Our Staff

T. Luke Owen

Luke Owen, PG MS4CECI MS4GIT

Owner, Trainer

Luke grew up in Colorado and currently resides in Georgia, a state plagued by centuries of erosion, stormwater mismanagement, and point source pollution. In the 1970s, during his service as a United States Marine overseas, Luke witnessed the severe and occasionally fatal health consequences endured by individuals compelled to consume untreated water contaminated by industrial and sewage pollutants. After his honorable discharge as a Sergeant, Luke pursued higher education at Colorado Mesa University, where he graduated with honors, earning a degree in Geology in 1985.

Rita

Rita Pantels

Office Manager

Rita joined the NPDES Training Institute in 2013. She is the busy bee behind the scenes making sure all the details are attended to properly and implemented from the beginning to the completion of your training. Her number one priority is to create a training experience that leaves students saying “Wow! That was a training that helps it all make sense!”

Josue De Jesus

Josue De Jesus, MS4CECI MS4GIT

Trainer

Josue De Jesus is a certified GASWCC Level I E&S Certified Trainer and MS4 Compliance and Enforcement Certified Inspector. His prior experience in safety management and eleven years managing the NPDES MS4 Phase II program provides him with a unique perspective on why compliance makes a difference to our environment. He relocated from Puerto Rico in 1993 and quickly became an asset to our team of trainers. He is bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish. When he is not in the field or training he is a busy and proud father of 2 daughters. Josue is very familiar with compliance, which is the foundation of his passion for educating those working in the field.

Kim Metcalf

Kim Metcalf, CPESC MS4CECI

Trainer

Kim Metcalf is an environmental scientist and “double dawg” with both BS and MS degrees in Environmental Health Science from the University of Georgia. She has played a variety of roles in her professional career, including working for Georgia Power Company, The Southern Company, and Southwire Company. Kim has also worked as an environmental consultant for A.T. Kearny. In 2001, she founded Riverbend Environmental Inc. in response to the regulatory changes impacting the construction industry. Most days, she is in the field evaluating site compliance, obtaining environmental samples, and analyzing the results or conducting training programs.

Kim holds many environmental certifications including Certified Environmental Auditor, Registered Environmental Manager, Level 1B Certified Erosion and Sedimentation Inspector, Level II Certified Erosion and Sedimentation Plan Designer, and Level I & Level II Erosion Trainer with the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. She is also a Certified Professional in Erosion & Sediment Control (CPESC) and a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Certified Lead Inspector.

On a personal note, Kim is the mother of four children and is married to her UGA sweetheart. She resides in Watkinsville, Georgia, and is an active member and the current vice president of the Athens Chapter of the UGA Alumni Association. She is also a UGA Alumni Association Executive Board Member. Kim was named as one of the UGA Alumni Association’s “40 Under 40” in 2011 and her business was recognized as one of the UGA Alumni Association’s “100 Fastest Growing Bulldog Businesses” in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Betty Jean

Betty Jean Jordan, PE MS4CECI

Trainer

Betty Jean is a civil engineering graduate of Georgia Tech (BCE ’93 and MSCE ’94, Hydraulics and Hydrology). Her professional expertise includes stormwater management and erosion and sedimentation (E&S) control. After spending most of her career in private consulting, she currently teaches E&S Control Certification classes with the NPDES Training Institute and serves as the Executive Director of the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers. When she isn’t working, she is usually on her bicycle, often accompanied by her husband, Robert.

Dr. Jim Spotts, CPESC

Trainer

Dr. Jim Spotts has been an active member of the IECA since 1986. He has attended annual conferences regularly, made numerous technical presentations at the conference, and prepared articles for IECA publications. He has served as a volunteer on the TS-6 Erosion and Sediment Control Committee and the Standards and Practices Committee and was an early liaison for IECA with ASTM. Activities with IECA have provided Jim the opportunity to share his wealth of technical knowledge with others, stay abreast of developments in the industry, and develop a network of colleagues throughout the nation and in numerous countries.

During his career, Dr. Spotts has focused on many areas: developing regulatory programs at federal, regional, state, and local levels, providing agency oversight reviews and municipal code enforcement, holdings demonstrations and promoting active class participation during his training programs, performing site inspections and NPDES monitoring, conducting field trials to evaluate new products, and serving as an expert witness. In addition, he has provided erosion control expertise for a USAID program in Peru and co-authored the revised Manual for Erosion and Sediment Control in Georgia, 2000. For over two decades, he has provided technical, administrative, and/or legal assistance to more than 800  projects – including two clients whom he has served for more than 15 years.

Dr. Spotts founded Southeast Environmental Consultants in 2000 to provide administrative and technical assistance to clients involved in land-disturbing activities in the southeastern US and has made numerous contributions to the erosion and sediment control industry.

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