Speaker Biographies

Keynote Speakers:
	John Amatt Mountaineer and Explorer John Amatt is Founder & President of One Step Beyond WorldWide and the Founder of the Banff Mountain Film Festival. John is renowned in the international mountaineering community for making the first ever climb of the "Vertical Mile" Troll Wall in Norway. He was leader of an early climbing expedition to Western China, which used camels to approach a 24,757-foot mountain before skiing to the summit, this being perhaps the highest peak in the world to have been ascended and descended entirely on skis. And more recently, he was the principal organizer and a leader of Canada's first successful expedition to the 29,035 foot summit of Mount Everest. His experience as a leader of an Everest team taught him about the danger of falling into the trap of complacency and the importance of always questioning the status quo in seeking new ways of succeeding in a rapidly changing world.

	Bob Stanton Director, Fleet Management Hillsborough County BOCC Bob Stanton recently transitioned to Hillsborough County after serving as the Director of Fleet Management for Polk County for nineteen years. He spent 18 years in private fleet management primarily with two Fortune 50 corporations, Pepsi Cola and UPS. Bob is responsible for a fleet exceeding 3000 pieces. Bob is a past President of the Florida Association of Governmental Fleet Administrators, has spoken for several industry and trade groups nationwide. In 2004 he received the “Excellence in Supervision Award” from the Technology and Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Assn. He’s the only three time recipient of the Bell Canada Goill Award for Innovation in Fleet Operations and a current member of the Ford Fleet Advisory Board.


Emcee:
	Kelly Reagan Fleet Administrator City of Columbus, OH Kelly Reagan has been the Fleet Administrator for the City of Columbus since 2007 and has more than 25 years’ experience in the fleet industry. Kelly is a primary member of the CNG Mid-Ohio Coalition to further research and foster alternative fuel use in Central Ohio. He is also a Presidents Award winner for 2007 First Group America – one of an elite eight employees worldwide out of 88,000 employees. Kelly is also an advocate and member of the Mayor’s “Regional Coalition” promoting public entity “shared services” for all surrounding Columbus metropolitan communities and an accomplished speaker & writer as a published industry expert in the Fleet industry.


Conference Speakers:
	Aaron Alvarado Fleet Manager City of Tempe, AZ Aaron Alvarado has been the Fleet Manager for the City of Tempe since September of 2010. He previously worked for the City of Glendale, AZ as Shop Supervisor. Aaron has experience serving in the US Army as both a Maintenance Warrant Officer and Battalion Maintenance Officer. He was also the Heavy Equipment Supervisor and Heavy Mobile Equip Repairer for the Department of Army. Aaron was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal and the Navy Achievement Medal.

	Douglas Bond Transportation Services Manager County of Alameda, CA Douglas Bond has worked in both the private and public transportation industry for 18 years, including working for Enterprise Rent-A-Car as a Regional Remarketing Manager for over 15 years. Doug currently holds a key leadership role with Alameda County. Under his guidance, the Transportation Services Division has taken a lead role in promoting alternative fuel technologies both internally within the County’s fleet, as well as externally by organizing conferences and meetings with other local fleets. Doug currently serves as the President of the Public Fleet Supervisors Association in Northern California.

	Kerry Brock Product Manager Parker Hannifin Kerry Brock has over 15 years experience with Parker in the mobile hydraulics industry and has spent the last six years as a product manager with the Electronic Controls Division. He has worked on many projects that involve using electronic controls on mobile equipment which include fleet vehicles. Kerry’s work includes helping customers from concept to production; selecting the proper controls, programming, installation and prototyping. Kerry teaches programming classes for the software used with Parker’s controls and also helps regularly with troubleshooting systems.

	Larry Campbell, CPFP Fleet Management Director City of Fort Wayne, IN Larry Campbell has managed fleet facilities for 36 years and currently manages a fleet of over 2,000 units. He focuses on alternative fuel options to work towards better environmental practices and has been fiscally responsible by recouping some of the initial investment using state and federal grants. This benefits local and state governments by educating and improving their environmental practices. Larry has been in the top ten 100 Best Government Fleets for the past seven years and was number one in 2006. He was one of the top three finalists for fleet manager of the year in 2010.

	John Clements Deputy Director – Fleet Services City of San Diego John Clements has over 40 years of fleet management experience. After retiring from a 33 year career managing the County of San Diego’s fleet, John is currently the Deputy Director of Fleet Services for the City of San Diego. John is responsible for all activities associated with the City’s 4,050 vehicle fleet. John has been recognized for several innovative fleet programs and led two successful employee teams that competed in major fleet managed completion programs. John is past President of the California County’s Fleet Managers Association and was selected 2007 Fleet Manager of the Year by Government Fleet Magazine.

	Craig Croner, CPFP Fleet Manager City of Boise, ID Craig Croner has worked in the fleet industry for 26 years and has managed private and public fleets since 1992. Most of his fleet management experience came from the private sector, where he was the fleet manager for a large family owned Beverage Company in Idaho. Croner has been the fleet manager for the City of Boise since 2008 and helped implement a rapid centralization to the formerly decentralized city fleet. The City of Boise was recognized last year as one of the100 Best Fleets in the nation.

	Dave Head Fleet Manager County of Sonoma, CA www.sonoma-county.org Dave Head has been involved in vehicle and equipment management and repair for over 40 years. His work history includes training and work as an automotive mechanic, heavy equipment mechanic, parts sales person, owner/operator of an automotive repair facility, Fleet Supervisor and Fleet Manager. He has been the Fleet Manager at the County of Sonoma since December 1990. Dave oversees a fleet of 1,450 vehicles and equipment, and he manages an annual operations budget of $6.5 million and a $3 million budget for vehicle replacement. The County has three maintenance facilities and a total staff of 21 positions.

	John Hunt Fleet Manager City of Portland, OR John Hunt led the city of Fresno, CA, Fleet in the completion of the nation’s most rigorous fleet industry certification, and was recognized as Government Fleet’s first-ever “Public Sector Fleet Manager of the Year.” In 2005 the city of Portland, OR, hired Hunt to lead its fleet. He received “The Professional Manager of the Year Award in Public Fleet” in 2008 from APWA, which cited his innovative ideas, accomplishments, and the growth in credibility and recognition he and his team have earned.

	Mike Kershaw GM Fleet and Commercial Training Raytheon Professional Services Mike Kershaw’s career in the technical automotive field had auspicious beginnings. His childhood love of taking things apart led to his first position at a local GM dealer washing cars and then on to the service department at that dealership. His career-making moment began with a chance to work at the General Motors Diagnostic Research and Repair Center, one of four in the United States. Subsequently, Mike served as a GM Field Engineer, a ACDelco Service Training Instructor and is currently in GM Fleet and Commercial Sr. Training and Development.

	Sam Lamerato, CPFP Fleet Maintenance Superintendent City of Troy, MI Sam Lamerato has been involved in fleet maintenance for 37 years. Sam is a State of Michigan Master Certified Mechanic & ASE Master Auto & Medium/Heavy Truck Certified. He oversees a fleet operation with over 500 pieces of equipment. Sam received the MIAPWA 2005 Professional Manager of the Year – Fleet Management Award in recognition of his outstanding career service achievements of public sector fleet management, operation, and maintenance and for exceptional performance in fleet maintenance education. He also received the APWA Certified Public Fleet Professional Certification (CPFP) and received the APWA Top Ten Leader Award. In 2010, he received the APWA's Professional Manager of the Year - Public Fleet.

	Paul Lauria President Mercury Associates, Inc. Paul Lauria is the President of Mercury Associates, Inc., a fleet management consulting firm. During his career of more than 25 years, he has provided consulting and research services to federal, state, provincial, and local government jurisdictions; transit authorities; utility companies; research and higher education institutions; school districts; trade and professional associations; investment firms; and commercial enterprises in a broad range of industries. He also has conducted presentations and seminars on fleet management best practices for thousands of fleet and transportation industry professionals throughout the US and in Canada, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia.

	Robert Lawson Assistant Director of Equipment Services City of Ft. Worth, Texas Robert Lawson is the Assistant Director of Equipment Services for the City of Fort Worth, TX. He oversees a fleet of 3400 vehicles and supervises 87 employees and 78 mechanics. Robert also manages three repair shops that are all ASE Blue Seal certified. He has been a part of the 100 Best Fleets for the past seven years and within the top 20 the past two years. Robert was the Director of Fleet Services for the City of Garland, TX for 12 years and the Superintendent of Fleet Services for the City of College Station, TX.

	Sherrie Merrow NGV Advocacy Lead Encana Natural Gas Inc Sherrie Merrow is the Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) Advocacy Lead for Encana’s Natural Gas Economy Division. She is responsible for policy, marketing and partnering activities to increase the demand for natural gas through its use as a transportation fuel. Her team’s responsibilities include enabling NGV collaborative statewide groups, providing model legislative and regulatory policy, building NGV infrastructure and converting vehicles to promote the growth in usage of compressed and liquefied natural gas. She also serves as America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) State Affairs NGV Committee Chairman. She has worked in the energy and computer software industries throughout her career.

	Elizabeth Relford Transportation Planner Weld County Government Elizabeth Relford has worked for Weld County Government since 2009. She was hired to write the County’s first ever Master Transportation Plan. Elizabeth worked for the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) as a Regional Manager Assistant, the Town of Windsor as an Urban Renewal Planner, and the City of Evans as the Community Development Coordinator. Elizabeth is currently involved in multiple county projects, including implementation of the Smart Energy Plan, writing an access control plan for Weld County Road 49, community development block grants, renewable energy reports, and participating in the County’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Incident Management Team as Planning Section Chief.

	Steve Riley Automotive Director City of Coral Gables, FL Steve Riley initially served as the director of fleet services for the City of Forest Park and later took the position as the assistant director for fleet operations, City of Atlanta. He has instructed many nationwide classes on fleet managed competition and fleet performance management. Riley personally researched and compiled an extensive library of performance audits, business plans, and standard operating procedures from fleets across North America. He is the author of the National Government Green Fleet Award criteria and Public Fleet Audit Self Assessment Checklist. Riley also serves as a judge for the 100 Best Fleets contest.

	Alex Schroeder Senior Manager, Transportation Fuels Colorado Governor’s Energy Office Alex Schroeder works to develop, implement and promote the use of alternative fuels in Colorado. Prior to joining the GEO in 2011, he was the Program Director for Alternative Transportation Fuels and Nuclear Waste Transportation at the Western Governors’ Association, where he advised the Governors and WGA’s Executive Director and worked with diverse stakeholders on a variety of energy and nuclear waste policy issues from 2005 to 2011. Alex has also worked for the Colorado Energy Research Institute on policies to encourage innovation in the energy space and for and PA Consulting on asset valuation in the electric utility industry.

	Jay Valentine Financial Operations Manager City of Grand Junction, CO Jay Valentine has been with the City of Grand Junction since 1999 and currently holds the position of Financial Operations Manager. His responsibilities with the City include budget development and capital planning, Fleet Operations, Customer Service and Purchasing. In 2011 he was instrumental in the planning, construction and implementation of the City’s CNG Slow Fill and Fast Fill Stations. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Finance from the University of Northern Colorado and Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado.

	Greg Wolfe Industrial Hygienist US Department of State Greg Wolfe is an Industrial Hygienist working in the Office of Safety, Health and Environmental Management at the US State Department’s Bureau of Overseas Building Operations, and reporting to the Office Director as Program Manager for Motor Vehicle Safety. Since 2001, he has visited US Embassies and consulates in over 40 countries, conducting safety and health program assessments, training and special studies. Greg is a Certified Industrial Hygienist and Certified Safety Professional with over 20 years of prior experience in the commercial insurance industry, providing safety and health consulting to Fortune 500 companies like Honeywell, Estee Lauder and The Scotts Company.

	James B. Wright President and CEO Fleet Counselor Services Inc. Jim Wright has 22 years' experience managing government fleet operations including the Cities of Lakewood and City of Northglenn Colorado and Larimer County Colorado and 3 years as Senior Development Director for fleet management software systems. He has been the Associate Director for Government Fleet Management Alliance since its inception. Jim also has 21 years as President of Fleet Counselor Services Inc. an international consulting and software corporation. Jim is considered an industry expert in the effective use of information and technology and has published several papers and conducted over 100 workshops on fleet privatization and utilization management, subjects for which he is considered an industry expert. Jim is a long-time active member of the RMFMA.