e-Manifest Advisory Board Membership Roster and Bios

The e-Manifest Advisory Board provides critical support and input to the development and operation of the e-Manifest system. Below is the current e-Manifest Advisory Board roster (in alphabetical order) as well as their biographies.

On this page:

Terry Baer

Section Manager for Solid/Hazardous Waste Program, Arizona  Department of Environmental Quality, State Representative Member

Mr. Terry Baer is the Section Manager for the Solid & Hazardous Waste Program with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). In his position, Mr. Baer works with all types of generators, transporters, and treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) with regards to compliance, permitting, data submissions, pollution prevention, and enforcement. Prior to joining the agency, Mr. Baer worked in the hazardous waste industry (private sector) for 16 years. During that time, he worked in multiple roles ranging from on-site services, lab packing, emergency response, sales, transportation, and TSDF operations. Mr. Baer started with the ADEQ in August of 2016 and provided the agency with a perspective from the regulated community. ADEQ uses manifest data for monitoring and tracking waste generation and developing inspection initiatives. Due to Mr. Baer’s experience, he was crucial in the restructuring and reorganizing ADEQ’s manifest data. Mr. Baer earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from University of Phoenix. 

Jason Hawksford

Environmental Specialist, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, State Representative Member 

Mr. Jason Hawksford currently serves as the state lead staff for RCRAInfo data management at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), including the e-Manifest, Biennial Report, and Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement modules. In this position, he has gained extensive knowledge with the challenges posed by the collection, compilation, and analysis of both individual and mass manifest data. Minnesota has been collecting and analyzing manifest data for nearly 35 years, and he brings this long experience to the Board. 

He also has considerable experience with fee-based regulatory systems. Minnesota’s hazardous waste regulatory program is supported by user fees assessed to several thousand hazardous waste generators. Administering these fees involves considerable data collection and quality assurance review, including determining equity of fee assessment and systemic and individual error identification and correction. As a support staff to this program, Mr. Hawksford is continuously involved in the fee review and administration process. In addition to these specific skills, as a senior hazardous waste inspector, he has acquired a comprehensive knowledge of hazardous waste generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal under federal, state, and local regulations, as well as the data systems to manage information necessary to ensure proper oversight of these requirements. 

Jennifer Hopper

Enforcement and Compliance Manager, Maryland Department of Environment, State Representative Member

Ms. Hopper currently serves as the Section Head of the Hazardous Certification and Reporting Section. Ms. Hopper started in this position in 2011 and is responsible for issuing hazardous waste generator site identification (EPA ID) and special medical waste generator site identification numbers; certifying Controlled Hazardous substance and special medical waste haulers and vehicles; collecting and reviewing biennial hazardous waste reports; and overseeing the e-Manifest system.

In addition, Ms. Hopper also oversees the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act requirements, which includes Tier II and Toxic Release Inventory reporting. Ms. Hopper also serves as the Enforcement and Compliance (E&C) Manager for Land and Materials Administration (LMA) since 2009. Ms. Hopper is responsible for tracking and monitoring all enforcement cases from the time an action is issued until it is paid in full, including approving penalty payments and issuing penalty invoices. As the E&C Manager, Ms. Hopper is responsible for collecting, reviewing, and reporting quarterly E&C numbers, drafting the E&C Annual Report for LMA, and providing penalty summary for Maryland Department of Environment’s (MDE) press releases. Lastly, Ms. Hopper is the clearinghouse representative for LMA which requires her to review all clearinghouses and provide comments on behalf of LMA.

Ms. Hopper began her career at MDE in 2005 working as the assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Business Operations. She then obtained a position as the assistant to the Director of LMA in 2007. Ms. Hopper has served on multiple work groups within EPA including the RCRAInfo Version 6 Team (2017), Biennial Report Design Team (2015-2018), and Change Management Team (2017-2018). Ms. Hopper recently began her three-year term as Region III representative on the Program Development and Data Task Force within the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO) (2022-2024).

Dr. Michelle Liu

Professor of Information Technology and Cybersecurity at Marymount University’s School of Technology and Innovation

Dr. Liu is a tenured Full Professor of Information Technology and Cybersecurity at Marymount University’s School of Technology and Innovation in Arlington, VA. She received her doctoral degree in Information Systems from Boston University. She also holds a Master's degree in Management Information Systems from Tianjin Polytechnic University in China and a Bachelor of Engineering degree in International Trade of Textiles from Nankai University, China. Dr. Liu's teaching portfolio spans information technology applications, database technology, security and privacy of medical devices, and risk management. Her research delves into the dynamic interplay between emerging technologies and human decision-making, particularly examining the interaction of innovations like telehealth with users, organizational security, and privacy considerations. She is also a certified “Electronic Management Records Practitioner” (Electronic Records Management Practitioner (ERMp) Training Program- ERMp Certificate, Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM), May 2012).

Her scholarly contributions have been featured in IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, Telematics and Informatics, the Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, the Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research, and Practice, and The Learning Organization, among others. In collaboration with colleagues, she has earned two Best Paper Awards, one Distinguished Paper Award, and two Best Paper Finalist Awards at various international and national conferences. Dr. Liu's involvement in NSF grants aims to innovate STEM education, enhancing workforce diversity and readiness. She also holds leadership roles in multiple professional organizations and communities, including UPE (Upsilon Pi Epsilon), and INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences), to foster STEM education and broaden participation. Dr. Liu is a staunch believer in, advocate for, and practitioner of faculty-student collaborative research, which leads to professional conference presentations and peer-reviewed journal publications.

Angie Martin, PE

Senior Vice President, Heritage Environmental Services, Industry Representative Member

Ms. Angela Martin currently serves as Senior Vice President (2021-present, formerly VP 2013-2021) at Heritage Environmental Services overseeing national emergency response, waste allocation, sustainability, and customer Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Hazardous Materials training efforts. Ms. Martin has participated in many national scale emergency response efforts and leads Heritage's rapid response team. Ms. Martin participates in the implementation of new environmental regulations within Heritage and frequently speaks on emerging regulatory trends and challenges including sustainability, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), and various RCRA-related topics. She works with industry partners to ensure the proper distribution of hazardous and industrial wastes for their customers.

Ms. Martin owned and was president of Blue Sky Engineering (2006-2013) providing environmental engineering and consulting services for generators, transporters, and treatment storage and disposal facilities (TSDF). She was a senior engineer at RQAW Corporation performing environmental engineering and consulting, as well as wastewater treatment design and bidding (2002-2006). She was a Program Manager for Audits and then Permits in the Corporate Environmental Compliance Department at Heritage Environmental Services where she developed an internal audit program, wrote the first version of the Heritage Manifest Manual, worked closely with the IT department to improve manifest and biennial report production, and wrote hazardous waste permit applications for seven hazardous waste TSDFs (1992-2002). Ms. Martin was a cooperative education student at Heritage (1988-2002) where she performed environmental sampling, industrial hygiene work, and emergency response.

Ms. Martin is currently the Vice President of the Spill Control Association of America (2021-2023, formerly the secretary 2019-2021, board member 2017-2019), the President of The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (2021-2022, formerly the VP 2020-2021, board member 2017-2020), represents Heritage on the Environmental Technology Council (currently the Chairperson, formerly the president 2021, member 2013-present), and is a member of the Purdue University Environmental and Ecological Engineering External Advisory Council (2019-2022).

Sixto Ortiz

Senior Manager, WM, Industry Representative Member

Mr. Sixto Ortiz is the Senior Manager for Corporate Environmental Protection at WM, headquartered in Houston, Texas. He has served in this position since 2019 and is responsible for supporting WM’s hazardous waste treatment and disposal operations, including regulatory advocacy, environmental policy and strategy development, and overall technical support. In his current role, Mr. Ortiz also represents WM in the Environmental Technology Council, an industry association based in Washington, DC, that represents the interests of the hazardous waste industry.

Prior to WM, Mr. Ortiz was a Senior Environmental Consultant in 2018 for Encino Environmental Services LLC, a Houston-based consultancy serving the needs of the oil and gas industry. From 2012 to 2017, Mr. Ortiz held various environmental roles at Broken Hill Proprietary, (BHP) where he supported the company’s onshore U.S. shale assets. During his time at BHP, Mr. Ortiz also served as a BHP representative in the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA) Water Committee, an industry advocacy group leading discussions of all water matters potentially impacting upstream and downstream industry activities and advising the TXOGA Legislative Committee on the impacts to industry of proposed water legislation.

Over his 31-year career, Mr. Ortiz has held environmental compliance positions at various companies – such as Murphy Exploration and Production, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company – in both the downstream and upstream sectors of the oil and gas industry, including chemicals, refining, and exploration and production. Mr. Ortiz began his career in 1991 at the Phillips Petroleum refinery in Sweeny, Texas, working as an environmental chemist. Mr. Ortiz holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Oklahoma and also holds a master’s degree in Environmental Management from the University of Houston – Clear Lake. He is a Registered Environmental Manager (REM) with the National Registry of Environmental Professionals.

Dr. Albert Tay

Associate Professor of Information Technology and Cybersecurity, Brigham Young University

Dr. Tay is an Associate Professor of Information Technology and Cybersecurity at Brigham Young University. He is an accomplished academic and information technology and cybersecurity expert with a diverse background in education, research, and professional practice. Dr. Tay's interdisciplinary expertise spans areas such as Data Communication, Human-Computer Interaction, Management Information Systems, and Organizational Communication.

Dr. Tay serves as Director for the Cybersecurity Research Lab, directing activities, and mentoring both undergraduate and graduate students. His research focuses on infrastructure hardening, cybersecurity education, and integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into cybersecurity. Dr. Tay's commitment to advancing knowledge in his field is evident through his extensive publication record and active participation in conferences, where he shares insights on topics ranging from cybersecurity education to effective IT support in distributed environments. Additionally, his professional experience includes managing Utah’s statewide data system program and infrastructure operations, further enhancing his holistic perspective on information management and security.

Jackie Velazquez, PE

Senior Environmental Manager, A.P. Moller - Maersk, Industry Representative Member

Jackie Velazquez currently serves as a Senior Environmental Manager at A.P. Moller – Maersk and lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. She is responsible for driving global environmental process improvements for Maersk landside assets in the United States and around the world. Velazquez has worked in the environmental industry since 2008. Previously, she was the Director of Environmental Compliance at Encamp, Inc. after more than six years at Marathon Petroleum Corporation. While at Marathon, Velazquez served in various roles, where she provided regulatory advocacy support and compliance supervision for logistics, storage, and refining assets.

Prior to Marathon, Velazquez was an Environmental Engineer for Ford Motor Company, an Environmental Engineer for Leggette, Brashears & Graham, Inc., and a Civil/Environmental Engineer for Norris & Associates. She is a graduate of Marquette University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. She is also a licensed professional engineer in the states of Michigan and Wisconsin. She has served as Secretary of the Detroit Local Emergency Planning Committee, an industry member of the St. John the Baptist Parish LEPC, and a board member of local chapters of the American Society of Civil Engineers and Engineers without Borders.

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Last updated on August 13, 2024