J.P. Johns, President

Mr. J.P. Johns, PE, has over 25 years’ experience in hydrology and hydraulic analysis of urban waterways with additional experience in erosion prevention and sediment control, post-construction water quality, and NPDES MS4 program implementation.  He earned a B.S. degree in Agricultural Engineering and an MS degree in Biosystems Engineering from Clemson University.  He received the IECA 2014 Sustained Contributor, the 2018 Most Distinguished Technical Paper and the 2022 Annual Conference Presenter of the Year awards.  He is currently the President of the IECA Southeast Chapter, is a member of APWA, the Florida Stormwater Association, and sits on the ASTM D18 and C27 committees.

J.P. has been active in the International Erosion Control Association since 2000, has been a member since 2002, and has been a member of the Southeast Chapter Board of Directors since 2007 serving as the South Carolina state representative, Vice President, and President. As acting President and Southeast Board Member, he has obtained an in-depth knowledge of the Chapter’s mission and has formed a working relationship with the current Board members.  He is currently a committee member for the EPA Region 4 / IECA Southeast Chapter Municipal Wet Weather Stormwater Conference and is on the Abstract Review Committee.

As President for the past 6-years J.P. has assisted in re-establishing the Chapter finances and re-establishing the Chapter as a Domestic Nonprofit Corporation.  An outstanding accomplishment as President has been the Southeast Chapter receiving the Partners for Excellence Award for Outstanding Education from 2017-2022.  This has been accomplished through the exceptional training opportunities provided and the extraordinary attendance of our members at these training events.  J.P. believes the greatest success of the Chapter has been providing scholarships for students and professional to attend IECA events.

David has been in the erosion and sedimentation control industry for 19 years.  He was fortunate to learn the industry from the bottom up starting on an crew installing structural and vegetative BMPs in Metro Atlanta and has been exposed to many types of jobs and products along the way.  In 2009,  he moved to South Carolina and later that year acquired and became the CEO of Lake Murray Environmental Services. The company has grown to nearly 100 employees with services provided in South Carolina, North Carolina, and east Georgia.  Having spent half of his career in Georgia and half in South Carolina, David has had the privilege to work with and learn from several current and former chapter members and officers.  His project experience ranges from highways and airports to master planned developments and single lot construction.  It is important for our IECA representation to include a mix of design and installation professionals; his experience with installation and inspection of pre and post construction BMPs across the southeast brings a nice compliment to the wealth of educational and technical knowledge represented in our chapter.

MS, CPESC, owner of NTU, Inc. with 10+ years of Erosion, Sediment &Turbidity Control (ES&TC) experience attended NC State University, completing her bachelor’s degree and then master’s degree in Soil Science under the teachings of Dr. Richard A. McLaughlin.  Her research focus was on determining the efficiency of sediment basins.   NTU Inc.(formed in 2012) provides innovative solutions for superior water quality.  NTU has collaborated with many government, state and local agencies throughout the Southeast region.  All of these projects have included monitoring water discharge from active linear construction projects including the use of polyacrylamide, design and implementation of erosion and sediment control plans, as well as turbidity control design.  Her knowledge and background regarding federal, state and local regulations allows her to make safe and economically responsible decisions. NTU Inc is a state recognized Woman Business Enterprise (WBE), Small Business Enterprise (SBE) and Historically Underutilized Business (HUB).

Wilson is the CEO of The Erosion Company Inc, (TEC) based in Woodstock Georgia. His firm focuses on installation of BMP’s and other site compliance services. He has worked for TEC since 1997 and has worked in the construction industry since 1992. He has directed BMP installations in every state encompassing the IECA SE Chapter and has either worked with or is familiar with many of our past and current board members.
His involvement with the IECA includes having previously served multiple terms as President and served as Treasurer for the South East Chapter for more than 5 consecutive years before deciding to take a break. Additionally, he was appointed to be Treasurer of the full IECA by the board of directors. He has also served on a multitude of committees and boards of local and State events, groups, and task forces for the Chapter.

After 12 years of being involved with IECA, I hope to assist the Southeast Chapter Board with outreach and membership involvement. After 10 years of product development, I took the expertise I gained and created my own firm to help other manufacturers develop their regulatory approvals and business development. Now running my own consulting company and the Women of Water, I hope to bring those organizational and management skills to assist the chapter in any way i can. I have found not only great education and networking through this association, I have found mentors and friends.  

Dr. Wesley Donald is a Research Fellow in the Department of Civil Engineering at Auburn University. He has been a member of IECA since 2009 and is the IECA editorial committee chair and serves on the IECA Standards and Practices Committee and the Stormwater Education Committee. Dr. Donald is a graduate of Auburn University where he received his undergraduate and graduate degrees. The focus of his doctoral research was on the use of ditch check practices in channelized flow for controlling erosion on highway construction sites. He has continued his research efforts in ditch check practices; assisting in the testing of sediment barriers in sheet flow applications; evaluating catch basin inserts for urban runoff applications; evaluating rainfall induced erosion and practices and products to minimize its effect; provided training in erosion and sediment control technologies to industry practitioners; and instructing undergraduate and graduate students in Introduction to Engineering, Construction Engineering and Management, Project Estimating, and Erosion and Sediment Control Technologies in Construction. Dr. Donald is also a member of ASTM International.

Currently Hal serves as the elected International Erosion Control Association (IECA) Representative for Florida and continues to support IECA for Florida as an active member since 2001. He is working on a totally-new class for Florida which focuses on proper installation and maintenance of construction erosion and sedimentation controls.  The second class will be an Inspector’s Qualification Certificate with a pre-requisite of the first class in installation and maintenance.  He continues producing the Muddy Water Blues which is a BMP technology transfer workshop involving outdoor show with hands-on and real-time installations of BMPs.   Hal will continue working as the current State Representative for Florida IECA members, to bring the Annual IECA Conference back to Florida again. 

Hal Lunsford is a 33-year veteran environmentalist and serves as the Statewide Training Coordinator for the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection, “Stormwater Erosion and Sedimentation Control Inspector’s Qualification Certificate Program.” 

Victoria Cheplak is a Principal Engineer with the Atlanta Regional office, Kennesaw branch, of Geosyntec Consultants.   Victoria has experience in applied hydraulics, hydrology, watershed modeling, stormwater quality modeling, civil site engineering, erosion and sediment control, and Clean Water Act permit compliance. Victoria is a graduate of the University of Florida with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, and the University of Texas at Austin with an M.S.C.E from the Environmental and Water Resources Engineering program.   In her 20 years of experience, Victoria has worked as a lead engineer, project manager, and/or technical director on a variety of water resources and environmental projects. Additionally, Victoria has been a member of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals for 19 years and has served as President of its Stormwater Committee, and is a Level II certified design professional in Georgia.

Courtenay Howell is the Environmental Compliance Inspector for the City of Bowling Green.  Her love of nature and the significance of its preservation was fostered during her childhood spent on the forested hills, sandstone cliffs, and river bottoms of South-Central Kentucky.  She has been supporting the City’s MS4 program since 2015 and her official role, focusing on construction site stormwater inspections, began in 2020.  Courtenay co-instructs the City’s Erosion Prevention & Sediment Control Inspector Certification Class and produces the KY Muddy Water Blues EPSC Field Day. Courtenay is a Certified Erosion, Sediment and StormWater Inspector, and holds multiple State and Municipality EPSC Contractor/Inspector Certifications. She currently serves on the IECA MS4 Educational Track Committee and is a member at large for the Kentucky Stormwater Association.

Lauren Deem is a Technical Services Associate for Profile Products. She earned a B.S. in Environmental Science with a minor in Environmental Writing from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania as well as an M.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Management from the University of Hawaiʿi at Mānoa. Her M.S thesis primarily focused on biochar and agricultural soils, which provided the skill set needed to work as a soil scientist in an agricultural laboratory in the Pacific Northwest for a few years. After moving to the southeast, she started working for Profile Products. Her position focuses on erosion control product technical information and comparisons, DOT relationships and product management, and tracking Profile’s Lunch and Learn program. She is a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) and a Certified Erosion, Sediment, and Stormwater Inspector (CESSWI).

Karyn began her career with 10 years of service at USDA-NRCS in SC, MA, AND NC working on Erosion Control and other conservation activities on the farm. She then worked for the NCDEQ – Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources in the regional and state office for approximately 12 years as a plan reviewer, inspector, and Assistant State Sediment Specialist to name a few of her roles in Erosion Control. She then began work on the local level in Durham County and is now performing erosion control and post construction Stormwater inspections for Wake County since February 2018.

Katie Herrera is the Assistant Public Works Director of Environmental for Beaufort County. She has been a member of IECA since 2018, when she began her career in Stormwater. Originally hired as the MS4 Coordinator for the County, she is currently responsible for managing the Stormwater and Solid Waste and Recycling Utility Programs, their Fees, and compliance with all local, State, and Federal regulations for each group. Her efforts helped create the Southern Lowcountry Stormwater Design manual, which keeps their team compliant with MCM’s 3-5. She is passionate about the water quality program, and enjoys working with the engineering team to take data and turn it into capital projects. She is a graduate of Coastal Carolina University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Marine Science. She is a Certified Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control Inspector, as well as a Certified Plan Reviewer through Clemson University.

Janette Wolf is a professional engineer for Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc (CEC). She has more than 12 years of experience in consulting where her primary focus areas are stormwater management, stormwater sampling, erosion and sediment control, stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) design and development and NPDES permit compliance. She has also had the opportunity to work on research and development of proprietary best management practices. She has extensive experience with water quality permitting, SWPPP development, inspections and compliance audits on linear roadway projects and commercial developments. Janette also serves as in instructor of Tennessee’s Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control Training Program for Construction Sites.

Kim is a creative professional with experience in all aspects of successful marketing, advertising, public relations, event planning, social networking and management. She excels in managing multiple projects concurrently with strong detail, problem solving and follow-through capabilities. Kim’s demonstrated ability to manage and motivate cohesive teams that achieve results is one of her greatest assets.

Kim serves as support for associations and is responsible for the technical and educational programming of conferences and regional events. Kim also plays a key role in successfully championing innovative initiatives including webinar development and video re-broadcasting of education/conference content, delivering an excellent experience for both attendees and the associations that she has represented. Years of involvement with trade organizations and associations has allowed her to develop long term, successful business relationships across many industries.