A Diverse Group of People Holding Hands Around the Earth in Unity.

Introducing Our Leadership Team

At AVESI, Inc., our leadership team is committed to providing our clients with exceptional service and expertise. We have assembled a dynamic team of industry experts and seasoned professionals.

Get to know the individuals who drive our success:

Michele J Lyerla
President and Owner
David C Lyerla
Vice President
Randy Hansen professional photo
Randy Hansen
CHP, CSP, CPEA CORPORATE SAFETY OFFICER
David Kirkton professional photo
David Kirkton
BUSINESS SERVICES MANAGER
Stephanie Lavinghouse professional photo
Stephanie Lavinghouse
PROJECT CONTROLS MANAGER
David Cowell professional photo
David P Cowell
Radiation Safety Officer St. Louis FUSRAP
Matt Roofe professional photo
Matt Roofe
Assistant Radiation Officer
Brittany Heppermann smiling
Brittany Heppermann
Data Manager and Office Lead
David Kirkton, Business Services Manager
Jessica Kirkton
Office Manager
Ross O professional Photo
Ross Obernuefemann
Assistant Radiation Safety Officer
Melissa Metzger photo
Melissa Metzger, MAFM
Controller
Curtis Crawford wearing glasses
Curtis Crawford
Project Manager

Contact Us

We are proud to have such a diverse and experienced leadership team at AVESI. Their combined knowledge and dedication allow us to deliver exceptional environmental service and expertise to our clients. For more information about our leadership team and the services we offer, please connect with us today.

Turn to the experts in environmental remediation.

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Curtis Crawford

Project Manager

As a Project Manager, Curtis Crawford provides project oversight and engineering expertise. With a technical background spanning over 20 years, he leverages a multifaceted experience including project engineering, safety, quality, and regulatory compliance. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering and has served as Project Engineer on numerous projects.

Curtis’s expertise includes experience in commercial and government client spaces including complex geotechnical design, innovative excavation design and implementation, project management, and more.

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Melissa Metzger, MAFM

Controller

Ms. Metzger joined the AVESI team in February of 2024 as the company Controller. Melissa has over 15 years of corporate finance and accounting experience at the executive level. Ms. Metzger has a Master of Accounting and Finance Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. Her expertise lies in government accounting practices. 

Ms. Metzger is a successful government contracting GovCon accounting/finance/operation senior leader with experience in multiple industries and company structures. She is skilled in regulatory compliance, contract management, ongoing internal controls, process improvements, cost control, profit optimization, and strategic business planning. She has built finance divisions from the ground up actively developing and driving company strategy with cross-functional peers in a senior leadership role lending finance and GovCon experience as needed to shape innovation and ensure compliance.

Ross O professional Photo

Ross Obernuefemann

Assistant Radiation Safety Officer

Ross Obernuefemann serves as AVESI’s Assistant Radiation Safety Officer at the St. Louis FUSRAP Downtown Site. Ross has a B.S. in Environmental Science and over ten years of unique industry experience.

Ross has a long history as a Field Leader and an Environmental Scientist for the St. Louis FUSRAP. Ross has supported the FURSAP program through data management and analysis, radiological surveys, and procedural oversight. Ross specializes in implementation and design of complicated field characterization execution strategies.

David Kirkton, Business Services Manager

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 in her many years of service. Jessica has a Bachelor’s in Biological Science.

Jessica’s technical experience began in the environmental laboratory industry working with several commercial laboratories and Military based projects. She conducted various analyses, procured laboratory supplies, prepared technical writing/editing of standard operating procedures, and collected/processed various data for human health studies.

At AVESI, Jessica currently provides document quality control, procurement services, marketing and payroll services. Jessica understands the impact of AVESI marketing strategies cultivating our unique culture while nurturing the AVESI brand.

Brittany Heppermann smiling

Brittany Heppermann

Data Manager and Office Lead

Mrs. Brittany Heppermann has served AVESI as the Data Manager/Office Lead in St Louis for over 9 years. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Science and has specific expertise with FUSRAP projects for data verification and validation.

Leading the AVESI FUSRAP data management department, Brittany safeguards that verification and validation protocols are followed correctly and guarantees data integrity for all AVESI clients.

Matt Roofe professional photo

Matt Roofe

Assistant Radiation Officer

As Assistant Radiation Safety Officer for AVESI, Matt Roofe oversees field operations at the St. Louis FUSRAP Airport Site and North County projects. Matt studied at University of Missouri St. Louis and trained at the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) center, the global leader in geographic information systems (GIS).

With over 25 years of direct field experience and expertise in Arc GIS utilization, Matt brings a unique perspective to the team. He has worked on numerous MARSSIM final status surveys and characterization projects, creating detailed radiological investigation maps and surveys. 

David Cowell professional photo

David P Cowell

Radiation Safety Officer St. Louis FUSRAP

David Cowell serves as AVESI’s Radiation Safety Officer at the St. Louis FUSRAP, overseeing the project’s radiation protection program. With over 25 years of experience in environmental health physics, David has demonstrated exceptional leadership and managerial skills.

David holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics and is responsible for various aspects of the radiation safety program, including dose tracking/reporting, waste management, training, and more.

Stephanie Lavinghouse professional photo

Stephanie Lavinghouse

Project Controls Manager

Stephanie Lavinghouse joined the AVESI team in 2022 and brings nearly 20 years of experience as a project business administrator. She has worked on various projects, including emergency response, civil construction, hazardous waste, and environmental remediation.

Stephanie’s expertise lies in government contracts, supporting multi-million-dollar projects under various government agencies including USACE, EPA, DOD, and FEMA. She has supported several multi-million-dollar projects as a cost tracker and her tenacious efforts have held each of those projects to a high operational standard.

For AVESI, Ms. Lavinghouse is responsible for government accounting practices, project cost tracking set-up and controls, procurements and invoice processing.

David Kirkton professional photo

David Kirkton

Business Services Manager

Mr. David 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, SD, and FL. David has a B.A. in Finance from Eastern Illinois University.

David 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 needed. In David’s journey with AVESI, he has developed the confidence required to solely setup a project on the company’s behalf and see that project through to completion.

For AVESI, Mr. Kirkton is directly responsible for payroll processing, employee benefits, oversight of insurance policies and plans, expense processing, accounting compliance, and invoicing.

Randy Hansen professional photo

Randy Hansen

CHP, CSP, CPEA Corporate Safety Officer

As AVESI’s Corporate Safety Officer, Randy Hansen promotes and ensures “safety” is integrated as a value within all business and decision-making processes. With over 30 years of experience in the radiation protection and health and safety field, Randy has unique insight into effectively combining safety and operations to achieve both compliance and business goals. As a Navy veteran, he is a Certified Health Physicist, Certified Safety Professional and holds a Bachelor of Science in Radiation Protection.

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 C Lyerla, Vice President

David C Lyerla

Vice President

As AVESI’s Vice President, David C Lyerla oversees field operations focusing on business development. With over 25 years of direct field experience and oversight, David has a strong background in complex and unique field implementation strategies. He holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering and has served as a Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) and Radiation Protection Manager (RPM) on numerous projects.

David’s expertise includes Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) final status surveys, radiation protection programs, hazardous material transportation/disposal, and more.

Michele J Lyerla, President and Owner

Michele J Lyerla

President and Owner

With over 30 years of experience, Michele J Lyerla is a growth-driven and performance-focused professional. She brings a wide-ranging skill set in operations and human resource management, project administration, and service delivery life cycle. Michele’s technical background includes waste transportation and disposal, radiological contaminant remediation, and regulatory compliance for the Department of Energy (DOE) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) landscapes.

With a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Findlay, Michele excels at translating innovative schemes, leading enterprise-wide integrations, and creating scalable procedures that drive the company toward excellence.