Joseph Kiker, R.G. Email & Phone Number

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

As the UST Section Manager I administer multiple complex environmental programs in the UST section including operational compliance, financial responsibility, data management, community outreach, leak prevention, and corrective actions both state lead and owner lead. I oversee, direct, and lead staff and managers within the UST section, assist with management of the value stream budget, and work with my team to develop strategic plans, and short-term initiatives to support our agency’s goals.

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

As the Deputy UST Section Manager I assist in administering multiple complex environmental programs in the UST section including operational compliance, financial responsibility, data management, community outreach, leak prevention, and corrective actions both state lead and owner lead. I assist with oversight, direction, and leadership to staff and management with the UST section, as well as assist with budget, strategic planning, and short-term initiatives to support the agency’s goals.

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Project Management• Manage and train staff in company procedures, industry techniques, and client requirements/expectations. • Cleary communicate work expectations and hold staff accountable for the quality and timeliness of their work. • Recognize exceptional performers and mentor staff whose work does not meet expectations. • Communicate regularly with account team management, clients, and agencies to improve workflow and project execution and to maintain an effective working relationship with all parties.• Monitor project financials by tracking labor, subcontractor cost, and overhead direct cost weekly.• Monitor project health by holding weekly touchpoint meetings with assistant project managers. • Coordinate with legal to negotiate and execute property access agreements, terminate access agreements, and obtain permits to perform work.• Respond to oral or written complaints concerning ongoing work at project sites.• Lead project kickoff meetings both internally with the project team and externally with the client.• Assign and review technical work performed by staff to ensure work complies with company and client expectations.Supervisor• Review and approve staff timecards, expense reports, and vacation requests. • Assist direct reports with setting SMART goals and help them define their career path with the company. • Have quarterly touchpoint meetings with direct reports to discuss progress towards their goals. • Discuss yearly pay raises with direct reports.Professional Geologist• Understand Arizona State Laws and Regulations as relates to risk-based closure of environmental sites. • Assign and review technical work performed by staff to ensure work complies with Arizona State Laws and Regulations and general industry practices.• Prepare proposals and work plans, direct field work and reporting, manage data, and review technical reports.

As Deputy Project Manager, I manage projects from beginning to end through several phases of development. During the initiation phase, I draft project proposals, assemble project teams, and select subcontractors and vendors. During the implementation phase, I develop the project and communication plans and budgets, review Health and Safety Plans, schedule work, track financials, ensure company quality processes are followed, and coordinate the production of deliverables. During the closing phase, I ensure that all contractual obligations are met and final deliverables are submitted to the client, finalize invoices and billings, and gather feedback from the client on performance to create a report of lessons learned. As the Geologist of Record, I prepare proposals and work plans, direct field work, and oversee the generation of and review of technical reports submitted to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. As Task Lead, I schedule, coordinate, and staff groundwater sampling events to produce a baseline for water quality, following the coal combustion residual (CCR) rule, to support the permitting of a newly proposed CCR landfill. As Project Quality Manager, I review the content and quality of the field documents and continually convey quality concerns to staff members who participate in groundwater sampling events at this site. As Site Lead, I oversee various drilling programs, including sites at which multiple drill rigs are operating simultaneously. At any given time there are typically more than 20 company employees and subcontractors on site. While on site, I serve as the company point of contact to the client and client representatives. This involves interacting with client and client representatives and providing project status updates daily. For multiple projects, I draft soil and rock boring logs, cross-sections, potentiometric surface maps, and contaminate concentration maps to be included in project reports and presentations.

I collected groundwater samples for both quarterly and semi-annual monitoring or as part of Phase II environmental site assessments, within the states of Arizona, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. I collected air samples from environmentally impacted sites within the states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, and North Carolina. I coordinated and participated in field activities to collect stream and floodplain sediment samples for polychlorinated biphenyl analysis at a superfund site in North Carolina. I performed routine sampling of oil and gas terminals, dry cleaners, electric companies, pre-regulatory landfills, paper mills, and retail gas stations to assess and monitor site contaminates. I assisted with large scale remediation projects in New Jersey and South Carolina. I performed Phase I environmental site assessments of client properties in Pennsylvania to evaluate environmental liabilities. I led efforts to repair a damaged environmental cap whose function was to protect underlying polychlorinated biphenyl contaminated soil from erosion and subsequent transport from the site. I participated as part of a team, whom provided oversight for the excavation of petroleum contaminated soils. Additional remedial activities included the implementation and execution of a surfactant injection/extraction program aimed at reducing light non-aqueous phase liquids in groundwater. I directed the installation, development, and abandonment of monitoring wells. I installed and sampled soil gas probes at pre-regulatory landfills and former dry cleaners. I prepared quarterly and semi-annual reports for state agencies. I conducted data processing, interpretation, and reporting at the conclusion of field work. I trained junior level staff in proper field procedures.

Greenville, North Carlolina

I performed scientific tasks for a National Science Foundation-funded project, "Formation Reworking and Accumulation of Sedimentary Deposits, Waipaoa River Shelf, New Zealand”. Results provided insight into spatial and temporal variability in sediment deposition and seabed character.Collected sediment cores, during four research cruises over a 13-month period, on the Waipaoa River margin, New Zealand. Prepared and analyzed sediment samples for Thorium-234 and Beryllium-7 using gamma spectroscopy, to identify spatial and temporal patterns of sediment erosion, deposition, and resuspension on the Waipaoa Shelf.Measured erodibility of sediments using a Güst chamber. Results contributed to a 3-dimensional ocean models simulating hydrodynamics and sediment transport on the Waipaoa Shelf.Presented findings at multiple regional meetings of the Geological Society of America.Results of this three-year project were published in a peer-reviewed journal, which I co-authored on.

Fredericksburg, Virginia

I worked on two projects “Late Holocene Sea Level and Climate Variability at Potomac Creek (Virginia) in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed” and “Spatial Analysis and Radiogenic Characterization of Sediments to Identify Potential Pollutant Pathways in Remote Sub-watersheds of the Rappahannock River”. The former focused on reconstructing Late Holocene sea level change using microfossil assemblages (i.e., foraminifera) and the physical stratigraphy of sediments collected from Potomac Creek, VA. The later examined the threat to sustainable use of water resources posed by soil erosion and associated off-site sedimentation in two subwatersheds of the Rappahannock River Basin, Stafford County, Virginia. Counted and identified species of foraminifera in sediment samples and used the species ratio to extrapolate the geologic environment that the section of sediment was deposited in.Prepared sediment samples for radiocarbon dating. The age of sediments was used to calculate sedimentation rates.Determined the grainsize, total organic carbon (TOC) content, and magnetic susceptibility of sediments to infer changes in climate over time. Used the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation in conjunction with Sediment Delivery Ratios to estimate the amount of soil loss from various land plots within two subwatersheds of the Rappahannock River Basin.Used Lead-210 as a radioisotopic tracer to fingerprint soils in different land-use areas to create base values for various land-use types. To determine which land-use areas were contributing the greatest amount of sediment to the streams within each watershed, suspended sediment was collected from each stream during normal and peak flow, analyzed for Lead-210, and compared to the base values established for each land-use area.Results for these two projects were presented at regional meetings of the Geological Society of America.

Master'S Degree, Geological And Earth Sciences/Geosciences, 3.78 Gpa

Bachelor'S Degree, Geology/Earth Science, General, 3.34 Gpa W/Honors