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Biographical Sketches - Nominees for the TNI NEFAP Executive Committee


Jump to candidates:
Justin Brown
John (Seb) Gillette
Cheryl Morton
Harry O'Neill
Richard Rago
Janis Villarreal



Justin Brown
Director of Groundwater and Field Services
Environmental Monitoring and Technologies, Inc.

Mr. Brown has over 14 years� experience in the environmental laboratory and field sampling/data collection industry. Mr. Brown manages the overall operational activities of the field services departments at EMT. His responsibilities include oversight of strategic planning, budgeting, business development, project management, operational management and field operations. Mr. Brown also serves as a technical advisor on many projects of varying size and scope and is responsible for health and safety within the laboratory and field services divisions. His expertise in the field sampling and measurement industry has lead him to participate in an advisory role to many regional and national organizations in the areas of soil and groundwater analysis as well as field sampling and data collection. Mr. Brown is the current chair of the TNI Field Activities Committee as well as a member of the TNI Proficiency Testing Executive Committee, TNI NEFAP Executive Committee and the TNI Consensus Standard Development Executive Committee.

This will be Mr. Brown’s second term on the Executive Committee.



John (Seb) Gillette

Dr. Seb Gillette is an Air Force Subject Matter Specialist for chemistry in the Restoration Support Branch at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC).  The chemistry section is responsible for developing, implementing, and monitoring quality assurance and quality control measures for environmental testing.  Chemistry also identifies and validates analytical technologies to meet Air Force Restoration Program requirements, and ensures data integrity for the life of the Program.  Dr. Gillette has over 20 years of experience in the analytical testing of environmental materials.  At the AFCEC, he is responsible for implementation of the Uniform Federal Policy for Quality Assurance Project Plans and the AFCEC Laboratory Performance Evaluation Program.  As a member of the DoD Environmental Data Quality Workgroup, he is the Chair of the Field Sampling and Testing Subgroup and the Air Force representative to the Quality Assurance Oversight Subgroup.  Before coming to the AFCEC, Dr. Gillette created technical guidance for over 1,200 Air Force customers on the use of field-portable analytical chemistry instruments, was a laboratory director for a Navy occupational and environmental health laboratory, and investigated the microscale distribution of organic contaminants on soils and sediments.  He is the author or co-author on over 20 refereed-journal publications.

FORMAL EDUCATION:
PhD, Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
BS, Chemistry, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO

This will be Mr. Gillette’s second term on the Executive Committee.

Cheryl Morton

Cheryl O. Morton is the Managing Director of AIHA Laboratory Accreditation Programs, LLC where she manages all business and technical aspects of the accreditation programs. All AIHA-LAP, LLC programs are managed to conform to the requirements of the ISO/IEC 17011:2004 while laboratories seeking accreditation must conform to the requirements of the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 in addition to program-specific requirements as detailed in AIHA-LAP, LLC Policies.  AIHA-LAP, LLC has full membership and recognition status by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and two ILAC regional bodies -- the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Program (APLAC) and the Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC.)    Ms. Morton represents AIHA-LAP at all international meetings conducted by ILAC, APLAC and IAAC.  

Ms. Morton has served in this capacity since 2005 after serving in two senior-level positions with chemical industry trade associations. From 1999 until 2005, Ms. Morton was Managing Director of the Long-Range Research Initiative at the American Chemistry Council where she funded and managed research projects on exposure analysis, bio-monitoring and children’s health.  For the previous nine years, she served as Director, Regulatory and Technical Affairs, of the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association where she managed advocacy and compliance assistance activities for small specialty chemical companies.  Ms. Morton holds two bachelors of science degrees in Environmental Science and Chemistry from the George Washington University.

This will be Ms. Morton’s second term on the Executive Committee.

Harry O�Neill

  • President
  • Beacon Environmental Services, Inc.
  • Bachelor of Arts, Environmental Pre-Law (1990) Loyola College
Baltimore, MD
  • Postgraduate Studies in Environmental Sciences and Policy (1993) Johns Hopkins University
, Baltimore, MD
  • Currently a member of the TNI Field Activities Expert Committee

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE:


Beacon Environmental Services, Inc.
Feb. 1999 to present
President

Responsible for overall operations of the company, financial management, equipment and personnel resource management and scheduling, and contract administration.
Responsible for working with clients to create sampling programs to assess, characterize, and remediate sites utilizing adsorbent sampling technology.
Oversees projects from survey design to report generation. Monitor and review projects and data for quality assurance. Performs validation of data and submission of data reports.
Safety and Health Director for the company and ensures all work is performed in accordance with the company’s Health and Safety Program.
Developed sampling and analytical processes to target a broad range of organic compounds using adsorbent samplers.
Reviewed data for tens of thousands of soil-gas samples and authored hundreds of technical reports on projects targeting a broad range of compounds using adsorbent samplers. Extensive data analysis, computer graphics, and report writing experience.

Quadrel Services, Inc.
Sept. 1991 to Oct. 1998
Vice President of Operations

Managed all soil-gas sampling projects for the company. Supervised and coordinated field operations and laboratory analyses.
Trained personnel in sampling and analytical procedures.
Developed Quadrel’s Health and Safety Program and served as the company’s Site Safety and Health Coordinator (40-hr. OSHA certified).
Developed Quadrel’s Quality Assurance Program Plan.



Richard Rago

Richard (Rich) Rago serves as Lead Scientist and Vapor Intrusion Practice Leader for Haley & Aldrich, Inc. in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.  Since joining Haley & Aldrich in 1991, Rich has long been recognized for contributions to regulatory agencies and professional organizations, including for his support for numerous state and federal vapor intrusion guidance and analytical data quality documents.  Rich Rago has also directed independent research studies in support of improved environmental characterization, including false positives in analytical quantitation of metals, potential bias in petroleum hydrocarbons measurements, indoor air sampling intervals, soil gas long term temporal stability, and indoor air background in residences, offices, and schools.  Rich has a professional background in environmental analytical chemistry with a CT Department of Public Health Environmental Laboratory Directorship Certification (1991). He earned a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Connecticut State University.  Rich is a team member and chapter co-leader for the ITRC Petroleum Vapor Intrusion Team.


Janis Villarreal

Current:
H&P Mobile Geochemistry, Inc.
Laboratory Director

Highlights of Qualifications:

  • 30+ years management /supervisory experience in environmental laboratories
  • Excellent trainer, effective working with a wide range of skill levels and personalities
  • Extensive experience in the operation and troubleshooting of complex analytical instrumentation
  • Extensive experience with mobile laboratory operations, building and design
  • Experienced in the inspections and audit processes performed by the ELAP, EPA, DoD, and NELAP.
  • Skilled in Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Access, HP Chemstation, and Element LIMS

Management/Supervision

  • Directed the activities of over 5 supervisors, 60 chemists and technicians in a mid-sized environmental laboratory
  • Supervised 5 technicians in the preparation of clinical diagnostic reagents following GMP
  • Managed 3 shifts of QA inspectors and technicians in a photopolymer plate manufacturing plant
  • Successfully relocated a fully operational environmental laboratory to a new 20,000 sq ft facility with no downtime
  • Managed operations of a small manufacturing plant, improving production output, employee safety, waste disposal and supply ordering procedures

Training

  • Trained chemists and technicians in the operation of analytical instrumentation, such as gas chromatographs (GC), GC/ mass spectrometers, HPLC’s and spectrophotometers
  • Trained all production personnel to be cost effective and accurate in product defect evaluations and rejection
  • Provided “hands on” training to mentally and physically handicapped workers in a small manufacturing plant

Technical

  • Reviewed and evaluated analytical data generated by chemists/technicians for wet chemistry, metal, organic analyses
  • Developed analytical methodologies for achieving low detection limits for organic analytes in both complex and limited matrices
  • Performed numerous EPA analytical methods on a variety of matrices
  • Supervised the build out of mobile laboratories specifically designed to perform air monitoring on stacks and vapor analysis.
  • Developed a fully operational microbiology department entailing the purchase of all equipment, establishing all methods, conducting all required training, and acquiring all certifications

Employment History

2006- present Laboratory Director H&P Geochemistry, Carlsbad, CA
2003-2006 Chemist H&P Geochemistry, Carlsbad, CA
1993-2003 Laboratory Director Enviromatrix Analytical, San Diego, CA
1991-1993 Chemist TEG, Solana Beach, CA
1987-1991 Technical Director Quality Assurance Laboratory, San Diego, CA
1983-1987 QA Supervisor NAPP Systems, San Marcos, CA
1982-1983 Formulations Supervisor SmithKline-Beckman, Carlsbad, CA
1980-1982 Production Supervisor Moleculon Research, Cambridge, MA

Education

MBA, National University, San Diego, CA   
BS, Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA  
Omega 6 month management training course, NAPP Systems, San Marcos, CA
40 hr OSHA 29 91910.120) Certification, UCSD, San Diego, CA