Biographical Sketches

Nominees for the TNI Board of Directors

Jump to candidates:
Stephen Arms
Zonetta E. English
Sharon K. Mertens
Judith R. Morgan
Alfredo Sotomayor
Elizabeth Turner


Stephen Arms
Environmental Laboratory Certification Program Administrator
Florida Department of Health
Jacksonville, Florida

Mr. Arms has nearly 30 years of managerial and analytical experience in the environmental testing field. His background combines 13 years of analytical and supervisory work in the Florida drinking water primacy laboratory with 16 years as the administrator of the Environmental Laboratory Certification Program (ELCP). Mr. Arms works closely with the state environmental regulatory agency, FDEP, to help ensure that programmatic needs are being met by having competent certified laboratories perform the testing upon which environmental decisions are made. As ELCP Administrator, Mr. Arms is responsible for oversight of the program’s Quality System and day-to-day operations. He is responsible for ensuring that all employees are trained, competent and knowledgeable in the standards for accreditation and their application as they relate to each individual’s job functions. He periodically evaluates the effectiveness of the Quality System and makes adjustments to policies and procedures as necessary. Active in the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC) meetings since 1997, he served on the NELAP Accrediting Authority Committee and was chairperson of the NELAC Standards Review Committee. Also active in INELA, he was a member of the Accreditation Body and Implementation Support Committees as well as the Board of Directors. He participated on the Partnership Planning Team and Transition Board and is now Past Chair of the TNI Board of Directors, a member of the NELAP Accreditation Council and chair of the TNI Advocacy Committee. Mr. Arms has a BS degree in Chemistry from the University of Florida.

Zonetta E. English
Laboratory Manager, Louisville and Jefferson Co. MSD
Louisville, Kentucky

Ms. English manages the overall operational activities of the Louisville and Jefferson County laboratories and has 19 years of experience in managing environmental laboratories. She is responsible for creating and maintaining operational and capital expenditures and for the development and the execution of the strategic business plan for the Laboratory. She has an MBA from Webster University and a BA in Chemistry from University of Kentucky. Ms. English has served on EPA’s Environmental Laboratory Advisory Board and on the Federal Advisory Board for Detection and Quantitation. She has served as Co-Chair of the Laboratory Practices Committee for the Kentucky/Tennessee Water Environment Federation and is currently an Adjunct Professor for Jefferson Community Technical College and a member of the National Black MBA Association. Ms. English is a current member of the TNI Advocacy Commitee.

Sharon K. Mertens
Laboratory Manager
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

As the Laboratory Manager for MMSD, Ms. Mertens provides the overall management, strategic direction and coordination of the laboratory functions and their outcomes. Her staff provides analytical testing and technical support to the District for its WPDES permit compliance, watercourse monitoring, industrial waste pretreatment program and biosolids products testing. Ms. Mertens has a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin -Milwaukee and over 30 years of experience in environmental testing and laboratory management. She is currently the laboratory manager for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. Prior to this, she was the Laboratory Director of STL Austin (formerly Radian International). Ms. Mertens is a leader in the area of laboratory accreditation and development of standards for environmental testing laboratories. She is a current member of the TNI Board of Directors where she serves as Chair. She has been active in many other committees pertaining to laboratory standards.

Judith R. Morgan
Vice President, Chief Regulatory Officer
ESC Lab Sciences (Environmental Science Corp.)
Mt. Juliet, Tennessee

Ms. Morgan has over 25 years of experience in environmental analyses and is responsible for the design and implementation of corporate programs for Quality Assurance, Safety, Ethics and Confidentiality, Green Initiatives and Waste Disposal/Minimization. She also directs the processes that ensure accuracy and completeness of the analytical laboratory results while ensuring that contractual requirements are satisfied. She is responsible for the laboratory QA documents, initiating and overseeing audits, instituting corrective measures (when necessary), implementing numerous international quality standards and preparing internal QA/QC reports. A graduate of Austin Peay State University with a B.S. in Chemistry, Ms. Morgan also holds a M.S. in Analytical Chemistry from Western Kentucky University and has completed research at Vanderbilt University in environmental analysis. Ms. Morgan is a member of many professional organizations including the American Chemical Society, American Society for Quality and the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. She currently serves as a Technical Advisor for the City of Mt. Juliet Wastewater Committee. Ms. Morgan is a current member of the TNI Board and active on a number of TNI committees. She is the former Chairman of the EPA Environmental Laboratory Advisory Board and serves on the board for several other industry related organizations. Additional credentials include: Registered Environmental Manager and Certified Data Validator.

Alfredo Sotomayor
Water Supply Specialist
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Madison, Wisconsin

Mr. Sotomayor is an advanced specialist with the Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater. He is in charge of maintaining and revising the Wisconsin administrative rules implementing the Safe Drinking Water Act. Mr. Sotomayor manages the Disinfection Byproducts Rule and serves as liaison with the Wisconsin Laboratory Certification and Registration Program. Previously, he was the Senior Audit Chemist with the Laboratory Certification and Registration Program where he assessed complex environmental laboratories, wrote regulations, and trained assessors. Mr. Sotomayor serves as chair of the TNI Policy Committee, is a member of the TNI Board of Directors, and is the Institute's Secretary. Mr. Sotomayor has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Columbia University in the City of New York and over 30 years of experience.

Elizabeth Turner
Manager, Pretreatment and Laboratory Services
North Texas Municipal Water District
Wylie, Texas

Ms. Turner is responsible for managing two wastewater process labs and one analytical laboratory. She has 19 years of experience in environmental analyses and holds a MS in Environmental Science and Engineering from Virginia Polytechnical Institute, and a BS in Biology from Stockton State College. She has served on a project committee for the Development of an Early Warning Drinking Water Contamination System and is leading accreditation activities for the Dallas laboratories. Accomplishments include improving prosecution report for outside complaints, initiated tracking of SWM court cases, implemented a QA/QC program for field analysis and sample collector proficiency, revamped monitoring programs to comply with permits, developed training modules for waste yard operations and emergency response, improving coordination / communication with other City of Dallas departments. Ms. Turner is Chair of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) National Water Quality Laboratory Committee and a member of a number of Water Environmental Association of Texas (WEAT) Committee. She also participates in the TNI Small Lab Advisory Group and the WEF Laboratory Committee.