Safely Charging Ahead™ 2026

Robert (Bob) Clatterbuck has served as the Branch Chief of the Hazardous Materials Investigations Branch within the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Office of Railroad, Pipeline, and Hazardous Materials Investigations since May 2023.

Bob has more than 39 years of experience in hazardous materials transportation and over 29 years in hazardous materials enforcement, field operations, compliance oversight, and accident investigation. Throughout his career, he has worked extensively with the transportation of lithium batteries and other regulated hazardous materials across air, highway, rail, and multimodal transportation systems.

Prior to joining the NTSB, Bob served in several leadership and investigative roles within the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), including Senior Investigator in the System Integrity Safety Program, Acting Director and Chief of the Central Region for Hazardous Materials Field Operations, and Team Lead of the Hazardous Materials Accident Investigation Team. During his federal service, he investigated numerous hazardous materials transportation incidents, including lithium battery-related events, and conducted compliance inspections and enforcement activities involving lithium battery shippers, distributors, carriers, and recycling operations.

Bob also served with the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) as a Customer Support and Quality Improvement Manager, conducting internal investigations, and as a Cargo Security Investigator. He began his federal career with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a Special Agent specializing in hazardous materials compliance and investigations.

Earlier in his career, Bob worked for FedEx Express, where he was responsible for hazardous materials compliance in aviation ramp operations and ground transportation. Over the course of his career, he has become a recognized voice in lithium battery transportation safety, regularly speaking to industry, government, and international audiences on regulatory compliance, accident prevention, emerging risks, and best practices for the safe transportation and handling of lithium batteries.

Andrew has worked for PHMSA on special permits and general approvals since 2014. Prior to this, he worked as a contractor for PHMSA in the Hazardous Materials Information Center, fielding inquiries from stakeholders related to the Hazardous Materials Regulations. He currently resides in Northern Virginia with his partner and their nine year-old daughter.

Chris Egloff serves as Chief Revenue Officer at Americase International, where he leads high-impact initiatives for some of the company’s largest and most complex clients. He oversees strategic execution while serving as a trusted authority on regulatory navigation, containment strategy, and compliant transport solutions.

At the core of Chris’s role is advocacy—ensuring customers have a knowledgeable visionary partner who understands both the technical and regulatory landscape of dangerous goods. He works closely with clients to align engineering innovation, safety performance, and compliance requirements—delivering protection without compromise.

With more than 25 years of sales and consulting experience, Chris developed a strong foundation in consultative sales, partnership development, and long-term customer success. Across industries, he has consistently prioritized integrity, product excellence, and relationship-driven collaboration—principles that continue to guide his work today.

As Vice President of Operations for The Battery Network, Eric Fredrickson is responsible for the organization’s supply chain, safety, compliance, and downstream recycling network. He focuses on improving performance and efficiency while upholding the organization’s commitment to safety standards and compliance obligations.

With over 20 years of experience in engineering and operations leadership at leading transportation solutions providers, Eric brings practical expertise in lithium-ion battery recycling, transportation, compliance, packaging, and safety.

In his role, Eric helps a variety of stakeholders navigate the unique safety and environmental challenges associated with lithium-ion batteries.

Eric holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from Boston University.

With more than 25 years of sales and consulting experience, Chris developed a strong foundation in consultative sales, partnership development, and long-term customer success. Across industries, he has consistently prioritized integrity, product excellence, and relationship-driven collaboration—principles that continue to guide his work today.

Mike Gaffney is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. He is currently the Technical and Energy Manager for Pasha Hawaii. He provides support to Pasha’s managed ships and terminals. His experiences include Ship Management, Corporate Energy Management, Energy Management Training Consultant and Instructor, Lead Energy Auditor, Technical Fleet Manager for eleven Military Sealift Command ships, Port Engineer for several shipping companies, and Chief Engineer on numerous ships. He is a Certified Energy Manager, Certified Energy Auditor, Certified Power Quality Professional, and President of the Southeastern Virginia Association of Energy Engineers chapter.

Josh Gubkin is Associate General Counsel at Redwood Materials, a leader in lithium battery recycling and energy storage. His scope includes regulatory compliance and public policy impacting the battery industry. In April, Josh testified before Congress regarding regulatory impacts to America’s critical mineral supply chain. He’s previously worked in government, as in-house counsel, and as a consultant to highly regulated industries.

Tim Harris serves as Senior Global Manager of Dangerous Goods Transportation at General Motors, where he leads the company’s global strategy for the safe and compliant movement of batteries, vehicles, prototypes, and other regulated materials across complex global supply chains.

With more than 15 years of experience in dangerous goods transportation, regulatory compliance, and supply chain risk management, Tim has been instrumental in transforming dangerous goods operations from a traditional compliance function into a strategic business enabler. His leadership has supported the commercialization of advanced vehicle technologies, the expansion of battery supply chains, and the development of globally integrated transportation programs that balance innovation, safety, and operational excellence.

A recognized industry leader and speaker, Tim collaborates across engineering, manufacturing, legal, logistics, and regulatory organizations to help drive practical solutions to emerging transportation challenges. He is passionate about building resilient supply chains, advancing dangerous goods best practices, and enabling the future of mobility through safe and sustainable transportation.

Rachel Hering is Vice President of Chapter Relations at the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), overseeing eight state chapters. She works with chapter leaders, industry members, lobbyists, regulators, and policymakers on issues affecting the waste and recycling industry.

A key focus of Rachel’s current work is battery stewardship advocacy, advancing policies that create increased opportunities for battery recovery, safe disposal, and public education and awareness. In 2025, her work with the Colorado chapter, help lead to the passage of SB 163, the Battery Stewardship Act. These efforts have led to several more states in her region elect to run similar policy.

Prior to NWRA, her leadership in 2 environmental non-profits established more than 25 community recycling programs and secured over $1.5 million in grant funding for underserved communities and circular economy initiatives. She holds a BA in Geography from the University of Oklahoma and resides in her hometown of Austin, Texas.

Robby Kinsala is the Chief Executive Officer of Americase International, where he leads the company’s strategic vision, innovation roadmap, and global growth. A natural problem solver with deep operational insight, Robby has transformed Americase from a small, family-run manufacturer into an enterprise-level organization serving customers worldwide—including a significant presence among Fortune 50 companies and nearly every major commercial airline.

Robby’s connection to Americase began early. At just nine years old, he helped build the company’s first dedicated facility, and throughout his teenage years he learned the business from the ground up—working every station across every product line. While earning his BBA in Marketing from the University of North Texas, he continued contributing to the business, managing advertising initiatives and gaining hands-on experience in operations. In the early 2000s, he assumed leadership roles as Plant Manager and Office/Accounting Manager, strengthening the company’s operational foundation.

Recognizing opportunities for expansion, Robby focused on research and development, regulatory engagement, and securing critical certifications—strategic moves that enabled Americase to enter new vertical markets and establish itself as an industry leader in mission-critical protective solutions. In 2014, he formally stepped into the role of President & CEO, accelerating growth while reinforcing the company’s reputation for engineering excellence, regulatory leadership, and protection without compromise.

Mike Pagel serves as Senior Consultant at HazMat Safety Consulting, where he partners with organizations to strengthen and optimize their dangerous goods transportation programs. His work spans customized regulatory training development, on-site storage and transportation compliance audits, special permit and approval support, standard operating procedure (SOP) development, and ongoing strategic consulting.

Mike supports a diverse client base—including medical device manufacturers, e-commerce operations, cosmetics suppliers, third-party logistics providers and carriers, electric vehicle manufacturers, packaging companies, and consumer electronics firms. He helps these organizations navigate complex dangerous goods regulations with practical, defensible solutions that align compliance obligations with operational realities.

Mike began his regulatory career in 2012 at the Hazardous Materials Information Center (HMIC) within the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) at U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington, D.C. During his tenure, he responded to thousands of inquiries related to the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), working closely with PHMSA’s Rulemaking, Approvals & Permits, and Technical staff. This frontline regulatory experience provided him with deep insight into both the letter and the intent of the regulations—an advantage he now leverages on behalf of his clients.

Through disciplined analysis, regulatory fluency, and a consultative approach, Mike helps organizations build compliant, efficient, and resilient dangerous goods programs.

Duane Pfund brings more than 35 years of hazardous materials transportation safety expertise to his role as Senior Consultant at HazMat Safety Consulting. He advises clients on complex dangerous goods (DG) compliance matters, including customized training development, compliance assessments, regulatory interpretation, special permits and approvals, and strategic program design. His guidance helps organizations manage risk, strengthen internal controls, and align with evolving domestic and international regulatory requirements.

Prior to joining HazMat Safety Consulting, Duane spent 25 years with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) at the U.S. Department of Transportation. For 20 of those years, he served as Director of the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety International Program, leading international and national regulatory initiatives and overseeing policy implementation. He also held senior leadership roles as Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety and Acting Director of the Sciences, Engineering and Research Division.

Internationally, Duane represented the United States at the highest levels of dangerous goods regulatory development. He led the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods for 20 years, serving as Chairman for the final decade of his tenure. He also represented the U.S. for 10 years on the ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel and led delegations at the International Maritime Organization and the European Joint Meeting of the RID/ADR/ADN. In addition, he served as Designated Federal Official for the Lithium Battery Air Safety Advisory Committee, helping guide U.S. policy on one of the industry’s most critical and high-profile safety issues. He is a contributing author and technical advisor to the Journal of Hazmat Transportation.

A graduate of Michigan State University in Packaging Engineering and a participant in the Department of the Interior’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, Duane combines technical expertise, regulatory leadership, and international diplomacy. His depth of experience enables him to deliver practical, defensible solutions that help clients remain compliant while operating efficiently in a complex global regulatory environment.

John Redman is Chief Operating Officer at Americase International. He provides operational leadership and strategic oversight across the Americase portfolio—including Americase International, Hazmat Safety Consulting, and Fulcrum Testing—driving excellence in lithium battery safety and hazardous materials solutions.

With more than 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, John previously served as Director of Global Compliance and Dangerous Goods Transportation at General Motors and as Manager of Dangerous Goods Compliance for Toyota Motor North America (TMNA). In these roles he developed, standardized, and executed enterprise-wide hazmat programs, delivered high-level regulatory guidance, and ensured the safe handling, transport, and management of dangerous goods on a global scale.

Recognized as a leading subject matter expert, John has represented the industry before numerous government agencies and organizations. He has been an active member of the Act 209 Hawaiian Working Group, Supplier Partnership, and SAE, and served as a board member of both COSTHA (Council on Safe Transportation of Hazardous Articles) and PRBA (Portable Rechargeable Battery Association). He has also participated as a delegate to the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods.

John’s passion for problem solving and developing people stems from a lifelong commitment to helping others reach their potential, whether teaching a friend to swim as a child, tutoring classmates, or mentoring through church activities. He brings this same dedication to building high-performing teams and delivering mission-critical safety solutions at Americase.

A chemist by training, Dr. Sanchez’s background encompasses both materials synthesis and characterization, specializing in the analysis of lithium-ion batteries and renewable energy catalytic processes. During his time at Exponent, Dr. Sanchez has worked on evaluating current and next-generation battery and energy storage technologies via quality analysis, performance and accelerated lifetime testing, cell design/materials evaluation and failure analysis.

Dr. Sanchez is also skilled in a variety of both destructive and non-destructive characterization techniques, which he has applied to a variety of industries, including consumer electronics, chemicals, medical devices, transportation and aerospace. Besides his primary foci in high-resolution computed tomography X-ray (CT) scanning and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Dr. Sanchez also has extensive experience in various electrochemical (voltammetry, amperometry), microscopy (SEM/TEM, AFM), material properties (TGA, DSC, BET) and spectroscopic (XPS, XAS/XES, Auger, UV-Vis, Raman, XRD) techniques. On the synthesis side, Dr. Sanchez is knowledgeable in both hydrothermal and solution synthesis of macro, meso and nanostructured materials. Dr. Sanchez is experienced in the synthesis of carbon-metal composite nanomaterials on either graphene or carbon nanotubes for battery and super capacitor applications.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Sanchez led the first set of surface and chemically-sensitive in operando measurements on a working fuel cell through the use of Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (APXPS). Dr. Sanchez also applied this expertise to study water splitting for artificial photosynthesis as a part of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), a Department of Energy (DOE) Innovations Hub.

Nick Warner is co-founder and managing principal of Energy Safety Response Group (ESRG), where he leads the testing and emergency response business lines alongside overall business strategy.

Nick has been involved in battery testing since 2010 and has focused primarily on energy storage safety since 2105, including systems integration, abuse testing, failure analysis, and handling of damaged systems. Nick has led the buildout of numerous labs, created the industry’s first third-party controls validation program, and led some of the first large scale fire testing.

Nick previously sat on the NFPA 855 committee and remains on several UL TCs while remaining active in industry thought leadership. He previously worked at DNV GL and completed his master’s work in Mechanical Engineering at Ohio State.

Dalan Zartman is a co-founder and CEO of the Energy Security Agency. With over twenty-five years of experience as a career metropolitan firefighter and rescue specialist. His Lithium-ion battery foundation is rooted in a decade of destructive testing of large-scale BESS and EV research. That foundation is translated into vetted and field-tested solutions for managing the risks associated with lithium-ion batteries in all industry sectors.

The ESA recently completed the NFPA/FPRF EV suppression research project with FRA and ESRG. This two-year project was the most robust operational analysis of EV suppression tactics done to date and has provided tremendous breakthroughs on effective approaches to tackling battery based challenges with foundational approaches and straightforward fire science.

Dalan is responsible for directing all ESA operations associated with education, incident response, testing and consultation. The ESA is staffed by career firefighter/rescue specialists, engineers and electricians with specialized training in Li Ion batteries and the systems that they are associated with. The ESA operates in all industry sectors and transport including Maritime Response, Aviation Response, Roadway Transport, EV and Mobile Incidents, and Large-Scale Stationary Sites. The ESA manages approximately 500,000 pounds of damaged lithium-ion batteries annually through emergent and coordinated response and decommissioning operations.