Ben Badon is the Emergency Response Advisor for Hess Corporation. His duties include emergency response planning, training, and incident organizational management for domestic and international assets. Mr. Badon’s career in emergency response started as a Firefighter/EMT/Haz-mat Technician with St. Tammany Fire District One. Since that time he has worked for Witt O’Brien’s and Devon Energy in similar response positions. Over the past 24 years he has planned for and responded to severe weather events, mass security evacuations, catastrophic spills, and significant business continuity incidents. He has held a number of various positions in the incident command structure during these responses. Mr. Badon is a raconteur who enjoys sharing his exploits with friends and colleagues so that a greater understanding of response management is gained by all.

Roy has over 20 years of experience in the emergency response consulting business. He has held key ICS/IMS positions during major incidents/events involving oil and hazardous chemical spills all over the world. As a certified USCG and FEMA ICS/IMS trainer he has developed, coordinated and provided training worldwide in response management principles, field response equipment deployment, spill response clean-up strategies & techniques as well as spill trajectory modeling in all three environmental phases (air, water, subsea). He has developed and facilitated comprehensive emergency response and preparedness programs for the largest oil and gas operators in the world. He has been the lead facilitator and trainer for world-wide exercises in Africa, Southeast Asia, Russia, Europe, Australia, South America, Canada and the United States. As a graduate of the University of Houston with an Environmental Science Degree, Roy uses his environmental expertise to develop worldwide emergency management programs designed to fully equip emergency management teams with the tools and expertise necessary to reduce the impacts of an incident. Roy is recognized in the Oil & Gas Emergency Response disciple as an innovative leader committed to improving clients’ ability to respond through emergency response pre-planning, training, exercising and support.

Nicholas "Nick" Benson serves as Vice President of Clean Gulf Associates (CGA), bringing more than two decades of experience in emergency management, oil spill response, crisis management, and operational preparedness across the energy and maritime industries. Throughout his career, Nick has held key leadership roles in some of the industry's most significant response operations, including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and other major environmental and natural disaster incidents. His experience spans incident command, offshore and onshore emergency response, regulatory coordination, operational readiness, and the development of comprehensive crisis management and business continuity programs. Prior to joining CGA, Nick served as Leader of Security, Crisis and Continuity Management for Equinor, where he was responsible for strengthening emergency preparedness, incident management capabilities, and organizational resilience across the company's U.S. operations. His work included supporting offshore exploration and production activities, renewable energy developments, and collaboration with federal, state, and industry response partners. In his current role, Nick supports CGA's strategic direction, operational oversight, contractor performance, and long-term organizational development. He is particularly focused on advancing response capabilities through innovation, fleet modernization, workforce development, and strengthening partnerships between industry and government agencies. A strong advocate for collaboration, continuous improvement, and operational excellence, Nick remains committed to ensuring the oil spill response industry is prepared to meet today's challenges while developing the capabilities and next generation of response professionals needed for the future.

Dan Buchanan currently serves as an Associate Training Specialist for the Preparedness Programs Office of the Emergency Services Training Institute (ESTI), a division of the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX). Mr. Buchanan has been an instructor for TEEX ESTI since 2008 and began serving as a Guest Instructor in the Industrial Firefighting and Hazardous Materials Emergency Response programs in 1985.
Mr. Buchanan retired from Marathon Petroleum Company, after 32 years of service, in August 2014 while serving at Marathon’s Texas City, Texas refinery as the Security & Emergency Preparedness Supervisor. During his career with Marathon he also held refinery Safety Engineer, Fire Chief, Process Safety Management Coordinator, and Safety & Security Supervisor positions, as well. In addition, he served as a member of Marathon Petroleum Company’s Corporate Emergency Response Team as a Safety Officer and Emergency Planner.
While at Marathon’s Texas City refinery, Mr. Buchanan served as Chairman of the Texas City Industrial Mutual Aid System (IMAS) and Port of Texas City Security Council. Further, he served as a member of the Galveston County Local Emergency Planning Committee (GC LEPC) and continues to serve as a member of the USCG Sector Houston-Galveston Central Texas Coastal Area Committee (CTCAC).
Mr. Buchanan holds Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in Industrial Technology (Safety) and Engineering Technology (Safety and Fire Protection), respectively, from Texas A&M University. He is a Certified Safety Professional in Comprehensive Practice and a Certified Texas Emergency Manager and has extensive experience in industrial emergency preparedness and response, incident management, fire protection and firefighting, industrial security, process safety management, and occupational safety and health. He has completed all of the NIMS/ICS 100-800 series training courses including the FEMA All-Hazards Incident Commander’s Course.

Mr. Clifford is a highly accomplished environmental professional specializing in emergency response and a key member of the QT Environmental, Inc. team. With an impressive track record and extensive expertise in the field, Mr. Clifford brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to his role as Vice President at QTE. Throughout his career, Mr. Clifford has demonstrated a deep passion for environmental stewardship and a relentless commitment to finding sustainable solutions to hundreds of complex environmental challenges. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Clifford has been involved in responses around the world bringing both expertise and resources together in record time. His comprehensive understanding of environmental regulations, industry best practices, and emerging trends allows him to effectively navigate the ever-changing landscape of oil and high hazard response. Mr. Clifford has honed his skills and expertise over 12 years of hands-on experience in the industry. He has successfully led and managed numerous high-profile emergency responses and projects including; Texas City Y Incident, Tioga to Black Slough Remediation, ITC Second 80’s Fire, and MV Golden Ray Emergency Response and Wreck removal which included being Project Manager over the Environmental Protection Barrier.

Jim Elliott is a Past President of the American Salvage Association and the former Chief Operating Officer of the T&T Group of Companies where he managed worldwide marine salvage, firefighting, heavy lift, commercial diving, and emergency response operations. A retired senior Coast Guard Officer, Jim has over four decades of leadership experience in maritime operations and has served as an Incident Commander, Federal On-Scene Coordinator, Captain of the Port, Salvage Master, Commercial Diver and Project Manager on salvage and oil spill response operations from the Equator to the Arctic. He maintains multiple professional certifications, including Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), Certified Safety Professional (CSP), and Certified Environmental Professional (CEP), and has consulted on marine casualty and emergency response operations worldwide. Today, Jim serves as a senior member of the Emergency Management Services International team and manages his own emergency management consulting company. Jim holds a Bachelor of Science in Environment Management with distinction, a Master of Environmental Policy with honors, Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies with highest distinction from the U.S. Naval War College and a Master of Business Administration. Additionally, he has earned over 75 Federal, State and industry awards and medals, including the U.S. Coast Guard’s prestigious Inspirational Leadership Award and, in 2020, induction into the Commercial Diving Hall of Fame.

CGA is one of the largest oil spill cooperatives in the Nation. James is a retired veteran of 24 years with the United States Coast Guard. His most recent Coast Guard assignments included Chief of Response and Chief, Incident Management at the Eighth Coast Guard District. During the Deep Water Horizon oil spill, he served as the Federal On-Scene Coordinator, Deputy Area Commander for Pollution Response and the Incident and Deputy Incident Commander for the Incident Command Post in Houma, LA. While at 8th District, James also served as Operations Officer on the National Strike Force Gulf Strike Team and as Deputy Commander of the National Strike Force. He has also served as the Coast Guard’s Incident Management Team, the USCG’s representative to the Interagency Board (IAB) and was the Co-Chair for the Regional Response Teams for Federal Regions VI, VII and VIII.

Gil Martinez is the Senior Advisor, Emergency Response at Murphy Oil Corporation. He joined Murphy in 2018 with extensive experience in disaster response and business continuity within the U.S. Army, local and state government agencies, and private sector organizations spanning more than 25 years. This background has provided Mr. Martinez with familiarity of multi-national regulatory and compliance requirements, and drives his continual improvement mindset regarding industry practices. Within his role at Murphy, Mr. Martinez has improved resilience programs, crisis training efforts and resource capabilities for both onshore and offshore operations. Now considered a subject matter expert, he also spearheaded and executed the first emergency management plan for Murphy’s offshore drilling campaign in Mexico. Mr. Martinez holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from University of Phoenix.

J.T. Newman is the CEO of E3 Environmental, taking the company from its founding in 2014 to one of the largest and most capable environmental companies in the Southeast. Mr. Newman has over 17 years of experience in the Environmental Response Industry and has worked on numerous projects over his career including hurricane responses, train derailments, hazardous waste facility fires, tank battery demolitions, oil spills both on land and water, and numerous responses to petroleum releases, orphaned containers, leaking containers, and material transfers for both private entities and government agencies. Mr. Newman has a Bachelors Degree in Biology and a Master’s Degree in Chemistry and extensive experience in RCRA, OSHA, and many other governmental regulations.

Dr. Paul Nony is Principal Toxicologist and has over twenty years training and professional experience in the fields of chemical emergency response, human and environmental toxicology and risk assessment, cell biology, physiology, and cancer research. He received his Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Toxicology from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Dr. Nony participates in a variety of projects with scopes ranging from chemical product evaluation to emergency response to environmental contamination to evaluating the chemical causes of human disease. He is consulted by clients for his expertise in worker chemical exposure incidents and is asked to convey toxicological information to workers, supervisors, and health care providers alike to improve the communication of health risks to workers and employers and the quality of toxicological information used by treating physicians. He also is called by government agencies, hazardous materials shipping, handling, and manufacturing and petroleum industry clients to provide expert toxicological and human health risk support in emergency situations where releases of hazardous materials pose a threat to workers, residents, and the environment. Dr. Nony possesses experience and expertise in industrial hygiene, risk assessment, and the human toxicology of many classes of chemicals that may pose a risk to human health through the contamination of air, water, and/or soil. He also has expertise in emergency preparedness and planning and is a trusted partner of industry and governments alike in emergency response management and safety.

Bob is Managing Director at Witt O'Brien's and has managerial responsibility over Response Operations and Consulting work for Witt O'Brien's 200+ energy client’s activities across upstream, midstream, downstream, both domestic and international operations. Bob has 35 years' experience in risk management and operations best practices for the Oil & Gas, manufacturing, and financial industries. His experience involves Incident Management, Crisis Management and Emergency Response. During his tenure at Witt O’Brien's, Bob has participated in hundreds of incidents and consulting projects for private sector as well as public sector clients. Bob is on the Planning Committee for Clean Gulf and other industry conferences and has presented at energy industry investor conferences and Baylor University. Bob has a BS in Business from Bryant University, and an MBA in Business from The University of Georgia.

Based out of Houston, TX Ms. Purcell is the CMER Lower 48 Director for ConocoPhillips. Her focus is on their Lower 48 business unit emergency response activities, management of the local IMT’s, and oversight of their exercise and training program. Ms. Purcell graduated from West Texas A&M with a BAAS in Emergency Management, she has obtained her CEM, is a licensed drone pilot and she is also credentialed through FEMA as a Master Exercise Practitioner.

Chad Tameling is Executive Vice President, of SET Environmental, Inc. Over his career at SET, Chad held various roles including Applications Chemist in SET’s forensic laboratory, Compressed Gas Cylinder Technician, High hazard remediation team (on site decommissioning of high energy compounds and explosives), Director of Operations for Technical Field Services Division, Emergency Response Coordinator/Manager. Chad is a graduate of Indiana University, where he obtained a BS in Environmental Science from Indiana's School of Public and Environmental Affairs in Bloomington, IN. Chad was a fire fighter with the Itasca Fire Protection District and a member of the MABAS Division 12 Hazardous Materials Team, published contributing author, “Handbook of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Agent Exposures” (CRC Press), and contributing author, “Toxico-terrorism, Emergency Response and Clinical Approach to Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Agents” (McGraw Hill).

Chris is currently an Environmental Engineer at Arcwood Environmental working on national emergency response, waste allocation, and sustainability. Chris Started at Arcwood Environmental as a Jr. Environmental Engineer during the summer of 2021 after completing his MS in Environmental and Ecological Engineering from Purdue University. Chris is currently the Emerging Environmental Leaders Committee Chair for the Spill Control Association of America where he coordinates networking and professional development events for early career spill response professionals. Before attending Purdue University, Chris received his BS in Biological Engineering from The Ohio State University. Chris worked at Washington University in St. Louis as a Research Technician where he constructed complex systems to measure cerebral blood flow and neuronal activity in animals and humans.

Mike Walker, MSRC Vice-President, Gulf Region has 37-years’ experience in supporting and managing spill response and emergency activities. 29 of these 37 years have been with MSRC. Prior to MSRC, Mike held response and marketing positions with the following companies: Riedel-Peterson Environmental Services Garner Environmental EmTech Environmental Oil Mop Inc. Mike began his MSRC career in 1997 as the Galveston, Texas Site Supervisor and was promoted to Area Response Manager in 1999, which included responsibility for 5 response sites in the Gulf Region. In 2000, Mike assumed responsibility for MSRC’s Atlantic Region as the Regional Response Manager and remained in the New York area for 6 years. In 2006, Mike transferred back to the Gulf Region to assume responsibility for all response activities as the Regional Response Manager. In 2007, Mike was promoted to Regional Vice-President, Gulf Region. Mike is a 1989 graduate from McNeese State University and resides in Montgomery, Texas with his wife Deborah and has one grown child; Stephen.