About Us

Staff

What is Sustainability? | Services | Staff |Mission | Employment Opportunities

Dr. Marlin Gottschalk, Ph.D., Director

marlin.gottschalk@gadnr.org

404/651-5122

As Director of the Sustainability Division, Dr. Gottschalk leads the state’s work in partnering with businesses and institutions on a variety of multi-media resource efficiency and waste reduction programs that promote environmental stewardship and create a culture of conservation across Georgia.

Prior to joining the Sustainability Division, Dr. Gottschalk served in the Director’s Office of the Environmental Protection Division (EPD), first as a Senior Policy Advisor and then as Policy Coordinator.  His responsibilities there included planning and policy projects that integrated environmental policy and planning with transportation, land use and energy policy and planning by other state, regional and local agencies. 

Over his nearly 28-year career with DNR, Dr. Gottschalk also led EPD’s Mobile & Area Sources Program, reducing air pollution from cars, trucks, buses and other transportation sources in the Atlanta region, and managed programs for the clean-up of releases from underground storage tanks and for the investigation of abandoned hazardous waste sites.

Diana Trettin, Program Manager

diana.trettin@gadnr.org

404/657-5208

In her 20+ years of environmental and construction management experience, Diana has served as a consultant for business, and a manager for the public sector. She has a solid history leading large capital improvement programs in both consulting and municipal staff roles, demonstrating wide-ranging proficiency and commitment to the field including green building and LEED projects. She holds a bachelor's degree in Geology/Biology/Marine Science from the University of Miami and is a registered Professional Geologist.  Diana moved to Atlanta in 2005, where she lives with her husband and three children in Dunwoody, Ga.

Chuck Boelkins, Industrial Ecologist

chuck.boelkins@gadnr.org

404/651-5585

Chuck Boelkins joined the division in February 2000 as a resource recovery specialist. He focuses on assisting clients with by-product reuse and recycling opportunities. He manages the Georgia Industrial Materials Exchange, located at www.ScrapMatchGA.org  Prior to this position, he served as Rockdale County's Recycling and Solid Waste Manager for seven years. He is a SWANA Certified Recycling Manager and a graduate of Leadership Rockdale.

Chuck has a Ph.D. in Research Design and Experimental Analysis from Stanford University, and held several university teaching and research positions prior to turning his energies to conservation and the environment. He's a member of the Georgia Recycling Coalition, the National Recycling Coalition, and the national scientific honor society, Sigma Xi.

Suzanne Burnes, Assistant Director

suzanne.burnes@gadnr.org

404/657-5686

Suzanne Burnes is assistant director for the division, overseeing all division operations and managing contracts. She managed the Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia from 2006 through 2009, and led the division's outreach to the hospitality sector. She joined the division in 1999.

In her 17 years of environmental experience, Suzanne has served as a consultant for business, the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army. She has also been the primary designer, technical writer and editor for various quarterly newsletters, annual reports and other documents. She holds a bachelor's degree in environmental studies from Warren Wilson College, with an emphasis on environmental policy. A virtual Atlanta native, she lives with her husband and two children in East Atlanta.

Roy Edwards, Sustainable Systems Engineer

roy.edwards@gadnr.org

404/657-7449

Roy Edwards joined the division in February 2008 as a pollution prevention specialist. His main focus is Construction and Demolition recovery, reuse and recycling. Prior to this position, he served as an engineer and specialist with the Environmental Protection Division as a permit writer and technical assistant to small businesses in Georgia.

Roy has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Alabama A&M University and is a retired naval engineering officer.

Dan Loudermilk, Sustainable Systems Engineer

dan.loudermilk@gadnr.org

404/657-5204

Dan Loudermilk joined the division in October 2006 as a pollution prevention engineer.  He has more than 25 years of Engineering and Environmental experience in a variety of industrial and commercial facilities including:

• Petroleum exploration and transportation,
• Kaolin mining and processing,
• Poultry processing,
• Textile manufacturing,
• Aircraft maintenance,
• Steel casting and manufacturing, and
• Commercial and retail fueling facilities.

He has served these facilities primarily as an engineering consultant responsible for designing and overseeing the construction of a variety of projects related to petroleum storage and transportation, wastewater treatment, water collection and recycling, solid waste disposal, groundwater remediation, and hazardous waste handling.  This work was conducted primarily in the Midwest and Southeast regions of the U.S., and the countries of Germany, The Netherlands, Mexico, Venezuela, and the North Sea.

Prior to joining the division, Dan worked for three years in the Watershed Protection Branch of the Environmental Protection Division performing reviews of wastewater facilities for the Engineering and Technical Support Program, and developing waste load allocations for the Watershed Protection and Monitoring Program.

Dan served as past President and State Director for the Atlanta Chapter of the National Society of Engineers, and also served on the Environmental Committee of the Georgia Mining Association. Dan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Oklahoma State University, and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Georgia.

Mary Talukder, Sustainability Advisor

mary.talukder@gadnr.org

404/657-7444

Mary Talukder joined the division as a pollution prevention advisor in 2006. She acts as a representative for carpet industry and non-profit organization Partners in the Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia, providing Environmental Management Systems design and implementation assistance, and sustainability education. She also leads the program's incentives development efforts.

In her 10 years of environmental experience, Mary has worked for the state of California, the South Carolina Department of Environmental Health, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Her background includes experience in hazardous waste management, underground storage tank permitting, risk management plans, and vehicle emissions programs. More recently, she served as team lead for environmental management systems program incentives in the Texas Small Business and Local Government Assistance Division. She also has experience with pollution prevention related to EMS sites. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of South Carolina.

Bill Vondersmith, Sustainable Systems Engineer

bill.vondersmith@gadnr.org

404/657-7446

Bill Vondersmith joined the division in 1994. Since that time, he has worked with facilities throughout Georgia evaluating P2 opportunities using full cost accounting methodology. Bill represents manufacturers (outside of the carpet sector) in the Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia, providing Environmental Management Systems implementation and pollution prevention assistance, and leads the program's site visit efforts. He also manages the division's new Retired Professionals Waste Reduction Partners initiative.

Bill holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Johns Hopkins University. He has more than 30 years of manufacturing experience in the telecommunication industry working for Western Electric in Baltimore, Maryland, and AT&T in Norcross, Georgia. During most of this time, Bill held the position of senior process and product engineer with several assignments covering a wide variety of processes and product lines including research and development of new products and processes. Other interim assignments included quality control, troubleshooting of customer field problems, cost analysis, and a quality improvement task force. He also spent several years as a production manager and managed a Manufacturing Difficulties Investigation Organization.

After taking an early retirement from AT&T in 1992, he went to work for U.S. EPA Region 4 in the Community Right-to-Know/SARA Title III program. There he conducted compliance inspections, chemical safety audits, outreach presentations, and assisted with program planning.

Lauren Travis, Sustainability Advisor

lauren.travis@gadnr.org

404/657-7438

Lauren Travis joined the division as a Sustainability Advisor in August 2009. Among other duties, she serves as representative to the agricultural industry Partners in the Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia.  Lauren also assists the Division by with legislative and policy analysis and outreach.

Prior to joining the Division, Lauren served four years as a Policy Advisor for Governor Sonny Perdue. In that position, she advised the Governor on operational, budget, and policy direction for the State, and advanced the Governor’s legislative and policy agenda for energy, environment, transportation, technology and economic development. She has worked to create tax incentives to bolster the production of alternative fuels in Georgia, to increase agritourism opportunities for Georgia’s farmers, and to develop the state’s first Statewide Water Plan, the Governor’s Go Fish Georgia initiative, the Litter. It costs you. anti-litter program, and the Conserve Georgia campaign. In addition, she has led and participated in statewide and public-private initiatives to reduce traffic congestion, improve the delivery of public services to Georgians, permanently protect thousands of acres of land and increase Georgia’s recycling rate.

Lauren attended the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Policy.