We take pride in the service and experience we provide our clients. That’s why we have always searched for the best and brightest to join our team.
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Michele J Lyerla, President, and Owner |
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David C Lyerla, Vice President |
Randy Hansen, CHP, CSP, CPEA Corporate Safety Officer |
Randy Hansen, CHP, CSP, CPEA Corporate Safety Officer |
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David Kirkton, Business Services Manager |
Stephanie Lavinghouse, Project Controls Manager |
Stephanie Lavinghouse, Project Controls Manager |
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David P Cowell, Radiation Safety Officer St. Louis FUSRAP |
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Jamie Bushman, Asst Radiation Safety Officer St. Louis NORCO FUSRAP |
Michele J Lyerla, President, and Owner
Ms. Lyerla has over 30 years of experience as a seasoned, growth-driven and performance-focused professional, offering wide-ranging experience in operations and human resource management, project administration, and service delivery life cycle.
Ms. Lyerla’s technical background includes waste transportation and disposal, radiological contaminant remediation, and regulatory compliance for Dept of Energy (DOE) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) landscapes.
Ms. Lyerla holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois and a Master Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Findlay. She is armed with solid background in translating innovative schemes, leading enterprise-wide integrations, and creating scalable procedures that drive the company toward excellence and operational efficiency. She is adept at developing action-centered plans and solutions to support staff/ management functions and decision-making initiatives in order to support our growth and better serve our clients.
David C Lyerla, Vice President
Mr. Lyerla serves the company as Vice President overseeing the overall execution of field operations with a focus on business development. Mr. Lyerla has a strong background in complex and unique field implementation strategies with over 25 years of direct field experience and oversight.
Mr. Lyerla has a B.S., Environmental Engineering and has served as Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) and Radiation Protection Manger (RPM) on over 25 projects over the years. His expertise includes Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) final status surveys, radiation protection programs, hazardous material transportation/disposal, radionuclide identification and characterization, Investigation Derived Waste (IDW) dispositioning, and more. He has participated in literally hundreds of Radiological Investigations/Surveys, including Final Status Surveys requiring MARSSIM analysis and release surveys.
Randy Hansen, CHP, CSP, CPEA Corporate Safety Officer
Mr. Hansen has been working in the radiation protection and health and safety field for over 25 years. Randy began his career in the United States Navy providing radiation safety aboard nuclear submarines. After the Navy, Mr. Hansen went on to support a DOE radioactive waste cleanup site by providing radiological, occupational safety, and industrial hygiene field support.
As a Certified Health Physicist (CHP), Mr. Hansen provides a wide range of expertise in radiation safety including Regulatory Compliance, Dose and Risk Assessment, Incident Prevention and Investigation, Personalized Protective Equipment (PPE), Respiratory Protection, and Radiation Protection implementation. As a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Mr. Hansen is well known for his regulatory compliance experience and auditing capabilities. He remains in step with the leading safety technology and information as well as current advances within the safety profession. Randy brings real-world implementable safety solutions which are innovative, practical and compliant.
As a Certified Professional Environmental Auditor (CPEA), Mr. Hansen provides clients with comprehensive third-party auditing experience that focuses on value-added solutions for program improvement. He has conducted numerous regulatory audits of programs and facilities nationwide ranging from Maine to California and Florida to Washington, as well as Puerto Rico. He has conducted third party health and safety management systems and compliance audits for a national brewery, power generation and distribution plants, a major petroleum/fertilizer company, chemical companies, Georgia Pacific, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the National Cancer Institute, the Air National Guard, and the Air Force Reserves.
David Kirkton, Business Services Manager
Mr. Kirkton has served as the AVESI Business Services Manager for over 8 years, and began his journey with AVESI in 2007 as a Health Physicist/Radiation Control Technician supporting commercial and government clients in MO, IN, VA, IL, IA, ID and FL.
Mr. Kirkton started his career as an intern with the Department of Justice. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Finance and accepted the position as Business Manager in 2016. Dave has developed himself into an invaluable asset by adapting to each new project/task/challenge/schedule requirement and performing his duties to the best of his ability wherever he is needed.
David is directly responsible for payroll processing, employee benefits, oversight to insurance policies and plans, expense processing, accounting compliance and invoicing.
Stephanie Lavinghouse, Project Controls Manager
Ms. Lavinghouse joined the AVESI team in February of 2022. Stephanie has nearly 20 years as a project business administrator amongst a vast portfolio of project experience including emergency response, civil construction, hazardous waste, and environmental remediation.
Stephanie’s expertise is government contracts focused. She has supported several multi-million dollar projects under USACE, EPA, Department of Defense (DOD), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a cost tracker and her tenacious efforts have held each of those projects to a high operational standard. Her background in large and small civil construction projects for local entities and private industry have made her a true asset to the Company.
David P Cowell, Radiation Safety Officer St. Louis FUSRAP
Mr. David Cowell serves AVESI’s Radiation Safety Officer at the St. Louis FUSRAP where he oversees the radiation protection program for the project. Mr. Cowell has demonstrated over 25 years of proven experience in environmental health physics as a radiation safety officer, radiological engineer, radiological lab supervisor and field technician.
Mr. Cowell has achieved exceptional managerial/leadership standards through his experience guiding staff through each project need. David has a Bachelor of Science in Physics and has served as the Radiation Safety Officer for the remediation contractor of the St. Louis FUSRAP Downtown and North St. Louis County Sites since 2010. His responsibilities include oversight of the radiation safety staff, dose tracking/reporting, air monitoring, radiological waste manifesting and shipping, radiological instrumentation and sources, radiological survey records, radiation worker training, and utility support reporting.
Jamie Bushman, Asst Radiation Safety Officer St. Louis FUSRAP
Mr. Jamie Bushman currently serves as the Assistant Radiation Safety Officer and Health Physics Technician field manager for the St. Louis FUSRAP North County Site.
Mr. Bushman has over 25 years of environmental health and safety experience at both Department of Energy and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Superfund Sites. He has played an integral role in the safe removal, transportation, and disposal of over one million cubic yards of contaminated material. Jamie has diverse knowledge and experience in radiological and Industrial Health instrumentation, soil, air, and water sampling, design investigations, construction safety, respiratory protection, analytical data analysis, final status surveys, and DOT Hazardous Waste shipping.
Jamie has a Degree of Masters of Business Administration and certified training in numerous aspects of environmental and construction safety. He specializes in providing classroom training in the areas of radiation safety. Jamie’s unique combination of many years of field experience, supervisory roles, classroom training, and education make him an extremely versatile employee which has led to a continuous track record of success over his career.
Matt Roofe, Assistant Radiation Officer
Mr. Matt Roofe serves the company as Assistant Radiation Safety overseeing the overall execution of field operations of the St. Louis FUSRAP Downtown Site project. Mr. Roofe has a strong background in Arc GIS utilization and unusual field implementation strategies with over 23 years of direct field experience and oversight.
Matt attended school at UMSL and ESRI training center and has served as Assistant Radiation Safety Officer (ARSO) and Heath Physics Technician (HPT). He started working in the industry in (1997) with Nuclear Medicine and transitioned to the FUSRAP projects in 1998. His expertise includes MARSSIM final status surveys, radiation protection programs, GIS walkover surveys and characterization. He has created thousands of Radiological Investigation Maps/Surveys including Final Status Surveys requiring MARSSIM analysis and release surveys.
Brittany Heppermann, Data Manager and Office Lead
Mrs. Brittany Heppermann helps within the AVESI data management department overseeing verification and validation protocols are followed correctly and professionally. Ensuring data integrity is an important quality within the data management department to guarantee consistency.
Brittany has worked with data qualifying for 8 years while also supplying outstanding customer service to our subcontractors. Brittany has a B.S., Environmental Science while serving as a data manager for 4 years working specifically on the FUSRAP project located in St. Louis, MO. She also has experience working with verifying and validating data from the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant.
Jessica Kirkton, Office Manager
As AVESI’s Office Manager in the Panama City Beach office, Mrs. Jessica Kirkton has performed a vast array of support functions across the company over the years, including document quality control, procurement, technical editing, payroll services, and employee benefits. Jess also manages internal communications and networking and takes pride in her event-coordinating responsibilities. Jessica understands the impact of AVESI-sponsored events and specialized gear for our employees in helping the Company to cultivate our close-knit team environment.
Jessica worked several summers in the FUSRAP theater while completing her education. She earned her Bachelor of Science majoring in Biology from Eastern Illinois University in 2009. Jessica gained laboratory, procurement, technical writing/editing, and human study experimentation through several Laboratory and Military based projects. Jessica has acquired a wide range of experience and remains a versatile component of AVESI’s inner-workings.
Ross Obernuefemann, Environmental Scientist
Ross Obernuefemann serves the company as Field Leader and an Environmental Scientist for the STL FUSRAP project, focusing most of his time on the Coldwater Creek project. Ross supports the project as the primary surveyor and a senior health physics technician. His responsibilities include data management & analysis, radiological surveys, instrument calibrations and procedural oversight. Ross serves as the crucial link between the field observations and date collection to the office for reporting and oversight.
Ross has a B.S., Environmental Science emphasizing in water quality and has successfully completed an internship with the State of Missouri’s Limnological laboratory. Ross has over 10 years of prior experience in wastewater solutions, inventory management, agriculture and forestry.
