Energy Freedom Pioneers Officers
President - W. Brian Blair - Profile | Email

Brian has worked in the environmental business since 1986 when he began a ten-year career with Caligo Ltd., a Canadian company focused on the environmental impact of the automobile industry. In 1997 he started Hydrosolve Inc. and continued working with automotive manufacturers throughout the United States. He discovered that the one common thread between the big three auto manufacturers was the growing need for waste reduction and reduced energy costs.

Since 1997 he has developed two additional companies - AM Consortium and Waste Logic Inc. The Consortium draws on a variety of expertise to enhance profitability and quality of services provided to the automotive industry. Waste Logic specializes in recycle/reuse methodology. In 2005 they worked to launch the first bio solids drying and gasification to energy facility in the world. Waste Logic received an environmental excellence award from DaimlerChrysler and is currently providing East Coast Chrysler Facilities with "zero waste to landfill" programs. Through the years Brian has developed and retained an elite team of business executives and engineers
who are dedicated to developing technology and sustainable business concepts.

Brian is a resident of South Jersey. He lives in Swedesboro with his wife and son. They are involved in most township activities and fundraisers. His wife, Michelle contributes significant time organizing community and charitable events. Together, they contribute as much as possible to make the world a better place. Brian is originally from Ohio where he attended the University of Akron for business and mechanical engineering.
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Vice President - Deborah R. Lowis - Profile | Email

Ms. Lowis, Vice President and leader of AMCI's Process Optimization/Waste Minimization team, has 24 years of experience in automotive and industrial quality management and lean manufacturing. She is a project manager with expertise in construction, operations and oversight. She combines quality management and lean manufacturing experience with superior customer
relations, acute problem solving skills and an exceptional ability to uncover process waste.

Deborah worked for ABB for 17 years and has been strategically involved as project director or administrator for over $1B in new and retrofitted automotive assembly plant paint shop programs. She also worked directly for DaimlerChrysler leading the building and launch of the Jeep paint shop in Toledo. Since leaving DCX, she has worked with Brian and his team to implement their vision of lean, green manufacturing processes for customers. She is currently Vice President of the Southeast Michigan Sustainability Forum and an advocate for renewable energy.
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Department Heads

Director of Infrastructure - James M. Berardi - Profile | Email

As an entrepreneur, James started investing in properties as earily as 1975. Since then he has purchased three additional properties for Commercial and Residential use and has profitably and successfully managed all properties. He has joined the Energy Freedom Pioneers Group with enthusiasm. He will direct the Development and Infrastructure Department, using state of the art technology for the future advancement of EFP and the Alternative Energy Industrial Park.

James Berardi graduated the Electrical Trades from Middlesex County (NJ) Vocational & Technical High School in 1967. He joined the United States Navy in September of 1967 during the VietNam War. In 1971, while serving in the Navy, James became a Licensed Electrical Contractor (#4693) in the State of New Jersey. Reentering the Navy during Desert Storm and Operation Hope, he served his second and third tour of duty as a Construction Electrician First Class (CE1) Petty Officer with the US Sea-Bee's Construction Battalion. He served the US Military for 12 years earning three Honorable Discharges.

During his earlier years, James was a Volunteer Firefighter with the Hopelawn Engine Company #1, where he served as Fire Chief in 1978 and also as Fire Commissioner for 2 terms. In 1981, while still contracting in New Jersey, he started work with General Motors in Linden, N.J. As a third shift electrician, he advanced his career with training in robotics, programmable logic controls, numerical controls and computer programming, along with environmental and safety skills. James participated as a GM employee in a number of training and certification schools and participated in numerous "Buy Off's" of equipment for the plant. His innovative ideas earned him many awards from GM.
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General Counsel and Secretary - Chris L. Stewart - Profile | Email

Ms. Stewart received her JD from Albany Law School of Union University (Albany, NY). Her resume illustrates her considerable expertise in commercial and residential real estate transactions, including representing banks. Her primary strengths include reviewing, drafting and negotiating contracts, as well as a deep grasp of corporate law. She endears herself to her clients by finding solutions to legal problems and making the law and contracts understandable for them.

Chris has worked extensively with our companies over the years and has a solid grasp of our legal and corporate structure and requirements. She has practiced law since 1977 and is a member of the NYS Bar Association as well as other prestigious affiliations.
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Chief Technical Advisor, Energy Development, Site Engineering, Permitting Design
- Edward Christine, P.E.
- Profile | Email

Fifteen (15) years of environmental and energy consulting, engineering, contracting experience. Performed services for clients in various roles and experience levels including project engineer, project manager, operations manager, regional manager and director. Clients have included environmental consultants, residential, commercial and industrial customers and the federal government.

Primary roles have included the management of a diverse team of engineers, scientists, technical professionals, subcontractors and administrative staff. Tasks have included client relations, facility operations, sales and marketing, scheduling/coordination, personnel supervision, program/project management, estimating and engineering design.

Directly responsible for the Design, Construction and Operation & Maintenance (O&M) of small to large wastewater treatment facilities and groundwater and soil vapor remediation systems. Implemented technologies include but are not limited to metals precipitation, air stripping, ion
exchange, adsorption, absorption, equalization, sedimentation, clarification, thermal/mechanical drying, oil/water separation, pH adjustment, and chemical oxidation.

Responsible for Operation and Maintenance (O&M) activities at multiple facilities. O&M activities include program management, state oversight, monitoring, documentation, control troubleshooting, equipment repair/replacement, emergency response, continuous operations coordination, and integration of critical safety procedures and response measures.

Oversight and development of project design specifications, AutoCAD drawings, evaluation reporting, O&M manuals and procurement of engineering drawings.

Responsible for implementation of multiple environmental investigations including preliminary site assessments, groundwater modeling, facility management plans, hazardous waste compliance services and permit procurement. Provided monitoring services including subsurface
exploration/evaluation, sampling and monitoring.

Implemented multiple bench-scale and field pilot testing procedures for design investigations utilizing elaborate instrumentation, laboratory equipment and computer data logging processes.
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Manager of Sub Group Development, Asset Planning - Tim McLeod - Profile | Email

Tim has over twenty years experience in management, finance including P&L and balance sheet management, customer satisfaction, process optimization and consulting. Tim possesses a demonstrated ability to consistently exceed business targets and produce impressive operating and financial results through focused execution, product standardization, waste elimination and organizational restructuring.

Valuation Mortgage Capital LP - Built a successful lending company with nationwide presence that mainly focused on the southeastern US market.

Omniserv/ Omnichem - Created and grew two startup companies that now employ hundreds of people and have locations throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK and Spain.
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Land Development Specialist - Michael Rama - Profile |

Currently directing and coordinating a mixed use real estate resort development consisting of 150 single family homes, 600 condominium units, a 200 slip marina and a 100 room hotel for Portones del Mar. Responsibilities include taking the project from inception through the design process and the local approvals process. Duties also include hiring of executive staff and oversight of entire company, develop budgets, proformas and contract negotiation.


Communications and Technology Specialist - Jennifer Lusch - Profile | Email

Jennifer is a local New Jersey educator, musician and webmaster who will be presenting our corporate message on the world wide web. Her experience, creativity and adaptability mirror the strengths of our company. Email


 

 

EFP Biogas LLC Owners

*Brian Blair, Owner/Member - President, has more than 20 years of experience in development and implementation of waste management and clean energy projects earning him an award for environmental excellence.

*Ed Christine, Owner/Member - P.E., Director of Engineering, has more than 15 years of experience in energy and environmental engineering.  His has pioneered innovative approaches to waste reduction and strategies for renewable energy.

*Mike Rama, Owner/Member - Director for Business Development, has nearly 20 years of experience with complex project planning and implementation, operations management, and capital markets.

*Tim McLeod, Owner/Member - Director of Finance, has nearly 25 years of experience in business start-up and management, finance and investment programs.

*Jim Berardi, Owner/Member

Project Partners:
Renew Energy A/S

*Renew Energy A/S provides focused engineering in sustainable bioenergy production, and has over two decades of experience with the ADAM facility process in Europe. 
*Design services and overall  project coordination are being provided by Renew’s CEO, Poul Ejner Rasmussen, who has 25 years of experience in the field of sustainable solutions through anaerobic digestion and nutrient sequestration. 
*Morton Jakobsen, Mechanical Engineer, is Project Manager for other Renew Energy anaerobic digester projects

Project Partners:
Omni
Environmental LLC

*Omni Environmental LLC was formed more than 20 years ago to provide state of the art scientific, engineering and regulatory services to clients in the regulated community, particularly in NJ. Key members of Omni:
*Lance Miller, Director of Energy Services, expert in energy planning and regulatory processes; former Chief of Policy and Planning for the NJ Board of Public Utilities; former Assistant Commissioner for NJDEP.
*Ray Ferrara, Ph.D., Principal and Founder of Omni, nationally recognized expert in environmental engineering and regulatory processes; recently appointed to the inaugural NJDEP Science Advisory Board; former faculty member at Princeton University and Head of Civil Engineering at Lafayette College.

 

 

Advisors

Environmental and Sustainability Advisor - Catherine Greener - Email

Catherine Greener, a principle with Domani Inc. - one of the world's premier sustainability firms - has more than 20 years of experience in industrial quality management and lean manufacturing. She is an engineer and manager with expertise in industrial operations and process design. She combines her quality management and lean manufacturing experience with acute problem solving skills and an exceptional ability to uncover process waste. Ms. Greener has conducted training classes in continuous quality improvement and other disciplines, developed waste reduction programs and led problem-solving groups for manufacturing strategy. Additionally, she has experience in ISO 9000, ISO 14000 and six sigma.

Catherine received her MBA from the University of Michigan and has worked for the following firms: Rocky Mountain Institute (Commercial and Industrial team leader), ABB Flexible Automation (Director of Quality), DeAngelis and Company, Plante & Moran, Ernst & Young and General Motors. She is affiliated with the following groups - Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (board member), Center for Sustainability Enterprise of Kenan-Glager Business School of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (advisory board) and vice-chair of the Michigan Interfaith Global Warming Campaign.


Advisory Board - Paula Marie L. Ward, Ph.D. - Email
Dr. Paula Marie Ward, President of Mischeaux Signature Corp, a marketing and renewable energy technology consulting group, is an Advisory Board member of EFP, consulting in the area of systems management, and renewable energy technology commercialization.

She received her Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from Rutgers University, studying the area of animal and land applied waste management, and nutrition. Later post-doctoral work was done in the area of antibiotic resistance found in water supplies and caused by the foods we eat.

Her interests include the reutilization of organic "waste" residuals as sources of energy, new products, and clean water, and the renewable technologies that make these conversions. She has developed a unique talent for integrating these technologies into vertical facilities to produce
high-yield efficiencies and low environmental impact.

Recent initiatives included redirecting organic resources to renewable conversion for clean natural gas and biodiesel transportation fuels, co-location of renewable energy production facilities with recycled glass and plastic reforming manufacture, and the redesign of wastewater treatment and waste transfer facilities to renewable energy and clean water production
facilities.