Ron Deverman is Associate Vice-President for HNTB, a national engineering, architecture and planning firm, managing environmental impact assessment projects for transportation infrastructure improvements such as transit, passenger and freight rail, roadways, and bridges. Ron has over 30 years’ experience in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) with special expertise in community impact assessment, cumulative effects analysis, and federal environmental regulations, such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and Threatened and Endangered Species Act.

His education includes a BS in civil/environmental engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana, an MA in literature and creative writing from the University of Illinois in Springfield, and post-graduate studies in NEPA and related environmental studies. Ron is a Past President of the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP). He has also chaired their national NEPA Symposium, NEPA Working Group, Transportation Working Group (co-founder), and 27th Annual Conference (Dearborn, Michigan). He is a Past President of IAEP, the Illinois chapter of NAEP. Ron is a contributor to the national journal, Environmental Practice, published by Cambridge University Press.

Ron is also a published poet and has spoken nationally on many subjects, including key competencies for environmental professionals, environmental stewardship, and preserving the quality of place. He has recently spoken at national environmental and transportation conferences on the health impacts and benefits of our transportation choices and on “Reclaiming Our Environmental Imagination” where he incorporated the writings and poems of numerous authors and poets, including his own work.

 Dr. Kris Thoemke is marine biologist and a Certified Environmental Professional (CEP). He currently serves as the Chairman of Academy of Board Certified Environmental Professionals’ (ABCEP) Credentials Review Board and, as such, is responsible for the process that determines if applicants for the CEP credential are qualified to receive this prestigious designation.  His 35 year working career has focused on the coastal ecosystems of Florida and the ecology of the Everglades. His current responsibilities at CEC include assessing, permitting, and monitoring of coastal projects including inlet management, beach nourishment and marina development.  As a recognized expert in coastal processes and the ecology of the Everglades, he has been selected to participate on several Independent Peer Review Panels of large scale US Army Corps of Engineers projects in these areas.

Prior to pursuing a career in environmental consulting Dr. Thoemke was a full-time outdoor and environmental communicator.  He is the author of over 500 articles on the outdoors, hosted several outdoor talk radio programs, and has film credits as the host and co-producer of the PBS series Exploring Florida, co-host (with actor Ed Begley Jr) of the Troubled Waters documentary on the Everglades on TBS and was the Survival Expert for Everglades episode of Man vs Wild hosted by Bear Grylls on the Discovery Channel.  He is an active member of the Outdoor Writers Association and has won numerous awards for his writing and broadcasting, including the Outdoor Communicator of the Year from the Florida Wildlife Federation. Kris is the author of Fishing Florida - the definitive guide to where to fish in the Sunshine State.

Dr. Thoemke has a BS degree in Zoology from the University of Maryland and received his Ph.D. from the University of South Florida.

Leslie is a Certified Environmental Professional with over 17 years of experience in environmental impact assessment. She is a Program Director at Environmental Resources Management (ERM) in in Walnut Creek, California. Here she manages NEPA, CEQA, and other state environmental reviews. She currently services as a program manager for a large utility client and has managed and supported a variety of federal, state, and private programs throughout the United States. Her experience includes impact analysis specializing in project development, alternative analysis, and various resource areas, public involvement, agency coordination and consultation, cumulative impact analysis, and negotiating the NEPA, state policy, and regulatory processes. Her experience offers a broad geographical reach, a wide technical basis for the types of projects and resource focuses, and a versatile client portfolio. This background allows her to provide efficient and nimble support to those large, complex, and controversial projects that might require flexible management and policy interpretation or negotiation.

 
Leslie grew up in Pensacola, Florida and went to school in Tampa, Florida. After beginning her career in south Florida, she moved to Hawaii in 2001 before moving to California in 2005/2006.

Leslie serves on the Certification Review Board of the Academy of Board Certified Environmental Professionals. She is a member of the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) NEPA Working Group. Leslie started her NAEP involvement on the board of the Hawaii AEP chapter before moving to California. She now continues to be active in the California Chapter of AEP, previously serving in several chapter and state board positions. In her spare time, Leslie is a very active mother of a beautiful human daughter, a toddler-like German Shepard, and a teenage-like conure (bird).