SPECCO Team
Justino R. Ferrer Hopgood, Principal
PE, CEA, CPSWQ, REM, PA, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, 1989. Years of Experience: 25
Justino is a Professional Engineer, Registered Environmental Manager and Certified Professional in Storm Water Quality who has been involved in a diverse range of environmental projects involving small and large-scale. Mr. Ferrer is also LEED Accredited and a certified Green Globes Professional.
Providing technical guidance on issues involving compliance with and interpretation of local and national environmental regulations, and site environmental permits. Evaluating and communicating new legal and other requirements to site and regional leadership. Identifying continuous improvement opportunities and developing and executing action plans to mature environmental and HSE programs.
Working to establish pollution prevention and waste management activities to reduce environmental impact and liability. Developing and improving site environmental procedures, standard work, and data collection methods. Analyzing data, performing trend analysis, and identifying preventative and corrective actions to maintain compliance. Educating site personnel on environmental requirements and developing, updating, and delivering training.
Conducting periodic compliance reviews and auditing of regional sites, and manages sections of the annual site self-assessment compliance assurance process. Leading and participates in environmental related incident investigations and root cause analyses. Assisting in resolving environmental non-compliance, enforcement actions, and litigation. Preparing and submitting routine environmental reports to regulatory agencies. Reviewing regulatory reports and permit applications prepared by site staff.
Documenting and streamlining emission inventory and reporting preparation processes. Providing expertise for and reviewing environmental management of changes. Supporting new equipment installations, site consolidations, and capital planning. Working with clients to help ensure timely and sustainable closure of all environmental corrective actions. Developing and implemented storm water management plans required by State and Federal NPDES regulations.
He has more than 25 years of program management specializing in environmental site assessments; well field planning and water use permitting; regulatory compliance; wetland delineation, jurisdictional determination, individual permits, mitigation, solid and hazardous waste management; IDAQ, RCRA compliance audits; remedial investigations and feasibility studies; restoration of impacted groundwater and soil; erosion control, Asbestos, Lead, Mold, PCA, and NPDES permitting.
Justino has a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and a Master in Business Administration and has completed numerous professional services training courses on Environmental Management. He also has considerable experience in the design and implementation of water, wastewater, stormwater, and rainwater harvesting treatment systems.
Emily Dominicci, CFO/VP
Puerto Rico University CAAM, BS (Industrial Engineering), 1989. Years of Experience: 10
Emily provides both operational and programmatic support to the organization. As CFO she supervises the finance unit and is the chief financial spokesperson for the organization.
Mrs. Dominicci worked for over 12 years with electronic companies such as Intel, as a Manufacturing Engineer, then promoted to New Products Engineer, and finally as a Customer Service Engineer.
Mrs. Dominicci has over 20 years of experience as a SPECCO Associate, possessing detailed organizational skills and superb attention to details. Her experience includes forecast and tracking of SPECCO project deliverables as well as development of invoicing and supporting documentation. She designs and lead research projects, including both long and short-term projects.
Her role is to reports financial activities to the President and directly manage on all strategic and tactical matters as they relate to budget management, cost benefit analysis, forecasting needs and the securing of new funding in order to meet company targets and to contribute, as a board member, to the executive management of the company.
Mrs. Dominicci supervises staff and manages field efforts, develops and tracks budgets, ensures projects are completed on time and within budget, executes project tasks according to scopes of work, prepares project deliverables, and communicates with clients and subcontractors on a regular basis. She provides oversight on the day-to-day operations together with cash management, auditing, client and vendor engagements, and contracting efforts.
Emily is in charge of SPECCO’s QA/QC program by devising and establishing a company’s quality procedures, standards and specifications; reviewing customer requirements and ensuring that they are met; working with purchasing staff to establish quality requirements from external suppliers; setting up and maintaining controls and documentation procedures; and monitoring performance by gathering relevant data and producing statistical reports.
Jose Marquez, Senior Environmental Scientist
Jose Marquez has over 16 years of involvement in the environmental management field. Mr. Marquez is an asset to Specco due to his impeccable knowledge of Environmental safety and training. His skills include: designing, training, and implementation of Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments and PCA’s as per ASTM standard, concise report writing as routinely task, supervisory experience and leadership development, project management techniques applied on superfund sites, analysis, schematics, and effective communication/sharing of OSHA, EPA, DOT, HAZMAT, and FTA Regulations, development of accident Investigations, design and implementation of Health & Safety Plans, creation and discussion of procedures and programs, knowledge in drug & alcohol programs, including reasonable suspicion, OSHA General Industry and DOT HAZMAT Certified Instructor, day-to-day administration of system safety programs as well as supporting plans, like emergency preparedness, SWPP, and SPCC, targeted audits in Environmental, Occupational Health, Safety, and System Safety, experience in managing key aspects of FTA-regulated properties.
Jose has performed over 100 Phase II Environmental Site Assessments and conducted over 500 Phase I Environmental Site Assessments for commercial/real estate transactions. Jose has a master’s degree from the Environmental Management from the Metropolitan University of Puerto Rico.
Paula Medina, Marketing and Proposal Writing Consultant
Paula Medina has over fifteen years of experience as an accomplished technical writer. Mrs. Medina is responsible for the preparation of Specco’s environmental policy and proposal documents. Mrs. Medina is skilled in coordinating and performing field inspections and trainings, proofreading regulated documents and plans such as, Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan, Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans, Hazard Communication Program, Phase I and II, PCA and all similar.
Other roles include, but are not limited to, managing, organizing, and updating relevant data using database applications as well as providing an exceptional customer service to our clients. Her role also includes review of bids and request for proposals for identifying potential projects, and the preparation of bid/proposal packages for public, federal and private contract opportunities.
Mrs. Medina has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Comparative Literature from the Universidad de Puerto Rico.
Kendra Larsh, Client Relations Specialist/ Environmental Technician
Responsible for maintaining and growing existing client revenues while simultaneously identifying and acquiring new and profitable business opportunities and clients to ensure that SPECCO achieves its business and revenue objectives. Kendra is responsible for generating and growing profitable Gross Operating Revenues as established by the Director of Sales.
Kendra Larsh is a highly motivated and responsible young woman, eager to grow with Specco, her passion is client management, creating and sustaining long lasting and satisfied customer relationships. With two years’ experience under her belt, Miss Larsh is also a seasoned environmental technician with a background in assisting and performing Stormwater Management inspections, Environmental Site Assessments (Phase I and II), and asbestos inspections. Miss Larsh’s duties at Specco also include report writing and clerical duties.
Sara Torres, Contract Manager
Polytechnic University of PR, BS (Chemical Engineering), 2012 Polytechnic University of PR, MS, Environmental Management (Pending). Years of Experience: 5
Sara has good understanding of chemistry and chemical engineering fundamentals and technical knowledge. Mrs. Torres has over 5 years of experience in the environmental consulting area. She is a qualified Stormwater Management Inspector and LEED Green Asscosiate. She has conducted Stormwater, Erosion, and Sediment Control Inspections for construction projects and for industrial properties that are in compliance with the NPDES CGP and MSGP permits.
Her experience includes preparing reports and environmental plans according to good engineering practices, applicable federal and local regulations (e.g. NPDES SWPPP) and ASTM International standards (e.g. Phase I & II ESAs). She is familiarized with most of EPA environmental regulations.
Her role is determining if environmental regulatory applicability is needed, providing permitting and compliance assurance, environmental site assessment services, inspections for construction projects and responsible for monitoring systems in a facility for compliance with environmental regulations. Sara has provided environmental consulting services to private, industrial and commercial clients in the construction, manufacturing, legal, financial sectors among others.
Responsible for ensuring that all SPECCO’s resources and expertise are in place to support any assigned mission. Other roles include, but are not limited to, managing, organizing, and updating relevant data using database applications as well as providing an exceptional customer service to our clients. Her role also include review of bids and request for proposals for identifying potential projects, and the preparation of bid/proposal packages for public, federal and private contract opportunities.
Teaming Partner : Adams & Nichols Ecological Consultants
Jason Adams, M.Sc.
Principal Ecologist, Permitting Agent, Wetlands Scientist Jacksonville State University, MS (Ecology), 2000. Dauphin Island Sea Lab & Jacksonville State University, BS (Marine Biology), 1994. Years of Experience: 20
Mr. Adams brings over 20 years of scientific and professional environmental consulting experience as an ecologist, educator, business owner/manager and project director with a diverse skill set including a background in wildlife and fisheries ecology, personnel, contract and project management, agency, client, and subcontractor coordination. He is also an accomplished technical writer and has prepared and principled numerous environmental policy documents and proposals.
He has expert knowledge in conducting and often principles floral and faunal studies, USACE and State jurisdictional wetlands determinations/delineations, UMAM, wetland mitigation bank credit determination, Phase I, threatened and endangered species surveys (FL manatee, gopher tortoise, scrub jay, FL panther, sand skink, bald eagle, indigo snake, sea turtles etc), endangered species and habitat management plans, mangrove and seagrass surveys and mitigation, coral reef damage assessments, littoral shelf design, environmental compliance.
He is also highly proficient as a permitting agent and oversees preparing documentation for Joint U.S. Army Corps (USACE), Water Management District (FWMD) & FL Dept of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) and USACE Joint Dredge and Fill applications.
As an ecologist, Mr. Adams has a highly diversified knowledge of Southeastern U.S. wetland and terrestrial ecosystems. He has worked as a consultant to various universities, the U.S. Army, the Department of Interior and numerous private sector clients. He has a thorough understanding of federal & state environmental laws such as the Florida Water Resources Act (FWRA), NEPA, the Clean Water Act (CWA), Manguson- Steven Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA). His competence and creativity as a wetlands ecologist and environmental permitting agent have afforded many clients the opportunity to complete projects that would be otherwise non-permittable. He is also very familiar with developing mitigation (UMAM) and habitat restoration methodologies and often employs innovative strategies to offset impacts to various natural resources.
Mr. Adams routinely negotiates as the lead permitting agent on behalf of clients with regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and Florida Water Management Districts (FWMD).
P. Brent Nichols, Ph.D.
Chief Environmental Scientist Principal Scientist, Environmental Regulation, Imperiled Species & Marine Ecologist; University of South Florida, PhD (Systematics & Ecology), 2005; Jacksonville State University, MS (Ecology); 1999; Dauphin Island Sea Lab & Jacksonville State University, BS (Marine Biology) 1995; Years of Experience: 8
Through a broad range of experience and education Dr. Nichols has the ability to assess and analyze natural resource issues with his expertise in ecology, wetlands, Threatened & Endangered species, and project management.
Dr. Nichols has attained expertise through academia and extensive fieldwork studying ecological associations, while focusing on SE regional distribution, soil, endemism and rarity. Accompanying his knowledge of field ecology is an understanding of the laws protecting imperiled species resources such as the Florida Endangered Species Act, Florida Water Resources Act (FWRA), the Federal Clean Water Act and the Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA).
While employing this expertise, Dr. Nichols also ensures survey methodologies utilized during resource assessments, vegetation community identification, littoral shelf design, flora and fauna studies, and focused surveys for imperiled species to conform to current guidelines and protocols endorsed and/or developed by agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and Water Management Districts.
He is also familiar with developing mitigation measures and restoration strategies for impacts to natural resources such as freshwater and coastal wetlands and imperiled species. Geographically, he has conducted focused surveys throughout the state of Florida, the southeastern U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico.
A proficiency in field ecology along with an understanding of the Clean Water Act, Rivers and Harbors Act, Florida Water Resources Act, and Marine Mammal Protection Act, Magnuson-Steven Fishery Conservation and Management Act complements Dr. Nichols’ capability as a wetland delineator. He has extensive experience conducting wetland assessments in accordance with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers standards and is also well versed in wetland mitigation planning, implementation, and monitoring.
Dr. Nichols’ current research involves fisheries biology investigating the role of zooplankton driven foodweb assemblages on salmonid reintroduction efforts in the Pacific Northwest. He has garnered international and national recognition as both a multi-national working group member and as U.S. co-chair focused on the recovery efforts of white sturgeon populations.
Additionally, Dr. Nichols is a proficient technical writer having prepared and principled numerous proposals, environmental assessment and reports. He currently has published research in five peer reviewed scientific journals on systematic taxonomy applying a combination of morphological and molecular techniques among cryptozootic species.
Jay A. Listerman, Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Listerman is a key contributor in formulating strategic goals to expand corporate capabilities. He is responsible for managing services to prospective and existing clients and contributes to organizing and managing key aspects of the business and related day-to-day activities. His primary focus is ensuring that operations are efficient and effective and that the proper management of internal and external resources are allocated to achieve positive and timely results throughout each project.
Mr. Listerman is a seasoned professional with over a decade of successful business development and executive management experience within print manufacturing, healthcare, construction, renewable energy and financial management industries. He has supported multiple companies in planning and executing corporate growth strategies resulting in cross-regional and international joint ventures, diversified and increased sales and turnaround times by more than 150%, and directed the development of internal customer relations Rapid Response software.
Mr. Listerman has a proven record of generating revenues throughout market downturns and brings a fresh vision of problem solving solutions.
His diverse business acumen embraces several years as Marketing Manager as well as spearheading numerous entrepreneurial projects including bootstrap start-up management, operational management, corporate restructuring & recapitalization, product diversification, leadership training, quality assurance, and human resources. Mr. Listerman launched his own independent consulting business in 2009, to follow his passion to help others, where he acquired the knowledge and thirst for federal contracting, M&A transactions, and various means of mitigating risk while maximizing overall returns and capital appreciation.
Previous ISO 9000 Lead Auditor certification and intimate working knowledge of Six Sigma & Lean Manufacturing has provided Mr. Listerman a foundation of quality control and process improvement methodologies. The ability to understand complex situations and the value of organizing strategic planning combined with his practical, result-oriented thinking and problem solving provides project needs with concrete, action oriented leadership designed to accomplish immediate results.
Mr. Listerman brings significant knowledge and capacity to increase operational efficiencies; ensuring initial payback of equipment and personnel within targeted timeframes and budgets to exceed the expectations of national and international clientele.