Meet The Team
Eric Hess
President and Director of Homeland Security
Board of Directors, Chairman
B.A. Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia
M.S. Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia
Eric Hess is co-founder, President, and Director of Homeland Security at SES. He has more than 35 years of consulting experience, including more than 30 years of emergency management and response experience.
Mr. Hess principal areas of expertise include agriculture and food emergency response planning and mitigation; exercise design and development; quality assurance and improvement; environmental investigation, remediation, emergency response, and compliance auditing; and verification system/program development. He successfully completed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP) Program in July 2010. Since 2005 he has been a safety officer for the National Veterinary Response Team.
Patrick Splichal
Chief Financial Officer, Vice President and Director of Natural Resources
Board of Directors, Board Member
B.S. Agronomy, Kansas State University
M.S. Soil Science, Kansas State University
Patrick Splichal is co-founder, Chief Financial Officer, and Director of Natural Resources at SES. Mr. Splichal has worked as a soil scientist and environmental chemist since 1991. He is an expert on the environmental issues surrounding agriculture and livestock production, including experience with private companies, trade organizations, and government agencies for projects involving greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, air emissions, water quality, nutrient management, natural resource management, and hazardous waste management. Mr. Splichal is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist (C.P.S.S.) and an accredited lead offset verifier with the California Air Resources Board.
Rob Dobson
Vice President and Director of Carbon Verification Programs
Board of Directors, Board Member
B.A. Anthropology, University of Virginia
M.S. Environmental Science, University of Virginia
Rob Dobson has been with SES, Inc. since the company was founded in 1998. Mr. Dobson is a Vice President of SES, and its Director of Carbon Verification Programs and an accredited lead offset verifier with the California Air Resources Board. He is an expert in air quality issues related to agriculture and food processing, including emissions of methane and other greenhouse gases, ammonia, particulates, and odor.
Amber Wilson
Vice President and Training Programs Manager
Board of Directors, Board Member
B.S. Animal Science, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Kansas State University
M.S. Management, University of Saint Mary
Amber Wilson is a Vice President of SES, and she has more than 20 years of agricultural and emergency management consulting experience. Ms. Wilson plans, designs, and leads food defense exercises and emergency response planning at the federal, state and local levels. Her principal areas of expertise include emergency exercise development and training, program management, agriculture emergency response, and agriculture-critical infrastructure.
Bryan Deimeke
Senior Consultant
Board of Directors, Board Member
B.S. Animal Science, Missouri State University
M.S. Natural and Applied Sciences in Agriculture, Missouri State University
Bryan Deimeke has more than fifteen years of experience in Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP), project management, and program development. Mr. Deimeke has more than 20 years of production agriculture experience. He designs and leads, and implements food defense exercises, One Health planning initiatives, and emergency response planning, at the federal, state, and local levels. His principal areas of expertise include agriculture emergency management, production agriculture, training and education, oversight and evaluation, program development, and program management.
Beth Bader
Senior Consultant and Analyst
B.S. Journalism, University of Missouri
Beth Bader is a Consultant and Analyst at SES. She conducts business development and project management activities.
Ms. Bader has more than 20 years of consulting background in user experience, design thinking, product design, research, and analysis for industries including consumer products and food, agriculture, finance, and travel.
Ms. Bader’s areas of focus include agriculture and food policy, sustainability and climate change, food labeling compliance, project management, native plant initiatives, marine conservation, and consumer research.
Akara Regimand
Consultant and Human Resources Generalist
B.S. Communication Studies, Kansas State University
Akara Regimand’s areas of focus include food labeling compliance and enforcement, consumer trends and research, and consulting and project management within the consumer products industry, sustainable agriculture, environmental sciences, and food brands. Ms. Regimand also serves as a HR Generalist to assist with employee relations, company payroll, expenses, hiring, onboarding, and continuous training at SES.
Frank Bryant
Retired
Board of Directors Adviser
United States Navy
B.S. Biology
M.S. Environmental, University of Tulsa
Frank Bryant is co-founder of SES. Mr. Bryant retired from SES in October 2019; however he still advises the Board of Directors and works part-time on business development activities, in addition to other special projects. He has more than 30 years of experience with hazardous waste management, SARA Title III reporting and surface water quality.
Mr. Bryant is an expert in the areas of regulatory compliance, incentive-based program development, environmental management system development and ecology.
Colleen Palmer
Consultant and Analyst
BBA Bachelor of Business Administration, University of Missouri Kansas City
Colleen Palmer is a Consultant and Analyst with SES. She has more than 10 years experience as Product Manager, working on technology developmental products, compliance and enforcement for government and private industry sectors. Ms. Palmer has experience in training and process development with a focus on research and compliance development with an emphasis on consumer products.
Brittany Melton
Consultant and Analyst
B.S. Economics, University of Kansas
M.S. Business Administration-Finance, University of Saint Mary
Brittany Melton is an Associate Consultant and Analyst with SES. Her experience includes a five-year history of financial compliance and auditing, residential and commercial loan processing, and consumer data organization. At SES, Ms. Melton specializes in supply chain research, compliance, and enforcement within the food and agriculture industries.
Laura Matlock
Associate Consultant and Analyst
B.A. English, Florida Atlantic University
Laura Matlock is an Associate Consultant and Analyst at SES whose experience is in research, analysis, and professional writing. At SES, Ms. Matlock’s main focus is the National Organic Program, where she specializes in research, compliance, and enforcement within the food and agricultural industries.
Lindsey Mott
Associate Consultant
B.S. Animal Science, Missouri State University
Lindsey Mott is an Associate Consultant at SES, Inc. She has worked in multiple business sectors including agriculture, sales, and recruitment. Lindsey brings experience in foreign animal disease preparedness, team management, business to business sales, and business development. At SES, she is part of a planning team that designs and implements food defense exercises and emergency response planning at the federal, state, and local levels.
Alicia Walker
Associate Consultant and Analyst
B.S. Food Science, Kansas State University
Alicia Walker is a compliance analyst at SES whose experience is in food science involving research and development, quality assurance, and food safety. She currently holds a HACCP certification. At SES, Alicia’s main focus is the National Organic Program, where she specializes in research, compliance, and enforcement within the food and agricultural industries
Matt Janorschke
Associate Consultant and Analyst
B.S. Environmental, Soil, and Water Science, University of Arkansas
M.S. Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science, University of Arkansas
Matt Janorschke is an Associate Consultant and Analyst at SES. Matt’s educational background is within environmental science, having an emphasis on soil science. Matt’s previous work experience includes academic research focused in areas of plant science, soil health, and sustainable land management practices. Matt’s skill set covers areas of experimental design, data analysis, technical writing, and communication of results. At SES, Matt focuses on sustainability including life cycle analysis and carbon verification projects.
Erin Manville
Associate Consultant and Analyst
M.S. Food Science, specializing in Food Microbiology and Food Safety, Kansas State University
B.S. Food Science, Kansas State University
Erin Manville is an Associate Consultant and Analyst at SES. Erin’s educational background is in food microbiology and food safety. Erin’s previous experience includes community development, food and beverage processing, and academic research focused on the characteristics of biofilm development and the genetic diversity of pathogenic microbes. Erin brings experience in experimental design, data analysis, technical writing, and communication. At SES, Erin’s main focus is the National Organic Program, where she specializes in research, compliance, and enforcement within the food and agricultural industries.
Megan Eastman
Associate Consultant and Analyst
B.S. Animal Science, Iowa State University
Megan Eastman is an associate consultant at SES. Her educational background is in Animal Science, particularly swine health and management. Megan comes from rural north Iowa where hog, beef and row crop production is plentiful. She brings previous experience including several years of proper swine handling, business administration and producer communication through education and outreach programs. At SES, Ms. Eastman focuses on foreign animal disease preparedness and mitigation and conducts and supports exercise development at the local, state, and federal level.
Rita Leavitt
Associate Consultant and Analyst
B.S. Biology, University of Oklahoma
B.A. Mathematics, University of Oklahoma
M.S. Biological Engineering, University of Arkansas
Rita Leavitt is an Associate Consultant and Analyst at SES. Rita’s educational background is in biology, math, and biological engineering, with an emphasis on sustainable agriculture. Rita’s professional history includes research focused on nitrogen use efficiency in agriculture and greenhouse gas emissions and heavy metal uptake in rice. Rita has experience in data analysis and modelling, literature review, scientific writing, and communication. At SES, Rita’s primary focus is sustainability, including research, life cycle analysis and carbon verification.