Agenda

Howard Partridge

President,
Phenomenal Products

Howard Partridge started his cleaning business out of the trunk of his car over 40 years ago and transformed it into a multi-million dollar, turnkey operation that is super profitable. But it wasn't always that way. At one time, the business had a lot of debt. Today he and his company is debt-free and he has helped countless cleaning and restoration companies scale up their businesses and profits!

Eric Sprague

Owner and Director of Education,
Super Tech University

Eric Sprague has more than 25 years of experience managing teams in the home services industry. Eric was formerly a VP of Operations at a global manufacturing company and owner of a cleaning and restoration company. Now, Eric is Owner and Director of Education at Super Tech University, a company which trains technicians and managers soft skills for all home service verticals. In his spare time, Eric is the Co-Host of the Blue Collar Nation podcast.

Kevin Coy

Co-Founder and Educator,
Firehouse Education

Kevin Coy has been in the restoration and construction industry for over 20 years. He has owned and operated along with his wife and son a full service restoration company with 26 employees that was 100% referral based.

He is co-founder of Firehouse Education and co-creator of Mobile Clean Systems. He is an international speaker, coach, teacher, consultant and marketer who creates outrageous results for his clients. Kevin was awarded Entrepreneur of the year in cleaning and restoration for his business success and innovation in the industry.

As co-creator or Mobile Clean a mobile content and structure cleaning unit and system he disrupted the market and rendered his competition irrelevant. And now thru Firehouse Education he teaches these systems to his clients world wide.

Kevin along with his wife Annissa have designed their business to revolve around their Ultimate Lifestyle that allows them to have the time and money freedom to live life on their terms. They are passionate about teaching other entrepreneurs how to have an Ultimate Lifestyle Business by Design not just an Ordinary Business thru their coaching program.

If you have questions for Kevin you can email him at kevin@firehouseeducation.com.

Annissa Coy

Co-Founder and Educator,
Firehouse Education 

Annissa Coy has been in the Cleaning and Restoration Industry for over 25 years. She ran her own million dollar full service Restoration Business with her husband and son. She now teaches, coaches and consults internationally.

Part of her consulting involves traveling all over the United States to Catastrophic Disasters when they happen to help direct and run teams from other restoration companies in handling the demanding task of helping families put their lives back together after tragedy strikes.

She has an incredible unique ability to put together systems that put any service based business on auto pilot. She understands the importance of organization and procedures.

Teaching others to create value for their clients is what she loves. And by doing this she is able to help thousands of families get thru devastating situations and creating a win win scenario for all involved.

She is known in the industry as the "go to gal" and leading expert in her field. Her passion is educating others and she does so in part by writing articles for industry magazines.

Annissa along with her husband Kevin have designed their business to revolve around their Ultimate Lifestyle that allows them to have the time and money freedom to live life on their terms. They are passionate about teaching other entrepreneurs how to have an Ultimate Lifestyle Business by Design not just an Ordinary Business and do this thru their coaching program.

Annissa's business has been featured in CleanFax Magazine as an industry leader and she was won many awards and accolades. Annissa and her husband Kevin were the 2009 International Ambassadors to the Cleaning and Restoration Industry and were awarded the Exceptional Entrepreneurial Award for outstanding achievement in business. She is a regular contributor to R&R with her weekly wildly popular Ask Annissa videos. Annissa was also the inaugural winner of Restoration and Remediation’s Women in Restoration Award best of the best in 2016.

Chuck Dewald

e3 Drying Academy

Chuck Dewald III was practically born into the restoration industry. He set up air movers as a child when his arms were barely strong enough to carry them. The son of Chuck Dewald Jr., the designer and architect of the world’s first hands-on drying school, Chuck Dewald III was told at an early age that he would have to work hard for everything and nothing would be given to him. He demonstrated his strong work ethic at a very early age, and when he was 9 years old he started mowing lawns for money. He asked his dad for a lawn mower, and his father drove him to the local bank and firmly told him to go inside and get a loan for the lawn mower.

Unbeknownst to the young Chuck Dewald III, his father had already called the bank’s loan officer to tell him his plans to teach his son the value of a dollar. After getting a hard time from the stern loan officer, Chuck Dewald III had a loan for his $255 lawn mower that took him all summer long to pay off, but it was his. It was a very similar story when Chuck Dewald III told his father that he wanted to be a part of his restoration company in East Tennessee. Even though Chuck Dewald III had graduated Summa Cum Laude from East Tennessee State University with an honors degree in Biology/Chemistry, took the MCAT for Medical School, and was asked by his school to apply for the Marshall, Truman, & Rhodes Scholarships, his father treated him just like everyone else who worked for the company (probably even a little tougher) telling him, “Until you learn the ins and outs of my industry, you are not worth much to me and I will pay you accordingly.” His dad allowed him start out sweeping floors and cleaning equipment at $6 an hour.

Chuck Dewald III started at the bottom working and learning every part of his father’s company–from fire and water restoration to carpet cleaning. Chuck Dewald III would eventually start and run the Mold Division of his father’s company, but his interest in water damage kept pulling him back and he could not get it out of his mind. After being in the field for a couple of years, he noticed what his father had noticed a few years back: that this industry was all over the board and there were still so many questions that our industry could not answer. Chuck Dewald III developed a great passion for knowing the science involved with the drying process and more than anything loved the interaction with the home and building owners as well as the insurance adjusters. He had thought he wanted to be a doctor so that he could help people, but he realized his true calling was to help people by restoring their most valuable and prized investments–their homes.

Chuck Dewald III started reading every book he could get his hands on from Atmospheric Chemistry & Physics to Advanced Thermodynamics trying to fully grasp the entire scope of the drying process to perhaps be able to start to answer some of the questions that the restoration industry couldn’t at that time. His goal was simple: to understand the drying process and the science of psychrometrics better than anyone else.

Chuck’s father started to notice this passion and drive in his son and had the idea to involve him in his hands-on drying school. Chuck started there, just like every place before, at the bottom. He worked his way up until one day he was standing up there with his father teaching the industry’s best and brightest at the ripe old age of 24. Chuck was often asked if he was ever nervous as a young man teaching professionals 2-3 times his age, but he knew there was nothing to make him nervous after having to teach a one-student class all by himself–his own father.

Everything after that was easy. Chuck Dewald III needed a different technique to teaching than his father. His father had earned the credibility and authority to teach restorers and tell them the major errors of their ways, but Chuck was new to this and needed a different approach. He decided to simply show the restorers what they didn’t know or what they thought they knew with math and science with just a little frankness and veracity he learned from his dad mixed in (he is his father’s son and can’t deny what is in him). He sought to earn respect by understanding the drying process and drying methods unlike anyone else.

Chuck Dewald III would soon start to make his impact in the school and industry by developing new drying ideas, techniques, and equipment. He and his father made a great team. Chuck Dewald Jr. told the restorers what to do and Chuck Dewald III explained to them why it worked and why they should do it. He soon gained the respect of an industry and–even more difficultly earned–his father. Chuck Dewald III has been in the restoration industry now for over 14 years professionally and officially but over 30 years unofficially. He still goes out into the field to lead and mitigate water losses for Midwest Remediation out of Indianapolis, IN.

Chuck Dewald III bought the drying school from his father in 2006 and ran it for 5 years before taking a break from teaching for a while. Chuck has since joined up with a partner he truly respects in Dave Sweet to start this new drying academy in Indianapolis, IN.

Chuck Dewald III has since trained over 6,000 restoration contractors and 600 insurance professionals. He has been active in management and consulting roles in hundreds of water losses (including many commercial and high profile losses). He has helped organize and initiate the IICRC ASD training class and certification test: he has helped develop and fine tune many techniques and methods that are now a part of the industry standard S500. Chuck has worked with his father to design and develop the industry’s first high efficiency axial air mover in the Gale Force as well as the two most efficient air movers still today in our industry (Phoenix Focus and Dry Air Force 9). He has solely had the idea and design for the industry’s only dehumidifier performance amplifier the Phoenix Solution. He has developed brand new industry-revolutionizing drying techniques, methods, and concepts. He has acted as a consultant and expert witness in many large losses; he has introduced the industry’s first and most accurate evaporation formula E³ (Enthalpy Evaporation Evaluation). Chuck has spoken to 50 senior engineers at ASHRAE about the science of Psychrometry and done many seminars and public speaking engagements for associations like RIA, DRC, DKI, and Connections just to name a few. He worked with his father to help develop the industry’s first Water Classifications, Dehumidifier & Air Mover Calculations, as well as Pad testing criteria that are all now widely used and accepted by the restoration industry. He helped write the curriculum that is used by all schools with flood houses today. Chuck holds 4 U.S. Patents of his own, one pertaining to a clothes dryer with desiccant wheel and heat recovery technology. Chuck’s expertise is sought by equipment manufacturers and distributors to help test their equipment to make it better.

Chuck Dewald III still wakes up every day in search for a better method, technique, or piece of equipment when it comes to the drying process. He keeps learning every day with the same initial goal in mind–to be the best in this industry and understand drying better than anyone just like his father Chuck Dewald III has helped shape and change the restoration industry for the better and will continue to do so as long as he has anything to say or do about it. Who knows where it will go from here? Chuck Dewald III has a son named Chuck Dewald IV, who is ready to turn 9 and maybe soon will be asking to go buy a lawn mower.

Dr. Gavin Macgregor-Skinner BVSc, MSc, MPH, MRCVS

Senior Director,
Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a Division of ISSA

Dr. Gavin Macgregor-Skinner is the Senior Director of the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, and has more than 30 years of technical experience in responding to infectious disease outbreaks and emergency management. For the COVID-19 pandemic, he conducted onsite biological risk assessments and provided “just-in-time” training on infection prevention and control, cleaning and disinfection, and safe working practices for frontline workers in 16 US States and Hong Kong in hospital emergency departments, assisted-living and nursing homes, convention centers, airports, stadiums, public transport workers, and hotel staff and other essential employees. He has served on COVID-19 medical advisory committees for American Airlines, Port Authority Of New York and New Jersey, Hyatt Hotels, International Association of Venue Managers, American Association of Airport Executives, NFL and NBA teams including Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and Los Angeles Lakers.

He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at Penn State College of Medicine and teaches three 15-week graduate courses on Public Health Preparedness for Disasters and Terrorist Emergencies. In 2014 he received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in teaching.

He has appeared on CNN, Fox News, BBC, Canada CTV, Australia ABC, C-SPAN, and other news outlets to share his expertise on High Consequence Pathogens such as Coronavirus, Ebola, Influenza, Measles, Cholera, Zika, Monkeypox, and other global health threats. He served 12 years as an Officer in the Australian and British militaries and was an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the U.S. CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, and a Global Health Fellow with the United States Agency for International Development in Washington DC.

Steve Wilson

President,
Premier Cleaning Systems

Steve Wilson is the founder of Premier Cleaning Systems, Inc. in Tampa, Florida. Since 1993, Steve has specialized in the Cleaning & Restoration of textiles including carpets, area rugs,upholstery, draperies, and leather.

During his career, Steve has been trained and certified as a Master Cleaning Technician, Master Restoration Technician, Hard Surface Flooring Inspector, Senior Carpet Inspector, and NWFA Wood Flooring Inspector. Steve is a Textile Pro Graduate and has attained the status of Textile Pro Certified Firm.

The early days of Premier Cleaning Systems were characterized by apartment carpet cleaning, commercial carpet cleaning, strip & wax VCT, flood restoration, fire restoration, odor control, carpet dyeing, tile cleaning, picture hanging, and pretty much anything other work that would generate cash flow. Today, Steve’s company is recognized as the “go-to” company for highend textile cleaning, restoration, and Fiber ProTection. His clients consist of Tampa Bay’s “who’s who” in the community. Many high-end design firms entrust their clients to him as well.Steve is highly sought after in his community and is recognized as an expert textile specialist.

A family man of now 37 years, Steve is a proud father of 3 children, and one grandchild. Steve holds family time in high priority and prefers to spend time with them after the work day is done. Steve is a shooting sports enthusiast, and is Certified as an NRA instructor in Pistol and Rifle. He is looking forward to retirement, so if you are thinking about moving to Tampa, and you think you are up to filling some “big” shoes, speak up and make your case.

Kevin Coy

Co-Founder and Educator,
Firehouse Education

Kevin Coy has been in the restoration and construction industry for over 20 years. He has owned and operated along with his wife and son a full service restoration company with 26 employees that was 100% referral based.

He is co-founder of Firehouse Education and co-creator of Mobile Clean Systems. He is an international speaker, coach, teacher, consultant and marketer who creates outrageous results for his clients. Kevin was awarded Entrepreneur of the year in cleaning and restoration for his business success and innovation in the industry.

As co-creator or Mobile Clean a mobile content and structure cleaning unit and system he disrupted the market and rendered his competition irrelevant. And now thru Firehouse Education he teaches these systems to his clients world wide.

Kevin along with his wife Annissa have designed their business to revolve around their Ultimate Lifestyle that allows them to have the time and money freedom to live life on their terms. They are passionate about teaching other entrepreneurs how to have an Ultimate Lifestyle Business by Design not just an Ordinary Business thru their coaching program.

If you have questions for Kevin you can email him at kevin@firehouseeducation.com.

Ty Lambert

Azuga

Benjamin Ricciardi

Ben Ricciardi is the founder and CEO of Ironclad Restoration Marketing, a digital marketing agency based in South Florida that specializes in digital marketing for the Restoration industry since 2015. Ben is the author of The No Bulls**t Guide to Internet Marketing for Restoration Contractors, a regular contributor to multiple industry publications, and hosts The Restoration Rundown Podcast, a podcast that is focused on everything related to owning a Restoration Business. Connect with Ben and Ironclad Restoration Marketing on social media for the latest tips and tricks on how to grow your Restoration Business.

Jeff Koonce

Founding Partner,
Odor Control Network

Jeff is a renowned expert in the field of odor control, serving as the founding partner of the Odor Control Network. With a career spanning 29 years in carpet cleaning, rug cleaning, and restoration. Jeff has dedicated his professional life to mastering the nuances of odor elimination and environmental restoration.

His expertise is not just limited to managing odors; Jeff is also certified in specialized areas including water damage restoration, fire and smoke remediation, applied microbial restoration, and trauma and crime scene cleanup. This diverse skill set allows Jeff to tackle a wide range of environmental challenges with a particular focus on odor control.

Jeff Koonce

Founding Partner,
Odor Control Network

Jeff is a renowned expert in the field of odor control, serving as the founding partner of the Odor Control Network. With a career spanning 29 years in carpet cleaning, rug cleaning, and restoration. Jeff has dedicated his professional life to mastering the nuances of odor elimination and environmental restoration.

His expertise is not just limited to managing odors; Jeff is also certified in specialized areas including water damage restoration, fire and smoke remediation, applied microbial restoration, and trauma and crime scene cleanup. This diverse skill set allows Jeff to tackle a wide range of environmental challenges with a particular focus on odor control.

Doug Hoffman

Founder and Executive Director,
NORMI

Doug Hoffman is the founder and executive director of the National Organization of Remediators and Mold Inspectors (NORMI), a not-for-profit certification organization for indoor air quality professionals. He has over 40 years of experience in the construction industry, specializing in building science and indoor air quality and holds five professional certifications in the state of Florida.

Erin Hynum

Phoenix Restoration

Erin Hynum is the Senior Director of Product Management for Phoenix Restoration Equipment. He holds a BBA in Finance from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin. Erin has been heavily involved in the industry’s transition to digital jobsite data collection for water restoration jobs.

Vlad Mkrtumyan

Co-Founder
Restoration Inbound

Vlad Mkrtumyan is the Co-Founder of Restoration Inbound, a leading digital marketing agency dedicated to driving growth for fire and water damage restoration companies. By visiting his clients in the field, Vlad has gained a deep understanding of the industry's unique challenges and has successfully worked with restoration businesses across the nation, ranging from six-figure small business restorers to nine-figure enterprises. Under Vlad's leadership, Restoration Inbound not only delivers expert website development, SEO, and lead generation services but also creates custom AI growth tools specifically designed for the restoration industry. He has also spoken at business conferences and been featured on the 1590 AM Lifestyle Business Owner radio show, the NORMI Podcast Show, and more.

Lisa Wagner

Founder,
RugChick.com

Lisa Wagner is a rug care instructor, founder of Textile Pro Network, and an owner of Blatchford’s Rug Cleaning & Repair in San Diego. Her RugChick.com site is the #1 consumer rug care educational resource on the web, and she has been a featured rug expert for HGTV Magazine, Family Circle Magazine, Wirecutter, Consumer Reports, and the New York Times. She has served on the boards of CFI, ASCR/NIRC, and IICRC. In 2006 she was selected as Cleanfax Magazine’s Industry Person of the Year and in 2022 was awarded the Experience Industry ICON Award for her contributions to the cleaning and restoration industry. Lisa can be reached through her website at RugChick.com.

 Nathan Cisney

Partner/Consultant,
RMS Consulting

18 years in the Restoration Industry has led to Nathan helping build from the ground floor of one of the largest restoration companies in Utah, create a sales and marketing team from scratch that helped lead to a multi-million dollar restoration company, and he was instrumental in the merger of 2 Restoration companies resulting in 3 different branches for the company. Nathan is actively engaged with trade, media, and supplier organizations IICRC, RIA, R&R Magazine, C&R, Cleanfax, Aramsco, JonDon. He actively worked with the largest TPA’s in the country, Contractor Connection, Alacrity, Sedgwick Claims, Lionsbridge, DKI, Codeblue, State Certified Instructor for the Division of Insurance. He has led and taught over 1000+ Insurance Agents CE courses and was recognized as top 96% customer satisfaction contractors for State Farm Vendor program. He is a Goldman Sachs Small Business 10,000 Graduate, P&C Licensed Insurance Agent, IICRC Certified, and an avid wanna be Professional Cyclist!

Alex Duta

CEO
Albiware 

Alex Duta is a visionary entrepreneur, accomplished author, and influential leader in the restoration industry. As the author of Restoration Millionaire and the founder and CEO of Albi, Alex has dedicated his career to helping restoration business owners scale their companies, create meaningful impact, and build lives of purpose and balance.

With a proven track record as an eight-figure restoration business owner, Alex has first-hand experience in what it takes to achieve sustainable growth while navigating the challenges of the industry. His deep belief in making a major impact, fostering an integrated life, and scaling businesses with intention drives his work with entrepreneurs worldwide.

Through Albi, Evolve Restoration Mastermind and his speaking engagements across the country, Alex equips restoration leaders with the tools, strategies, and mindset to achieve financial independence, empower their teams, and positively influence their communities. His mission is to inspire business owners to go beyond success and create ripple effects of transformation that reach employees, clients, and families alike.

Lance Eisen

Executive Vice President of Business Development,
NORMI 

Lance Eisen is the Executive Vice President of Business Development at NORMI™, the National Organization of Remediators and Microbial Inspectors.

As Executive VP of Business Development, the learning experience for students and their employers is the top priority. NORMI offers and develops customized training for the IAQ Industry, which includes Mold Assessment, Mold Remediation, Sanitizing programs, Professional sanitization training, and a list of offerings specific to established companies in the industry and newly formed ones. Lance has been with NORMI since 2006.

Mark Kennedy

Program Creator,
Levels of Success Program

Mark Kennedy is the author of “Secrets of the Carpet Cleaning Super-Giants” and founder of the “Levels of Success Program.” He is a consultant and former cleaning business owner who has worked with over 40 of today’s largest cleaning and restoration companies, increasing revenue by up to hundreds of thousands of dollars with his sales, marketing, and management systems. Mark’s expertise ranges from direct response copywriting, to creative (and highly effective) sales systems, to video production, to constructing automated business systems. Mark is brought in when companies are looking to scale and sell, to kickstart and grow their cash flow, or to build the strategy behind a start up venture. He is also a certified fire walking instructor for those clients looking for an interesting path to overcome fears and get them to take action. Mark can be reached through his company’s site at levelsofsuccessprogram.com.

Les Cunningham

President and CEO,
Business Networks

Les Cunningham, CGC, CR, CCR, CGRa is an international business consultant who works with 200+ companies on an ongoing basis. He has worked as a teacher, commercial airline pilot and owner/manager of his own remodeling business. His firm, Business Networks, specializes in helping businesses become more profitable through interaction with their industry peers.

Brandon Buteaux

Managing Director,
The Baker Group

Brandon Buteaux is an industry expert in commercial accounts receivables management with experience handling or having overseen the recovery of over 30,000 bad debt accounts in the last decade alone. Brandon will outline the simple steps that a company, no matter how large or small, can take to make sure they secure and collect on their receivables, increase their cash flow and have less accounts become 'bad debt write offs'.

Amanda Stichter

CEO and Head of Sales,
Virtual Vision Computing

Amanda Stichter holds a Master’s in Executive Leadership from Liberty University and has more than 15 years of experience in brand and marketing strategy. As the CEO and Head of Sales at Virtual Vision Computing, Amanda partners with home-service companies across the country through strategic marketing efforts. Amanda hosts a regular podcast called The Branding & Building Podcast (formerly Digital Dialogues) where she interviews industry experts about the story and how they built their businesses to last. You can reach her at amanda@virtualvision.net or at 715-803-6181.

Joseph Johnson

Managing Partner and CEO,
Restoration Insurance Billing

For nearly a decade, Mr. Johnson has dedicated his efforts to improve insurance billing for restoration contractors. As a licensed public adjuster, he uses his expertise to achieve more favorable results for his contractors and their homeowners. During his tenure, RiB has successively closed well over 50,000 claims for contractors all around the country and has assisted in maintaining great relationships with their property owners and lead sources.

Ryan Sandstrom

Director of Insurance,
Copper Canyon Law

Ryan Sandstrom is a partner at Copper Canyon Law and is the Director of the firm’s Insurance Department. He is a native of Mesa, Arizona. He specializes in personal injury, wrongful death, insurance bad faith, insurance coverage, board complaints, and commercial litigation. In addition to Ryan’s litigation practice, he also represents numerous large and small corporations regarding internal governance, transactional matters, acquisitions, and risk management. Ryan also holds a Property & Casualty insurance producer license to create the best possible legal and insurance framework that ensures no gaps in coverage. Ryan has built a one-stop shop for anticipating, protecting, managing, and litigating loss events.

Lisa Lavender

COO,
Lever360

Lisa Lavender holds a BS in accounting from Penn State, an IICRC Master Fire, Water and Textile Restorer, and a High Performance Learning Journey Champion. Previously as chief operating officer and co-owner of both Restoration Technical Institute and Berks • Fire • Water Restorations, Inc., founded in 2000, Lavender has over 20 years of experience in the restoration and reconstruction industry, and has a passion for training, developing tools and resources, and working with other service providers. In 2012, she opened the Restoration Technical Institute in pursuit of helping others find joy and success in the industry. In 2018, has expanded her passion for serving other contractors by partnering and becoming VP of operations design for iRestore software. In addition to contributing to the running of the operations of her organizations, she authors a monthly column for R&R, Restoring Success, writes, instructs and develops courses and materials in the pursuit of her passion to give knowledge, passion, and inspiration to others for success in the industry.

Eric Sprague

Owner and Director of Education,
Super Tech University

Eric Sprague has more than 25 years of experience managing teams in the home services industry. Eric was formerly a VP of Operations at a global manufacturing company and owner of a cleaning and restoration company. Now, Eric is Owner and Director of Education at Super Tech University, a company which trains technicians and managers soft skills for all home service verticals. In his spare time, Eric is the Co-Host of the Blue Collar Nation podcast.

Jeff Cross

Media Director
ISSA

Jeff Cross is the media director for ISSA, with flagship brands that include ISSA Today, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, and Cleanfax. He is also the host of several video/broadcast programs, including Straight Talk!, Unscripted, and Take 5 With Cleanfax. 

Randy Gandara

Goldmorr

Randy (with 18 years of “clean room” industry experience) has developed and grown the role he began with the Australian-based Goldmorr company in 2011, when he obtained Master Technician certification through training in the usage of The Goldmorr System’s products and practices. Since 2011, Randy has become sole distributor of Goldmorr products in the United States and is only 1 of 2 technicians in the U.S. accredited to train and certify new Goldmorr technicians nationwide. When not travelling to conduct trainings, he calls Olympia home and takes pride in serving his local community through his Certified Indoor Air business.

Michael Pinto

Chief Executive Officer,
Pinto Solutions LLC

Michael A. Pinto is the owner of Pinto Solutions LLC, a consulting firm focused on identifying and managing indoor contaminants. He authored the first textbook on mold remediation and helped to develop many of the standards and guidelines used in the mold remediation industry. Michael can be reached at (269) 303-7149 or pintosolutionsllc@gmail.com.

Tom McArdle
Vice President
Airbotx

Tom is the Vice President of Airbotx. He is an education specialist in hydroxyl technology and its application in the disaster restoration industry. He regularly travels throughout the United States to conduct seminars, workshops, and provide on-site assistance for complex large losses.

Dr. Jake Avila

Scholar-Practitioner,
Middle Tenessee State University

Dr. Avila's industry experience spans over seventeen years in the construction industry where he worked primarily in general management. Prior to his transition to academia, he served as executive vice president and general manager of CA Construction, a family-owned construction firm specializing in disaster restoration and government contracting. As general manager he oversaw the business operations as well as construction and consulting services to government agencies, homeowners, property managers, law firms, AEC firms, third-party administrators, and major insurance carriers.

He is a scholar-practitioner and is committed to enhancing the work of restoration industry professionals through applied research. The underlying goal in all his work is to help disaster restoration firms build capacity by systematically advancing the understanding of industry dynamics, improving the design and application of best practices, and strengthening connections between scholarly and professional activities. His research recently examined family business dynamics in the restoration industry and, in collaboration with faculty at Purdue University, he is currently the principal investigator of a study that is examining employee burnout and engagement in the restoration industry.

Since 2008 Dr. Avila has taught in business, engineering, and construction programs at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Prior to coming to MTSU he served two other institutions as an associate professor, business department chair, MBA program director, and program director in a college of engineering.

Dr. Avila holds a bachelor's degree in industrial/organizational psychology from Pepperdine University, a master of business administration from California Baptist University, and a doctorate from the University of Southern California. As an undergraduate he studied at ITESM in Guadalajara, Mexico, and while pursuing his master’s degree he studied at Regent’s Park College of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England.

He and his wife, Becca, have been married since 2004 and they have three children: Jackson, Liv, and Jeremiah. They live in Franklin, Tennessee and love to travel, explore, hike, fish, hunt, and do many other things outdoors.

Mark D. Tucker, Ph.D, P.E.

Civil Engineer
Artemis AG-Solutions, LLC

Dr. Mark D. Tucker is a Civil Engineer with Artemis AG_SOLUTIONS, LLC specializing in disinfection of biological pathogens, decontamination of toxic chemicals, environmental remediation, water and wastewater treatment, and energy production technologies. Dr. Tucker recently retired from a 35-year career at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM where he was a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff. While at Sandia, his research was focused on the development of innovative technologies for the decontamination of chemical and biological warfare agents and other highly toxic chemical and biological materials and innovative methods for remediation of toxic materials in the environment. He is a co-inventor of the Sandia Decontamination Foam (DF-100) and the inventor of the modified and enhanced DF-200 formulation which is now marketed by several commercial companies and is widely used by first responders and the military. It is also widely used for civilian applications such as the disinfection of food and agricultural processing facilities and other facilities. He was also involved in the development of novel remediation technologies to address difficult toxic materials (e.g., strontium, molybdenum, uranium, arsenic, technetium, and others) in the environment. He currently holds 20 U.S. patents related to decontamination and environmental remediation technologies. While at Sandia, Dr. Tucker also led or was a primary technical contributor on several large projects funded by the US Department of Homeland Security and/or the US Department of Defense that focused on the development and implementation of processes, procedures and technologies to rapidly restore critical infrastructure, critical assets, and urban areas following the release of a chemical or biological warfare agent or other highly toxic materials. Dr. Tucker was also the project lead and/or primary technical contributor for the development of several software-based modeling and simulation applications focused on the analysis of recovery options and resource requirements following the release of chemical, biological, or radiological agents. Dr. Tucker holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of New Mexico (1997), a M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of New Mexico (1993), a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin (1983) and a B.S. in Engineering from Purdue University (1980). Dr. Tucker is also a registered Professional Engineer in the State of New Mexico, USA.

Barry Costa

Owner and Instructor,
Costa Group Education 

Barry Costa lives in Kingman, Arizona with, his wife, Carol. Barry has a BS degree in education from Springfield College and was a public school teacher for ten years. Barry began his career in the carpet installation, cleaning, restoration industry in the mid-1960s with Costa Carpet Company, Inc., a family business and continued as the owner of Carpet & Cleaning Craftsman, Inc. in Peterborough, NH until December 1999.

In the carpet installation industry, Barry’s certifications include C.F.I. certified Master Carpet Installer (the second to score 100% on the master’s examination.) Barry is also a F.I.T.C. certified carpet installation instructor. Barry was involved on the committee re-writing CRI 104 and 105 (Carpet Installation Standards for commercial and residential) and acted as the Vice-chair of the ANSI/IICRC S600 Carpet Installation Standards Committee.

Barry’s certifications within the cleaning and restoration industries include IICRC Certified Master Cleaner, Master Restorer, Senior Carpet Inspector. Barry was also an approved OSHA General Industry Outreach Trainer.

An IICRC approved instructor in the areas of Carpet Repair and Reinstallation; Water Damage Restoration, Barry has instructed across the United States, Canada, the U.K., and Australia. The recipient of the “John Mauciere Excellence in Education,” “George Cervenka Volunteerism Award,” “2003 CleanFax Person of the Year,” “The Ralph Bloss Humanitarian Award,” as well as other honors bestowed in this industry including “Instructor of the Year,” twice voted by his peers in the IICRC and his latest, the ‘Peoples Choice Award’ voted on by students.

Barry is a contributing author to the national water damage standard’s S500-94 and S500 2nd edition and the newly revised ANSI/IICRC S500 3rd edition as well as S100, S300, S520 and the recently approved ANSI/IICRC approved S520 2nd edition. Barry was also the vice-chair of the new S600 Carpet Installation Standard. Barry has been a key speaker at many restorative symposiums, conventions, and special events, and has written many articles in I.C.S. and CleanFax magazines.

He served and chaired many national committees’ within the cleaning and restoration industry, including the Examinations and Standards Chairman for the IICRC, responsible bringing in its current grading and test analysis process (Scantron). Barry also chaired the Standards Committee for the IICRC (2003 – 2008) and was responsible in bringing ANSI (American National Standards Institute) accreditation to the IICRC Standards Writing Process. This committee successfully brought two standards to this level of third party accreditation (S500 and S520). Barry was a member of the Board of Directors of the IICRC, past Certification Council chair, past Education Committee Vice-Chair, and past Executive Committee member of the IICRC with terms ending October 2011. Barry was on the board of CRA and in charge of the Education Committee of ICRA and has been instrumental in creating “Performance Assessments” to the Cleaning & Restoration Industry to complement the current “Cognitive” testing programs that exist.

Barry has been a motivational speaker at six Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training Program Pasta Parties (Disney, San Diego (twice), Honolulu (twice), Arizona, and Seattle). To date, Barry has raised over a Quarter of a Million Dollars ($250,000.00 plus) to help find a cure for Leukemia, Lymphoma, and other Blood -related Cancers.

As an approved instructor since 1986, Barry never works a day. His work IS his play! “Touch as many lives as you can” was a gift received from his daughter Kimberly Joy Costa. My hope, as my daughter watches me every day, is that I am not letting her down. I love what I do, and I love and care for my students and my industry!

Jeff Jones

Certified Bio-Forensic Restoration Specialist® and Certified Forensic Operator™
Bio-Sheen Services LLC

Jeff Jones is a Certified Bio-Forensic Restoration Specialist® and a Certified Forensic Operator® with 50 years of field experience in Forensic Restoration®. He is a former US Army Solider, Former SWAT team leader, and the youngest person to attend the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Jeff is a Certified Crime Scene Track Investigator as well as a Certified Search and Rescue Tracker. He is a past president of the Restoration Industry Association, was the first chairman of the Forensic Council and is co-editor of the RIA Forensic Guidelines, as well as a contributor to the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup. Jeff Jones is one of the founding members of Bio-Sheen Services LLC, is the Director of Forensic Operations and the Master Trainer for The Global BioRisk Advisory Council and is considered by many the most experienced Forensic Restoration® field operator in the world.

Caleb Kennedy

Google Ads Consultant,
Levels of Success Program 

Caleb Kennedy is a partner at Levels of Success Program Inc.. He is a certified Ontraport expert with experience in creating custom solutions for business automation. Caleb’s skills range from video production of advertising campaigns for home service businesses to deep funnel conversion campaigns in Google Ads. With people who find their Google Ads reports confusing, Caleb helps business owners to discover if their agency is helping them to make money or taking them for a ride. To arrange a Google Ads Audit to evaluate your agency's reports for peace of mind, or to shine a light on hidden data, Caleb can be reached at caleb@levelsofsuccessprogram.com

Garret Gray

President
CoreLogic Insurance Solutions

Garret Gray is an executive leader who is the President of CoreLogic's Global Insurance Business Unit. Garret leads a team of industry experts focused on building market-driven solutions that drive better customer outcomes throughout the property insurance ecosystem. 

Prior to this, Garret led CoreLogic’s claims operations to drive transformative change and provide insurance carriers and contractors with solutions to enhance the claims experience.

Previously, Garret was the founder and CEO of Next Gear Solutions, acquired by CoreLogic in August 2021. Next Gear is an industry-leading source of water mitigation, job and sales management software and claim scoping and auditing solutions. Next Gear’s tools are used by 8,700-plus restoration companies across the United States and Canada and most of the top 25 U.S. insurance carriers.

Leighton T. Healey

CEO
KnowHow

Leighton Healey is a passionate entrepreneur, deep rooted values and inspiring ambition. A workforce expert, Leighton’s domain expertise is extensive and road-tested. An active operator, Leighton has built and led companies for over 18 years in various industries including construction, franchising, real estate, technology, retail and management consulting. Leighton is the Co-Author of ‘Winning with Workers’, ‘Why Workers Quit’, and ‘Five Star Service Experiences’, all industry-leading studies on successfully navigating the biggest challenges presented by today’s labor workforce.

Today Leighton serves as the CEO at KnowHow, a leading AI workforce software with a mission to empower service providers to deliver what they promise through confident workforces.