Management Team
Richard M. Silberman, LEED AP
Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director of Eastern Region
Richard M. Silberman is HBI’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Eastern Region. Mr. Silberman has been an employee of HBI for over 18 years and assumed his current position in March 2006. Mr. Silberman provides leadership and direction with regard to all activities of the company in accordance with the goals and objectives of the organization. For the eastern region specifically Mr. Silberman spearheads all efforts involving business development, management, personnel, compliance and finance.
Prior to joining HBI Mr. Silberman was a Service Sales Representative for Honeywell Inc. in McLean, Virginia, responsible for the sales of energy control systems and mechanical maintenance contracts to building owners and managers of commercial buildings. He began his career as a Technical Analyst for Science Applications International Corporation in McLean, Virginia. Working in the Energy Services Department, he provided technical support and expertise on various contracts for the U.S. EPA, U.S. DOE, and public utilities.
Mr. Silberman possesses a Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Energy, Resources, and the Environment from The George Washington University and a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics from the State University of New York at Albany. Mr. Silberman is a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) as well as a Certified Energy Manager (CEM). He is currently the Instructor of a course titled “Environmental Health and Safety Issues” [in buildings] produced by the Building Owners & Managers Institute (BOMI) and a requirement for the Real Property Administrator (RPA) designation. Mr. Silberman is a past Chairman of the Healthy Buildings Committee for the Architectural Engineering Institute. He is currently a member of the American Society for Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
Simon Turner, LEED AP
President
Simon Turner has been President of HBI since March 2006. Mr. Turner oversees the operational aspects of the company, including planning and development, administration, west coast sales, market research, and management of the company's business and future expansion. Since joining HBI in 1987 in the Fairfax, Virginia office Mr. Turner has managed comprehensive indoor air quality inspections within hundreds of major buildings. In 1994, Mr. Turner moved to Southern California to start up HBI’s Western Regional office.
Prior to joining HBI, Mr. Turner studied the effects of radionuclide leaks from nuclear installations for the United Kingdom's National Nuclear Energy Research Group in Harwell. He then worked for Napp Laboratories, a major British pharmaceutical company. Subsequently Mr. Turner joined the Atmospheric Sciences Division of the National Physical Research Laboratory in South Africa. There he conducted air pollution research in such fields as asbestos, acid rain, lead in gasoline and dust monitoring in heavily industrialized areas. Mr. Turner is the author of some 30 publications and technical reports on such topics.
Mr. Turner is a Board member of The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), Orange County, Chair of the Government Affairs Committee and a member of the Executive Committee of BOMA California. He was a member of the 2007-2008 IAQ committee for CHPS (Collaborative for High Performance Schools), a member of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE). He also trains property managers on mold as part of the BOMI educational program. Mr. Turner co-wrote the original IAQ test method used by LEED and was instrumental in developing tracer gas methods for use in LEED projects.
Mark A. Carpenter, CIH
National Technical Director
Mark A. Carpenter is the National Technical Director for HBI. Mr. Carpenter has been an employee of HBI for nine years, beginning as a Regional Director for the Mid-Atlantic offices. In his current role, Mr. Carpenter oversees the technical management, standard operating procedures, and quality control aspects for all field and laboratory operations in the three U.S. offices. He manages field investigations, directs all health and safety programs, and performs specialized training for HBI personnel and clients.
Prior to joining HBI, Mr. Carpenter was a Project Manager and Industrial Hygienist with Environmental Health & Engineering, Inc. (Newton, MA). During this time he was responsible for the management of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Building Assessment Survey and Evaluation (BASE) program, a large scale multi-million dollar research study designed to establish an indoor environmental database of the U.S. building stock. Duties included: project management, budgeting administration, field team leadership, quality control, statistical analyses, and the presentation of technical data. As an industrial hygienist with EH&E, Mr. Carpenter also managed a variety of projects in commercial building, healthcare, and laboratory environments involving chemical, microbiological, and physical hazards in the workplace.
Mr. Carpenter earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Hampton University, and a Master’s of Science degree in Public Health and Environmental Health Sciences from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he presented a thesis entitled “The Applications of Video Exposure Monitoring.” Mr. Carpenter also co-authored research papers with the EPA and presented technical findings at the Environmental Expo. He is a board Certified Industrial Hygienist with the American Board of Industrial Hygiene and holds memberships with AIHA, AHSRAE, IAQA, and the U.S. Green Building Council.
Dee A. Huss
Director of Information Technology
Dee A. Huss is the Director of Information Technology (IT) for HBI. As one of the four original employees of HBI, Ms. Huss has been with the company since its infancy in the mid-1980s, and is now one of its senior employees. In her present role Ms. Huss manages the functional departments of the Healthy Buildings organization including: hardware, software, and network infrastructure, database development as well as administration, accounting, human resources, and executive reporting. Ms. Huss also keeps abreast of advancing technologies to enhance the growth of HBI, as well as ensuring a smooth flow of information and communication. In addition, she also serves as human resources manager and accounting department liaison.
Earlier in her career at HBI, Ms. Huss created automated processes for sales quotes, job creation and scheduling, expense reporting, report consolidation and publishing, invoicing automation, and collections enhancement. This provided clients with better products at reduced cost with faster turnaround times. Ms. Huss drove IT development with cutting edge technologies from inception to present day by transitioning her proprietary database as new systems became available.
Ms. Huss possesses an Associates Degree in Applied Science, Information Systems, and Programming Specialization from the Northern Virginia Community College, with additional coursework towards a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management at the George Mason University. Ms. Huss stays current of the IT environment by attending numerous seminars and conferences and is a member of several web, IT, and database web groups and member associations.
Bruce MacPherson
Client Services Director
Mr. MacPherson is the Director of Client Services for HBI. He has over 20 years experience of fieldwork in indoor air quality providing expertise in the areas of building assessments, laboratory analyses and technical report writing. In his current role his duties include writing and editing technical reports and templates and managing the report production department for all HBI offices based in the United States. He has a broad understanding of all laws and regulations from various occupational health and safety organizations with regard to indoor air quality. Mr. MacPherson also provides HBI’s clients with technical knowledge of the indoor air quality field and works closely in conjunction with the technical staff to troubleshoot and communicate potential problems and hazards inside client’s buildings. Also, Mr. MacPherson still periodically performs emergency response building inspections.
Prior to his current position, Mr. MacPherson was a Project Manager for HBI and worked as an industrial hygienist. Responsibilities included indoor air assessments of buildings, which involved conducting air system evaluations as well as testing indoor environments for dusts, gases and biological contaminants. He also gained years of experience performing microbial investigations, mold assessments, and asbestos inspections and risk assessments, as well as technical report writing and training of technical staff. He began his career with HBI in 1988 as a Laboratory Technician, where his duties included the analysis of bacteria and fungi from building systems as well as the analysis of asbestos fibers using both polarized light (PLM) and Phase Contrast (PCM) microscopy.
Mr MacPherson holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He currently holds E.P.A. certifications for asbestos inspector and management planner.
Sean S. McCrady, CMC
Operations Manager, Western Region
Sean McCrady is the Operations Manager for HBI’s Western Region based in Lake Forest, California. Mr. McCrady has been an employee of HBI for over ten years and was promoted to his current position in 2004. Drawing from extensive field experience, Mr. McCrady provides indoor environmental expertise, technical training, project oversight, report production and client support for the western region. Additionally, Mr. McCrady provides project coordination and management for specialized investigations including Terrorism Vulnerability Assessments, Mold and Moisture Control Programs for New Construction, Property Acquisition Due Diligence Inspections, Clean Room Investigations, and Hospital Construction Monitoring Projects.
Mr. McCrady was first employed as a field technician with the HBI headquarters office in Virginia. After two years of intensive apprenticeship and involvement on a vast array of indoor environmental projects, Mr. McCrady was promoted to a Senior Project Manager position within the HBI Western Region Office in California. Upon conducting hundreds of building investigations, Mr. McCrady was again promoted to Operations Manager three years later.
Mr. McCrady possesses a B.S. in Environmental Science with a concentration in Environmental Engineering, Pollution and Waste Management from The Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, Virginia. He holds a Certified Microbial Consultant certification from the American Indoor Air Quality Council.
Dean F. Tyler, LEED AP, CIEC
Director, Northeast Region
Dean Tyler began his tenure with HBI in 2001. He is HBI’s Director of the Northeast Region located in the New York City metropolitan office. Mr. Tyler’s strong analytical skills, extensive knowledge of environmental standards and investigative methods, understanding of HVAC and mechanical systems, professional communication skills and business acumen have won him recognition within HBI and with clients alike. His responsibilities include client development, project management, customer support, field investigations, report writing, public speaking, general accounting, and branch office management. Mr. Tyler has performed IAQ investigations in over 500 commercial and institutional facilities.
Mr. Tyler has over has fourteen years experience in the field of indoor air quality. Prior to joining HBI, Mr. Tyler was the Vice President of Air Care Technologies (ACT). ACT was a professional consulting/contracting firm focused on air quality management. It specialized in air quality investigations, mold inspections and remediation, air filtration systems, ventilation systems, air system hygiene and humidity controls. ACT was also a distributor for Koch Filters, Honeywell Commercial Air Cleaners, Mitsubishi HVAC, and Sensidyne/Gillian air sampling equipment. Mr. Tyler’s responsibilities included the management and execution of indoor environmental investigations, mold remediation design and cleanup, air quality training, business development, product representation, design of engineering controls for indoor environmental management, and financial management.
Mr. Tyler has a Masters degree from University of South Florida with a focus on statistical research. He is a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP), Certified Indoor Environmental Consultant (CIEC), US EPA Asbestos Inspector, and New York State Asbestos Inspector. He is currently a member of the American Indoor Air Quality Council (AmIAQC), Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA), US Green Building Council (USGBC); and Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA).
Christopher Ashworth, LEED AP
Manager of Business Development
Chris Ashworth is HBI’s Manager of Business Development for the Eastern Region. In this role he oversees sales activities out of the New Jersey and Virginia offices, while spearheading sustainable consulting sales efforts for HBI’s green building consulting subsidiary Healthy Buildings Solutions (HBS). Prior to this role Mr. Ashworth was the lead sales representative in the Mid-Atlantic region. In this role he led sales efforts for new opportunities in fields ranging from indoor air quality inspections to LEED IAQ sampling.
In 2003, Mr. Ashworth obtained a Marketing Engineer position with Evapco Inc., a firm dedicated to producing industrial refrigeration and cooling equipment. His responsibilities included coordinating engineers, sales teams, and project clients. His primary role was to enhance sales representative effectiveness by providing technical and financial advice for complex climate control equipment. While attending college Mr. Ashworth completed multiple internships with Pfizer Inc. At Pfizer Mr. Ashworth’s responsibilities ranged from analyzing the various processes and software utilization capabilities of the purchasing databases and programs to ensuring the quality of current and developmental packaging materials while conducting packaging stability analysis. During his senior year he also worked with a design team consulting with Gates Inc. The team developed a virtual production system that Gates will use to improve production line efficiency.
Mr. Ashworth is currently working on his Masters of Business Administration through the University Maryland University College. Mr. Ashworth graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering. He became a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) in December of 2008, and is an active member of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), International Facility Managers Association (IFMA), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
Paula Williams, CIH
Senior Program Manager, Western Region
Paula Williams joined HBI in 2001 and is a Senior Program Manager for the Western Region. Her responsibilities include managing inside sales, technical report writing, project and account management, assisting in market research and development of new products (with an emphasis in the healthcare arena), conducting IAQ training seminars / presentations, and overseeing customer service and quality control.
Prior to joining HBI, Ms. Williams worked at Cintas Corporation where she earned a series of promotions. During her tenure she worked to optimize the efficiency of wastewater treatment systems, production scheduling and quality control while managing a staff of 80 employees and an annual operating budget of $2.8 million. As Regional Engineer, Ms. Williams was responsible for training the region’s 11 Plant Managers, conducting regular safety audits, facilitating major equipment acquisition, and overseeing all aspects of environmental compliance within the region. Prior to joining Cintas, Ms. Williams completed two internships at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in Livermore, California as an Environmental Scientist in the Water Guidance and Monitoring Group.
Ms. Williams graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She completed her graduate coursework towards a Master of Science degree in Engineering with a concentration in Industrial Engineering emphasizing Pollution Prevention, Ergonomics, and Industrial Health & Safety. Ms. Williams is a Board Certified Industrial Hygienist with the American Board of Industrial Hygiene, and is a member of BOMA, Orange County.