STF&E 2016

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, and Tennessee Clean Fuels jointly hosted the second annual Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Forum and Expo (STF&E) from May 12-13, 2016 at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The program celebrated Clean Air Month and highlighted projects to improve air quality through transportation innovation. The forum brought together a variety of speakers, including representatives from UPS, Lyft, Proterra, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and more.

Click here to view the 2016 STF&E agenda.

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Steve Acenbrak, P.E., LEED AP, PLWF - Director of Transportation, City of Roswell, GA

Steve served as the City of Roswell’s Transportation Director from 2002 – 2006. He returned on October 20, 2008, after working two years as the Director of Civil Engineering for Pond 
& Company. Steve first joined the City of Roswell as its Deputy Transportation Director in 2001. He has more than 28 years of engineering and management experience.

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Chuck Arnold - Vice President, Business and Strategic Development, Ingram Barge Company

Chuck Arnold was named Vice President, Business and Strategic Development, for Ingram Barge Company in 2014.  In addition, Chuck was named Vice President, Custom Fuel Service in September 2015.  Chuck previously served as Assistant Treasurer for Ingram Industries Inc. since 2005. Mr. Arnold joined Ingram Barge Company as Senior Analyst in Planning and Analysis in 2003 and later moved to Ingram Industries in 2004 as Treasury Director.  Mr. Arnold has over ten years of experience in a wide range of finance-related positions.  Prior to Ingram, he worked as an associate sell-side analyst covering medical device stocks for FTN Midwest Research. Mr. Arnold holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Belmont University’s Massey Graduate School of Business.

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Mike Casteel - Director of Fleet Procurement, UPS

Mike has been with UPS for 35 years.   His experience spans a variety of managerial positions in operations, supply management, risk management, energy and automotive related procurement roles. Currently, Mike is responsible for all fleet related procurement activities for UPS in the US and Canada, and has a leading role in developing the financial strategies involved in the deployment of the UPS alternative fuel fleet, including the large scale natural gas fleet projects currently underway. Mike holds multiple certifications in negotiations, supply chain management and is a certified procurement manager.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in business and is a trained financial analyst. 

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Robert Cheney - Director of Business Development & Strategic Planning, AR, TN, AL & KY Area, Waste Management, Inc.

Robert Cheney has more than twenty-five years of experience in the environmental field.  Robert’s professional focus has been on developing strategies designed to position Waste Management to meet customer’s economic, environmental and sustainability goals.  Robert is currently the Director of Business Development & Strategic Planning for the AR, TN, AL, KY Area. Past positions held at Waste Management include: Director of Business Development - TN, AL, KY (2007 - 2010) and Construction Services Sales Manager - TN, AL, KY (2003 - 2007). Positions held prior to Waste Management include: Owner/President - Premier Disposal Services – Nashville, TN (2000 - 2003), Browning-Ferris Industries – Sales, Government Affairs, Public Sector, Operations Management and District Management – Nashville, TN and Pittsburgh, PA (1989 – 2000). Robert currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Middle TN Clean Fuels Coalition. Robert has a BS in Marketing with a Minor in Business Administration from Middle Tennessee State University. 

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Scott Curran, Ph.D. - R&D Staff Member, Fuels, Engines, and Emissions Research Center, Oak Ridge National Lab

Scott Curran is a research and development staff member in the Fuels Engines and Emissions Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Scott is a principal investigator for light-duty advanced combustion research projects. He is also involved in vehicle systems research projects, well-to-wheels analysis for mobile and stationary power sources, and is an active collaborator with DOE Clean Cities for alternative fuels outreach and education and serves on the board of directors for the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition. He served as the vehicle lead for the ORNL Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy (AMIE) project where ORNL 3D-printed a working range extender vehicle and a small house which share energy. He received his BS and MS in mechanical engineering and his Ph.D. in energy science and engineering all from the University of Tennessee - Knoxville.

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James DeMouy, P.E. - Vice President of Environmental, Health, Safety and Sustainability (EHSS), Bridgestone Americas, Inc.

James (Jim) DeMouy, P.E. is Vice President of Environmental, Health, Safety and Sustainability (EHSS) for Bridgestone Americas, Inc (BSAM).  In his current role, Jim provides EHSS strategic and operational leadership for the global Bridgestone Americas enterprise, including more than 50 manufacturing facilities globally and 2500 retail/service centers as part of the Bridgestone Americas Retail Operations (BSRO) network throughout the U.S. Under Jim’s leadership, BSAM aims to further strengthen and accelerate its already robust EHSS programs under Bridgestone Corporation’s One Team, One Planet global framework.

Jim is an accomplished EHSS Executive with a strong drive for regulatory compliance, injury prevention, health initiatives, environmental protection and sustainability and social responsibility. He has excelled in division management, at the manufacturing level and in large scale EHSS operations roles on a global scale. Prior to joining Bridgestone in October 2015, Jim most recently served as Vice President, EHS and CSR for Alstom Thermal Power in Europe.  At Alstom, Jim led a large global team overseeing EHS, crisis management and sustainability programs for the Baden, Switzerland-based business of more than 35,000 employees.  Prior to Alstom, Jim worked at General Electric (GE) as General Manager of Environmental Health and Safety for Power Generation Services located in Atlanta, Ga. He also held a number of leadership roles in chemical manufacturing and strip mining with Engelhard Corporation, and has experience in environmental consulting. Jim also obtained a Florida Professional Engineering License. Jim earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and both a Master of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Business Administration in International Business degree from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.

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Tommy Hayes - Policy Partnerships Manager, Lyft

Tommy Hayes is the Policy Partnerships Manager at Lyft. He works with partner organizations and government agencies to advance the inclusive, empowering, and sustainable mobility vision of Lyft. By filling the empty seats in cars and reconnecting communities through better transportation, Lyft aims to drive social, economic, and environmental progress through ridesharing. Before Lyft, Tommy was a Marketing Manager at Cleantech Group. Prior to that, he was an Advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco, where he worked on energy and transportation policy. Tommy holds a B.S. from the University of Notre Dame and earned a joint MBA and Master of Environmental Management at Yale University.

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Gregory W. Heath, DHSc, MPH - Guerry Professor and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Gregory W. Heath is Guerry Professor of Health and Human Performance and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.  He also serves as Director of Research at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Chattanooga.  Dr. Heath was formally with the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where he spent over 20 years initially starting as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer.  He has a background in physiology, nutrition, and epidemiology and holds both his masters and doctoral degrees from Loma Linda University School of Public Health in California.  Dr. Heath has spent most of his professional career devoted to the understanding and promotion of physical activity and exercise for the enhancement of health as well as the prevention and management of chronic diseases.  He is widely published in the preventive medicine and public health literature.  Dr. Heath is a fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association’s Council on Epidemiology and Prevention.

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Robert J. Martineau, Jr. - Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

Robert “Bob” Martineau was selected seventh Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) by Governor Bill Haslam in January 2011. He leads a diverse, dynamic department responsible for acting as the chief environmental and natural resources regulatory agency in Tennessee and managing the Tennessee State Park system. Commissioner Martineau spent more than 25 years as an attorney in the field of environmental law. This includes seven years of service in the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. EPA in Washington, D.C. and the last decade as a partner in private practice at Waller in Nashville. In private practice, Martineau helped clients, including business and local government, anticipate issues proactively, navigate permit processes, solve problems and establish effective environmental management programs. Commissioner Martineau has long been recognized as one of Tennessee’s foremost experts and authors on environmental law, particularly as it relates to the Clean Air Act and using plain English to communicate law and policy. In August 2014, Martineau was elected President of the Environmental Council of the States, a group representing heads of state environmental agencies. He is a Leadership Nashville and Leadership Tennessee graduate and currently serves on the Board of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. In 2013, Commissioner Martineau received the Women’s Political Collaborative of Tennessee’s Good Guy Award, and in 2014, the Nashville Business Journal named him a Most Admired CEO. Commissioner Martineau earned his law degree at the University of Cincinnati and holds a bachelors degree from St. John’s University (Minnesota).

Shari Meghreblian, Ph.D. - Deputy Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

Since joining the TN Department of Environment and Conservation in 2011, Dr. Shari Meghreblian has overseen the department’s environmental air, land and water regulatory programs.  She has been recognized for her ability to provide strategic insight and analyze processes and procedures to streamline business practices and has been appointed to several boards and councils supporting three different departments of state government.  Her collaborative work style both inside and outside the Department has helped advance environmental and public health goals while also working to ensure a sustainable climate for community growth.  In 2013 she was appointed by the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) to serve as the new Chair of the ECOS Federal Facilities Forum and was selected as Co-Chair for Tennessee Region’s Roundtable State Advisors Committee.  She was most recently recognized as a “Woman of Influence in Public Policy” for 2016 by the Nashville Business Journal. 

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Eric McCarthy - Vice President Government Relations and General Counsel, Proterra, Inc.

Eric McCarthy is the Vice President of Government Relations, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Proterra Inc, the nation’s leading provider of battery all-electric transit buses.  Committed to improving public mobility solutions, Eric has served on the Greenville County Roads Advisory Commission and is a member of the Upstate Transit Coalition and Upstate SC Alliance.  Eric brings nearly twenty years of executive leadership experience to Proterra. Before joining Proterra, he served as General Counsel of both private and public companies, including Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc., a Honeywell subsidiary. Prior to joining Honeywell, Eric was an antitrust trial litigator, and was a Partner in the Antitrust & Competition practice groups of Latham & Watkins LLP and Howrey in Washington, D.C. He attended Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

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Brad Nemeth - Vice President of Sustainability, ThyssenKrupp

Brad is ThyssenKrupp Elevator’s sustainable efficiency officer for the Americas, and is responsible for the development, implementation and messaging for all sustainable initiatives and activities in North and South America. Brad’s overarching objective is to integrate sustainability and innovation to improve environmental performance of products and services, create new marketing channels, develop new business opportunities, and generate significant cost savings. His background is in engineering and has over 25 years of experience in disciplines including manufacturing, operations, supply chain, strategy, IT, R & D, sustainability and technology. Brad is also part of a global strategy team tasked with developing the sustainable efficiency program that creates a common tactical plan across all operating units. Brad has a BS in Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, as well as an MBA and LEED GA.

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Adetokunbo "Toks" Omishakin - Deputy Commissioner / Chief of Environment & Planning Bureau, Tennessee Department of Transportation

In October of 2011, Toks Omishakin was appointed Assistant Commissioner and Chief of the Bureau of Environment and Planning at the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). In this position, he leads TDOT's continued success in establishing environmental and transportation planning, policy, and the performance necessary to make it one of the best DOT’s in the country. He is responsible for the bureau’s administrative and project budget that exceeds $250 million annually. He leads the activities of the divisions of Environment, Long-Range Planning, and Multimodal Transportation Resources. In 2014, he was appointed Deputy Commissioner.

Prior to joining TDOT, Toks served as the Director of Healthy Living Initiatives in the Office of Mayor - Karl Dean in Nashville, Tennessee.  There he led efforts to develop a Complete Streets policy for Nashville and helped established a more balanced approach to transportation planning and design for the city.  He also spearheaded the creation of two Bicycle Sharing programs (Nashville BCycle and Nashville Green Bikes) for Metro Nashville. He was the Mayor’s liaison to several council’s and boards appointed to improve the built environment, transportation and overall livability of the city. Mr. Omishakin has been a speaker and presenter at several national and international conferences and his work has been published in The American Journal of Preventative Medicine and profiled in The Wall Street Journal, HBO Documentaries and Newsweek magazine.  He serves on the Board of Directors for America Walks and the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway. He is also an active member of the American Planning Association, Association of Pedestrian & Bicycle Professionals and the Institute of Transportation Engineers. Toks holds a Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) with concentrations in transportation planning and urban design from Jackson State University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Technology from Mississippi Valley State University.

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Kevin Triplett - Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development

Kevin Triplett was appointed in April, 2015 to the cabinet of Governor Bill Haslam as commissioner of Tourist Development. Prior to joining Gov. Haslam’s team, Triplett served Bristol Motor Speedway as vice-president of public affairs, overseeing government and community relations, special initiatives such as tourism and community relationships, and development. Before joining BMS in January 2005, Triplett worked for NASCAR, the sport’s sanctioning body from March 1994 until June 2003, beginning in the public relations department, overseeing several of NASCAR’s 50th Anniversary projects. He ended his tenure with NASCAR as managing director of business operations. In that position he directed operation and administration aspects of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Camping World Truck Series. The East Tennessee State graduate also managed media and public relations for several NASCAR sponsors, teams and drivers, including Dale Earnhardt.

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Kris Wysong - Product Manager, Knoxville Locomotive Works

Kris Wysong is the Product Manager for Knoxville Locomotive Works (KLW), the only green locomotive manufacturer in Tennessee and producer of the KLW Single-Engine Series line of green locomotives. As Product Manager, Mr. Wysong is very knowledgeable about locomotive emissions and fuel consumption as well as EPA regulations for locomotive emissions. As a result, KLW is on the cutting edge of providing railroads with accurate emissions and fuel information to help them determine how much they could positively impact their operation and the surrounding area by using green locomotives. Mr. Wysong is a graduate of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a B.F.A. in Graphic Design.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Keynote Presentation - Eric McCarthy, Proterra

Panel - "Innovation in Fleets and Fuels"
Mike Casteel, UPS
Robert Cheney, Waste Management
Tommy Hayes, Lyft

Panel - "Cleaner Technology for Off-Road Transportation"
Chuck Arnold, Ingram Barge
Brad Nemeth, ThyssenKrupp
Kris Wysong, Knoxville Locomotive Works

2016 Tennessee Green Fleets Certification Awards Ceremony

Alternative Fuel Vehicle and Equipment Showcase

Networking Reception - sponsored by Chattanooga Gas, Lightning Hybrids, and Waste Management

Friday, May 13, 2016

Keynote Presentation - Kevin Triplett, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development

Panel - "One Big Idea"
Smoky Mountains National Park
Tennessee Department of Transportation
Sharp Transport

Breakout Session A - "Sustainable Transportation Research and Development"
Scott Curran, Ph.D., Oak Ridge National Laboratory
James (Jim) DeMouy, P.E., Bridgestone Americas Inc.
Gregory W. Heath, DHSc, MPH, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Breakout Session B - "Local Government Initiatives"
Steve Acenbrak, P.E., LEED AP, PWLF, City of Roswell, GA
Blythe Bailey, Chattanooga Department of Transportation
Shawn Lindsey, City of Athens

2016 Sustainable Transportation Awards Ceremony
Robert J. Martineau, Jr., Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Shari Meghreblian, PhD, Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Toks Omishakin, Deputy Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Transportation