Environmental Health Safety & Risk Management Organizational Chart

Polly Wagner, Executive Director

Polly is our Executive Director of Environmental Health Safety & Risk Management. She has held this role since April of 2021, with the first year of that time as Interim Director. Polly started at NMSU EHS&RM in late 2013 as a Program Compliance Specialist and in 2017 was promoted to Assistant Director of Risk Management and Occupational Safety. Polly, along with 3 Assistant Directors and 12 more team members oversee the overall NMSU system needs for all things environmental, health, safety and risk management.

Eileen Nevarez, Risk Management Specialist

Eillen is Risk Management Specialist and her daily tasks include the management of insurance claims and procedures. This includes Auto, Property and Third Party (Tort) claims. Last year, our department took over the management of Sponsored Youth Programs. She helps to manage the program and ensure that participating departments are submitting the required information needed to run safe and successful youth camps. She is available to help answer any questions you might have regarding insurance claims, Sponsored Youth Programs, or any general departmental questions you might have!

Rebecca Torres, Program Compliance Specialist

Rebecca assists with the development and maintenance of EHS&RM programs, permits, procedures, protocols, and business processes that support the primary objectives and overall mission of the EHS&RM department. Provides support and assistance to operations, hazard material inventory management, hazardous waste disposal processes, inspection programs, safety training and other EHS&RM regulatory compliance activities and programs. She is currently a NMSU Global student, working on her bachelors in Public Health.

David Schoep, Assistant Director of Research Safety

Dave holds a B.S. degree in Wildlife Biology and a M.S. degree in Radiation Ecology / Health Physics from Colorado State University.   Dave manages a team of Safety Specialists focusing on safety in research including chemical, radiological, laser, shop and agricultural safety along with other areas affecting research activities.   He serves as the university's Radiation Safety Officer and is a voting member of the NMSU Radiation Safety and Biosafety Committees.  Prior to coming to EHS&RM, Dave worked for SAIC as a staff environmental health physicist working on the USDOE Yucca Mountain project in Nevada before moving to NMSU's CEMRC facility in Carlsbad NM in 1996.  While at CEMRC he oversaw the facility's field sampling / environmental monitoring programs.  In addition, he managed the CEMRC In Vivo radiological whole body counting lab for three years before moving to Las Cruces and joining the EHS&RM team in 2006.

Mike Townsand, Safety Specialist

Mike works mainly with lab safety, radiation safety, and laser safety programs.

 Paden McKendrick, Safety Specialist Associate

Paden supports EHS&RM operations and functions, department wide. Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Emergency eyewash/safety shower and chemical fume hood annual testing and certification.
• Program Compliance Specialist support including supporting EHS&RM Safety Hub, EHS&RM website and online safety training maintenance functions.
• Safety Specialist support, as needed, for hazardous material abatement (asbestos / mold) activities, routine landfill compliance functions, safety compliance inspections, sealed source leak testing, routine contamination surveys, etc.
• Support instructor-led safety training including assisting with course set up and class monitoring activities for courses that require it (Forklift, MEWP, UAS, etc.)
• Shipping Hazardous Materials by ground or air for NMSU main campus and DACC
• Performs other miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned to support all operations at EHS&RM.

Sue-Lyn Acosta, Assistant Director for Operations/Facility Safety

Sue-Lyn and her team oversee the following programs: injury/incident investigation/reporting, Indoor Air Quality, UAS Operations/Safety, Landfill Compliance, Bicycle Safety, Facilities Safety, Respiratory Safety Programs, Hazard Communication Program Management/Chemical Inventory, and Safety Training oversight. 

Derrik Wootton, Safety Specialist

Derrik has been at NMSU for twenty-two years and has been apart of EHS&RM since 2012. Duties have included teaching safety classes, inspections and reports and curriculum development.

Jerry Fleming, Safety Specialist

Jerry received his bachelors and masters from NMSU and has been with EHS&RM for two years now, with previous experience with the Forest Service Wildland Firefighting engine crew, as well as ranching and construction experience. He is the pilot for EHS&RM UAS flights. He also provides instruction in, forklifts, aerial lifts, Unoccupied Aerial Systems Workshop, Respiratory Fit test, and other training topics as needed.

Richard Bana, Safety Specialist

Richard started at NMSU in 2006, working for Facilities & Services. He hoined the EHS&RM team in July 2021. He is involved in the Asbestos, Mold, Indoor Air Quality, Occupational Safety, Landfill, and Safety Training.  "Making NMSU a safer place, one regulation at a time".  

Andrew Kaczmarek, Assistant Director of Health & Safety

Drew's areas of focus are as follows:  Hazardous Waste Management, Title V/NSR Air Permits, and Stormwater Management.

Tom Reichardt, Environmental Manager

Tom's job is primarily to address environmental concerns of NMSU laboratories, shops, offices, and any campus activity that may generate wastes that have some kind of hazard.  Our team is responsible for assuring that all hazardous waste materials: regulated chemical wastes, infectious wastes, radioactive and pharmaceutical wastes, and other used items like batteries are properly handled and disposed of. These materials require special disposal methods and cannot be discarded in ordinary campus trash or drains.  His tasks are: to help waste generators to operate in a safe and legal manor, to analyze their chemical wastes, and to determine the most appropriate route of final waste disposal.  He looks for ways to help waste generators accomplish their goals as environmentally friendly as possible and by assisting them to implement clean, healthful, cost-effective waste handling in their work place. 

Karl Dykman, Hazardous Materials Specialist

Karl has been an NMSU employee since 2010. He manages the NMSU Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) compliance as part of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). He also monitor compliance with the EPA’s Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) program on campus. In addition, he is part of the Haz-Mat response team and backup chemical hazard analyst.

Brian Townsand, Environmental Specialist Associate

Brian is one of our Environmental Specialist Associates. Their team's primary duty is to pick up hazardous waste that is generated on campus as well as DACC, and the DACC east mesa branch. Hazardous waste that is generated at the university such as universal wastes, biowaste, pesticides, oil, dissection specimens, radioactive waste, chemicals, etc. is characterized, segregated and labeled. The waste is then stored at the EMF. Every 90 days the waste is shipped off with our vendors for final disposal. He also tracks and inspects all HWAP (Hazardous Waste Accumulation Points) and generators at the university as well.

Richard Largent, Environmental Specialist Associate

Richard's primary duty is to pick up hazardous waste that is generated on campus as well as DACC, and the DACC east mesa branch. Hazardous waste that is generated at the university such as universal wastes, biowaste, pesticides, oil, dissection specimens, radioactive waste, chemicals, etc. is characterized, segregated and labeled. The waste is then stored at the EMF. Every 90 days the waste is shipped off with our vendors for final disposal. He also tracks and inspects all HWAP (Hazardous Waste Accumulation Points) and generators at the university as well.