ASD Speakers

	Gail Amos WA State Dept of Agriculture Pesticide Investigator with the WSDA. Chaired the Benton County (Washington) Spray Drift Task Force. Coordinated a massive pesticide application record call-in for Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla Counties to coincide with herbicide symptomology research producing real time data. Partnered with Washington State University Food and Environmental Quality Lab Tri-Cities on several research projects involving herbicide symptomology and the transport of herbicides. Co-Developed Leaf Indexing Management Tool for dating herbicide exposure. Background in production agriculture with a lot of seat time on an airblast sprayer.

	Alma Caballero OIC of Washington Alma Caballero is an Employment & Training Representative for OIC of Washington where she has provided trainings to farmworkers and their family members for over five years. She is actively certified to train farm working families through the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP)’s Health & Safety Programs and Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA); whose mission is empower farmworkers to protect themselves against pesticides and heat stress through health and safety education.

	Wilma Cartagena Wa State Human Rights Commission Wilma Cartagena is a Civil Rights Investigator with the Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC). She has been with the WSHR Commission for 9 and a half years, and her main focus is investigating discrimination complaints in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodation, credit, insurance and Whistleblower Retaliation (state employees). Ms. Cartagena has a Bachelor's degree in Education and a Masters Degree in Human Resources with emphasis in Employee Relations and Development. She is active in the community she works addressing social justice issues in the Latino/Hispanic Community. She is a member of the Eastern Washington University Advisory Board at the School of Public Service and also a Board Member of the North Central Washington Hispanic Chamber, among others. Ms. Cartagena is originally from Puerto Rico, and lived in Spokane for 15 years prior to her move to Wenatchee.

	Sergio Cervantes Washington State Patrol Sergio has been a Washington State Trooper for 10 years. WSP "El Protector" Trooper, Hispanic/Bilingual.

	Tammy Garren WA Dept. of Labor & Industries 20 years construction experience, 12 years agriculture experience, attended Illinois State University receiving a Bachelor's degree in Safety & Health in 2014, LNI Safety Inspector 2 years. Continually reaching out to improve safety in all industries.

	Rick Gleason UW NW Center for Occupational Health and Safety Rick has worked in the field of worker safety in the State of Washington for the last 39 years. He is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Washington in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences where he has taught for the last 21 years. He is the Course Director for the Region X OSHA Pacific Northwest Training Center. He worked for both Federal OSHA and L & I DOSH as an inspector and consultant for 13 years. He is a Certified Safety Professional (CCP) and a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH).

	Anna Gross Gradient Corporation Anna Gross is an environmental scientist with experience in the coordination of chemical regulatory compliance programs. Prior to joining Gradient, Ms. Gross worked at the US EPA in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention where she reviewed biopesticide applications for new chemicals. She has experience in local, national, and international project coordination and management facilitating between stakeholders from multiple sectors. Anna Gross es una científica ambiental con experiencia en la coordinación de programas de cumplimiento químico. Antes de trabajar en Gradient, la Sra. Gross trabajó en la Agencia de Protección Ambiental de los Estados Unidos (US EPA) en la Oficina de Seguridad Química y Prevención de la Contaminación, donde examinó las solicitudes de biopesticidas que contienen nuevos químicos. Tiene experiencia en coordinación y gestión de proyectos locales, nacionales e internacionales, facilitando entre múltiples sectores.

	Nathan Henyan School Risk Solutions Safety Consultant Nate Henyan honorably served 4 years in the United States Marine Corps where he was assigned to the Marine Corps Security Force Battalion and finished his enlistment as a machine gun section leader in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He is a commissioned police officer with over 17 years of experience in one of the largest police departments in Eastern Washington. He has served the citizens of his community as a patrol officer, detective and in his current assignment as a School Resource Officer at an alternative high school where he helps troubled youth. Nate has received formal training in Basic and Advanced Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, Security Assessments, FBI-LEEDA Leadership Training, YAHOO Internet Safety, Threat Assessment Team Training, Crime Scene Investigation, Homicide Investigation, and Active Shooter Response Training. He helped implement the Active Shooter response training which has since been adopted as the official active shooter response training in numerous districts around the State of Washington. Nate has trained over 1000 teachers, school employees, and administrators, in Active Shooter Response and has advised in general safety improvements for both public and private entities.

	Tom Hoffmann WA State Dept. of Agriculture Tom was raised on a dairy, hog, and crop farm in Minnesota. He holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Agronomy and Soil Science and in Agricultural Education from the University of Minnesota. He was also awarded a Master of Arts degree in Vocational and Technical Education from University of Minnesota as well as a Master of Science degree in Organization Development from Central Washington University. Tom was an assistant production manager for a farm in southern Minnesota and for a seed farm in western Wisconsin. He was also a WSU Area Extension Educator for 16 years, serving in Whitman, Lincoln, Adams, Kittitas, and Yakima Counties. In 1998, Tom began his career with WSDA as the Technical Assistance Specialist and Statewide Program Coordinator for the Washington State Department of Agriculture's Chemigation and Fertigation Technical Assistance Program. In 2016, he assumed duties as the Education and Outreach Services supervisor within the Technical Services and Education Program. He is the department’s primary contact on soil fumigation and irrigation. His duties also include the federal Worker Protection Standard.

	Jeff Lutz WA State Farm Bureau Jeff Lütz is Safety Director for the WA State Farm Bureau and has been in Agriculture all his life. Jeff grew up on the family farm in Wenatchee, WA and sold his portion of the business in 1996 and began work at WA State Farm Bureau as the only Safety Director for WFB Retro/Safety, a workers’ comp dividend program. WFB now has two more Safety Directors that work with Jeff covering the entire State of WA. Jeff and his fellow Safety Directors are responsible for prevention of injuries and illnesses for their members via training and education of employers and employees. Jeff’s common sense Ag background approach tends to put members at ease and allow for frank exchange of ideas for implementation of safety & health best practices in the workplace. Jeff is a bi-lingual (English/Spanish) Certified Safety & Health Specialist with advanced training in safety & health. As a former owner/operator he understands what owners, managers and lead workers must do to get the job done. One of Jeff’s common sayings is, “it’s easy to grow crops but it’s hard to manage people.”

	Bruce Olson CSP WA State Dept. of Agriculture In the past Bruce has owned several small pesticide application businesses. In Western Oregon he operated a pesticide application and tree care business providing services to residential, business and industrial customers. In Eastern Oregon & Washington I provided pesticide application and tractor contracting services to multiple large scale poplar tree plantations. Bruce worked at Chateau Ste. Michelle’s vineyards managing pesticide applications. In early 2000’s he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Occupational Safety & Health and attained the Certified Safety Profession certification several years ago. Since 2006 Bruce has served as the Pesticide Compliance Investigator for WSDA covering Chelan and Okanogan counties.

0	Armando Pena-Flores Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Armando Pena is the Production Senior Supervisor for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. He started with the company 22 years ago as a pruner, then became an irrigation foreman for about 5 years. Soon he became interested in production and that's where he as been for the last 17 years. Armando has attended several agriculture courses at Yakima Valley Community College.

	Michael Peterson Gradient Corporation Michael Peterson is a board-certified toxicologist with Gradient, a human health and risk sciences consulting firm. He specializes in the evaluation of risks from human chemical exposures, including pesticides. He has evaluated risks from exposure to pesticides in a variety of contexts, including drift evaluations as well as occupational exposures from roadside and hand sprayer applications. His expertise also includes food safety, in particular the evolution of pesticide and other chemical residues in food or food contact materials. He resides in Leavenworth with his family.

	Raymundo Rivas Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Raymundo Rivas has been a safety professional for nearly 15 years and is currently employed with Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. He has over 20 years of experience in the agriculture and construction industries. Ray is the former Statewide Agriculture Safety Technical Specialist. His licenses and certification include but are not limited to - Ives Forklift Instructor, ATV Instructor, Confined Spage and Lock Out Tag Out trainer.

	Tito Rodriguez WA Dept. of Health Tito Rodriguez, RS, is a Registered Sanitarian and public health advisor in the Pesticide and Section of the Office of Environmental Public Health at the Washington Department of Health. He documents health effects of pesticide poisonings in Washington State, and is responsible for investigations and classification of pesticide-related incidents. Most of his investigations relate to occupational and home exposures. Mr. Rodriguez has been a Registered Sanitarian the State of Washington since 1992. He studied life sciences at Catholic University and Inter-American University of Puerto Rico. He graduated in Environmental Health at Indiana State University in 1988, and since then has worked in environmental health at the county and state level at Michigan and Washington State.

	Juanita Serrano OIC of Washington Juanita is a bilingual English/Spanish speaking professional, that loves interacting with our community and helping improve our farmworkers’ lives. I have been with OIC of Washington for over 3 ½ years as an Employment and Training Representative with the National Farmworker Jobs Program, and just recently started as a Safety Trainer for the Ag. Labor Skills and Safety Program in June 2016. I am currently a Certified CPR, First Aid Instructor, a Certified Forklift Safety Trainer, a WSDA- L & I Worker Protection Standards Certified Trainer, an AFOP Pesticide Safety & LEAF Certified Trainer, an AFOP Heat Stress Prevention Certified Trainer, and am able to conduct Tractor Safety, Ladder Safety, Sexual Harassment Prevention trainings, and many other Employment & Placement related trainings. When working for a staffing company as a Staffing Manager/On-site Coordinator for 3 years before coming to OIC’s National Farmworker Jobs Program, I worked closely with fruit warehouse labor forces, and manufacturing facilities, as well as all professional positions within those industries. At times I assisted with the documentation for Accident and Incident Reports. I performed English and Spanish Safety Orientations for all personnel approved to work at those locations. All orientations included extensive safety procedures, the knowledge of Lock out Tag Out, and a demonstration of suiting up with the appropriate Personal Protection Equipment for the required locations.

	Jennifer Sievert WA Dept. of Health Jennifer has worked in occupational public health for 15 years. Currently, she is a bilingual investigator in Washington’s Pesticide Illness Prevention Program. In the follow-up investigation on reports of illness, she interviews those affected and considers health and toxicological data to determine whether or not the illness is related to the pesticide exposure. Washington’s data contributes to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health’s Pesticide Illness and Injury Surveillance and the US Environmental Protection Agency to further research and protect workers.

	Tisa Soeteber WA Dept. of Labor & Industries Tisa Soeteber is the Agricultural Employment Standards Specialist with the Department of Labor & Industries. She has been employed by the State of Washington for 19 years. She manages and supervises a team of field staff who focus on providing consultations and ensuring compliance with the Farm Labor Contractor Act, Farm Internship Project, Agricultural Employment Standards, Minimum Wage Act, and Wage Payment Act. Tisa has conducted training seminars, provided informative consultations and performed investigations involving various statutes related to wage & hour. She also has an extensive background working with various agricultural crops including tomatoes, kiwis, walnuts, almonds, prunes, peaches, apples, pears and cherries.

	Juanita Soto WA State Human Rights Commission San Juanita Soto has worked in civil rights for over two decades for the Washington State Human Rights Commission. She has investigated hundreds of discrimination complaints. Juanita is a Spanish bi-lingual, Civil Rights Investigator 4 and currently conducts outreach and training in Central Washington with an emphasis on farm worker issues.

	Eric Tofte Evergreen Safety Council Eric Tofte, who is a Certified Occupational Safety Specialist (COSS) has worked for Evergreen Safety Council for over 15 years as an industrial safety & health trainer and consultant and is now Director of Training and Consultation for Evergreen. He has developed and wrote comprehensive safety programs in several subjects including: accident prevention, hazardous materials handling, hazardous materials emergency response actions, construction safety, confined space entry and rescue, fall protection, safety committee rules, personal protective equipment, emergency disaster preparedness plans and confined space entry and non-entry rescue. Eric has been a presenter and speaker at several conferences including the Washington State Governor’s Safety Conference, National Safety Councils National Congress and the Evergreen Rural Water Association annual conference. Prior to Eric’s time at Evergreen he was Deputy Director of Chelan County Emergency Management for over 12 years. During his career Eric has been responsible for assisting businesses in the Chelan County area in developing disaster response / emergency preparedness plans. He was instrumental in the development of Chelan County’s hazardous materials emergency response plan, trained public safety in hazardous materials response and was part of the hazmat team. Eric was also responsible for the development of the Chelan County comprehensive emergency management plan, during his time with Chelan County.

	Matt West WA Dept. of Agriculture Matt is a bilingual (Spanish) investigator with the WSDA Pesticide Management Division-Compliance program based out of the East Wenatchee office whose coverage areas include Douglas and Grant Counties.

	Steven Yunker WA Dept. of Labor & Industries Steve has worked for the Department of Labor and Industries for 24 years, first as a worker’s comp claims manager, then as a safety inspector, and now as a safety and health supervisor. Prior to L&I, Steve worked in the agriculture, commercial fishing, and cannery industries. His time in worker’s comp made him interested in actively working to prevent the injuries that he dealt with on a daily basis.