RGA Team
JOANN COPPERUD,
Chief Executive Officer
JoAnn Copperud has been the CEO and majority shareholder of RGA Environmental since 1991. As the firm’s senior executive, she provides leadership to the senior management team for technical and business issues. With over 20 years of technical consulting experience, she also provides consulting services for hazardous materials, industrial hygiene, health/safety and training to a diverse client group. She is a practice leader for Insurance and Training.
ROBERT GILS, CIH (1151), MS, CAC, REA
Vice President/Principal CIH
Mr. Gils is the founder of RGA. He has over 39 years of experience in conducting and managing health and safety investigations, hazardous materials testing and cleanups, worker exposure assessments, Indoor Air Quality and pollution assessments. He is the firm’s practice leader for complex industrial hygiene, insurance, government and litigation projects. He has a 25 year record of accomplishment conducting due diligence investigations and providing in-court expert witness testimony for cases involving chemical or toxic exposure and complex hazardous materials or air quality issues.
STEFF STEINER, CAC
Chief Operations Officer/Sr. Project Manager
Mr. Steiner has over 23 years of experience in regulated materials management, and industrial hygiene with an emphasis on the evaluation and remediation of asbestos, lead-based paint, PCB’s, mold and other hazardous building materials in retail, government, commercial, educational and industrial facilities. Mr. Steiner serves as RGA’s COO, managing five project managers and nine industrial hygienists. He is RGA’s practice leader for Retail, Real Estate and Government projects
DAVID SILVERI, CAC
Southwest Regional Manager/ Sr. Project Manager
Mr. Silveri is a distinguished trainer and consultant with 26 years of experience in environmental consulting, contracting, management, marketing and business development. His areas of expertise include asbestos, lead, mold and Phase I Environmental Site Assessments. He is RGA’s practice leader for Retail, Real Estate, A/E/C, Education and Government projects in Southern California. David manages and provides senior technical oversight for a staff of industrial hygienists, hazardous materials managers and environmental engineers.
ERIC HARTMAN, CIH
Pacific Northwest Operations Manager /
Sr. Project Manager
A Certified Industrial Hygienist and integral member of RGA’s professional team, Mr. Hartman manages complex industrial hygiene projects for public and private clients throughout the Pacific Northwest including mold and indoor air quality evaluations, worker exposure assessments for noise and chemical exposures, health and safety assessments, and hazardous materials surveys. His expertise is the culmination of over 15 years of combined experience as a laboratory technician, industrial hygienist and project manager. Mr. Hartman is RGA’s practice leader for industrial hygiene and manufacturing projects in the Pacific Northwest. He manages the consulting group in the Seattle office including one project manager and four industrial hygienists.
HARRY LAWRENCE, JR., CPSM
Business Development Director
Mr. Lawrence has more than 25 years’ experience as a professional services marketer in the A/E/C industry. Since joining RGA in 1992, he has helped the firm grow from a $1 Million Dollar company to over a $10 Million Dollar company. He manages all aspects of Business Development including sales, marketing and social media Mr. Lawrence is active in several Bay Area professional organizations including the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), Professional Environmental Marketing Association (past President, Director at Large), Public Agency Risk Managers Association (PARMA) and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
KARIN SCHROETER, MS, CIH, CAC, CHMM, LEED AP
Senior Project Manager
Ms. Schroeter is a practice leader for Real Estate, Education, Healthcare and Environmental projects in Northern California. She is a Certified Industrial Hygienist, Certified Microbial Consultant, Certified Asbestos Consultant, Certified Hazardous Materials Manager and a Registered Environmental Assessor with more than 20 years of proven experience. Ms. Schroeter manages industrial hygiene, hazardous materials, and Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments for commercial clients throughout Northern California.
MARLIN BRYANT, MS, REA, CAC, CIEC, CERT
Project Manager
Mr. Bryant is a Practice Leader for Real Estate, A/E/C, Education and Government projects. His 25 years of specialized experience and training in the management of regulated materials makes Marlin a valuable resource for RGA’s clients. He specializes in comprehensive assessments and effective management options for a wide range of potentially hazardous situations including naturally occurring asbestos, industrial refinery and chemical plant operations, AHERA compliance, and handling hazardous waste and building materials during construction. Mr. Bryant is a Certified Indoor Environmental Consultant, Certified Asbestos Consultant and Certified Lead professional with a Certificate in Hazardous Materials Management from UC Berkeley.
TEDD KATTCHEE, CAC
Project Manager
Mr. Kattchee is RGA’s practice leader for Insurance, Healthcare and Construction projects with regulated materials components. He has a general contractor’s license and many years of construction experience. This experience is a valuable asset and provides Mr. Kattchee with in-depth knowledge of the entire building envelope. Tedd has significant experience with major renovation, demolition, seismic retrofit and modernization projects for institutional facilities and private clients.
KEN PILGRIM, CAC
Project Manager
Mr. Pilgrim manages sensitive hazardous materials/hazardous waste projects. His extensive regulatory knowledge and experience includes projects associated with contaminates such as l asbestos, naturally occurring asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls, heavy metals, and petroleum hydrocarbons. As RGA’s Historic, Real Estate, A/E/C, Transportation and Energy practice leader, Mr. Pilgrim has a 17 year track record managing hazardous materials aspects of projects such as the Transbay Terminal and the Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building rehabilitation.
ETHEL (COOKIE) KAUFMAN, CSHS
Trainer
Ms. Kaufman is a dynamic, results-drive professional trainer with a more than 20-year record of achievement and demonstrated success providing course development and delivery in a variety of modalities. A Certified Safety and Health Specialist (CSHS), she combines 10 years of teaching experience with a specialized experience developing courses for Fortune 500 companies such as Boeing and Microsoft. Ms. Kaufman is also an OSHA outreach instructor and is responsible for the development of all new course materials for asbestos, lead and hazardous waste operations.