The TTC Battery Safety Summit is a national educational event focused on advancing battery safety across transportation systems. Hosted in Pueblo, Colorado, this two-day summit brings together transportation agencies, industry leaders, emergency responders, manufacturers, and safety professionals to address real-world battery risk, testing, and emergency response challenges.
The program includes technical discussions, applied breakout workshops, and a full-scale battery fire demonstration at the USDOT Federal Railroad Administration’s Transportation Technology Center (TTC), providing attendees with practical insight into testing environments and incident response strategies.
If your work involves battery systems at any stage from design and testing to incident response and post-incident analysis this summit is designed for you.
Federal and industry keynote perspectives
Facilitated breakout workshops focused on identifying real-world safety gaps
A live, full-scale battery fire demonstration at TTC
Cross-sector engagement with operators, responders, regulators, and engineers
Transportation Leaders:
Transit & rail safety leaders
Battery Manufacturers:
Battery system manufacturers
First Responders:
Fire & HAZMAT response professionals
Government Representatives:
Federal and state agencies
Suppliers and Stakeholders:
Aviation, marine & freight carriers
Insurers & standards organizations
Pueblo is home to the Transportation Technology Center (TTC), a uniquely capable site for controlled, full-scale safety demonstrations and testing. Hosting the Summit in Pueblo provides direct access to one of the nation’s premier transportation research and testing environments, reinforcing the event’s focus on real-world application and safety.
Day 1: May 19, Colorado State University-Pueblo (Morning) | ||
| Morning Program: CSU-Pueblo | ||
| Time | Agenda Item | Speaker |
| 7:30 – 8:15 a.m. | Breakfast & Networking | |
| 8:20 – 8:25 a.m. | Safety Briefing | CSU-Pueblo Safety Manager |
| 8:25 – 8:30 a.m. | Summit Welcome | Acacia Reber, Head of Strategy & Engagement |
| 8:30 – 8:50 a.m. | Opening Session | Mark Maday, Staff Director, Hazardous Materials Jackie van der Westhuizen, Vice President, |
| 8:50 – 9:15 a.m. | Keynote Address | Eric Shields, Technical Director, Batteries and Energy Storage Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy U.S. Department of Defense |
| 9:15 – 9:55 a.m. | BESS Technical Recap: Failure Modes & Risk Considerations | Robin Zevotek, Principal Fire Protection Engineer |
| 9:55 – 10:35 a.m. | Sponsor Networking Break | |
| 10:35 – 11:35 a.m. | Emergency Response Recap: Multi-Agency Operational Lessons from Lithium Battery Incidents Moderated Panel Discussion
| Chris Myers, Federal On-Scene Coordinator Chris Wells, Captain/Hazmat Team Coordinator, South Metro Fire Rescue Greg Jenkins, Founder/CEO |
| 11:35 – 11:55 a.m. | Afternoon Demonstration Briefing
| Mark Nicholson, Chief Operating Officer |
| 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch served at CSU-Pueblo | |
| Afternoon Program: Transportation Technology Center (TTC) | ||
| 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. | Transportation Technology Center (TTC) Demonstration Program • Depart CSU–Pueblo by bus to TTC (approximately 30-min. travel time) | |
| 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. | Sponsor Networking Reception – food & beverage | |
| Day 2: May 20, Colorado State University-Pueblo 2200 Bonforte Blvd, Pueblo, CO 81001 | ||
| Time | Agenda Item | Speaker |
| 7:30 – 8:15 a.m. | Breakfast & Networking | |
| 8:20 – 8:25 a.m. | Safety Briefing | CSU-Pueblo Safety Manager |
| 8:25 – 8:35 a.m. | Day 2 Welcome & Overview | Acacia Reber, Head of Strategy & Engagement, ENSCO |
| 8:40 – 9:20 a.m. | Charger B+AC Battery Locomotive Project: Design, Validation & Operational Readiness | Craig Tirums, Project Manager, Siemens Joseph Reynolds, Senior Director of Rolling Stock Delivery & Integration, Metro-North Railroad |
| 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. | Breakout Workshops – Session Block 1 (Build & Prepare) | |
| Workshop 1: Integration Design Best Practices | Judy Jeevarajan, Vice President & Executive Director, Electrochemical Safety Research Institute (ESRI), UL Research Institutes | |
| Workshop 2: Vehicle Manufacturing & Assembly | Les Alexander, President & CEO Battery Innovation Center | |
| Workshop 3: Emergency Response Training | Peter (Pete) Jensen, Site Fire Chief, IAFC Hazmat Committee Chair Capstone Fire & Safety Management | |
| 10:30- 11:00 a.m. | Sponsor Networking Break | |
| 11:05 – 12:05 p.m. | Breakout Workshops – Session Block 2 (Systems, Standards & Consequences) | |
| Workshop 4: Standards & Tests | Heath Dehn, Senior Engineer National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) | |
| Workshop 5: Emergency Response Technology | Ron Butler, CEO Energy Storage Safety Products International (ESSPI) | |
| Workshop 6: Emergency Response Site Remediation & E-Waste | Chris Myers, Federal On-Scene Coordinator Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | |
| 12:10 – 1:10 p.m. | Lunch Served at CSU-Pueblo | |
| 1:20 – 2:20 p.m. | Breakout Workshops – Session Block 3 (Field Operations & Response) | |
| Workshop 7: Shipping Safety | William (Bill) Schoonover, Owner Schoonover Executive Solutions, LLC | |
| Workshop 8: Decontamination & Responder Exposure Management | Richard Kesler, Research Engineer Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), UL Research Institutes | |
| Workshop 9: Inspection, Maintenance & Storage | Kaden Killpack, Commercial Project Manager Stadler US | |
| 2:20 – 3:00 p.m. | Sponsor Networking Break | |
| 3:00 – 3:45 p.m. | Breakout Session Highlights & Cross-Sector Discussion | |
| 3:45 – 4:00 p.m. | Final Remarks + Call to Action | Acacia Reber, Head of Strategy & Engagement ENSCO, Inc. |
Technical Director, Batteries and Energy Storage
Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy U.S. Department of War
Technical Director for Batteries and Energy Storage in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy. He formerly held the position of Department of Navy’s Deputy Director for Operational Energy and has led many operational energy and lithium battery safety efforts for the Navy and Marine Corps at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock. Mr. Shields was a founding member of the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries, the author of the DoD Lithium Battery Strategy 2023-2030, and the chair of the Defense Advanced Battery Working Group. Mr. Shields holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland.
Robin Zevotek P.E.
Principal Fire Protection Engineer
NFPA
Robin is a Principal Fire Protection Engineer with the Technical Services department at the National Fire Protection Association. Robin earned his Bachelor’s and Mater’s Degrees in Fire Protection Engineering from the University of Maryland. His background includes engineering design, firefighter safety research, and emergency services. At NFPA he serves as a subject matter expert in emergency response and responder safety as well as fire protection systems and building & life safety. He also hold the rank of fire chief with the Ellicott City Volunteer Fire Department in Howard County, MD.
Bill Schoonover
Owner
Schoonover Executive Solutions
William S. “Bill” Schoonover is currently the owner of Schoonover Executive Solutions, LLC providing transportation policy guidance and innovative solutions to transportation safety and security companies. Mr. Schoonover retired as the Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety, within the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. As the senior career official for the nation’s hazardous materials transportation safety program, he led the agency responsible for overseeing the safe transport of more than 3.3 billion tons of regulated hazardous products valued at more than $1.9 trillion, annually.
Mr. Schoonover has over 40 years of experience in the transportation industry and brings a wealth of experience having worked previously in the Federal Railroad Administration, the United States Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Reserve, and for a national industrial and environmental service provider.
Heath Dehn
Senior Engineer
NFPA
Heath Dehn is a senior engineer at NFPA who manages 20 technical committees responsible for maintaining and revising NFPA documents in the Hazardous Chemical/Materials Division. Most recently Heath has been managing the provisional development of NFPA’s newest code, NFPA 800 Battery Safety Code. With his expertise in the NFPA development process, Heath has been tasked with navigating the unique provisional development process for only the third time in NFPA’s 130-year history.
Ronald M. Butler
CEO
ESSPI
Ronald M. Butler serves as CEO of ESSPI (Energy Storage Safety Products International, LLC) which provides specialized safety consulting interventions for the energy storage and battery industries. ESSPI is involved in the design and development of systems for the safe transport and storage of battery technologies including technologies for battery logistics support. ESSPI is proud to be funded by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) to identify safe battery packaging solutions for industry. Ron has served as a consultant on hundreds of battery fire safety interventions, trainings, and system design contracts with the automotive, aerospace, marine, consumer electronics, and battery manufacturing sectors. He serves as a subject matter expert for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), and many others, for battery-related safety concerns. He has written extensively on the lithium (ion) battery fire safety subject with much more to come. He holds a Master’s degrees in Instructional Systems Design and Human and Organizational Performance Improvement from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. Ron’s background includes 25 years as a Detroit Fire Department officer.
Les Alexander
President, CEO
Battery Innovation Center
Les Alexander has over 25 years of executive leadership experience in the commercial and national security sectors, Les brings operations, government contracting, and financial and marketing expertise to the BIC. Prior to the BIC, he was the General Manager of A123 Systems’ Government Solutions Group. He most recently served as the Vice President of Government and Defense R&D at Navitas Systems, an East Penn Company. Before starting his business career, Les was a Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Naval Supply Corps who served in the Persian Gulf War. He has been assigned to lead large projects for multiple naval ships and bases with over 12 years of service to his country.
Chris Myers
Federal On-Scene Coordinator
EPA
Christopher Myers is a Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC) with the United States Environmental Protection Agency in Los Angeles, California. Christoper is a contributor to multiple national workgroups including the Emergency Response Technical Group, National Biological Preparedness Workgroup, Chemical Warfare Agent Preparedness Workgroup and holds the position of Co-Coordinator of the USEPA’s National Lithium-Ion Battery Emergency Response Taskforce. Mr. Myers has received multiple Gold Metals for Exceptional Service for his involvement with wildfire disaster responses and as part of the leadership team during the Red Hill drinking water emergency in Hawai’i. Christopher was presented with the 2023 National OSC of the Year award, and for serving as an Incident Commander during the Maui Wildfires was a contributing member to the 2024 Samuel J Heyman Service to America award winning team from the USEPA.
Kaden Killpack
Commercial Project Manager
Stadler US
Kaden Killpack is a Commercial Project Manager at Stadler US, where he leads the delivery of clean, modern rail vehicles across North America with a focus on zero‑emission technologies, including hydrogen and battery‑electric propulsion. Working from Stadler’s Salt Lake City campus, he connects engineering, manufacturing, and policy to support agencies through Buy America compliance, system integration, and operational readiness.
Kaden brings a systems‑level perspective to emerging propulsion solutions, emphasizing the interplay between vehicles, infrastructure, workforce readiness, and funding strategies. He is an active contributor to industry initiatives advancing sustainable transit, procurement innovation, and workforce development through APTA and other committee work.
Craig Tirums
Project Manager
Siemens Mobility
Craig Tirums is a Project Manager for Siemens Mobility, leading the Charger B+AC locomotive project for Metro-North Railroad, the first battery-powered locomotive developed by Siemens for the U.S. market. In this role, he oversees project execution, system integration, and delivery coordination for this first-of-its-kind deployment.
Craig brings nine years of experience in the rail industry, managing the execution and delivery of locomotive and passenger rail programs. His work focuses on integrating emerging propulsion technologies into operational environments while ensuring safety, reliability, and performance requirements are met.
Captain Chris Wells
Captain/Hazmat Team Coordinator
South Metro Fire
Captain Chris Wells brings 27 years of fire service experience to South Metro Fire Rescue, where he currently serves as Hazmat Team and Active Threat Coordinator. Throughout his career, he has led and supported complex emergency responses involving hazardous materials, emerging technology risks, and large-scale incident coordination.
In his current role, Captain Wells oversees hazardous materials response operations, specialized team readiness, and interagency coordination for high-risk incidents. He has extensive experience managing lithium-ion battery incidents and integrating field-level response realities with evolving safety protocols and training standards.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Emergency Services Management and remains actively engaged in advancing responder preparedness for emerging transportation and energy storage risks.
Peter Jensen
Site Fire Chief
IAFC Hazmat Committee Chair
Capstone Fire & Safety Management
Chief Jensen semi-retired after over 37 years the fire service. He started his career on the Ventura Co. Fire Dept. on the hand crew fighting wildland fires. ln 1990 he joined the Point Mugu Fire Dept’ at NAS Point Mugu as a civilian federal firefighter and progressed up to the rank of Captain. During his tenure there he was a plank holder in the creation of that department’s hazmat and urban search and rescue (USAR) teams. After almost 9 years with PMFD he started over as a rookie firefighter with the Ventura County Fire Dept. and again has promoted back up through the ranks through Captain, the department’s Hazmat Officer and continues as a Battalion Chief in Operations.
Chief Jensen has a Masters degree in Emergency and Disaster Management from American Military University, a Bachelor’s degree from California State University Long Beach in Occupational Studies and an Associate’s degree in Fire Technology from Oxnard College. He is a certified instructor from the California State Fire Marshal, The California Specialized Training institute, FEMA, the National Sheriffs’ Association and the National Fire Academy. Pete has participated in numerous exercises as the lead or a member of the planning team. The exercises range from drills, seminars, tabletops, functional to full scale exercises involving over 200 participants from multiple local, state and federal agencies (Lead, Coastal Trident 2017-19). Chief Jensen has also presented at number of conferences nationwide on multiple different topics.
Pete is a Certified Emergency Manager through the International Association of Emergency Managers and has his Master Exercise Planner certification from DHS/FEMA.
As part of his service to the fire service and the hazmat communities, Pete serves on a number of committees and working groups, currently appointed as the Chair of the International Association of Fire Chief’s Hazmat Committee, with continued service with the NFPA 470/475 Technical committee, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s FGA Working group. He was the past Chair of the FIRESCOPE Hazmat Working Group.
Pete is a certified Hazmat Specialist and a CSTI Outreach Instructor. He is also a qualified Division Group Supervisor, Strike Team Leader, Type 3 Safety Officer and Type 3 PIO through the federal NWCG incident qualification System ( ICS/NIMS).
Joseph Reynolds
Senior Director of Rolling Stock Engineering Programs & Integration
Metro-North Railroad
Joseph Reynolds has over 30 years of experience in the transit industry having worked on various transit project throughout the United States covering different types of rolling stock technologies.
Presently, as Senior Director of Rolling Stock Engineering Programs & Integration at Metro-North Railroad, his office is responsible for the acquisition and integration of MNR multi-billion-dollar capital fleet programs onto the railroad system. He and his team, partnering with Siemens, are working on developing the first dual mode battery-powered locomotive for the U.S. market: the SC42 B+AC Locomotive.
Joseph holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Polytechnic University, Brooklyn NY.
Judy Jeevarajan, Ph.D.
Vice President and Executive Director
ESRI
UL Research Institutes
Dr. Judy Jeevarajan is the Vice President and Executive Director for the Electrochemical Safety Research Institute (ESRI) at UL Research Institutes (ULRI). With almost 30 years of experience in the area of batteries and a primary focus on the lithium-ion and sodium-ion chemistries, she specializes in battery safety research, including safety trends in aged li-ion cells and modules, thermal runaway propagation in lithium battery systems, characterizing fire and fire suppressants for li-ion batteries, and consumer battery safety. She has also started explorations in the area of hydrogen safety.
Dr. Jeevarajan serves in the Technical Working Group for standards organizations such as UL Standards & Engagement (ULSE), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)/Society of Aerospace Engineers (SAE), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and serves as the Chair for the IEC SC21A subcommittee on battery standards.
From 1998 until 2003, Dr. Jeevarajan worked for Lockheed Martin Space Operations at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. In 2003, she started her work as a NASA civil servant, serving as the Group Lead for Battery Safety and Advanced Technology where she not only led advanced battery research but also held the responsibility of approving all batteries for human-rated spaceflight.
Dr. Jeevarajan has several awards to her credit, including the noteworthy NASA Exceptional Service Medal and NASA-NESC Engineering Excellence Award, the AIAA Power Systems award, the American Ceramic Society’s Leadership award and the Leaders and Legends award from the Women of Color Society. She has been an active advocate of battery safety at conferences, workshops, summits, councils, safety forums and training classes. She continues to contribute to several journal publications and technical articles and has three book chapters and a patent related to battery safety to her credit.
She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry (Electrochemistry) from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa (1995) and holds a Master of Science in Chemistry from the University of Notre Dame (1991).
Mark Nicholson
COO
Ambipar North America
Mark Nicholson, the COO for Ambipar North America, leverages his 30 years of leadership and management experience working across multiple industries in Ambipar’s emergency response, environmental and industrial service operations. A considerable portion of his career being internationally focused; including living as an expatriate for over a decade between both Colombia and Brazil. He is a US military veteran, and an accomplished energy executive. In addition, Mark has worked as a program manager for US government contracts and as a senior executive in a private equity-owned aviation company. Mark’s extensive experience in these varied environments has cultivated a keen sense of adaptability and resilience.
Greg Jenkins
Founder & CEO
High Hazard Management LLC
Greg Jenkins served 33 years in the fire service, retiring as a Captain and Hazardous Materials Specialist assigned to the HazMat Unit of the Maui County Fire Department.
After retiring from the fire service, he worked as a Dangerous Goods Specialist for Matson Navigation. He currently serves as a lithium-ion battery subject matter specialist and consultant under U.S. EPA Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START) contracts, providing nationwide technical support to On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs) and other federal officials during emergency responses and conducting site and risk assessments involving lithium-ion batteries, including during the Maui and Los Angeles wildfire responses.
Greg is a certified HazMat instructor and operates his own consulting firm specializing in lithium-ion battery risk mitigation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from the University of Hawaiʻi.
Richard Kesler
Research Engineer
Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), UL Research Institutes
Richard Kesler is a research engineer with UL Research Institute’s Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI). He has applied traditional engineering, biomechanics, and industrial hygiene principles to study the physiological demands of firefighting as well as characterize the thermal, chemical, and environmental health hazards that firefighters face. His research has also examined the performance of firefighting personal protective equipment and the interaction of PPE with the firefighter. He served as a member of the Savoy (Illinois) Fire Department for over 10 years, at ranks up to Assistant Chief. Richard holds a PhD in kinesiology and MS and BS degrees in bioengineering from the University of Illinois.
Mark Maday
Staff Director, Hazardous Materials
Federal Railroad Administration
Mark joined the FRA in January 2017 and is responsible for providing policy and enforcement guidance to FRA and State partner railroad hazardous materials inspectors and staff regarding transporting hazardous materials by rail. Mark and his staff work directly with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on regulatory review, development, and updates to the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), as well as with other federal agencies and stakeholders on programs related to the safe transportation of hazardous materials by rail. Additionally, Mark is responsible for administering FRA’s Safety Compliance and Coordination Program (SCCOP) for the transportation of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLRW).
Before joining FRA, Mark worked for Union Pacific Railroad from 2003 to 2016 as Manager of Hazardous Materials Management. His responsibilities for Union Pacific included DOT/FRA/PHMSA hazardous material regulation compliance, development and implementation of hazardous materials handling policies, hazmat employee training programs, and hazmat emergency response planning and response. Mark also served on various industry committees, workgroups, and task forces, which included the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Hazmat Committee, the AAR Tank Car Committee, the AAR Non-Accidental Release (NAR) Committee, and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Safety Committee. He was also appointed by the Governor of Nebraska to the Nebraska State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) for a two (2) year term. Before relocating to Omaha in 2009, Mark served as a Manager – Hazmat Field Operations for UP’s Chicago Territory. That territory consisted of Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Northern and Eastern Iowa.
Before joining Union Pacific in 2003, he worked as Transportation Manager – Central States Distribution for Del Monte Foods from 1996 to 2002. Before joining Del Monte, Mark served as a Captain in the US Army/US Army Reserve, where he held qualifications in Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical warfare and Logistics. Mark has a B.A. from Northeastern Illinois University.
We thank our sponsors for their support of the TTC Battery Safety Summit and their commitment to advancing lithium-ion battery safety and response readiness.
Welcome to Pueblo, Colorado! As you prepare for our upcoming conference, take a moment to explore the vibrant cityscape that awaits you. Browse through stunning images capturing the essence of Pueblo, immerse yourself in our interactive map to familiarize yourself with key locations, and discover insider tips and recommendations in our visitor guide provided by the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce. Get ready to experience the best of Pueblo during your conference stay!
Location: Conveniently located in downtown Pueblo, just a short 10-15 minute drive to CSU-Pueblo.
Conference Dates:
Booking Deadline: Monday, April 27, 2026
Showcase your organization at the 2026 TTC Battery Safety Summit! Join industry leaders, researchers, and government representatives working to advance battery safety across all modes of transportation.
Sponsorship opportunities are now available, with exclusive options that include prominent visibility, direct engagement with attendees, and opportunities to support key Summit activities.
We’re happy to connect and
provide additional details.
Gerhard “Gery” Williams is Executive Vice President, Service Delivery & Operations, serving in this role since July 2022. Gery leads an organization focused primarily on safely and reliably delivering Amtrak services to customers, operating and maintaining the company’s core railroad assets – including infrastructure and rail car and locomotive fleets – and driving process improvement and efficiencies across the Amtrak network.
Service Delivery & Operations (SD&O) consists of the Transportation, Mechanical, Infrastructure Maintenance & Construction Services (IMCS), Customer Service Stations, Onboard Services and Food & Beverage, California Operations, Operations Integration and Network Support functions.
Gery had served as Senior Vice President, SD&O, since January 2022 and was responsible for the newly created IMCS group, which encompasses engineering production and maintenance functions. He also led day-to-day core service delivery across the SD&O organization, driving continuous improvement to safety, customer service and productivity.
Prior to joining Amtrak in June 2017 as Vice President and Chief Engineer, he had spent almost three decades at CSX Transportation. Gery held a wide range of senior leadership roles, including Vice President, Mechanical Operations; Chief Mechanical Officer – Locomotives; AVP Network Operations – Locomotive Management; and Division Manager. In his last position at CSX as VP, Mechanical Operations, he reported to the Chief Operating Officer and directed a team of 3,800 employees responsible for the maintenance and repair of a combined fleet of 70,000 locomotives and rail cars. Early in his profession, Gery held various positions including trainmaster, manager of safety and terminal manager.
Across his long railroad career, Gery has consistently demonstrated collaborative and data-driven leadership and an ability to manage complex transportation, mechanical and engineering challenges successfully, with safety and efficiency.
Gery graduated from Drexel University with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce and Engineering. He also holds a Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing from the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.
Executive Vice President,
Service Delivery & Operations
