Domestic Scan:

Environmental Commitment Implementation
Innovative and Successful Approaches

APPENDIX E: Domestic Scan Team Biographical Sketches

Rachael Barolsky is a Program and Policy Analyst with the U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportations Systems Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ms. Barolsky's work supports transportation and environmental projects for government agencies including FHWA, Federal Transit Administration, and National Parks Service. Her primary focus is on environmental initiatives, policy analysis and planning, and strategic communication and education. Ms. Barolsky earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Energy and Environmental Analysis from Boston University. As part of the Boston University Washington Internship Program in Washington, D.C., Ms. Barolsky worked as a policy intern at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Ms. Barolsky is also a member of the Women's Transportation Seminar.

Nova Blazej is the Transportation Coordinator in the EPA's Pacific Southwest Region, Region 9. She works in the Federal Activities Office and has the dual responsibility of overseeing EPA's Transportation Streamlining efforts and providing NEPA review on specific highway, transit, and rail projects in Region 9. She has worked extensively with FHWA and State transportation departments to further transportation streamlining through partnership agreements, training opportunities, and pilot projects and has been recognized by both FHWA and EPA for her efforts. Ms. Blazej has expertise in EPA's air planning, wetlands permitting, sustainable development, and NEPA review programs. Prior to her current position, she oversaw EPA's Sustainable Development Grant Program. She earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. Her master's degree is in City and Regional Planning. Ms. Blazej is a member of the Women's Transportation Seminar.

Caryn Brookman is an Environmental Protection Specialist with FHWA's Maryland Division Office. Ms. Brookman is responsible for reviewing environmental documents prepared by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA) and providing guidance to MDSHA on environmental policy issues. She also has the responsibility to assist MDSHA in the delivery of the Transportation Enhancement Program. Prior to her current position with FHWA, Ms. Brookman held an environmental position with the MDSHA. Ms. Brookman is a graduate of Frostburg State University with a bachelor's degree in Environmental Analysis and Planning and is currently pursuing her master's degree from Johns Hopkins University in Environmental Science.

Cassandra Callaway is a Program and Policy Analyst at the U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For the past three years, Ms. Callaway has provided communication and outreach support for FHWA on environmental stewardship and streamlining efforts. In addition, she works on planning initiatives and team-based organizational design. Ms. Callaway received a master's degree in Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor of science in Economics from the University of Delaware. Ms. Callaway is a member of the Women's Transportation Seminar.

David Carlson is the senior environmental NEPA reviewer for EPA Region 2 and has been responsible for NEPA review for the past eight years. His current focus is on the review of NEPA documents and related studies for all transportation projects in New York and New Jersey and the U.S. territories in the Caribbean. He has held several positions with EPA; his previous position was with EPA Region 9 as a NEPA reviewer with a predominant focus on transportation projects for California, Arizona, Nevada, and Hawaii. Mr. Carlson is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a degree in Natural Resource Management.

Brent W. Jensen is the Director of Environmental Services at the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mr. Jensen manages the environmental activities at UDOT including NEPA implementation with a team that includes experts in air, cultural resources, hazardous materials, landscape architecture, noise abatement, water, wetland, and wildlife resources. His current emphasis is on environmental stewardship demonstration to promote environmental process streamlining and context-sensitive solutions. Mr. Jensen is a graduate of the University of Utah and holds a bachelor of science in Chemical Engineering. He is a licensed professional engineer in Utah. He serves on the Steering Group for the AASHTO Standing Committee on Environment, is a member of the AASHTO Task Force on Environmental Design, and serves on the Transportation Research Board (TRB) National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) 25-25 panel.

Jeffery S. Lewis is a Senior Transportation Engineer (TE) with the FHWA California Division in Sacramento. Mr. Lewis is currently a Team Leader for the office's South 3 environmental specialists covering all of southern California as well as being the TE responsible for Federal-aid projects from the San Diego/San Bernardino to Arizona/Mexico border area. As the TE, he is responsible for overseeing the development of projects from planning, environmental, design, construction, maintenance, and operations. In doing so, he has helped the State evaluate and improve a number of environmental processes including: a MMRR developed as part of NEPA approval and used to track inclusion of environmental commitments into the PS&E and final construction project, mitigation banking efforts, requirements for environmental input into the engineers project initiation document, and the State's Noise Protocol. Mr. Lewis is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Rolla with a bachelor of science in Civil Engineering. He has received the FHWA's Administrators Award for Excellence in Streamlining the Environment, FHWA Superior Achievement for assisting Border Improvements, AASHTO Quality in Stewardship and serves on the AASHTO Subcommittee of Construction Environmental Task Force and numerous State environmental/design/construction task forces.

Rhonda L. Mears is a Senior Environmental Manager at Parsons Brinckerhoff. Ms. Mears currently leads the work for planning and the environment in Ohio with a staff of seven professionals responsible for project management, scheduling and overseeing field work necessary for environmental data collection. Data are used for coordination with local, State and Federal agencies and eventually lead to the preparation of environmental documents. These documents are prepared in accordance with NEPA and are required for the funding of major Federal actions. Her office primarily focuses on the environmental documents required for major transportation projects. Her primary projects include a 1.5 million dollar contract for statewide on-call environmental services and a 4.0 million dollar contract for the preliminary engineering and environmental documentation associated with the relocation of approximately eight miles of U.S. Route 33 in southeastern Ohio. The environmental services contract has been used for such items as the preparation of NEPA documents and Clean Water Act permits for the 65 million dollar relocation of a 10-mile segment of U.S. Route 35 in southern Ohio. In addition, under this contract, she has overseen the preparation of administrative records for two major highway projects that were the subject of lawsuits. Ms. Mears is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a bachelor of science in Natural Resources. In addition, she is a graduate of Capital University Law School where she obtained her Juris Doctorate with a concentration in Environmental Law. Ms. Mears is a licensed attorney in Ohio and West Virginia. She participated in the Domestic Scan Team as a representative of ARTBA.

John L. Mettille, Jr. is the KYTC Chief Environmental Program Administrator in the State Highway Engineer's Office. Mr. Mettille has been championing the cause of environmental leadership and working to change the culture and ethic of the KYTC over the past four years. Mr. Mettille received a bachelor of science in Geography and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and a master of art in Transportation and Urban Geography with a minor in Urban Planning from Kansas State University. Mr. Mettille is a representative on the AASHTO Standing Committee on the Environment, the TRB Community Impact Assessment Joint Subcommittee, the Kentucky Biodiversity Council, and the Kentucky Historic Preservation Task Force. Some of the initiatives, which Mr. Mettille has recently been involved in include the following: streamlining the project delivery process; negotiating interagency agreements; encouraging the use of creative public outreach and involvement; redefining the Section 106 process for Kentucky, including a 106 streamlining agreement; developing and conducting Context-Sensitive Solutions for Construction workshops for both Cabinet and contractor employees; the development of Guidance and Accountability Forms for each of the environmental base study areas; and, project commitment implementation and maintenance process improvements.

Jerry Mugg is an Associate Vice President and Transportation Group Director in HNTB's Kansas City Office. He has more than 16 years of experience in conducting complex transportation planning studies. In his current role, he is responsible for managing the group's planning and engineering services including corridor studies, metropolitan planning studies such as Major Investment Studies, feasibility studies, toll road studies, traffic impact studies, transit planning, statewide planning, travel demand forecasting and environmental planning studies including EISs and EAs. His project management experience includes the Interstate 70 First Tier EIS (Kansas City to St. Louis, Missouri); the Great River Bridge Location Study and EIS (Desha County, Arkansas to Bolivar County, Mississippi); the U.S. 71 Location Study and EIS (Bella Vista, Arkansas to Pineville, Missouri); the Gilcrease Expressway MIS and EA (Tulsa, Oklahoma); and the Ozark Mountain Highroad Location Study and EIS (Branson, Missouri). Mr. Mugg holds a bachelor of science in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri at Rolla. He is a licensed professional engineer in Missouri and Kansas and is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Institute of Transportation Engineers. Mr. Mugg participated in the Domestic Scan Team as a representative of ARTBA.

Ruth Rentch (Chair) is an Environmental Protection Specialist with FHWA's Office of Project Development and Environmental Review in Washington, D.C. In addition to being the lead for the Domestic Scan, Ms. Rentch is also the FHWA Headquarters lead for the FHWA Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) system, as mandated by TEA-21. Her current emphasis in environmental streamlining and stewardship includes efforts in maintaining and updating the FHWA Environmental Streamlining website, issuing the monthly FHWA newsletter, "Successes in Streamlining," collecting and disseminating transportation project time data, and being the headquarters contact for several priority projects as related to Executive Order 13274. Prior to her present position, Ms. Rentch was employed by the MDSHA in the Office of Real Estate. She has a bachelor's degree in Biology/Education from the University of Delaware.

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