost-effective strategies that prevent waste, pollution and increase water and energy efficiency. Today, Matt serves as MnTAP’s Intern Program Manager, where he coordinates the execution of 15-20 student-led internships per summer, which target P2 and resource conservation in Minnesota. Matt is driven by the notion that we all have potential to uncover impactful solutions and that collaboration is the key to making the most of that ability

Charlie is a chemist in the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics at the US EPA. She received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Skidmore College and a master’s degree in environmental and green chemistry from the George Washington University. Charlie currently works on issues related to pollution prevention, plastics, and green chemistry in the Toxics Release Inventory program.

Amanda earned her M.S. in Marine Science from Coastal Carolina University in 2017, where she served as Dive team Captain for the S.C. State Guard. Before joining the EPA, Amanda was employed as a Marine Scientist for the Virginia Department of Health, where she utilized her background in analytics and computer modeling to manage waters of the Chesapeake Bay. She is currently a Biologist within the Data Analysis and Dissemination Branch and served as Project Lead for the first-ever, CDR National Review Report.

Rusty started his EPA career in 2007 and is now in the Office of Compliance, Washington, DC, where he is the Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) product owner. Prior to that Rusty was the National Targeting Center Coordinator and Clean Water Act (CWA) lead where he focused on enforcement targeting and transparency analysis for the CWA and program. Prior to joining the Office of Compliance, Rusty was a risk manager in the EPA Office of Pesticides for seven years. Rusty has an undergraduate degree in History from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh and a graduate degree in Engineering Management of Environmental Systems from George Washington University. When not working, Rusty enjoys biking, skiing, and snowboarding with his family and reading science fiction.

Mr. Stuck joined the Greater Cincinnati Water Works as the Source Water Protection Manager in 2012, a position he has held since that time. He is responsible for developing and implementing protection programs for GCWW’s two drinking water sources: the Ohio River and the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer. Prior to GCWW, Rich spent 20 years as an environmental consultant conducting hydrogeologic assessments and groundwater studies throughout the Midwest. He holds a Class 2 Drinking Water Operator’s license in Ohio and is a licensed Professional Geologist in multiple states. Rich received a bachelor’s degree in Geology from Stockton University and a master’s degree in Geology from Miami University.