Staff Biographies

Daniel Woltering, Ph.D.
Dan is WERF's director of research. Prior to joining WERF he worked for The Weinberg Group, an international scientific and regulatory consulting firm in Washington, D.C. There he served five years as managing director of environmental science and risk management. He spent eight years at Environ International Corp. in Virginia where he established and headed the company’s environmental science practice. Dan also worked for 10 years at The Procter and Gamble Co. as section head in the environmental safety division.

Dan received his bachelor’s in biology from Bowling Green State University, Ohio. He earned his master’s in fisheries science and doctorate in aquatic toxicology and ecology from Oregon State University. He has over 20 years of experience in aquatic and environmental science including a broad background in research program design, implementation, and communication. He also has published more than 35 articles, invited papers, and book chapters and is actively involved in the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), where he has served as president, vice president, treasurer, long-range planning committee chair, and a member of the board of directors.

Claudio Ternieden
Claudio Ternieden is WERF's assistant director of research. Claudio comes to WERF from the American Association of Airport Executives, where he directed the association's environmental programs and worked with the aviation industry on a number of water issues, including stormwater and effluent guidelines development.

Claudio has an extensive history in the environmental sector, particularly with the water industry. He began his career as the pretreatment director for the City of Elkhart Public Works and Utilities, in Elkhart, IN. He then went on to work for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), where he helped implement water quality standards, managed pretreatment and operators' training programs, and oversaw drinking water construction permits. While at IDEM, Claudio also served as an advisor to U.S. EPA, providing input on such issues as federal effluent guidelines for cooling water intake structures.

Claudio has a law degree and a certificate in environmental law from Pace University School of Law, in White Plains, NY, and he is currently pursuing a masters degree in public policy at George Mason University.

Lauren Fillmore
Lauren Fillmore is a program director at WERF for the conveyance systems program area; she is directing the optimization of wastewater and solids operations challenge. Lauren has 30 years experience supporting Clean Water Act programs in industry and as a consultant. Prior to joining WERF, Lauren worked for Parsons where she managed four consecutive five-year technical support contracts with the U.S. EPA Office of Wastewater Management. Under these contracts, she provided technical support and developed outreach materials for the Municipal Technology Branch in technical areas that included wastewater treatment, collection systems, biosolids management, stormwater BMPs, and decentralized systems. Recent publications prepared for the U.S. EPA under Ms. Fillmore’s management include the Emerging Technologies for Conveyance Systems, Biosolids Management and Wastewater Treatment and In-plant Wet Weather Management series. She also managed a multi-million dollar technical support contract to U.S. EPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds for the national watershed protection program.

Lauren holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in environmental science from Rutgers University.

Roy Ramani, M. Tech., Ph.D
Roy Ramani works as a project manager in the Collection and Treatment Systems program. Before joining WERF, Roy spent 20 years managing international water and environmental projects financed by the World Bank in East Asia, the South Pacific, the Caribbean, and Latin America. He worked with governmental and regulatory agencies and local and regional water utilities, assisting them in the areas of policy planning, programming, institutional development and project implementation. He also raised funds from various local and international donors for water quality projects in developing countries.

Roy received his doctoral degree from the University of California at Berkeley, where he managed pilot- and field-scale studies in the application of solar energy and algal-bacterial symbiosis in wastewater treatment, eutrophication modeling, nutrient control in natural bodies of water, and use of the dissolved air flotation process to polish secondary effluents. Following graduation, he consulted with several water/sewerage utilities and various industries in California and Texas. He has recently served as a private consultant on engineering and operational aspects of municipal sewerage systems and privately owned treatment facilities.

Alan Hais, P.E.
Alan Hais is WERF's program director for the solids treatment, residuals, and reuse program. Prior to joining WERF, Alan spent 36 years in government, first with the District of Columbia and then with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Alan spent the first four years of his career at the D.C. Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant, both at the advanced wastewater treatment pilot plant and the main treatment facility. He joined U.S. EPA in 1973, where he served in various management and technical positions in the Agency's water quality, construction grants, and drinking water programs, with an emphasis on wastewater treatment and sewage sludge management. Alan's last assignment at U.S. EPA was with the National Homeland Security Research Center, where he had principal responsibility for wastewater security.

Alan has a bachelor's and master's degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Maryland. He is a registered professional engineer.

Jeff C. Moeller, P.E.
Jeff Moeller is a senior program director at WERF where he has worked since 1997. He directs the activities for two of WERF’s research programs: stormwater and decentralized systems. His responsibilities include managing research projects, formulating and implementing strategic research planning processes, and communicating research findings to the water quality community.

Jeff has over 15 years of experience in environmental engineering and previously worked as an engineer for Hazen and Sawyer designing water, stormwater, and wastewater systems. He has worked on water projects in the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, as well as internationally for Inter-American Development Bank funded projects in Central America. He has extensive experience in hydraulics, hydrology, best management practices, and water quality modeling, and is a registered professional engineer in Virginia and North Carolina.

Jeff has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from North Carolina State University, a master's degree in civil and environmental engineering from M.I.T., and a certificate of business administration from Georgetown University.

Amit Pramanik, Ph.D.
Amit Pramanik is a senior program director for WERF's Wastewater Treatment and Reuse program. He has been a WERF employee since 1997 and has more than 25 years of experience in environmental engineering. Throughout his career, he has worked on projects funded by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and the U.S. Agency for International Development in Southeast Asia (including Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia). Amit also has several years of consulting experience, which includes technical feasibility and value engineering studies for water and wastewater treatment facilities and wastewater collection systems in the mid-Atlantic region.

Amit earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering with honors from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and his master's and doctorate in civil and environmental engineering from Virginia Tech. His graduate research work focused on biological wastewater treatment of municipal and industrial wastes and solids-liquids separation of water and wastewater treatment sludges.

Amit is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and Chi Epsilon, the national civil engineering honor society. He also serves on several technical peer review panels and committees for other organizations, including WEF, AwwaRF, CERF, and U.S. EPA.

Lola Olabode, M.P.H.
Lola is a senior program manager for WERF's Wastewater Treatment and Reuse program. She has been a WERF employee since 2000 and has more than 10 years of experience in the environmental and public health field. She currently manages projects covering issues of water reuse, wastewater treatment technologies, security, and biosolids. Lola is the lead on WERF’s Trace Organics Challenge, “Understanding and Communicating Exposure to Trace Organic Compounds in Wastewater, Reclaimed Water, and Receiving Waters.” She also serves as a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) member and WERF’s liaison to the WateReuse Foundation (WRF). Additionally, she focuses on the issue of human health and risk assessment.

Prior to joining WERF, she worked as an epidemiologist in the Emerging Infectious Program and the Division of Outbreak Investigation at the Maryland State Department of Health. She has worked with numerous international and national agencies including WHO, CDC, FDA, USDA, and U.S. EPA.

Lola has a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Tougaloo College and a master's of public health degree in environmental and occupational health from George Washington University. Her graduate work focused on comparing heavy metal concentrations in municipal and tap water supplies. She is an active member of the American Public Health Association and the Global Health Council.

Rhonda Kranz
Rhonda is program director for WERF’s Pathogens and Human Health research in the Watersheds & Water Quality program. She is an ecologist with over 20 years of experience in research, environmental conservation, public outreach, and program development and management. Rhonda has been an independent consultant for the last three years and previously worked for the Ecological Society of America's Science Program Office where she provided governmental agencies, NGOs, legislators, industry, and the public with scientific knowledge necessary for informed decision-making.

Rhonda has held leadership roles in many national and community organizations including Board membership of the Green Media Toolshed and the Biodiversity Project. She has been a long time member of the Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable steering committee and is also active in her local watershed group. Rhonda received her B.A. in Zoology from the University of Washington, and M.S. in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Jane M. Casteline
Jane is a program manager in WERF's Watersheds Management and Water Quality research program area. Prior to joining WERF, she was a project manager for the WateReuse Foundation, where she managed reclaimed water projects in treatment technologies, public acceptance, concentrate management, and chemical contaminants. Jane also spent five years in environmental consulting completing ecological risk assessments, remedial investigations and feasibility studies (RI/FS), wetland delineations, and litigation support.

Jane has a bachelor's degree in geology from the University of Kansas and a master's degree in geological sciences from Lehigh University. She was appointed to the City of Alexandria's Environmental Policy Commission as a science member in June 2005 and served a two year term.