Chris Baxter is the Responsible Care Leader for Distribution and Transportation at Olin Corporation. Chris has worked at Olin for 21 years in Manufacturing, Customer Service, and Responsible Care. In his current role, he is responsible for the safe transportation of hazardous materials and distribution emergency response. Chris also serves as Olin’s representative on The Chlorine Institute’s Emergency Preparedness Issue Team.
Erica Bernstein manages CHEMTREC’s public and industry service-related initiatives including the TRANSCAER® program. One of Erica’s key focuses is establishing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders including government agencies, emergency responders, trade associations, carriers and other industry partners. Prior to joining CHEMTREC she served as the Director of Outreach for The Chlorine Institute. She earned a Master of Arts in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness from Virginia Commonwealth University and received her Bachelor of Science in Design from Radford University. She has completed the Master Exercise Practitioner Program (MEPP) at the Emergency Management Institute and has six years of experience in all-hazard exercise design and evaluation.
Dr. Charlotte Blackburn is a Regulatory Specialist at UL, where she is a key member of UL’s Global Regulatory Assurance Team who provide comprehensive regulatory support to a wide range of companies around the world. Charlotte’s main area of expertise is chemicals legislation in the EU, specialising in chemical hazard communication and product compliance; one of her key focuses is on navigating the complex and evolving regulatory landscape surrounding poison centre notifications across Europe. In today’s complex global market, UL offers an alternative to fragmented product and supply chain management. With solutions for R&D, Chemical Data Management, EHS, Supply Chain Management and Product Promotion – backed by world-class technology, scientific and regulatory expertise – companies around the world partner with UL to strengthen their supply chains and develop safe, innovative products. Prior to joining UL, Charlotte completed a Ph.D. in Chemistry and an MChem in Chemistry with Industrial Training at the University of Bath, UK.
Paul Bomgardner is the Chief of the Hazardous Materials Division. Paul began his public safety career as a Trooper in the Maryland State Police, eventually serving as the commander of the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. After leaving the State Police, Paul served as the Director, Hazardous Materials Transportation at the American Trucking Associations for 13 years and then as the Director of Administration for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance for 9 years. Paul joined FMCSA as the HM Division Team Lead and was promoted to Chief in January of 2011.
Kevin has been with CHEMTREC since May of 2013. As an accomplished marketing and sales professional with broad management experience and a skill set to provide creative, innovative, and forward-thinking leadership, Kevin has helped enhance the level of quality in products and services in multiple industries. Beginning his work in electronic security, Kevin helped design physical access control and monitoring systems for federal agencies and commercial office buildings. Later, he worked in the architectural restoration industry implementing programs for the restoration of architectural finishes. While at CHEMTREC, Kevin has helped develop CHEMTREC’s sales team, business processes, and operational KPI. Some of his current responsibilities include development of new services; assist in designing working solutions for customer needs; and active participation in the development and implementation of CHEMTREC’s short and long-term strategic goals. Most of all, Kevin enjoys working with industry members to help them enhance industry safety and providing new alternatives to some of the challenges of handling dangerous goods. Kevin attended George Mason University in Fairfax, VA where he earned his undergraduate degree in Economics.
As President of Specialty Transportation and Regulatory Services (STARS), a hazardous materials consulting firm, Ms. Buckley is a dedicated hazardous materials transportation expert committed to protecting workers, citizens, the environment, and capital assets by improving safety, increasing regulatory compliance and managing risk. She has a Master Certificate in Project Management, a Master of Science in Environmental, Safety, & Health Management, and over 20 years of experience with private industry and state and federal agencies. Ms. Buckley travels around North America speaking about hazardous materials and transportation issues important to the industry and is the proud recipient of numerous leadership and business awards including: Woman of the Year, Top Professional of the Year, Top Female Executive, and others.
Jorge Carrasco is the Chief Operations Officer for Ambipar Response. With 40 years of experience in emergency management, Mr. Carrasco has been providing hazmat response services and specialized training worldwide in the areas of industrial emergencies, weapons of mass destruction's and emergency management since he joined the USA Transportation Technology Center team in February 1995. He has also provided emergency response consulting services in the area of planning and emergency management, to chemical companies, railways, mining companies, ports, governments and emergency Responders in Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Spain, Northern Africa and the USA. Since 2007, Mr. Carrasco has been providing Consulting services in the Chemical Emergency area, related to compliance inspections on chemical transfer terminals, chemical plants and other Hazmat related industrial facilities.
Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Science Degree in Environmental Science and Management from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Rebecca’s chemical industry career spans 21 years with Bayer Corporation / Bayer Material Science / Covestro LLC. She has held several positions within the organization starting in Product Safety and Regulatory Affairs (1998) and then moved to Distribution Safety (2002) where she administered the hazardous materials/dangerous goods compliance program for all Bayer Corporation businesses operating within the NAFTA Region. In 2009, Rebecca became Senior Manager, Transportation & Distribution Safety for Bayer MaterialScience, LLC. As Senior Manager, Rebecca maintained a governance role for the other Bayer businesses (CropScience and HealthCare) guiding their program and policy development for transportation and distribution safety. With the Bayer spin-off of Covestro in 2015, Rebecca is the Senior Manager, Transport & Logistics Safety for Covestro, LLC with responsibility for ensuring the safe and legal transportation of Covestro products within the NAFTA Region, including transportation incident management and transportation emergency response. Representing Bayer Corporation/ Bayer MaterialScience / Covestro LLC, Rebecca has held several positions with Dangerous Goods Advisory Council (DGAC), including member of the Board of Directors (2006-2016), Treasurer (2009-2010), Vice-Chairman (2010-2011) and Chairman (2011 – 2012). In addition to DGAC, Rebecca also participates on the ACC CPI Transport & Handling Working Group and as well as the ACC Distribution Committee.
Daniel Chebat joined CHEMTREC in October of 2017. Before CHEMTREC, Daniel spent 10 years at Bain & Co., one of the world’s leading management consulting firms, and served as key advisor to CEO and C-level executives on growth strategies, operating model transformation and rapid turnaround. At CHEMTREC, Daniel oversees all aspects of CHEMTREC’s sales and marketing programs. His main responsibilities include lead generation, sales, new business plan development, social media and web development. He has a Master of Science in Management, Economics and Engineering as well as a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
Kevin is the global security leader for Ashland LLC, holding global responsibility for the protection of company employees and assets. Prior to joining Ashland in this position in 2014, he held positions of increasing responsibility within the United States Government. Most notably, Kevin was a member of the Senior Executive Service as the Special Agent in Charge of the FBl's Southern District of Ohio (Cincinnati Field Division) and the FBl's Tactical Chief and Commander of the elite Hostage Rescue Team. Before joining the FBI in 1991, Kevin served as an U.S. Army Officer in the Military Police Corps. Kevin earned his BS and MS at Eastern Kentucky University where he was a distinguished military graduate and accepted a regular Army Commission. While assigned to the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA as an Adjunct Professor with the University of Virginia (UVA), he received a Masters of Education from UVA. Kevin is a board member of the Veterans Program at Xavier University and serves on the American Chemistry Councils (ACC) Security Committee. He is a member of the International Security Management Association (ISMA), the FBl's Domestic Security Alliance Council (DSAC), U.S. State Departments Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), and a member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professional (ATAP). Kevin and his wife Cathy are avid Kentucky basketball, Ohio State football fans, and enjoy traveling in their spare time.
Brian Dailey is the Global Emergency Response Competency Leader for the Chemours Company. Brian has worked for Dupont/Chemours for 26 years. He studied Aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University while serving in the USAF as an Air Traffic Controller. Brian now leads emergency response initiatives across Chemours. He is a Hazmat and Incident Command Instructor and holds certifications in Industrial and Structural Firefighting, Hazmat Response and Confined Space Rescue. Brian is a member of the Chlorine Institute’s Emergency Preparedness Issues Team, ACC Hydrogen Fluoride Mutual Aid Team and the National TRANSCAER® Task Group.
Clifford Dice is the CEO and founder of DICE Corporation, one of the leading research and development companies in the security industry. As an innovator of software solutions that have helped shape alarm monitoring, Dice has created many of the technologies used by some of the largest security companies worldwide. After obtaining a degree from Northwood University, Dice founded a software consulting company where he was challenged to write an accounting solution that others had tried but were unable to develop. Loving a challenge, Dice successfully developed the software, which was the foundation for DICE Corporation. Some of DICE Corporation’s top services include alarm monitoring, service, sales, smart home, and telecom solutions. DICE also operates the industry’s largest cloud hosting center, supplying over one million subscribers with direct service and six million subscribers with alarm signaling telecom services.
Andy currently works for the Association of American Railroads (AAR) with a primary focus as Manager of Hazmat Compliance. These duties include controlling and editing the AAR’s Hazmat Data Base and Directing the AAR’s Executive Hazmat Committee. His secondary duties include serving on the Board of Directors for Operation Lifesaver Inc., AAR Representative to the Dangerous Goods Advisory Council, AAR Representative to TRANSCAR, AAR Representative to the Transportation Research Board, Instructing Tactical Hazmat for the FBI / STALO Program and other duties as assigned.
Greg Hallet is an Emergency Response Specialist with Shell, assisting with emergency management for all areas of the Shell business. In his past 10 years at Shell, Greg has worked at several locations, and multiple levels of the business with frontline staff and leaders and senior management to pre-plan, train, respond and refine response activities and priorities. Greg’s response history with Shell includes multiple large incidents including the Fort MacMurray Wildfire in 2016, and HAZMAT response incidents involving rail, road transport and pipelines. Spending the last 19 years in municipal emergency services, he has served as a Firefighter, Captain and Training officer with several departments, and being awarded the Alberta Emergency Services Medal. Greg continues lead to as a Fire Instructor for Shell’s Corporate Fire School at the Texas A&M facility several times a year, as well as a co-instructor for the Rail Association of Canada for the Railway Emergency Response Courses. To relax outside of work, Greg enjoys the challenges of camping and hiking (particularly in bad weather) in the beautiful mountains of Alberta and Montana.
Bob started at CHEMTREC in April of 2011 and currently oversees the Customer Care Department, including customer service and dedicated account management teams. He has a background in IT, international research and automotive management. Bob works closely with the Operations Center to ensure that CHEMTREC service meets the high standards that our CHEMTREC’s customer care department is known for. One of Bob’s key areas of focus is quality and continual improvement. As such, he interacts with CHEMTREC’s current customers on a regular basis to learn how CHEMTREC can improve our current service offerings, identify new ways to help our customers and how to continually grow as an organization.
Sean Horacek is the Reliability Engineer for Air Liquide Hydrogen Energy U.S. He joined Air Liquide in 2015 as an engineer in Air Liquide’s rotational program, ALLEX, with roles in Energy Management, Air Separation Units (ASU) Plant Engineering, Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) Plant Engineering and Gulf Coast Pipeline Zone Engineering. He works closely with all members of the Hydrogen Energy team, with the goal of creating a reliable network of hydrogen operations in this new market. He is also responsible for all reporting and KPI aspects of the Air Liquide Hydrogen Energy business, both internally and to the local state agencies. Sean has over 4 years experience in operational and reliability engineering, and has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Todd B. Klessman is the Deputy Associate Director of the Office of Chemical Security (OCS) in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), responsible for the implementation of chemical facility security regulations within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In this capacity, Mr. Klessman leads the Department’s efforts to administer the national Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) regulatory risk management program. The CFATS program is responsible for assessing high-risk chemical facilities and administering security regulation through collaborative security planning to ensure facilities meet risk-based performance standards, reducing the risks associated with certain chemicals of interest. Prior to his role as the Deputy Associate Director, Mr. Klessman served as the Senior Counselor to the Under Secretary for CISA, and the Senior Policy Advisor. Additionally, Mr. Klessman’s career includes working as an attorney assisting clients in various types of litigation, including complex commercial disputes, first amendment cases, labor and employment cases, and international trade matters. Mr. Klessman has a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan Business School and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.
Mark Kramer serves as President and CEO of Anderson Development Company, a customer focused innovator of specialty materials serving the coatings, elastomers, pharmaceuticals and electronics industries. Anderson Development Company materials are used by businesses worldwide to improve their products, whether it is to protect your car’s wheels from corrosion, to produce the fastest computer chips or to make agricultural equipment more durable. Since he assumed the role in 2013, Mark’s focus has been to grow the business organically as well as to lead the internal strategic and talent development efforts. Mark has over 25 years of experience in the business of chemistry. He joined Anderson Development Company in 1997. Early in his career with Anderson, Mark held a series of plant and technical management roles with increasing responsibility during which he was responsible for transforming the company operationally and positioning it for increased growth. Later, Mark assumed responsibility for the business management, sales and research functions which significantly increased Anderson Development’s global market penetration. From its headquarters and manufacturing in Adrian, Michigan, Anderson Development Company competes on a global scale, with over 30% of its products intended for export to Asia and Europe. Mark serves on the boards of the American Chemistry Council and the Michigan Chemistry. Within the local community, Mark has been very involved with increasing Anderson’s engagement and support for the local community, and is working closely with the local schools for STEM education. Prior to joining Anderson Development Company, Mark worked for Koch Industries and BP in a number of locations. Mark holds a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Dayton.
Valerie comes to us from CANUTEC - the Canadian Transport Emergency Centre - operated by Transport Canada, where she has been the Emergency Centre Operations Manager for the last 2 years, and was an emergency response advisor for the 4 years prior. Val also worked as a laboratory biosafety inspector and a bio-threat reduction microbiologist with the Public Health Agency of Canada from 2007-2013, and during that time, she also was an instructor for the Canadian Emergency Management College. Initially trained as a research microbiologist, her work with CANUTEC gave her the chance to embrace emergency management and become a hazmat technician, a highway response specialist, as well as a tank car specialist in the context of hazmat incidents. She recently completed her masters in Public Health and gained experience in public evacuation due to wildland fires in the Canadian north.
Rick Lusby is the Vice President of Safety & Quality at Highway Transport Logistics In Knoxville, TN. Rick started his career in transportation industry back in 1978, working in the LTL freight business for 7 years, then moved in to the petroleum industry for 11 years before finding his way home to the chemical industry for the last 23 years with Highway Transport. Rick has held several positions at Highway Transport, starting as an Operations Supervisor, Load Planning Manager, Terminal Manager, and Director of Tank Cleaning & Environment before moving into the Safety Department. Rick was introduced to the American Chemical Counsel Responsible Care Program in 2005 as Highway Transport started the process of Partner Certification, trained as a company internal auditor by Verrico Associates, and is currently the Responsible Care Coordinator for Highway Transport. Rick has been married for 35 years, has two Daughters, one son, and 5 grandsons.