The GSI staff consists of engineers, geologists, scientists, and support personnel with exceptional ability in environmental site assessment, human and ecological risk assessment, corrective action design and implementation, regulatory analysis and permitting, and environmental data management and visualization.

Key Personnel include:

John A. Connor, P.E, P.G., D.E.E.: Mr. Connor is President of GSI Environmental Inc. (GSI). He received an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University and has over 28 years of experience in environmental engineering, with specialization in environmental site investigation, risk assessment, and corrective action design. Mr. Connor has served as
an Instructor in the Graduate Environmental Engineering Program at the University of Houston, and is a Certified Trainer for the USEPA/ASTM Risk-Based Corrective Action (RBCA) Training Initiative. He has served as a technical consultant for development of risk-based regulatory programs in approximately 15 states across the U.S., including the
Illinois EPA "Tiered Approach to Corrective Action Objectives" (TACO) program. He is the principal author of the "RBCA Tool Kit for Chemical Releases," the most widely used software program for evaluation of soil and groundwater remediation sites. In addition, he has authored numerous technical publications regarding natural attenuation, fate and
transport modeling, environmental risk assessment, and remediation technologies, and has developed and presented technical training programs on these topics throughout the US, Canada, and abroad.

Charles J. Newell, Ph.D., P.E., D.E.E.: Dr. Newell is a Vice President of GSI Environmental Inc. He is a member of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers, a NGWA Certified Ground Water Professional, and an Adjunct Professor at Rice University. He has co-authored three EPA publications, five environmental decision support software systems, numerous technical articles, and two books: Natural Attenuation of Fuels and Chlorinated Solvents and Ground Water Contamination: Transport and Remediation. His professional expertise includes site characterization, groundwater modeling, non-aqueous phase liquids, risk assessment, natural attenuation, bioremediation, non-point source studies, software development, and long-term monitoring projects.

He was an invited participant at the U.S. EPA DNAPL Workshop in 1991, one of four speakers who presented the EPA's Seminar on Characterizing and Remediating DNAPL at Hazardous Waste Sites in 10 cities in 1993, and served on the 2003 U.S. EPA Expert Panel regarding source depletion at DNAPL sites. He has also served as a nationwide Risk-Based Corrective Action (RCBA) trainer for the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). He has taught graduate level groundwater courses at both the University of Houston and Rice University.

Dr. Newell has been awarded the Hanson Excellence of Presentation Award by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Outstanding Presentation Award by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the 2001 Wesley W. Horner Award by the American Society of Civil Engineers (for the paper, "Modeling Natural Attenuation of Fuels with BIOPLUME III").  In 2008 he was selected for the Outstanding Engineering Alumnus award at Rice University.

Robert S. Lee, P.G. : Mr. Lee is a hydrogeologist and a Vice President of GSI. He also serves as administrator of GSI's Health and Safety Program. He received his B.S. degree in geology from Beloit College in Wisconsin and has more than 20 years experience as a professional geologist in the petroleum and environmental industries. Since joining GSI in 1988, he has designed, implemented, and/or managed numerous environmental/hydrogeologic site assessment, risk assessment, and site remediation projects, under RCRA, Superfund, and various state regulatory programs. He is a contributing author to the Groundwater Contamination: Transport and Remediation textbook published by Prentice-Hall.

Tom E. McHugh, Ph.D., D.A.B.T.: Dr. McHugh is a Vice President with GSI Environmental Inc., in Houston, Texas. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology and has over 17 years of experience in the environmental industry with academic research and private consulting organizations. He received a B.A. in Biochemistry and Environmental Science from Rice University (1990), an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University (1993), and a Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of Washington (1997). Dr. McHugh has extensive project experience in human health and ecological risk assessment. He has developed training classes on a number of topics including the Texas Risk Reduction Program (TRRP) and was a member of the government/industry workgroup that developed the Ecological Risk Assessment Guidance for Remediation Sites in Texas.

Recently, Dr. McHugh has worked on a number of projects related to vapor intrusion including filed investigations and model development. He is the principal investigator (PI) for two vapor intrusion research projects funded by the Department of Defense through their Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) research program. Through these projects, he has developed improved methods for building-specific vapor intrusion investigations based on control and measurement of pressure gradients. He is the lead author on several peer-reviewed journal articles, peer-reviewed conference proceedings, and technical documents on vapor intrusion.

Shawn M. Paquette: is a Vice President and Environmental Engineer with GSI. He received a B.S. from the University of Vermont in Civil Engineering and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Rice University and has over 10 years of experience in the environmental industry. He has project experience in fate and transport modeling, risk assessment, environmental litigation support, environmental software development and training, and has designed, implemented, and managed numerous environmental site assessments and remedial activities. Mr. Paquette has directed site assessment and remediation projects under RCRA, CERCLA, Risk Reduction Rules, TRRP, VCP, Railroad Commission of Texas, and various other federal and state regulatory programs.

David T. Adamson, Ph.D.: Dr. Adamson has more than ten years of environmental project experience in academic research and environmental consulting. He received his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from University of Iowa, and he has held lecturer and research scientist positions at Rice University in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department. He has conducted and published research on a variety of areas related to subsurface contamination and biological remediation. Since joining GSI in 2004, his project experience includes site investigation and characterization, biological and chemical treatability studies, DNAPL partitioning modeling and treatment technologies, and the development of decision support tools for source depletion technologies.

Danielle M. Bailey: Ms. Bailey is a Hydrogeologist who received a M.S. in Hydrogeology from The University of Texas and received a B.S. in Geology from Texas A&M University. Her project experience includes site investigation and risk assessment of several facilities, including chemical manufacturing plants, industrial facilities, and commercial properties. She has overseen the design and installation of monitoring well networks, conducted soil sampling for environmental and geotechnical parameters, and conducted groundwater and outdoor air sampling programs. Prior to joining GSI Environmental Inc., Ms. Bailey conducted research in vadose zone and karst hydrogeology, wastewater treatment, geomicrobiology, and bioremediation techniques.

Lila M. Beckley, P.G.:  Ms. Beckley received an M.A. and B.S. in Geological Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin. She has more than 12 years of experience in regulatory compliance, interpretation, and guidance development in industrial and hazardous waste and remediation programs in Texas. Ms. Beckley also has extensive experience in database and business process evaluation and streamlining.

Richard L. Bowers, P.E.: Mr. Bowers is an Environmental Engineer with over ten years of experience in hydrogeologic site investigations, contaminant fate and transport modeling, risk assessments, detailed engineering design, and academic research. Mr. Bowers is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas. He received an M.S. in Civil/Environmental Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Rice University. In addition to engineering projects, Mr. Bowers manages GSI's software and training business, leading the development and marketing of GSI software products and training courses worldwide. He is the primary developer of GSI's world-renowned "RBCA Tool Kit for Chemical Releases" software and related localized versions. Mr. Bowers has conducted risk management and software training extensively both in the US and internationally.

Phillip C. De Blanc, Ph.D., P.E.: Dr. De Blanc is an Environmental Engineer with over 20 years of experience in the environmental field, including site investigations, feasibility studies, remedial design and remedial construction supervision. He received a Ph.D. in Civil (Environmental) Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.S. in environmental health engineering, and a B.S. in chemical engineering from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. Dr. De Blanc's field of expertise is numerical modeling of groundwater systems, and he has extensive experience in simulation of NAPL and dissolved constituents in permeable media, numerical modeling of groundwater plumes, and calculation of NAPL volumes and transport. He also has experience in environmental database development, regulatory compliance, cleanup level determinations, permitting, and other general environmental engineering tasks.

Richard A. Edwards: Mr. Edwards is a Project Scientist who received a B.S. degree from Texas Southern University in Environmental Engineering Technology and has 7 years of experience in environmental consulting. His project experience includes site investigations with a special focus on the installation and operation of soil and groundwater remediation systems. Mr. Edwards has had direct responsibility for a variety of groundwater and DNAPL recovery and treatment operations, including air-stripping/carbon treatment, hydrogen injection for in-situ dechlorination, and DNAPL recovery and separation.

Shahla K. Farhat, Ph.D.: Dr. Farhat has over 14 years of experience in environmental research and engineering, with specialization in assessment and remediation of local and regional groundwater aquifer systems, fate and transport modeling, computer assisted tomography, infrared remote sensing, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. She received a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Farhat is the primary author of the "SourceDK Remediation Timeframe Decision Support System Model" developed by GSI for the Air Force Center of Environmental Excellence and the "Mass Flux Toolkit" developed by GSI for the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP).

John T. Garner: Mr. Garner is an Environmental Scientist with a specialization in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He received an M.S. and B.S in Geology/Geophysics from the University of South Carolina, and has 14 years of experience in GIS analysis, data capture and conversion, process and application implementation, and user training. Mr. Garner is a Certified ESRI Trainer for ArcGIS I, and has developed and instructed students on GIS processes, including integration of GIS process with geologic and geophysical applications.

Elaine K. Gie: Elaine K. Gie: Ms. Gie has 19 years of experience in regulatory compliance with expertise in the interpretation and application of regulatory requirements to commercial and industrial facilities, and oil and gas upstream operations. She has an M.S. degree in Environmental Management from the University of Houston Clear Lake, and a B.S. in geology from Michigan State University. Ms. Gie has extensive experience in regulatory research and analysis for all major environmental regulatory programs at the federal, state, and local levels, reviewing both current and historic requirements applicable to client activities. Her experience in environmental permitting includes completing three RCRA permit renewal applications for manufacturing facilities that were approved by the TCEQ with minimal comments, the preparation of numerous groundwater compliance plan applications for incorporating corrective action programs into RCRA permits, and the development of licensing applications for radioactive materials disposal. Ms. Gie is also a skilled researcher of scientific literature for technical issues related to environmental litigation cases.

Kate C. Hamel: Ms. Hamel is an Environmental Scientist with GSI. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 2006 from the University of Virginia with a double major in Environmental Science and Studio Art. Her research experience includes desert grassland systems and terrestrial ecology. She has reviewed historical U.S. and international documents pertaining to oilfield drilling and waste management practices, as well as other research in association with litigation support and recoverability studies. She has also conducted on site investigations and sampling programs on industrial and residential properties.

Elaine A. Higgins, P.E.: Since receiving an M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Houston in 1990, Ms. Higgins has been an environmental engineer and project team leader at GSI. Her experience includes management of corrective action projects involving the design, installation, and monitoring of soil and groundwater remediation systems at various chemical plants and industrial sites as well as design and construction of pilot and treatability test systems for research projects and innovative treatment technologies. Other projects include environmental site investigations, fate and transport modeling, human health risk assessments, risk-based corrective action design and implementation, and waste management unit closures completed under RCRA, CERCLA, Texas Risk Reduction Rules, the Texas Risk Reduction Program (TRRP), and applicable state and federal regulations in many other states nationwide. Ms. Higgins has conducted professional training in human health risk assessment and corrective action design in the U.S. and Asia, including participation as a software trainer for the statewide TCEQ TRRP Training Program.

Roopa Kamath, Ph.D.: Dr. Kamath received an MS in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of Iowa. Her expertise includes fate of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in contaminated soils, phytoremediation of PAH- and metal- contaminated soils and catabolic gene expression in microbial communities. She is currently developing the BioBalance Kit, a comprehensive software system that uses simple mass balance models to evaluate natural attenuation processes at sites contaminated with chlorinated solvents.

James A. Kearley, P.G.: Mr. Kearley is an Environmental Scientist with 15 years of experience in environmental consulting. He received an M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in Geology from Rice University. He has designed, implemented, and managed environmental site assessments and remediation projects at numerous sites under various regulatory programs.

Roberto C. Landázuri: Mr. Landazuri received his degree in environmental engineering from Sek International University in Quito, Ecuador, and a M.S. degree in Physical Land Resources from RUG - Ghent University in Ghent, Belgium. He has over five years experience in comprehensive site investigation, environmental impact assessment, environmental monitoring, environmental soil evaluation and soil classification with focus on projects in Latin America.

Silvia Maberti, Ph.D., I.H.I.T.: Dr. Maberti has more than seven years of experience in environmental academic research and consulting. She received a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Environmental Sciences from the School of Public Health at The University of Texas, and the degree of Chemical Engineer from Universidad Central de Venezuela. She has conducted research and has published work on exposure assessment and modeling in the occupational and urban environments. Since joining GSI in 2005, her project experience includes human health risk assessments, calculation of risk-based cleanup levels, and training in the RBCA process and the use of the world-renowned "RBCA Tool Kit for Chemical Releases" software in United States, Central and South America, and Europe. Additionally, she has collaborated in the industry-wide characterization of occupational exposures for a major oil company in Colombia.

Jeremy W. Maxwell: Mr. Maxwell is an Environmental Geologist with GSI. He received a B.S. in geology from Texas A&M University in 2001, and has 5 years experience in the environmental field. His project experience includes site investigation and risk assessment of numerous facilities, including chemical manufacturing plants, industrial facilities, and government, commercial, and residential properties. He has overseen the design and installation of monitoring well, recovery well, and re-injection/infiltration networks, conducted soil sampling for environmental and geotechnical parameters, and conducted groundwater, subsurface vapor, indoor air and outdoor air sampling programs.

Jim M. McDade: Mr. McDade is an Environmental Scientist with GSI. He received his M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Rice University and a B.S. in Bioenvironmental Science from Texas A&M University. Since joining GSI in 2002, he has experience in conducting extensive environmental investigations of a series of oil field sites and production stations to provide multi-party litigation support in South America and the Middle East. Additionally, Mr. McDade has extensive experience in management of environmental site investigations, corrective action groundwater programs, and corrective measures implementation under RCRA and TRRP for chemical manufacturers in Ohio and Texas. He has experience in completing permit and compliance plan modifications, and has designed and installed hydrogen delivery systems for enhanced bioremediation of chlorinated solvents in Georgia and California. Mr. McDade has previous experience in enhanced bioremediation and wastewater treatment research.

Travis M. McGuire: Mr. McGuire is an Environmental Scientist with GSI. He received an M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering from Rice University and B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Environmental Science from McNeese State University. Since joining GSI in 2002, he has been involved in numerous site investigation projects, and served as the field team leader for a comprehensive DNAPL study utilizing innovative technologies. Additionally, Mr. McGuire has extensive experience in projects relating to Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) of chlorinated solvents, the TCEQ Texas Risk Reduction Program (TRRP), DNAPL source zone treatment technologies, and fate and transport modeling. Prior to joining GSI, Mr. McGuire conducted research in enhanced bioremediation of chlorinated solvents and hydrocarbon recovery using surfactants.

Paul M. Newberry: Mr. Newberry is an Environmental Scientist with broad experience in information systems as well as software development and support. Mr. Newberry received his bachelor's degree in Environmental Management from the University of Houston, Clear Lake, and has experience with environmental site assessment and the development of environmental compliance programs. He is the lead developer for the "SERDP Decision Support System."

Ximena Osorio: Ms. Osorio is an Environmental Scientist with GSI Environmental Inc. Ms. Osorio received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Los Andes University in Bogotá, Colombia and a M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University. She has over five years work experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis, design, programming, data conversion and data acquisition. Since joining GSI in 2004, her project experience includes GIS-based information systems development projects, spatial data analysis and presentation and database design.

Roger J. Pokluda, P.G.: Mr. Pokluda is an Environmental Scientist with more than 24 years experience in the environmental and petroleum industries. He received an M.S. in Environmental Engineering and a B.S. in Geophysics from the University of Houston. During his 18 years of experience in the environmental industry, he has designed, implemented, and managed numerous environmental/hydrogeologic site assessments and remediation projects throughout the United States. Additional project experience includes regulatory permitting, groundwater modeling, management of non-aqueous phase liquids, risk assessment, natural attenuation, and long-term groundwater monitoring projects.

Ata U. Rahman, Ph.D., P.G.: Dr. Rahman has multinational experience in the fields of energy, environment, geological research and public policy.  He has a Ph.D. in Geology from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. He is a Texas Professional Geoscientist and Certified Public Manager.  His 20+ years in the environmental field includes site investigations, compliance, permitting, remediation and management.  He has managed remediation programs under RCRA, Superfund, Petroleum Storage Tanks, Dry Cleaners, and Brownfields for the state of Texas and has conducted training and presentations at the local, state, and federal levels.

Sharon R. Rauch: Ms. Rauch is a Database Specialist with over 16 years of experience designing and implementing databases for a variety of industries. She has a B.A. in Computer Science from the University of Texas and specializes in the design, construction and implementation of relational databases. Ms. Rauch has worked on numerous databases including document inventories and the compilation of laboratory analytical results in support of litigation cases that require tracking vast amounts of data.

Michal W. Rysz, Ph.D.: Dr. Rysz is an Environmental Engineer with GSI. He received a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Rice University, an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Iowa, a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, and B.A. in Biochemistry from the University of Iowa. Dr. Rysz has over seven years of environmental project experience in academic research and environmental consulting. His expertise includes the effects of environmental factors on the dynamics of emerging pollutants, including antibiotic resistance gene propagation in impacted soils, the fate and transport of genetic elements in porous media, and application of novel molecular screening techniques for the assessment of environmental impacts.

Tiffany N. Swann: Ms. Swann is an Environmental Scientist with GSI. She received a B.S. in Earth Science from Rice University. Her project experience includes data compilation, review and analysis for environmental litigation support and software development for measuring sustainability of groundwater remediation technologies.

Taft Y. Tucker: Mr. Tucker is an Environmental Scientist with GSI. He received a B.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Rice University in 2006 and is a registered Engineer in Training. His project experience includes site investigation and risk assessment of numerous facilities, including chemical manufacturing plants, industrial facilities, and commercial/residential properties. He has overseen the installation of monitoring well and recovery well networks, conducted soil sampling for environmental parameters, and conducted groundwater, indoor air and outdoor air sampling programs.

Mindy Vanderford, Ph.D.: Dr. Vanderford received a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and an M.S. in Environmental Science and Engineering from Rice University. She has conducted research and published on environmental fate processes for munitions, chlorinated compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil, sediment and water matrices. Her project experience includes environmental site investigation, human and ecological risk assessment, monitored natural attenuation evaluation, and the application of geographic information system (GIS) tools.