2007 Annual West Coast Collaborative Partnership Meeting

Speaker Biographies

Rick Albright
Director, Office of Air, Waste and Toxics, Region 10, Rick Albright is the Director of the Office of Air, Waste, and Toxics in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Region 10 office. He has worked at the EPA for over 21 years. His previous work experience with the EPA includes the Director of EPA’s Office of Waste and Chemicals Management; Director of EPA’s Alaska Operations Office and Unit Manager of EPA’s Superfund Program, as well as various experience in EPA’s water programs (such as permitting, water quality standards, and TMDLs). Previous work positions outside of EPA include applied research at Washington State Department of Game and serving as a Staff biologist at University of Washington at the School of Fisheries. Mr. Albright’s educational background includes a BA in Zoology from the University of Washington and a MS in Fisheries, also from the University of Washington. Personal hobbies include gardening, kayaking, skiing, reading, camping, hiking, various home projects, and spending time with his family.

Sharon Banks
Sharon Banks is actively involved in reducing diesel exhaust in Oregon. She is the newly appointed CEO of Cascade Sierra Solutions or (CSS). She spent 16 years managing finances for the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency – a little local agency with big ideas in Lane County, Oregon. She works in partnership with a variety of government, schools, and private enterprise stakeholders to improve air quality and sustainability in Lane County, Oregon. Her passion is designing programs using collaborative processes and market-based approaches to improve air quality and energy efficiency. Her educational background is in business and transportation logistics. She also serves one weekend a month as a transportation officer in the Oregon Army National Guard. She is a team member of the Oregon Clean Diesel Initiative; an active member of Clean Cities Coalition; a member of Oregon Environmental Council and on the Board of Clean Air Northwest (CAN); and member of EPA’s Smart Way Transport and West Coast Collaborative. Recent Projects include:

Taylor S. Davis
Taylor Director, Public and Governmental Affairs, Deere and Company
Taylor Davis has worked for Deere for ten years and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Houston Baptist University and a Juris Doctor degree from South Texas School of Law.

Kevin Downing
Kevin Downing graduated with a B.A. in psychology from Reed College, having presented his body of work either as publication in academic journals or in colloquia and professional meetings. He moved to work on environmental policy matters as a legislative assistant in the Oregon Legislature and on political campaigns. He has worked for the Department of Environmental Quality since 1992 where he initially led the efforts of the Department to respond to the challenges of the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act by meeting every one of the requisite deadlines on time. He has also been responsible for the development and implementation of multiple air and water quality programs including nonpoint source pollution reduction projects, abatement of air quality nuisances, open burning, vapor recovery from marine loading of petroleum products and air quality regional maintenance plans. In the past few years, Kevin has been leading the state’s efforts to reduce the impact of diesel emissions through the promotion of advanced pollution controls on existing diesel vehicles. He has made numerous presentations on the application of clean diesel technology to citizen, business and academic groups in Oregon as well as elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest and nationally. He lives with his wife and two children in a neighborhood of Portland where he had led efforts, as president of the neighborhood association, to successfully reduce the number of travel lanes on a heavily used street in order to restore balance to other travel modes, like bicyclists and pedestrians, while stimulating the development of a business community along the corridor.

Kerry Drake
Kerry Drake is an Associate Director in the Air Division of the EPA Region 9. He focuses on permitting, enforcement, and agriculture as well as general air quality issues in the San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento metropolitan areas of California, and in the state of Hawaii. He came to the EPA after serving for more than a decade with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Mr. Drake graduated, with honors, from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, and is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Texas.

Larry F. Greene
Mr. Larry Greene is the Executive Director of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District based in Sacramento, California. The district staff of 100 operates programs in air monitoring, planning, compliance assistance, enforcement of air quality rules, public education, mobile sources, and review of local land use projects. He has twice served as President of the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association, which represents air quality issues for the 34 California Districts and he serves on the Board of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA), a national organization which represents air quality issues for state and local agencies. Larry has earned a Bachelors Degree in Science Education from North Carolina State University, and Masters Degrees in Logistics Management from Florida Institute of Technology and Human Resources Education from Boston University. Larry is a founding board member of Walk Sacramento, a non-profit group advocating for more pedestrian access in the Sacramento region.

Roger A. Isom
Roger A. Isom is the Vice President & Director of Technical Services for the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations, and has been since 1992. Prior to that, he worked for the Fresno County and San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control Districts. In addition, he is a member of the Executive Board of the Ag Energy Consumers Association. In 2000, he was appointed to the USDA-NRCS Agricultural Air Quality Task Force as an agricultural organization representative specializing in air quality. He is a member of the Dust Emission Joint Forum appointed by the Western Governors Association. He is a Registered Environmental Assessor with the State of California, and graduated from California State University, Fresno in 1988.

Deborah Jordan
Deborah Jordan was named the Director of EPA Region 9’s Air Division on November 3, 2003. Prior to her selection as Director, Ms. Jordan served as Associate Regional Administrator, acting as chief of staff for Regional Administrator Wayne Nastri. For the two previous years, she served as Chief, Federal Facilities and Site Cleanup Branch in the Superfund Division. She has extensive background in the air program prior to moving to Superfund, having served as Associate Director from 1995-2000. Her tenure in the Air Division includes having managed the Title V operating permits program from 1992-1995. Ms. Jordan holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, all in chemical engineering. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Air and Waste Management Association, Golden West Section.

Ralph Knight
Mr. Knight has been in school transportation for 38 years. As Director of Transportation for the Napa Valley Unified School District, he has led the District in many uses of alternative fuels. Napa Valley is the only school district in California that operates a 100% CNG transit fleet, and they are the only school district today still operating three electric school buses. Napa Valley Unified School District will be the first district in California to operate a new diesel-electric hybrid school bus.

Cynthia Marvin
Cynthia Marvin is the assistant division chief for planning and technical support at the California Air Resources Board. Her background includes 18 years experience with the Board developing clean air plans and regulations to protect public health, plus private sector work as a banking executive and a B.S. in Environmental Toxicology. Ms. Marvin led development of CARB’s 2006 Emission Reduction Plan for Ports and Goods Movement in California. She currently manages the agency’s program to implement the $1 billion approved by the voters to reduce the emissions and health risk from freight movement in California’s trade corridors under the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006.

Dennis McLerran
Dennis McLerran is the Executive Director of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, the regional air quality agency for King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. He has led the Agency in developing a number of national award winning programs. These innovative programs include Diesel Solutions, a broad-based voluntary diesel retrofit and clean fuels program; the Puget Sound voluntary summer clean gasoline program; and developing legislation creating the Washington State Clean School Bus program, making $5 million per year available to clean up 9,000 school buses. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Mobile Sources and Fuels Committee of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies and is a past President and Board member. He is also a member of US EPA’s Clean Air Act Advisory Committee and the Mobile Source Technical Review Subcommittee. He is currently helping to lead the West Coast Collaborative, a group of stakeholders promoting retrofitting of diesel engines. Mr. McLerran is also a past recipient of the Municipal League of King County’s Public Employee of the Year award.

Elin Miller
Elin D. Miller is the Regional Administrator for EPA Region 10, which has jurisdiction in the Pacific Northwest states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson announced the appointment of Ms. Miller to serve as Regional Administrator, effective October 30, 2006. With over twenty years experience in environmental and agricultural issues, Elin brings a wealth of knowledge to the Agency. Most recently, she served as President and CEO of Arysta Life Science North America & Australasia, a crop protection company based in Tokyo. From 1996-2004, she held various positions at the Dow Chemical Company including Global Vice President of Public Affairs, Vice President of Global Pest Management and Vice President of Asia Pacific. Prior to joining Dow, Elin served as the Director of the California Department of Conservation, where she was responsible for regulating oil and gas production, as well as the state's mining, recycling and agriculture land conservation initiatives. She also served as the Chief Deputy Director of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation at Cal EPA. She has served as the Chair-Elect for the Sponsor's Board of the Future Farmers America, was a member of the President's Cabinet at California Polytechnic State University, was on the board of the American Farmland Trust, and was the Chair of Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment. Elin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy/Plant Protection from the University of Arizona where she was a Rhodes Scholarship finalist and was recently recognized with their 2006 Outstanding Alumni Award in her profession. She and her husband Bill own a working farm in Umpqua, Oregon

Peter Murchie
Peter works in the Office of Air Waste and Toxics (OAWT) in Region 10. Until recently Peter also worked for the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) in the national air toxics program and as part of the agriculture/forestry air quality team. Peter is the Team Lead for the EPA Region 10 diesel team and Coordinator of the West Coast Collaborative. Beyond EPA, Peter has worked with the World Health Organization and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization on water quality management in developing countries and with the US/Canada International Joint Commission on ecosystem management of the Great Lakes. His education and work has focused on the impacts of environmental stressors on public health and developing collaborative approaches on mitigating environmental health problems. He has a Masters of Public Health and a Masters of Science in Natural Resources Management from the University of Michigan.

Wayne Nastri
Wayne Nastri, a lifelong westerner, was appointed Regional Administrator for Region 9 in October 2001. Mr. Nastri has led the Region to real progress in meeting the west's environmental challenges, especially in improving air quality in the Central Valley and Southern California and in protecting of scarce water resources throughout the arid west. Clear communication, strong enforcement and accountability to the public for a measurable "bottom line" have been the hallmarks of his tenure. A strong proponent of partnership as the best route to environmental protection, Mr. Nastri has launched many creative collaborations to protect the health and environment of all those who live in the Pacific Southwest. Most recently, Mr. Nastri partnered with EPA's Seattle region to launch the West Coast Diesel Emission Reduction Collaborative which will speed voluntary reductions of diesel emissions from ports, trucks and other federally regulated sources in a significant assault on one of the west's gravest air quality problems. Mr. Nastri also created EPA's Southern California Field Office in Los Angeles -- a major improvement in EPA's local presence for the region's largest metropolitan area. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Nastri held various environmental leadership positions, including Board membership for California's South Coast Air Quality Management District (covering Southern California), as well as participation in advisory boards for California's state air quality and waste management agencies. His fifteen years of environmental consulting experience culminated in his presidency of Environmental Mediation Inc. before accepting his position at EPA.

Joseph W. Oldham
Mr. Oldham is currently the Fleet Acquisition Supervisor for the Fleet Management Division of the General Services Department within the City of Fresno; a position that he has held for the past ten years. During that time, Mr. Oldham has helped the City of Fresno deploy the largest alternative fuel and low emission fleet of vehicles in the San Joaquin Valley. Mr. Oldham believes that everyone can make a positive contribution to improving air quality and resource conservation. Together with his wife, Donna, and their three children, the Oldham family has made personal commitments to environmental stewardship through the use of solar power on their home in Coarsegold, CA, the exclusive use of California native plants in their landscape, and in the vehicle that they drive, a 2004 Toyota Prius hybrid.

Lanny Schmid
Lanny Schmid is employed by Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in Omaha Nebraska as a Director of Environmental Operations, and is the current chairman of the Environmental Affairs Committee for the Association of American Railroads. During his 20 plus years at UP, he has been assigned a wide variety of responsibilities in almost all geographic areas of their system covering all environmental programs. Prior to UP, Mr. Schmid spent ten years managing environmental and energy conservation programs in major beef slaughtering plants and two years at the Nebraska Department of Environmental Control. He has a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering and a Masters in Environmental Engineering, both from the University of Nebraska, and is a Registered Professional Engineer.

Lori Stewart
Lori Stewart is Deputy Director of the Transportation and Regional Programs Division, in the Office of Transportation and Air Quality at EPA. Ms. Stewart’s division focuses on innovative emission reductions programs such as the National Clean Diesel Campaign, the SmartWay program, and Best Workplaces for Commuters as well as working with States to incorporate mobile source reduction programs (including cleaner fuels) in State Implementation Plans and to meet transportation conformity requirements. Ms. Stewart joined the EPA transportation programs in 1995, and has been with the Environmental Protection Agency in a variety of positions for more 20 years.

Tim Taylor
Tim Taylor is the Director of Strategic Market Planning for Cleaire Advanced Emission Controls with responsibilities for integrating products, technologies and new product development with regional air quality, transportation and toxics programs. Taylor is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in Physical Anthropology. Taylor has worked in management capacities in a number of fleet operations including the University of California Fleet Services, U.S. Fleet Leasing, and the City of Sacramento Public Works. Taylor began working at the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District in 1991 and became the Manager of the Mobile Source Division in 1995 where he developed several emission reduction programs including the Sacramento Heavy-duty NOx Program (which was used as a model for the statewide Carl Moyer Program) and the Sacramento Emergency Clean Air and Transportation or “SECAT” Program. Taylor has served as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President and President of the Public Equipment Managers Association (PEMA), an association of public agency and utility fleet managers in the Sacramento area. Taylor is the current Vice President of the Greater Sacramento Regional Clean Air Coalition, the Department of Energy affiliated Clean Cities Coalition in the Sacramento region. Taylor is also a member of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Community Air Risk Evaluation (CARE) Task Force, a program that is investigating the health risk from toxic air contaminant emissions in the Bay Area and assessing opportunities for risk reduction measures to improve air quality in more highly impacted communities.

Jim Tischer
Jim Tischer is a regional program manager for the Center for Irrigation Technology (CIT) at California State University, Fresno. Tischer has a long history of successful assignments at the water/energy/resource stewardship interface having served as a well drilling and pump company president, founding manager of a large central California resource conservation district and as an executive director of a statewide agricultural advocacy organization. In the area of renewable energy and distributed generation, Tischer served as director of fuel procurement for the permitting, construction, start up and operation of four California biomass plants for a major Fortune 500 corporation. All four plants continue to be operational as of March 2007). He is the team leader for the development and implementation of the innovative Solar Initiative and Renewable Fuels Initiative for the International Center for Water Technology at CSU, Fresno. Tischer, a graduate and Fellow of the California Agricultural Leadership Program and the University of California, Davis, lives in Woodland, California and is active in the local community.

Mia Waters
Air Quality, Acoustics and Energy Program Manager, Washington State Department of Transportation Mia Waters has degrees in environmental science, sociology, and transportation planning. She has been working in the air quality field for over 15 years in Washington, Oregon, and oversees, and has focused on transportation related air emissions for over 10 years. Her recent work on diesel emission reductions was catalyzed in 2002, working with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and getting to know the benefits of their "diesel solutions program". Mia is here today to talk about Washington State DOT's efforts to fund public fleet vehicles using the Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program.

June 14, 2017