2024 Speaker Bios
Christina Baxter
CEO, Emergency Response TIPS/Hazard3
Christina Baxter, PhD, is the CEO of Emergency Response TIPS, LLC which provides practical, evidence-based solutions for emergency response through the development of next generation tools for enhanced responder safety and education in the areas of CBRNE, hazardous materials, and clandestine laboratory response. She was also the co-founder of Hazard3 which was recently acquired by Safeware. Prior to forming Emergency Response TIPS, LLC, Dr. Baxter was the CBRNE Program Manager for the U.S. Department of Defense Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) where she was responsible for developing and fielding next generation capabilities for the CBRNE response elements. Prior to moving to the Department of Defense, Dr. Baxter held various positions in Atlanta-area fire and emergency management agencies. Dr. Baxter holds a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She has over 25 years of experience in the hazardous materials/CBRN response community where she remains active teaching, performing research, and participating in the standards development processes.
Chris Bednarek
Sr. Trainer, Ferretti Salvage and Recycling
Chris is the Deputy Fire Chief of the South Chicago Heights Fire Dept., where he has been since 2021 following a 20-year career with the Chicago Heights Fire Dept. Chris is also the Fire Certification Specialist Supervisor for the Illinois Office of the State Fire Marshal’s Division of Personnel Standards & Education. During his nearly 30-year fire service career, Chris has worked as a Paid-On-Call firefighter, contract firefighter/paramedic, company officer, and training officer. Chris also spent several years as a rescue specialist and safety officer with Illinois Task Force 1, the state’s Urban Search & Rescue team. Chris has served as an instructor for various academies throughout the north-central region of Illinois, most notably with the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI), where he has worked primarily in the rope, confined space, and vehicle & machinery rescue programs. Chris is a member of the Southside F.O.O.L.S. in Chicago and has served on the F.O.O.L.S. International Executive Board since 2015.
Brett Bigger
Category Sales Manager – CBRN, HazMatIQ
Brett Bigger is a Senior Trainer/SME for Noble with a focus on CBRNE/HazMat Equipment and Response, and Li-ION Battery Response. In addition to training with Noble, Brett has spent the past 24 out of his 25-year career with Renton Fire Department as a HazMat Team leader. Brett serves on the Washington Task Force 1, a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team, and is a Plan Team Manager/HazMat Specialist. Brett joined the HazMatIQ (Noble) Training Team in 2014, where he is a lead instructor/SME in Above the Line/Below the Line, First Response Offensive, Air Monitoring, AdvancedIQ, and Custom Scenario Training. Brett is the founder/developer of our Air Monitoring of Flammable Liquids and Crude Oil and newest training program; BatteryIQ: Awareness and Operations Response to Li-ION Battery Emergencies.
John Day
President, LION
John Day is a Category Sales Manager for LION, manufacturers of CBRN PPE. John has over 20 years’ experience in the protective fabrics and garment industry. Prior to LION, John worked with W.L. Gore and Associates Inc. manufacturers of CHEMPAK CBRN protective fabrics. He is based in Phoenix AZ.
Rick Emery
President, Emery & Associates, Inc.
Rick is President of Emery & Associates, Inc., a firm specializing in consulting and emergency response training since 1993. He began his fire service career in 1970 in the Chicago-metro area and has over 48 years of experience in emergency response. Rick attained certification as a Firefighter III, Fire Instructor II, Fire Officer II, Haz Mat Technician and Haz Mat Specialist. Rick was appointed as the first team Coordinator to create the Lake County Hazardous Materials Response Team in 1983. He was a lead hazardous materials instructor at the Illinois fire academy, and an adjunct instructor for the National Fire Academy. He retired from the fire service in 1993 as a career Captain, including 10 years as Coordinator of the Lake County Hazardous Materials Response Team. Rick validated as a Subject Matter Expert for the Department of Defense Domestic Preparedness training program in 1997. He has presented over 2,000 hazardous materials and terrorism training courses to municipal, government and industrial concerns, including the FBI’s haz mat program and at the Department of Justice Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama. Rick provided training as an ICS team leader at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games and was a member of the team that assessed emergency services at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in 2003. He provided advanced support for the Department of State and corporate security overseas. Rick is a principle member of the National Fire Protection Association Technical Committee on Hazardous Materials Response and a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Hazardous Materials Committee. He is a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s committee to develop performance criteria for methods for the detection and identification of biological threat agents. Rick is a frequent speaker at hazardous materials training conferences and classes throughout the United States, and he has conducted training in Canada, Europe, Cuba, Sweden and Asia. The International Association of Fire Chiefs’ honored Rick with the “Level A” award at the International Hazardous Materials Response Conference in Baltimore in 2012. The “Level A” Award bestows the highest level of professional recognition to individuals who have provided an exceptional level of leadership, service and commitment to the mission and goals of the hazardous materials response community. Rick received the “In the Zone” award at the 2013 haz mat conference in Houston, Texas. The International Fire Chiefs Association bestowed the “John Eversole Lifetime Achievement Award” on Rick at the International Hazardous Materials Teams Conference on June 16, 2017, in Baltimore. Rick received the Dieter Heinz “Haz Mat Instructor of the Year” at the 2023 Hot Zone Conference.
Timothy Ferretti
Trainer, Ferretti Salvage and Recycling
Tim is the Safety Manager for multiple companies throughout Illinois in the Scrap metal and Automotive recycling industries. A former Marine with Hazmat and electronics training, Tim transitioned to the scrap and auto recycling safety field in 2010. Throughout his career Tim has been developing safe procedures for, and training salvage yards on, how to dismantle Propane, Hybrid, Electric, CNG, and LNG vehicles as each new model is released. After expanding into the industrial demolition industry Tim was trained and certified as a HAZWOPER Supervisor and HazMat Tech. Tim has most recently began instructing HazMat level classes as a Subject matter expert in the AFV/EV/HEV systems.
Toby Frost
Battalion Chief, Lafayette Fire Department
Battalion Chief Toby Frost is a member of the Lafayette Fire Department in Indiana. He is a Team Leader for their HazMat Team and is the founder of their Illicit Lab Response Team. He is a department instructor for fire fighters, recruits, and local industry teaching fire science, technical rescue and hazardous materials. He is a continuing lecturer at Purdue University in the School of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. He has presented across the country at hazmat conferences including the IAFC International Hazardous Materials Conference, The Hot Zone, and at the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC). As a contract instructor Toby has helped train federal, state and local responders across the country and internationally. Toby serves as a HazMat Specialist for FEMA -INTF-1. Toby is a principal member of the NFPA Hazardous Materials Committee. He is a current Board Member for the Indiana Alliance of Hazardous Materials Responders. BC Frost is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with a BS in Fire Science Engineering Technology and of the NFA Executive Fire Officer Program. In 2018, Toby was recognized by the IAFC Hazardous Materials Committee with their “Level A” Award and in 2019, by the Hot Zone Conference with the “In the Zone Award”.
Chris Greene
Captain – Retired, Seattle Fire Dept.
Energy Hazard Training for Responders
Chris retired as a Captain from the Seattle Fire Department in June of 2023 after 29+ years of service. I spent the last 9 years of my career building Seattle Fire Department’s Energy Response program/specialty team. This specialty team is responsible for addressing all energy related emergencies in the city of Seattle, Washington. The team was created in collaboration with Seattle City Light – the energy provider for Seattle. To my knowledge, it is the only Fire Department specialty team like it in the world. I spent 5 years traveling around the United States attempting to gather insight and consistent practices for recognizing and operating around energy driven emergencies…what I discovered was a massive training gap for the fire service. Closing this gap became my project for the final 9 years of my tenure with the Seattle Fire Department. Today I offer energy hazard training all across the US. I work with FSRI, NFPA, IAFF, and the ICC on all energy hazards. I am an author for Fire Engineering magazine and a perennial instructor at FDIC.
Chris Hawley
Instructor, FBN Training
Chris is the owner of FBN Training which provides Hazardous Materials/WMD training worldwide. He was a founding partner of Blackrock 3 providing Incident Management Training for technology organizations Previously he was a Deputy Program Manager with responsibility for WMD and Counterproliferation courses within the DOD International Counterproliferation Program (ICP). This cooperative program with the FBI and DHS provides threat assessment, Anti-Terrorism and HazMat training and full-scale exercises worldwide. Previous to this position Chris was the Special Operations Coordinator for the Baltimore County, MD Fire Department. Chris has been a firefighter for 24 years and a HazMat responder for 19 years. He is the author of several HazMat and Terrorism response textbooks and most recently published his 3rd Edition of Monitoring & Detection textbook with Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Dshawn Herrera
Dangerous Goods Officer, CN Rail
DShawn Herrera has been in hazmat and emergency response for 11 years. He has served as a firefighter, Sheriff’s Office and ER Contractor. He worked as an instructor at SERTC for 7.5 years.
Erik Kambarian
Chief, Illinois Department of Labor/IL OSHA
Erik Kambarian is Chief of IL OSHA, a Division of the Illinois Department of Labor. In 2019, Erik retired from the fire service as chief of a combination department. While in the fire service Erik served on a regional hazmat team as their radiological specialist and as a duty officer. He has also served as a director of safety and security for an explosives component manufacturer. Mr. Kambarian has degrees in fire science, public administration, and management, and is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP). Currently Erik is a PhD student in human factors psychology at Cardiff University in the UK.
Frank Lipski
President, Sims-U-Share
Frank Lipski is the President of Sims U Share Software. The industry leading emergency simulation training software for fire & emergency services instructors. Frank is a 28-year fire service veteran with extensive experience in special operations response, training & operations.
George Marinoff
Lieutenant, Chicago Fire Dept
Doug Mayer
Business Development Specialist, Fire Services, Blackline Safety
With a career spanning 30+ years, Doug Mayer has been engaged in workplace solutions and training for Environmental, Health, Safety and Emergency Response his entire career. His experience extends across various market segments, from industrial, to chemical, to the public sector (including all levels of government). Doug has provided comprehensive solutions for gas detection and both personal and area monitoring, to address workplace hazards and enhance worker protection. He has trained hundreds of teams including FDs, CSTs, FEMA and the EPA, providing them with the latest technologies that improve both their response capabilities and first responder safety.
Eddie Murphy
Emergency Response Liaison, US DOT PHMSA
Eddie Murphy is the Emergency Response Liaison for Outreach, Engagement and Grants, in the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety in Washington, DC. Mr. Murphy has more than 30 years of experience in hazardous materials and oil spill preparedness, response, training and emergency management. He has been a PHMSA employee since 2012 and has worked for both the Office of Pipeline Safety and the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety. Eddie was previously employed by Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Office of Emergency Management in Tampa, Florida, ChemTel Inc., and is veteran of the United States Coast Guard. Eddie is originally from Ithaca, New York and attended Cornell University. He has a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Thomas Edison State University.
Lee Nelson
Director, Ambipar
As the director at ARTC Lee Nelson is responsible for the strategy and daily operations of the training center. ARTC operates on a US Department of Transportation facility and offers industrial hazardous materials emergency response training focused on surface transportation and fixed facility incidents. The school aims to further research and techniques that support emerging challenges in the hazardous materials response sector. Areas of focus include lithium-ion batteries, hydrogen transportation, hydrogen carrier molecules, unit trains and firefighting. Lee has 20 years of experience in hazardous materials response in the US and Canada. He has worked for a Class 1 railroad providing oversight and management of its regulatory compliance and emergency response to hazardous materials incidents and transportation. He directed the operations for ERAC which provided emergency response training, planning and hands on mitigation for much of Canada’s oil and gas sector prior to joining Ambipar. He has served on the Association of American Railroads Tank Car Committee, the NFPA 472 committee on hazardous materials response and participated in the development of a liquefied natural gas locomotive fuel project. Throughout his career he has responded to hundreds of transportation emergencies providing stabilization, product transfer, firefighting, vent and burn operations, hot tap services, chemical neutralization and overall management of complex multi-jurisdictional hazmat incidents. Throughout his career he has focused on improving safety and efficiency in emergency response. Not content with status quo this has led to improvements in equipment, process and efficiency. Now that he has returned to his native Colorado, he is looking forward to introducing his children to the Colorado Rocky Mountains where they will spend time backpacking, fishing and exploring.
Michael Parsons
Training Director, FarrWest
Michael Parsons is the training director for FarrWest and recently retired after 20 years of service as a Fire Engineer with the San Antonio Fire Department Hazardous Materials Response Team. Michael formerly was the degree program coordinator and an instructor for over 15 years for the associate degree in Fire Science from San Antonio College. He currently teaches as an Adjunct Instructor in the Fire & Emergency Service Administration Bachelor’s degree through Texas A&M University-San Antonio for the last 8 years. His previous military service includes 10 years active duty in the U.S. Army and served in several units as the Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare Noncommissioned Officer. Michael has supported or responded to multiple hazardous materials incidents involving large toxic industrial chemical releases. He has also setup and coordinated device monitoring at various venues to ascertain the presence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) for National Special Security Events to include the Super Bowl, the World Series, multiple NBA National Championships, multiple NCAA Final Four’s and the Formula One US Grand Prix. Michael received a Master of Science degree in Fire and Emergency Management Administration from Oklahoma State University.
Frank Roberts
Training Specialist, First Line Technology
Frank Roberts has 9 years of Hazardous Materials and CBRN(E) experience, along with 10 years of service in the United States Marine Corps. Frank began his background in HazMat/CBRN(E) in 2015, when he was assigned to the Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF), the Marine Corps’ premier CBRN(E) response unit, providing support for Presidential events in the National Capitol Region, Republican and Democratic National Conventions, State Funeral for Former President H.W. Bush, and State of the Union Addresses. Frank continued his education in HazMat/CBRN(E), completing advanced technical courses for decontamination (to include radioactive isotopes), search and extraction, and identification and detection. Frank also holds an undergraduate Emergency Disaster Management degree with American Military University.
Paul Rogers
Principal, ESRG
Paul Rogers is a retired FDNY lieutenant BESS Subject Matter Expert (SME). His work includes Emergency Response, Code and Standard development advisory committee for BESS . Mr. Rogers currently sits on the following codes and standards as an active committee member: NFPA 855 (Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems), UL Standard 9540, 9540A, IFC International Fire code Action Committee ( Chapter 12) ESS Advisory team, US DOT FAA Lithium-Ion Battery safety committee. Upon retirement he worked as an advisor to NYSERDA and CUNY DG HUB for emergency operation response and code development. He is a partner with Energy Safety Response Group ( ESRG) that reviews BESS from the responder safety lens. ESRG is part of the NYS Governor’s new formed task force for Battery Energy Storage Safety
Glen Rudner
Consultant/Instructor, GDR Consulting
Glen Rudner recently retired as a Manager, Environmental Operations, for the Norfolk Southern Railway with environmental compliance and operations responsibilities in the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Prior to moving over to Environmental Operations, he was the Hazardous Materials Compliance Officer for NS’ Alabama Division covering the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Western Georgia, and Southwestern Tennessee. Prior to NS, Glen served as one of the General Managers at the Security and Emergency Response Training Center in Pueblo, Colorado. Has worked as a private consultant and retired as a Hazardous Materials Response Officer for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Glen has nearly 46 years of experience in public safety. He spent 12 years as a career firefighter/hazardous materials specialist for the City of Alexandria Fire Department, as well as a former volunteer firefighter, emergency medical technician, and officer. As a subcontractor, he has served as a consultant and assisted in development of many training programs for local, state, and federal agencies. Glen serves as secretary for the National Fire Protection Association Technical Committee on Hazardous Materials Response He is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Hazardous Materials Committee, member of the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), and former Co-Chairman of the Ethanol Emergency Response Coalition. He has served a member of the FEMA NAC RESPONSE Subcommittee
Paul Ruesch
On Scene Coordinator, U.S. EPA Region 5
Paul earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. He started at US EPA in 1991 as an environmental engineer in the RCRA solid & hazardous waste program. Paul took a break from 2004-2007 to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mexico, working on remediation projects & emergency response planning within the state-run oil refinery system (PEMEX). Paul has served as a Federal On-Scene Coordinator on emergency responses and time-critical removal sites since 2010, most notably on the Kalamazoo River in Michigan cleaning up PCB contamination. He has also been actively assisting the State Department and the US Agency for International Development on enhancement of waste management in Central America and the Caribbean in accordance with international trade agreements since 1995.
Scott Russell
Owner/ Training Coordinator, The Meter Guys
Scott Russell is a 29-year Veteran of the Baltimore County Fire Department where he began his career as a Paramedic assigned to the Hazmat Team. He is now a Captain with the Hazardous Materials Response Team. He also volunteers his time as a member of the NFPA 470 committee and is on numerous research and development task groups vetting and collaborating on the next generation of Hazmat PPE and equipment. He also is an IAFF Hazmat instructor bringing quality training to Fire Departments around the country. Scott retired from the Air Force after 27 years of service as a Lieutenant Colonel with the Delaware Air National Guard’s 142nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. He spent 27 years performing Aeromedical Evacuation of wounded, deploying nine times in support of four different overseas contingencies. He also performed Disaster/Emergency planning with the Air National Guard specializing in Hurricane evacuation/disaster response. Scott’s education consists of an AA Emergency Medical Services, BS in Nursing, and a MS in Disaster/Emergency Management. His love is First Responder training and instilling the basics through his Safety Through Knowledge™ concepts; his company creates training focused on the responder with the principles of STK™ and the KISS (keep it simple stupid) concept. He is passionate about First Responder training, getting off the computers and training hands on in person. His goal is to promote Survival and Safety on incidents and to prevent Cancer in first responders. He also founded the non-profit organization Society of One America’s Defenders which is dedicated to building houses for combat wounded Veterans.
Doug Schick
Hazardous Materials Coordinator, Chicago Fire Department
Doug has twenty-seven years of experience in the fire service and is currently a Deputy District Chief and the Hazardous Materials Coordinator in the Chicago Fire Department. Previous to my present position I was the captain of HazMat Company 5-1-1 which is one of two full time, fully staffed companies in Chicago that specialize in responding to hazardous materials incidents. In addition, I have 12 years of experience in the Chicago Fire Department rescue squads as both a firefighter and an officer. The CFD Squads respond to all hazards including emergencies involving fire, technical rescue, and hazardous materials. I have also been an instructor in fire, technical rescue, and hazmat for the last 11 years at the Quinn Fire Academy and multiple suburban fire academies. My educational background includes an undergraduate degree in physics and several years of graduate studies in physics.
Brian Shanks
Dangerous Goods Officer, Norfolk Southern Corp.
Gary Sharp
Senior Director of Training, Safeware/Hazard3
Gary Sharp is Senior Director of Training at Safeware. Gary transitioned to Safeware in late 2023 following the acquisition of Hazard3, a small business co-founded by Gary specializing in developing and delivering risk-based response training programs. Previously he served as the Senior Director of Training and First Responders Solutions for a defense and homeland security contractor and as a career Deputy Fire Chief. He currently volunteers as the Program Manager for the Oakland County HazMat Team, a multi-agency joint police/fire team located North of Detroit, Michigan. Gary is a member of the NFPA Hazardous Materials Technical Committee and is addicted to Starbucks.
Keith Silverman
Principal, GoldShield TEAM
Keith Silverman is a former chief operations officer in the specialty chemical industry. He is a NJ certified firefighter, fire inspector, and fire instructor with 35 years of experience in municipal and industrial incident response and management. Throughout his career, he has focused on the hazards and risks posed by hazardous materials. This includes strategies and best practices for minimizing risk, responding to a broad range of emergencies involving hazardous materials (natural disasters, mechanical and process failures, transportation emergencies, technical rescues), and managing incidents around the world. He is a frequent presenter on topics such as process safety, hazardous materials, and incident management. Keith is a past chair and member of the TRANSCAER Executive Committee and a member of the IAFC Hazardous Materials Committee.
Luke Sloan
Sales Director, Proengin
Luke Sloan has been involved with the fire service since 1999 and gas and vapor detection since 2005 and currently serves as the Sales Director for Proengin. He has operated with several hazmat teams across the country and is the current Special Operations Chief for Black Rock City Fire in Nevada.
Darrell Wiseman
Instructor, 1st Response Consulting
Darrell Wiseman retired as a 32-year veteran Fire Captain with the Phoenix Fire Department and a member of their Special Operations Team as a Hazardous Materials & Technical Rescue Technician along with being one of their Helicopter Rescue Crew Chiefs. Darrell was a member of the FEMA team for 23 years, Arizona Task Force 1 (AZTF-1) from 1997-2019, he was deployed to Salt Lake City for the World Olympics and assisted with the rescue/recovery of Hurricane Katrina. Darrell was assigned as the Special Operations Safety Officer and Hazardous Materials Continuing Education Manager at retirement.
Jeffrey Zientek
President, HIRT LLC
Jeff Zientek is a retired Fire Captain that served 33 years with the Phoenix Fire Department and is a certified Technical Rescue Technician, Hazardous Materials Technician, and Helicopter Rescue Crew Chief. Jeff was a member of FEMA, Arizona Task Force 1 (AZTF-1), for 25 years of his career and in his time with FEMA had been on deployments to Atlanta for the 1996 Olympics, 9/11 terrorist attack in New York City, and the devastating hurricanes of 2005 in southern U.S. (Katrina/Rita). Jeff is the author of the book “Hazmat Response; A Field Operations Guide” which is an operational guide for people who encounter hazardous materials in their work life, in addition, he also instructs throughout the country in hazardous materials mitigation and rope rescue techniques. Jeff has a BS degree in Homeland Security & Emergency Management from Grand Canyon University. He is married, has 4 adult children, and enjoys hiking and riding on two wheels (road bike, mountain bikes & motorcycles).
Mark Zilch
Commander of Homeland Security, Chicago Fire Department
Mark Zilch is a 22-year member of the Chicago Fire Department, with 10 years assigned to Haz-Mat ( 5-1-1 ) and extensive training and experience in Chem-Bio, Rad, and TIC response components. He is the Commander of Homeland Security for the Chicago Fire Department, Operations Manager for the Chicago Region Securing the Cities Program.
