Environmental Risk Resources Association

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Expert Bios

The "Ask an Expert" feature affords the members an opportunity to ask questions and get expert advice on subjects pertaining to environmental risk management. Each expert is top in their field and represents years of experience. Bios are included of each member of our panel of experts.

Dan R. Anderson

Leslie P. Schultz Professor of Risk Management and Insurance, Department of Actuarial Science, Risk Management and Insurance at the School of Business and Professor, Institute for Environment Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison. B.A. (1965) Yale University; M.B.A. (1967) and Ph.D. (1970) University of Wisconsin; CPCU (1971).

Author of articles/chapters in the Journal of Risk and Insurance, CPCU Journal, Journal of Insurance Regulation, Assurances, Risk Management and Insurance Review, Journal of Insurance Issues and Practices, Best's Review, Risk Management, Business Insurance, Future of Risk, International Insurance Monitor, International Insurance Information, The Weekly Underwriter, Massachusetts CPA Review, Perspectives in Business, Journal of Business Research, Journal of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, The ABA Banking Journal, Future of Risk, Property-Liability Insurance Accounting and Finance, The Bank Protection Manual, Business Journal, The John Liner Review, World Book Encyclopedia, Risk Analysis, Risk Management Reports, The Executive Quarterly, Government Risk Bearing, Environmental & Waste Management World, The Review-Environmental Risk, Research Review. Presented papers at ARIA, WRIA, CPCU, RIMS, IIS, DSI, MFA and SIR meetings. Invited speaker before numerous groups. Major research interests and areas of expertise include loss reserving, government insurance programs, catastrophe insurance, nuclear insurance, the Price-Anderson Act, liability risk management, analysis of insurance company management and insolvencies, financing asbestos liabilities and Superfund/hazardous waste liabilities, insurance coverage litigation issues in asbestos, and Superfund/hazardous waste and environmental risk management.

Served as an expert witness before state and federal legislative committees. Recipient of Ford Foundation, National Science Foundation, Spencer Education Foundation and National Association of Insurance Commissioners Research Grants. Three times designated Loman Research Fellow by the Harry J. Loman Foundation. Recipient of Larson Excellence in Teaching Award, Gaumnitz Distinguished Faculty Award, and the Insurance Educator of the Year Award. Winner of Society of Insurance Research Competition. Recipient of Journal of Risk and Insurance Award. President, Board of Directors, and various committees for the American Risk and Insurance Association, the leading professional organization of professors of risk and insurance, and publisher of the leading professional journal, the Journal of Risk and Insurance. Vice President and Board of Directors of the International Insurance Society. Member of various editorial boards. Member of advisory boards to the Commissioners of Insurance-Wisconsin and Illinois. Consultant on various projects. Member of the Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters, the American Risk and Insurance Association, Western Risk and Insurance Association, the Risk and Insurance Management Society and the International Insurance Society.

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John Beauchamp, CPCU, RPLU

Professional Experience:

As manager of the Environmental Industry Division, his responsibilities include risk selection, pricing, development and management of insurance programs targeted toward remedial contractors and environmental consultants. He has had articles concerning environmental risk management appear in Industry publications such as National Underwriter, Best Review, ENR and ECON and has spoken on this topic at the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS), International Risk Management Institute (IRMI) and Center for Environmental Risk Management conferences. John has been with ECS since November of 1989.

In addition, John has been a faculty member of the Insurance Society of Philadelphia, which is a non-profit educational organization, has taught CPCU courses to employees of ECS, Inc., participated on a Project InVest subcommittee in his local community, and was recently appointed to the national governing board of the CPCU Society Total Quality Pilot Section.

Prior to his current position, John worked for United States Fidelity & Guaranty in Philadelphia as a Commercial Lines Underwriter.

Education:

John holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. He also holds the professional designations of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter from the American Institute in Malvern, Pennsylvania and Registered Professional Liability Underwriter (RPLU) designation from the Professional Liability Underwriting Society in Minneapolis, MN.

Areas of Expertise:

Contractor and consulting risks

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Catherine Bobenhausen CIH, CSP

Professional Experience:

Ms. Bobenhausen is a Certified Industrial Hygienist and Certified Safety Professional with extensive experience in environmental and occupational health sciences. She specializes in toxicology and health risks as they relate to industrial processes, contaminated sites and buildings.

Jacques Whitford Company, Inc., White Plains, NYPrincipal Scientist 2001 - Present

Steven Winter Associates, Inc. Norwalk, CTDirector, Environmental Hazards Research 1996 - 2001

Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., White Plains, NY and Mahwah, NJAssociate 1986 - 1996

Rogers Technical Associates, Hackensack, NJProject Manager 1984 - 1986

Education:

New Jersey Institute of Technology, Joint Program with Rutgers Medical School and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
MS, Specialty in Toxicology/Environmental Engineering, 1984

State University of New York at Purchase, New York
BA, Environmental Science, 1978

Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) by examination in Comprehensive Practice, American Board of Industrial Hygiene, 1986.

Certified Safety Professional (CSP) by examination in Comprehensive Practice, Board of Certified Safety Professionals, 1994.

Areas of Expertise:

Industrial hygiene, risk assessment, health and safety at contaminated sites, human toxicology, mold issues.

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Scott Britt, ARM

Professional Experience:

Scott Britt is Vice President for Corporate Underwriting, Pollution Liability, and has been with ECS since 1989. Scott manages overall growth and profitability of Pollution Liability lines for fixed facilities. His daily responsibilities include assisting underwriters on accounts, developing new products, developing corporate underwriting guidelines, working with reinsurers and strategic alliance partners, marketing, performing presentations, and ensuring compliance with corporate/technical underwriting guidelines.

Prior to joining ECS Underwriting, Scott worked as an Environmental Consultant for NUS Corporation. He managed and participated in site inspections, preliminary assessments and site reconnaissance of potentially hazardous waste sites; wrote site inspection, preliminary assessment and site reconnaissance reports; and worked on special projects to evaluate the Hazard Ranking System. Scott also worked in the Waste Management Branch for the State of Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control as well as for Reichhold Chemicals, Inc.

Scott has made numerous environmental insurance presentations and authored articles for various industries and associations such as CPCU and the Air and Waste Management Association.

Education:

Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science and Engineering and has earned the
Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation from the Insurance Institute of America.
Pursuing his Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation.

Areas of Expertise:

Fixed site risks and insurance

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Mark Brown

Professional Experience:

Mr. Brown has a combined 21 years in the environmental field. Mark worked in the environmental contracting and consulting business for 10 years prior to entering the environmental insurance business with AIG in 1990. Mark worked for ECS, Inc. for 5 years as a senior underwriter heading up the Environmental Facilities Customer Business Unit. Prior to Investors Underwriting Managers, Inc. Mark was a Vice President at United Capitol Environmental heading up the Columbia MD office. Mark has 11+ years within the insurance industry.

Currently, he serves as vice president and manager of the Environmental Division at Investors Underwriting Managers, a subsidiary of the Markel Group in Red Bank NJ. Mark has publications in the Marine Biology area as well as in the environmental insurance arena.

Education:

B.S. Degree in Marine Biology from Stockton State College in New Jersey in 1979

Areas of Expertise:

Pollution legal liability, property transfer policies

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Stacy D. Brown, MBA

Professional Experience:

1987 - 1989 Dutchess County Resource Recovery Agency – Assistant Recycling Coordinator
1990 USDA - Forest Service
1990 - 1998 Dames & Moore, Project Manager
1998 - Present - Freberg Environmental, Inc.

Education:

BS, Environmental Science, 1989
MBA, 2000

Areas of Expertise:

Environmental audits, mergers and acquisitions, mining related projects, project management, oil & gas projects, underground storage tanks, solid waste management, remedial design, regulatory compliance, and construction management, pollution legal liability, petroleum storage tanks, engineers and contractors, program development, and development of underwriting guidelines

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George F. Curran, III, CHMM

Professional Experience:

Mr. Curran was initially trained as an insurance underwriter and actuarial programmer with two national insurance companies. After his admission to the Michigan and Federal bars in 1980 and through 1991, Mr. Curran’s practice was devoted to defense and coverage counsel for primary and excess insurer and reinsurer clients. As a senior shareholder in a national insurance defense law firm for 14 years, Mr. Curran managed its Environmental Law Department, supervising a staff of 48, including 18 attorneys, as national coordinating counsel for the largest international program of environmental impairment liability insurance issued in the United States. In that capacity, he directed, supervised, trained, and coordinated activities of lead and local counsel in complex multi-state environmental coverage litigation in both state and federal courts. Since 1980, Mr. Curran has served as coverage counsel to insurers and reinsurers in complex coverage litigation, including environmental and product liability matters.

Mr. Curran counsels and represents both corporate and municipal clients regarding environmental compliance requirements for generator, transporter and treatment, storage and disposal facility owners and operators under both federal and state law, including wastewater treatment plant permitting, pollution prevention and waste minimization, underground storage tank certification, “Brownfield” Redevelopment funding, compliance auditing, wetlands development and liability issues.

Since 1980, Mr. Curran has represented corporate clients in toxic tort litigation involving Superfund sites in Michigan, and in litigation involving liability for leaking underground storage tank remediation in Massachusetts and Puerto Rico. He has represented clients in complex product liability litigation in Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio and Oklahoma; and in litigation involving steel and aluminum industry processing losses and boiler and equipment failures in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Texas and West Virginia.

Mr. Curran has represented reinsurance companies and Bermuda captives in arbitration disputes with cede companies under facultative reinsurance certificates. He counsels and defends captives and reinsurance companies concerning complex product liability matters involving implants, as well as chemical exposure, environmental and asbestos liability disputes. He has experience in risk management, environmental auditing practices, ISO 9000 and 14000 standards, as well as complex environmental litigation.

Mr. Curran is Editor of the Insurance Law Chapter of the multi-volume textbook, Michigan Environmental Law, published by Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company, and has authored numerous articles in legal journals and environmental trade association publications concerning environmental compliance, negotiating with regulators, risk management, and insurance issues. He has lectured and written extensively on those topics in the United States, France and Germany before international clients, business associations, and bar association groups.

Mr. Curran is the President of the Michigan Chapter of the Academy of Certified Hazardous Materials Managers. As an adjunct professor at Wayne State University since 1992, Mr. Curran teaches courses in environmental law, risk management and insurance, and environmental auditing and due diligence in real estate transactions. He is a member of the Industrial Advisory Committee and the Strategic Environmental Management Committee of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Wayne State University.

Education:

Wayne State University, B.A.; Detroit College of Law, J.D.
Wayne State University, Masters Degree Program in Hazardous Waste Management
Institute of Hazardous Materials Management, Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) Certification
Admitted to the State Bar of Michigan, 1980.

Areas of Expertise:

Environmental compliance requirements for generator, transporter and treatment, storage and disposal facility owners and operators under both federal and state law, including wastewater treatment plant permitting, pollution prevention and waste minimization, underground storage tank certification, Brownfield Redevelopment funding, compliance auditing, wetlands development and liability issues.

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David J. Dybdahl, CPCU, ARM

Professional Experience:

David is widely recognized for his expertise in the area of environmental risk management. He has served on the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Contractor Indemnification Technical Review Panel and provided technical information on environmental insurance issues to the United States Department of Defense and Department of Energy. He is the former Chairman of the Environmental Task Force of the National Association of Insurance Brokers. He has successfully placed insurance programs on many of the world’s toughest environmental risks including developing the first environmental insurance policies for Superfund contractors, placing the first wrap up insurance programs on the US Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons facilities at Hanford, Washington and Oak Ridge, Tennessee and insuring the remediation of Chernobyl.

His work experience includes risk management consulting for a major manufacturer of asbestos, insurance brokerage, creating the Global Environmental Practice, and serving as the Chief Knowledge Officer of one of the worlds largest insurance brokerage firms, and founding The Environmental Risk Resources Association.

He is a frequent speaker and has made numerous presentations at the national conventions of the Risk and Insurance Management Society, and the Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters, in addition to making presentations to over three hundred other technical and education seminars in the insurance industry.

Mr. Dybdahl received his BBA with a major in Risk Management & Insurance, and MBA with majors in Risk Management and Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His professional designations include the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU).

In recent years, he has conducted extensive research and attended many workshops and seminars on knowledge management, e-commerce and culture change in organizations.

Education:

BBA in Risk Management and Insurance, University of Wisconsin-Madison
MBA, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Associate in Risk Management (ARM)
Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU).

Areas of Expertise:

Government contract environmental risk management, environmental insurance, environmental contractors, balance sheet solutions, wrap ups, commercial insurance and risk management, knowledge management, environmental practice development, environmental broker and agent market planning.

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Ronald Huggins, Ph.D., MPH, CIH

Professional Experience:

Dr. Huggins has more than twenty years of experience in managing environmental health and engineering, industrial hygiene, and occupational health and safety projects for a wide range of clients. His specific areas of expertise include performing indoor air quality and environmental exposure and risk assessments; providing litigation support and expert witness testimony; interacting with regulatory agencies in the development of health and safety standards and the establishment of industry exposure guidelines; as well as toxicology, industrial hygiene, ergonomics, ventilation engineering, and process safety. Dr. Huggins currently serves as a Clinical Adjunct Professor at Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta.

Indoor Air Quality Assessment and Remediation: Assessed Indoor Air Quality issues in residential homes, office buildings, industrial settings, and offshore oil and gas platforms, which included initial walk-through, air monitoring (when appropriate), and remediation and re-design work. Major issues were HVAC, VOC’s, Mold, and Outside air contamination.

Toxicology Review/Human Health Risk Assessment: Extensive background in toxicological review, including dermatological, genetic, and neuro-toxicity testing of new chemicals and the associated health risk assessment for both short-term and long-term exposure.

Environmental Exposure/Risk Assessment: Performed risk assessments for chemical releases at manufacturing facilities using air dispersion modeling, and formulated emergency response plans. Performed risk assessments for underground storage tanks and Manufactured Gas Plants (MGPs), and methane migration studies from landfills.

Litigation Support/Expert Testimony: Served as plaintiff’s expert witness in four trials involving environmental contaminant migration with associated toxic tort and trespass issues. Given a multitude of depositions in cases involving environmental exposure, products liability, and indoor air quality issues.

Industrial Hygiene and Ergonomics: Performed industrial hygiene surveys throughout industry in the U.S., China, South Korea, and Demark. Extensive knowledge in the evaluation of complex manufacturing facilities, with associated exposure monitoring to a diverse mix of chemical, physical and biological agents. Facilities have included the pharmaceutical, poultry, offshore oil & gas production and exploration, chemical manufacturing, telecommunications, and heavy and light manufacturing. Served as the Principal Health and Safety Officer at eight Superfund sites including both excavation and thermal-desorption remediation activities. Also served as the Radiological Health and Safety Officer at mixed waste sites. Performed many ergonomic evaluations with engineering remedies. Established hearing conservation programs with associated noise engineering evaluations, along with noise suppression engineering.

Ventilation Engineering: Designed/redesigned ventilation systems associated with indoor air quality issues in laboratories, manufacturing plants, food processing facilities, and production plants.

Program Development and Training: Developed written programs for companies for both environmental and occupational health compliance issues. These programs ranged from Respiratory Protection, Confined Space, Fall Arrest, Ergonomics, Hazard Communication, Hazwoper, and Process Safety to RCRA, SARA Title 111, Water and Wastewater, Air Quality Permitting/Testing, and EPCRA. Along with these programs were the associated training and certification requirements.

Regulatory Affairs and Negotiations: Extensive experience in representing companies in fine and citation negotiations in both the environmental and occupational health arenas, encompassing RCRA, EPCRA, FIFRA, and OSHA regulatory non-compliance issues.

Education:

Ph.D., Industrial Hygiene/Toxicology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 1981
M.P.H., Environmental Health/Industrial Hygiene, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 1981
M.S., Environmental Biology, New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, NM, 1977
B.S., Biology, The Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO, 1975

Areas of Expertise:

Indoor air quality and environmental exposure and risk assessments; providing litigation support and expert witness testimony; interacting with regulatory agencies in the development of health and safety standards and the establishment of industry exposure guidelines; as well as toxicology, industrial hygiene, ergonomics, ventilation engineering, and process safety.

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Donald V. Jernberg, J.D.

Professional Experience:

Don Jernberg is the President of ClaimResolver, Inc. and a licensed attorney. He has extensive experience handling contested claims for coverage for environmental liabilities under both CGL and EIL policies. He was a partner in Oppenheimer Wolff and Donnelly and headed the firm’s insurance practice. He served as outside general counsel to the Pollution Liability Insurance Association, and managed the runoff its large portfolio of claims. He negotiated the complete loss portfolio transfer for the multi-million dollar environmental liabilities remaining when PLIA was dissolved. He holds a patent on a process and method for analyzing settlement opportunities in environmental insurance coverage claims. He has drafted various environmental coverage forms, including forms for lead and asbestos abatement, asbestos in place, underground storage tanks, lender liability, and agricultural exposures. He has authored over 30 articles on environmental coverage issues. He taught environmental law as an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Alabama.

Education:

B.A. Vanderbilt University
J.D. Northwestern University

Areas of Expertise:

Coverage analysis for environmental liabilities under CGL or pollution policies, coverage claim management and resolution, mediation, claim runoff management, loss portfolio transfer, policy interpretation and drafting.

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John Lynch, P.E.

Professional Experience:

Mr. Lynch has twenty two years of environmental remediation experience focusing on soil and groundwater cleanup, probabilistic cost estimating for remedial programs and technologies. His specific concentration is in remediation of utility sites (MGPs), petroleum and coal tar sites with emphasis on the use of biological treatment technologies. Also he has experience in environmental compliance issues with emphasis on wastewater and hazardous waste management issues.

Education:

BE(CE), Manhattan College, NYC 1968
MBA, Northeastern University, Boston, 1978

Areas of Expertise:

Environmental engineering, site remediation, remediation technology evaluation, feasibility assessments, environmental facility and compliance audits, environmental compliance training.

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John W. McGovern, ERM

Professional Experience:

Mr. McGovern is the founder and President of Aspen Environmental Risk Services & Consultants, LLC, a firm dedicated to assisting companies manage and understand environmental risk management. Aspen Environmental Risk Services & Consultants, LLC is associated with the Environmental Risk Management Institute.

Mr. McGovern’s expertise is in identifying, designing and implementing environmental risk management solutions for the environmental exposures that exist with clients and retail brokers and their clientele.

Mr. McGovern has specialized in and has been actively involved with environmental risks for over 14 years. Since beginning his career in environmental insurance, Mr. McGovern has arranged many types of client placements. These placements have involved complex coverage terms and conditions and were accomplished for numerous large national and international industrial and commercial businesses.

Mr. McGovern has spent his time developing environmental business on both the retail and wholesale sectors of the insurance business. He also founded and built a wholesale environmental business division for a major broker in 1996 and later in 1998 he founded his own environmental insurance consulting firm. Mr. McGovern has outstanding relationships with the senior executives of the primary providers of environmental liability insurance, namely AIG, Chubb, ECS/XL, Kemper Environmental, Liberty Mutual and Zurich.

Education:

Graduated of The City University of New York (CUNY) at Brooklyn College
Environmental Risk Manager (ERM) designation from the Southwest Texas State University.

Areas of Expertise:

Identifying, designing and implementing environmental risk management solutions for the environmental exposures that exist with clients and retail brokers and their clientele.

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Daniel Moser

Professional Experience:

Dan is the Midwest Regional Manager for ECS Risk Control. He is responsible for performing environmental risk assessment surveys for a variety of clients including: chemical manufacturers, hazardous waste treatment and storage facilities; manufacturing facilities; and environmental remediation contractors. Mr. Moser also assists clients with their various environmental consulting and risk management needs. Prior to joining ECS, Mr. Moser spent three years as a Regulatory Affairs Manager for a regional environmental service company, and three years working within industry as an Environmental/Safety Coordinator primarily dealing with EPA/OSHA/DOT compliance issues related to the production process.

Education:

Mr. Moser received his undergraduate degree from Iowa State University and his Masters of Environmental Management from The Illinois Institute of Technology.

Areas of Expertise:

Conducting environmental assessments of industrial, chemical, and TSDFs; environmental, health and safety training (OSHA, DOT, and EPA).

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Susan Neuman, J.D.

Professional Experience:

Susan Neuman is President of the Environmental Insurance Agency, Inc.(EIA) in Purchase, New York and a principal in Environmental Risk Financing Associates, LLC (ERFA). EIA and ERFA provide environmental insurance and remediation financing services primarily for brownfields and other contaminated property transactions. Ms. Neuman has worked in the environmental insurance field for the past fifteen years, as coverage counsel at Lord Day & Lord, Barrett, Smith and later as head of Contract Development in the Specialty Lines Legal Department of the Home Insurance Company. During this time, she drafted and developed many environmental insurance products, including three being used in the market today. She has testified as an expert on the older pollution liability policies in several environmental insurance coverage actions, has spoken at many bar association and environmental conferences, and has written numerous articles on the new environmental insurance products, including a revision of the chapter on Environmental Insurance Coverage in the Matthew Bender Environmental Law and Practice Guide.

Education:

B.A. from Smith College
Ph.D. in English literature from New York University
J.D. from Yale Law School.

Areas of Expertise:

Pollution liability, brownfield, property transfer transactions

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Thomas Owen

Professional Experience:

Tom Owen has more than nine years of experience in the environmental insurance industry. Currently, he is the manager of the Gulf Insurance Group, Environmental Underwriting Division in Atlanta, Georgia. Tom manages a staff of thirteen (13) underwriters and one (1) Program administrator, Freberg Environmental. He has been responsible for form development, development and management of underwriting guidelines, and maintenance of rates.

Prior to becoming part of the Gulf Insurance Group in July 2000, Tom managed the Environmental Division of United Capitol. He began his environmental insurance career with ECS Underwriting in Exton, Pennsylvania. Tom has extensive experience underwriting coverages for environmental contractors and consultants, and environmental facilities; professional liability coverage for engineers; pollution coverage for non-environmental contractors and facilities, property transfers, and brownfields. With both ECS and United Capitol, Tom has been involved in the development of a variety of new products and programs, as well as the training and development of new underwriters.

Prior to joining insurance industry, Tom was an environmental consultant in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for three years performing environmental site assessments, regulatory compliance consulting, and remediation oversight.

Education:

Tom received his B.S. degree in Biology from Gannon University, Erie, Pennsylvania.

Areas of Expertise:

Environmental contractors and consultants, environmental facilities, professional liability coverage for engineers, pollution coverage for non-environmental contractors and facilities, property transfers, and brownfields.

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Richard Pleus, Ph.D.

Professional Experience:

Richard Pleus, Ph.D., is a senior environmental toxicologist and principal of Intertox, an environmental health consulting firm specializing in assessing the impact of chemicals and microbes on public health and the environment. In addition to his expertise in general toxicology, he has a specialty in neurological and reproductive toxicology. He has over 20 years of experience assessing the risk of chemical exposures and over eight years of experience regarding microbial exposures to human health. He has assessed chemical exposures for the cement, power, transportation, building, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and manufacturing industries and in consumer products. He has assessed microbial exposures related to agriculture and indoor air issues. He has a proven ability to communicate risks of toxicants to a variety of audiences – skillfully facilitating both public forums and industry meetings and as an expert witness.

Dr. Pleus continues to be involved in research, publications, and education. He presents the results of his research at national and international meetings. He was an instructor for 10 years at the University of Minnesota, is an adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and periodically serves as a graduate level guest lecturer in toxicology at the University of Washington, in addition to presenting courses to professional groups. He also contributes to textbooks and professional publications.

Education:

Bachelor of Science with Honors from Michigan State University; an M.S. in Environmental Health and Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology from the University of Minnesota; and postdoctoral research in neuropharmacology from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Affiliations and Appointments:

Society for Risk Analysis, Society of Toxicology, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Air & Waste Management Association, Society for Neuroscience, New York Academy of Sciences, Association for the Advancement of Science, and Board Member - Urban Environmental Institute, Seattle, Washington

Areas of Expertise:

Chemical and Microbial Risk and Hazard Assessments, Toxicological Evaluation, Risk Communication

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Richard M. Sheldon, Jr., ARM

Professional Experience:

Rich has 13 years of environmental insurance industry experience and presently serves as Vice President of Hess Egan Hagerty & L'Hommedieu Inc (HEH&L), a regional commercial insurance and surety broker based outside of Washington, D.C. He is responsible for consulting on and developing environmental insurance programs in a variety of specialty areas, including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures by and of companies with environmental exposures. Prior to joining HEH&L, Rich was Vice President and one of the founding members of Kemper Environmental. At Kemper, he was responsible for the underwriting management of all site-specific pollution legal liability programs and all environmental risk management/financial programs. He specialized in national accounts underwriting and manuscript policy design for site specific pollution risks.

Before joining Kemper Environmental, Rich served as the Senior Underwriter of the Environmental Risk Management unit at ECS Underwriting, Inc. At ECS, Rich was responsible for underwriting applicants for environmental insurance and new business marketing for Fortune 500 accounts on a worldwide basis. He was also responsible for the research and development of new pollution liability products and risk management strategies for industry, including various risk transfer and risk financing approaches.

Rich began his career in the environmental field with NUS Corporation as an Environmental Project Manager. There, he managed sampling investigations of potential National Priorities List sites under the direction of the USEPA. From NUS, Rich joined Consulting Services, Inc., where he coordinated and performed environmental risk assessments for various industries, including Phase I and II surveys for insurance companies and lending institutions.

Education:

Rich holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology/Earth Science and a Master of Science Degree in Administration/Environmental Health. He has also received an Associate in Risk Management designation through the Insurance Institute of America.

Areas of Expertise:

Site specific risks and coverages, merger and acquisition risk management programs.

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Beki Sullivan, CPCU, ARM, ARe

Professional Experience:

Beki Sullivan is the Assistant Vice President- Environmental Programs Unit for AIG Environmental. She is the Product Line Manager for AIG Environmental's Secured Creditor Impaired Property coverage. Her department located in Denver, CO concentrates on the underwriting, development and implementation of environmental insurance coverages designed specifically for an individual property owner or lending institution.

Beki has been involved in underwriting and developing environmental insurance products for the past eleven years. Prior to that, she worked in the commercial casualty underwriting lines for eight years.

Education:

Bachelors, Millikin University, 1980
Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter(CPCU), 1988
Associate in Risk Management (ARM), 1991
Associate in Reinsurance (ARe), 1991

Areas of Expertise:

Secured creditor transactions

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Rick L. Thomas

Professional Experience:

· Championed team efforts resulting in new product development protocol, research, design including marketing research, and product implementation. Products include surety, and excess and surplus lines products.

· Team leader for mergers and acquisitions including development of target profile, target identification, initial contact, negotiations, preparation and execution of all closing documents. Developed company-wide acquisition plan.

· Direct negotiations with regulatory authorities in the United States and Canada leading toward the establishment of new products in each jurisdiction.

· Director of Human Resources company-wide, an inaugural post which required implementation of company-wide Human Resource procedures and policies.

VAN-AMERICAN COMPANIES, INC. 1996 - 2001

An insurance holding company which held assets of the Van-American family. These assets include an insurance company licensed in Kentucky and West Virginia and a vertically integrated excess and surplus lines distribution network. At is maximum size, the Van-American family was composed of approximately 110 employees, writing approximately $25 million in gross premium. The Company had offices in five states and was responsible for writing surety and other insurance products in the United States, Canada and Australia.

• Chief Executive Officer, Lexington, KY 1998 - 2001
  

Assumed role of CEO at a time when the Company was severely stressed by a failed growth strategy and certain catastrophic losses.
· Developed and implemented a strategy to sharpen the company’s focus on its core competencies and divested excess surplus line wholesale distribution network
· Responsible for marketing and sale of the company
· Negotiated authority to draft and implement a voluntary run-off plan to eliminate the exposure of the Company and its partners while satisfying regulatory authorities
· Maintained role as chief legal officer, claims administrator and operations manager

• Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Birmingham, AL 1996 - 1998
  

Responsible for general legal affairs of company and subsidiaries
· Assumed management role in claims, new product development and acquisitions
· Started the Human Resource Department to ensure company's compliance
· Drafted the parent Company's Business Plan and that of several of its subsidiaries

PRIVATE LAW PRACTICE, Lexington, KY 1983 - 1996
· Engaged in the private practice of law with a variety of practice partners principally engaged in areas of surety, coal mining, environmental and human resources.
· Approved and appointed American Arbitration Association construction and commercial arbitrator
· Practice primarily involved sophisticated litigation and/or planning in the subject areas.

MAPCO COALS, INC., Lexington, KY 1979 - 1980
Mining Engineer, Law Clerk
Responsibilities included mine permitting and design. Industry member of task force on the Surface Mining Reclamation and Control Act in Kentucky.

EXXON COAL, Lexington, Ky 1979 - 1980
Mining Engineer
Responsible for supervising major portion of construction activities at company’s Wayne, West Virginia mine. Projects included complete materials handling and preparation facilities; refuse disposal system; complete utility system; and drafting, bidding and execution of all field construction contracts. Supervised engineering staff and field surveying teams.

CAWOOD ENGINEERING COMPANY, Harlan, KY 1978 - 1979
Chief Mining Engineer
Responsibilities included mine design, mine feasibility studies, complete mine permitting process, and geological evaluation of coal reserves. Acted as project manager of coal analysis laboratory start-up and some civil engineering surveys.

Education:

Juris Doctor - College of Law, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
BS - Mining Engineering - University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

Areas of Expertise:

Environmental Surety