Posted 9/14/2021
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Environmental Science International – A full-service environmental consulting firm that specializes in environmental assessment, investigation, remediation, planning, and management.
Administrators and Managers
Mr. Simmons is the President and Owner of ESI (effective January 1, 2023). He is also the Federal Program Manager and a technical advisor for commercial projects. He has over 34 years of professional experience in Hawaiʻi and has extensive project management and field experience working with federal and private sector clients throughout the Pacific. He has been at ESI since 2006.
In his career, Mr. Simmons has performed duties as a regulatory manager, trainer, environmental scientist, field geologist, remediation technician, and laboratory technician. He has experience with sampling soil, groundwater, and soil vapor and extensive experience in preparing environmental plans and detailed technical reports.
In his role as Program Manager, Mr. Simmons directs, manages, and performs a diverse array of work under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act [CERCLA]. He interacts routinely with U.S. Department of the Navy, State of Hawaiʻi Department of Health, and Environmental Protection Agency personnel.
Scott E. Simmons, CHMM
Robert A. Chong
Mr. Chong is the Vice President of ESI. He has over 21 years of professional experience in Hawaiʻi and has been at ESI since 2002. Mr. Chong has extensive project management and field experience working with a wide variety of federal, state, local, and private sector clients. Managing a diverse project portfolio, he has worked closely with both the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Health [DOH] and the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA].
Mr. Chong currently manages the assessment and development of a 52-acre DOH Brownfields site in Makakilo. He has designed sampling strategies for numerous projects involving discrete, composite, and multi-increment sampling. His experience with multi-media sampling includes soil, groundwater, soil vapor, and free-phase petroleum product. He also has experience with the design, installation, and operation of remedial systems, including vapor extraction, pump and treat, multiphase extraction, ozone injection, and free product recovery. Mr. Chong has extensive experience preparing environmental plans and detailed technical reports.
Stephanie J. Davis
Ms. Davis is the Operations Manager of ESI. She is also a Project Manager and has extensive experience working on federal agency and private industry projects. She has over 22 years of industry experience and has served on projects in a multitude of capacities, including project manager, environmental scientist, fisheries technician, environmental laboratory technician, field biologist, and technical reviewer. Ms. Davis has managed and conducted numerous environmental investigations throughout the State of Hawaiʻi.
Ms. Davis has managed and conducted numerous environmental investigations throughout the State of Hawaiʻi, including environmental site assessments, soil and groundwater monitoring, underground storage tank closures, remedial investigations, hazardous waste removal actions, soil and groundwater remediation, and Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements. She frequently collaborates with regulatory agencies to coordinate project efforts and expedite project completion. She has also prepared planning documents, conducted investigations, and completed reports for Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act [CERCLA] actions for the Department of the Navy.
Stacey L. Acma, MBA
Ms. Acma is the Office Manager at ESI and has over 36 years of administrative, management, and executive experience. She is responsible for managing the company’s administrative, financial, and human resources programs. Her areas of responsibility include accounting, payroll, human resources, policy development, project support, and many other operational functions. She is also responsible for overseeing the administrative and financial components of all contracts for federal and private sector clients.
Ms. Acma works closely and collaboratively with ESI principals, managers, staff, and consultants (e.g., accountants, bookkeepers, insurance agents, information technology consultants, 401(k) plan consultants). She also provides administrative support to the ESI project managers.
Traci Y. Sylva, Ph.D., CMQ/OE
Dr. Sylva is the Senior Chemist at ESI and also serves as Project Manager. A former faculty member in the Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, she has over 27 years of professional experience in Hawaiʻi and has been at ESI since 2004. Dr. Sylva has extensive experience in preparing and reviewing project planning documents, the collection of environmental samples, data quality evaluation, coordination and communication with analytical laboratories and regulatory agencies, preparing data usability assessments, and preparing technical reports for government and commercial clients. Her duties include sampling environmental media, preparing and reviewing worksheets, and incorporating measurement performance criteria that meet Department of Defense standards for laboratories for Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program certification requirements.
Dr. Sylva is responsible for the implementation of ESI’s Strategic Management Program. As a Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence, Dr. Sylva supervises quality assurance and quality control procedures in the field and provides communication and coordination with analytical laboratories and third-party data validators. She also oversees junior chemists and the development and maintenance of databases for electronic data deliverables, and she evaluates data for hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposal.
Peter E. Morris
Mr. Morris is a Project Manager at ESI, primarily for commercial projects and State of Hawaii Department of Transportation Airports Division projects. He has experience working on projects for other government agencies and has extensive experience working on residential, commercial, and industrial projects. He has over 23 years of industry experience conducting environmental site assessments, site investigations, and remediation projects.
Mr. Morris has been involved in the management of underground storage tank closures and installations, soil and groundwater investigations and remediation, vapor intrusion investigations and mitigation, regulatory negotiations, potable well monitoring and sampling, excavation oversight, data management, treatment system design and sampling, and in-situ remediation. He has strong communication and technical writing skills, knowledge of technical requirements, and is responsible for document preparation and review, quality control, development of remedial strategies, project and client management, and serving as the liaison between clients, contractors, and regulatory agencies.
J. Doug Heard
Mr. Heard is a Professional Geologist and Project Manager at ESI with 34 years of experience in environmental consulting. He has worked extensively as a client liaison with regulatory agencies and has strong technical and project management skills in working with both public and private sector clients, including municipal, industrial, agricultural, public utility, and commercial clients. He has conducted, managed, and provided technical oversight for numerous soil, groundwater, and soil vapor investigations; remediation projects; Phase I and II environmental site assessments; and preliminary environmental assessments.
Mr. Heard’s experience includes expert witness deposition and testimony; the development of work plans, corrective action plans, problem assessment reports, and waste discharge reports; and implementing monitoring and reporting programs. His project management responsibilities include supervision of drilling operations, oversight of groundwater monitoring programs, and technical oversight of staff. He also has performed landfill cap and land use control inspections for naval facilities in Hawaii.
Tod D. Deery, PMP
Mr. Deery is a Project Manager at ESI and has 25 years of experience specializing in engineering, design, and construction management for entities including the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit (HART), San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Port of Oakland (CA), Maritime Services Corporation and private engineering firms. His role at ESI includes estimating, budget and schedule development, constructability review, value engineering, contract bid and award activities, construction administration, design interface, operations coordination, and close out. Mr. Deery works with a range of licensed trade professionals, inspectors, safety officials, O&M managers, architects, engineers, utilities, and public agencies.
William (Bill) M. Hagopian
Dr. West is the Senior Technical Advisor at ESI and has over 34 years of professional experience in Hawaiʻi. Formerly, he was the President of ESI and is one of the founding members. He also is a former faculty member at the School of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Dr. West left the ESI President position on December 31, 2022, but will continue to support our company and staff with his wealth of technical and managerial knowledge.
Dr. West is an experienced program manager for long-term projects involving environmental planning, assessment, and remediation. He has been involved in a diverse range of environmental projects at many levels, including field manager, quality assurance manager, project manager, technical director, contract manager, and program manager. He has extensive experience managing and working on government and private sector contracts.
Howard B. West, Ph.D., PG
Mr. Hagopian joined ESI in late 2023 as a project manager. In this capacity, he supports a multi-disciplinary approach across a variety of projects, drawing upon his robust analytical and data sciences background. Prior to joining ESI, Mr. Hagopian served as a Research Laboratory Manager and Senior Engineer, where he was responsible for setting up and managing a university facility dedicated to stable isotope analysis of biological and geological samples.
In his role as Research Laboratory Manager and Senior Engineer, Bill worked to establish and expand a nationwide user base, providing laboratory and research support to users, including consultations on experimental design and analytical approaches. Bill managed all aspects of the laboratory, encompassing both long-term strategic planning and day-to-day operations. He collaborated with multidisciplinary teams, integrating stable isotope components into research spanning biology, geology, medicine, and archaeology. His extensive experience involved concurrent management of multiple laboratory projects, from initial consultations with stakeholders to the delivery of final results. He held responsibility for implementing a rigorous quality assurance program for the laboratory, covering every stage from sample collection to analysis and final data processing