Thank you to our 2024 Speakers
Fred Dolislager - Senior Environmental Risk Analyst Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Fred Dolislager has worked for both the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory since 1998 on the environmental restoration of the Oak Ridge Reservation. Fred began in an environmental laboratory performing TCLP and GC/MS analysis. He then transitioned into site-specific risk assessment and progressed into managing the calculation of environmental screening levels for Superfund. His exposure assessment models have also been adapted to support the assessment of residual chemical warfare agents on surfaces and the radiation risk from sources inside and outside buildings. Most of the screening levels are also provided on the internet in an interactive system that allows users to change toxicity and physical property input parameters and calculate site-specific screening levels or cleanup levels. Notable projects are: The Risk Assessment Information System (RAIS), Regional Screening Levels for Chemical Contaminants at Superfund Sites (RSLs), Vapor Intrusion Screening Level (VISL) Calculator, Preliminary Remediation Goals for Radionuclides for Superfund (PRGs), and Radon Vapor Intrusion Screening Levels (RVISLs).
Jennifer Borski - Vapor Intrusion Team Leader, Hydrogeologist WDNR
Jennifer Borski transitioned to the Vapor Intrusion Team Leader position with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) in June 2019. She is located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and leads the state’s Drycleaner and Vapor Intrusion Team (DVIT) within the Remediation and Redevelopment (RR) Program. The team works to identify policy issues, develop guidance and provide training regarding the vapor intrusion pathway and state’s Dry Cleaner Environmental Response Program. Jennifer also serves as the WDNR’s liaison with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services related to vapor intrusion issues. Prior to June 2019, Jennifer served WDNR for 20 years as a Hydrogeologist in the RR Program regulating the investigation, remediation and redevelopment of contaminated properties in east-central Wisconsin, including discharges from dry cleaners, paper mills, metal plating facilities and other historical industrial and commercial operations. She continues to serve as DNR Project Manager for a handful of these sites. Jennifer contributed to ITRC as a team member on the Vapor Intrusion Mitigation Training Team and instructor for the internet-based training. Jennifer graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree for Geology and Mathematics.
Ryan Elliott - Partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease, LLP
Ryan Elliott is a partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, LLP and a member of the firm’s Energy and Environmental Group. He counsels clients in all aspects of environmental law, including administrative appeals, litigation, transactional, and federal and state air, water and waste regulatory compliance and permitting matters. Ryan uses a deep understanding of environmental statutes and regulations to provide advice to clients that helps identify environmental risks and minimize liability.
A large part of Ryan’s practice involves advising clients in the investigation and remediation of impacted sites under various regulatory programs, including addressing complex vapor intrusion challenges. Ryan’s experience in this regard includes serving as counsel for RCRA corrective action and CERCLA cleanup sites, negotiating cleanups with state and federal environmental agencies on behalf of property owners and responsible parties in civil and administrative proceedings, and advising developers, sellers, and lenders in transactions involving brownfield sites. Ryan is resolute in his effort to keep abreast of the constantly evolving environmental regulatory scene, and he has presented at several local and national conferences on various aspects of environmental law including vapor intrusion risks, investigations, and remedial strategies.
Maryam Tasnif-Abbasi - Brownfield Development Manager - DTSC
Maryam Tasnif-Abbasi is the Brownfield Development Manager for the Department of Toxic Substances (DTSC) Control in Southern California and has been with DTSC since 2005. During that time, she has had the extraordinary opportunity to facilitate community revitalization by providing regulatory support for the redevelopment of underutilized brownfield properties. She manages DTSC’s State Response Program Grant from USEPA, which provides funding for brownfields assessment and planning. She manages DTSC’s Office of Brownfields and is expanding DTSC’s brownfield practice to include the $270M+ Equitable Community Revitalization Grant. With this funding, her team is leading the charge to address the historic inequities in vulnerable communities by advancing studies on the intersectionality between race, poverty, planning and the environment and designing a grant that prioritizes cleanups in vulnerable communities.
Matthew Williams - Volatilization to Indoor Air Specialist - Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Remediation and Redevelopment Division
Matthew Williams is a volatilization to indoor air specialist specializing on mitigation strategies and vapor intrusion, serving as the Volatilization to Indoor Air Specialist at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Remediation and Redevelopment Division (EGLE-RRD). In this role, he spearheads the development and implementation of methodologies to investigate and assess the vapor intrusion pathway, ensuring the safety and well-being of indoor environments.
As a program specialist and technical lead for the Vapor Intrusion Technical Assistance and Support Team, Matt has led numerous stakeholder groups and authored pivotal guidance documents, papers, and standard operating procedures. His expertise extends to conducting extensive trainings and delivering talks on sampling methods, vapor intrusion, petroleum vapor intrusion, mitigation, and indoor air quality both nationally and internationally.
Noteworthy among his contributions is Matt's leadership role in the Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council (ITRC), where he served as a section leader for the Petroleum Vapor Intrusion: Fundamentals of Screening, Investigation, and Management training in 2014. He also co-led both classroom and internet-based training teams and served as a co-leader for ITRC’s Vapor Intrusion Mitigation Team. Currently, Matt plays a crucial role as a co-leader for ITRC’s ongoing update for vapor intrusion, overseeing a collaborative effort involving nearly 200 professionals across the United States.
Matt holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Central Michigan University, earned in 1993, laying the foundation for his distinguished career in environmental science and indoor air quality management.
James Walden - Hydrogeologist, P.G. – Vapor Intrusion Expert - WDNR
Jim earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in geology and environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He has worked on investigation and cleanup of contaminated properties for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) since 1984. Jim is currently the statewide vapor intrusion technical expert for DNR, provides technical support to more than 60 WDNR project managers and is the technical author of vapor intrusion guidance such as RR-649, Guidance for Documenting the Investigation of Human-made Preferential Pathways Including Utility Corridors. He is a registered professional geologist in Wisconsin and New York.
Laura Truesdale - Moore & VanAllen
Laura’s practice focuses on advising clients – such as real estate developers, lenders and financial institutions, contractors, and buyers/sellers of contaminated properties – on the environmental aspects of a wide range of real-estate related matters, including:
● Brownfields redevelopment
● Environmental due diligence
● Permitting, enforcement defense, and incident closure
● Participation in hazardous waste, dry-cleaning and petroleum cleanup
programs
● Exposure to contamination
● Above and underground storage tank management
● Vapor intrusion remediation
● Stormwater, wastewater, and wetland management
In addition, Laura regularly counsels manufacturers, financial institutions, and retail industry and corporate clients on a broad range of environmental risk and compliance issues such as environmental due diligence in complex business transactions; regulatory compliance; audits, reporting and self-disclosure; and waste and materials handling and disposal. Specifically, Laura regularly advises investors on environmental issues related to the acquisition of large-scale renewable energy project portfolios.