Industry Leaders

The Synagro team includes thought leaders, subject-matter experts and industry icons who have shaped the nation’s approach to biosolids management and recycling.

At the heart of the Synagro team, is a group of thought leaders, subject-matter experts and industry icons who have shaped the nation’s approach to biosolids management and recycling. These leaders, many of whom have more than 35 years of biosolids expertise, set the industry standards for excellence in compliance, operations, technologies and land management. They are the industry’s most-trusted advisors, serving as trusted partners to our more than 1,000 municipal customers.

Jeff

Faust

The art and science of compliance; a true Synagro differentiator

Read Bio

Jeff Faust is Synagro’s environmental compliance director. He has more than 35 years of experience in biosolids and residuals management. During his career, he has permitted land application sites and storage facilities for land application projects, prepared numerous regulatory reports, performed QA/QC reviews on federal, state and local regulatory reports, and commented on federal and state regulations. He has also developed and implemented standard operating procedures and compliance calendars to ensure compliance with federal, state and local regulations. He has conducted numerous environmental compliance audits and developed and implemented biosolids/residuals environmental compliance and monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting programs.

Jeff holds bachelor’s degrees in Soil Science, Watershed Management and Natural Resource Management from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point.  

Mike

Myers

The best in the business at planning, scoping and executing complex biosolids services projects

Read Bio

Mike Myers is Synagro’s director of Sales and Operation Planning. In this role, Mike has national responsibility for all dredging, digester cleaning and dewatering operations. He evaluates equipment and technology, reviews bids and proposals, trains special project teams, establishes corporate guidelines for special projects, and oversees construction of mobile dewatering units as well as installation of permanent, on-site dewatering facilities. His unique, industry-leading knowledge and presence at all startup operations is key to Synagro’s excellence in consistently delivering great outcomes for our customers. Mike has had this leadership role at Synagro for 20 years. Prior to Synagro, Mike worked at Whiteford Environmental in their water and wastewater group, where he rose to become the manager of the Special Projects Department. In this role, he was responsible for site surveys, project assessments, bidding and fiscal responsibility for all Special Projects contracts.

Mike is a Nutrient Management Consultant, State of Maryland. He has a Confined Space Certification, Instructor Level, and he attended the Carnegie School of Management. He is a member of the Water Environment Federation.

Bob

Pepperman

EXPERT IN SOIL SCIENCE AND LEADER IN BIOSOLIDS MANAGEMENT

Read Bio

Bob Pepperman is Synagro’s director of product sales and marketing. He leads the team which delivers more than 500,000 tons of AllGro® compost and Granulite® fertilizers to farmers across North America, the most in the biosolids industry. He has more than 35 years of experience helping municipalities develop environmentally responsible solutions to their biosolids management challenges, and helping farmers improve soil health through biosolids land application. Bob began his career as the Director of Professional Services for Enviro-Gro Technologies, where he was part of the team that developed an agricultural land base in Colorado, allowing New York City to cease ocean disposal of their biosolids. He was also part of the team creating the solution for the Boston Harbor cleanup. He later co-founded Environmental Group Services, Inc., a consulting firm focused on assisting engineering companies in evaluating new technologies and creating biosolids master plans. He has also served as United Water / Suez’s primary internal expert for biosolids management. He joined Synagro in 2010, and, in addition to his product group leadership, has been a successful developer, siting multiple biosolids management facilities for our municipal clients.

Bob holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Resource Management and a master’s degree in Agronomy from Pennsylvania State University. He has held committee and leadership roles in Water Environment Federation, Chesapeake Water Environment Association, Mid-Atlantic Biosolids Association and Water Environment Research Foundation.

Craig

Geyer

Industry leadership in compost operations

Read Bio

Craig Geyer is area plant director in our West region. In this role, he oversees our four composting operations in the region, Arizona Soils, CVC, Nursey Products and SKIC, in addition to managing services operations in Arizona. Craig also serves as a consultant to the leaders of our other compost facilities, constantly improving their performance. He joined Synagro in 2002 as operations manager of our biosolids projects in Arizona. In 2005, he added responsibility for managing our Arizona Soils facility, giving him more than 14 years of experience in municipal biosolids composting. Prior to joining Synagro, Craig spent a dozen years in construction management and superintendent roles.

John

Uzupis

The government’s go-to-guy for understanding phosphorus and responsibly recycling biosolids

Read Bio

John Uzupis is our technical services director for the Mid-Atlantic region. He has overall responsibility for directing land base management for biosolids, food, water treatment and pulp and paper residuals, and for regulatory compliance for beneficial reuse of residual products with federal, state and local agencies. John has been with the company since 1996. Because of his deep subject matter expertise and recognized industry leadership, he was chosen as a member of the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Phosphorus Management Tool Transition Advisory Committee. This committee makes recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture on strategies to more effectively implement the Phosphorus Management Tool, a procedure developed by the University of Maryland that uses characteristics of soils landforms and management practices to identify the potential risk of phosphorus losses from land to water. This is an initiative vital to improving the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Prior to joining Synagro, John worked for a decade with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources in permitting and enforcement. During his tenure there, he was noted for streamlining the bond release process and permitting the first biosolids reclamation project in the region.

John holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Resource Management from Pennsylvania State University. He is a Certified Nutrient Management Specialist in the State of Pennsylvania. John is also President of the Mid-Atlantic Biosolids Association (MABA) and a Board member of the Virginia Biosolids Council.

Layne

Baroldi

The industry’s advocate for responsible biosolids legislation and regulation

Read Bio

Layne Baroldi is our vice president of Technical Services and Government Affairs. He coordinates with municipal representatives, consultants, lobbyists, and professional trade associations to promote environmentally responsible biosolids legislation and regulation at the local, state, and federal level. He also manages the company’s 40-person Technical Services group, which is responsible for providing efficient and compliant end use options for our clients’ biosolids through land permitting, development of nutrient management plans and obtaining all requisite regulatory approvals for land application operations. Prior to joining Synagro, Layne spent 22 years with the Orange County Sanitation District, where he managed the District’s biosolids management and air quality programs. He previously served as Councilman and Mayor of the City of La Habra Heights, California. 

Layne holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California in Biological Sciences and is a Juris Doctor from the Western State College of Law. He is a member of several national and state clean water organizations He is also an often-published member, and featured speaker on various topics, for the Water Environmental Federation.   

2022_Yolanda-Chen_07

Yolanda

Chen

FINANCIAL LEADERSHIP IN CORPORATE FINANCE AND GOVERNANCE, TREASURY, BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, AND MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Read Bio

Yolanda Chen is Synagro’s senior vice president of Finance. She is seasoned finance leader with experience in both public and private sectors from risk management, telecommunications, and high-tech manufacturing industries. She has experience in corporate finance, treasury, corporate governance, business intelligence, mergers and acquisition, with strong leadership deep-rooted in trust and integrity. Yolanda is recognized as a dynamic change leader, and a forward-thinking strategic partner.

Prior to joining Synagro, as a vice president of finance for a private equity-owned multinational company, Yolanda restructured and streamlined finance functions across multiple countries, platforms and currencies, deployed A standardized global payroll platform in multiple regions, supported global supply chain and quotation continuous improvement effort, managed greenfield in Asia to navigate supply chain tariff risk, and as a part of the leadership team, propelled the company to double-digit growth four consecutive years.

Yolanda holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a master’s degree in Finance from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. She was one of the first organizers for Women of MFin, an organization at Queen’s with a nationwide outreach to assist, promote and accelerate women’s careers in the finance industry, facilitate discussions on gender equality corporate culture and policies, and provide resources for women from less-privileged backgrounds to get a fair shot at achieving successful careers.

Andrew

Bosinger

One of the industry’s most prolific business developers
Read Bio

Andrew Bosinger is Synagro’s vice president of Strategic Accounts and Partnerships. He has more than 25 years of experience in the design and implementation of public-private partnerships for municipal biosolids and organic residuals management. Andrew’s career has been dedicated to working with public utilities across North America to put in place sustainable, cost effective, reliable biosolids processing and management solutions. He is an industry leader in helping utilities evaluate biosolids management alternatives and developing project approaches that meet long-term sustainability and cost goals. As an example, Andrew was invited by the City Council of Austin, Texas to participate as a key stakeholder in a work group for development of policies dealing with organics, biosolids, solid waste, and recycling activities. He has led the company’s efforts on several key wins, including the development of Synagro’s first Canadian project in Hamilton, Ontario, renewal of our partnership with the Waterbury, Cnnecticut regional incinerator contract, and the successful pursuit of the design-build-operate delivery of a new biosolids drying facility for the City of Fort Worth, Texas. During his tenure with Synagro, Andrew has developed projects creating approximately $1 billion in business backlog.

Andrew holds a bachelor’s degree in Resource Economics from the University of New Hampshire and has continuing education at the Loyola University, Chicago, Graduate School of Business. He is a member of the Water Environment Federation and a member of the Biosolids Committee of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies.

2021_John_Pugliaresi_6743

John “JP”

Pugliaresi

More than 30 years providing environmental management expertise to West Coast municipalities
Read Bio

John “JP” Pugliaresi is Synagro’s West Region sales director. He is responsible for providing strategic guidance to our municipal and industrial customers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington to develop both facility- and services-based, environmentally sustainable, solutions for their biosolids management needs. He has more than 30 years of experience in this field. His areas of expertise include finance and accounting, operations management, and sales. As part of his duties with Synagro, JP has prepared applications for changes in refuse collection and disposal rates for the City and County of San Francisco and implemented operations performance-monitoring programs. In a previous role with the company, JP was responsible for the development of operations and maintenance for all Synagro projects throughout the West Region. Prior to Synagro, JP served in a series of environmental services roles of increasing responsibility with Norcal Solid Waste Systems, USA Waste Services and Waste Management.

JP has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of California, Berkeley.

Mudit Gangal

Mudit

Gangal

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF ADVANCED WATER TECHNOLOGIES
Read Bio

Mudit Gangal, is Synagro’s senior director of Advanced Water Technologies. With more than 15 years of experience spanning technical sales, product management, process engineering and business leadership, he is a recognized thought leader in the water sector.

Mudit has held several pivotal roles with renowned companies including Suez, Ovivo and Koch Separation Solutions. His depth and breadth of experience has enabled him to employ a unique, holistic approach to develop tailored, optimized solutions for both municipal and industrial clients facing complex wastewater treatment and resource recovery challenges. His extensive expertise combined with passion for sustainability leads him to continually push the envelope – whether through commercializing emerging contaminant removal techniques or advancing artificial intelligence-based applications.

A skilled communicator, Mudit shares his industry knowledge broadly, having authored 30+ published articles and delivered talks at leading industry conferences globally. Early in his career, the worldwide innovation trophy acknowledged his creative drive. Today, Mudit focuses that same drive on translating leading-edge research in clean technologies into real-world systems for customers across the value chain.

Mudit holds a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Visvesvaraya Technological University, a master’s degree in Engineering Management from Duke University and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Indian School of Business. On a personal front he is a live music and Broadway afficionado and an avid cricket and Duke basketball fan.

Matt

Busch

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, DRYERS AND INCINERATORS

Read Bio

Matt Busch is Synagro’s senior vice president of Dryers and Incinerators. He has full responsibility for the safety, regulatory compliance, financial and operational performance of Synagro’s dryer fleet, including facilities at Pinellas, Florida; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Hagerstown, Maryland; Baltimore, Maryland; Camden, New Jersey; Stamford, Connecticut and North Andover, Massachusetts, and incinerators in Woonsocket, Rhode Island and New Haven and Waterbury, Connecticut. Matt’s long history running facilities, and his industry leading knowledge also help him constantly improve the performance of our facilities and expertly onboard all new plant and operations managers. Matt was also a key member the Synagro teams that have recently won new dryer contracts at Windsor, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to Synagro, Matt worked for Bausch & Lomb Surgical manufacturing surgical implants and Concurrent Technologies where he worked to develop specialized electronics recycling process for the United States Military. He began his career at Raymond James Financial.

Matt has completed certifications in Wastewater Treatment Management from the University of Florida and Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants from California State University, Sacramento. He has also held a Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Level A License, issued by the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection since 2007 and has longstanding affiliations with the Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association and the Water Environment Federation. Matt completed a certification in Electrical Wiring and Motor Controls from PTEC.

2022_Kazem-Oskoui_01

Kazem

Oskoui

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP IN AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Read Bio

Kazem Oskoui, Ph.D., is Synagro’s vice president of Technology. He has more than four decades of experience in wastewater engineering, design and innovation, as well as resource recovery and reuse technologies including bioreactors, biodigesters and waste-to-energy. Kazem’s extensive career provides unique approaches to each client’s water and wastewater treatment, resource recovery and energy challenges.

Kazem has published more than 50 articles, book chapters and technical publications including 11 scientific papers in peer-reviewed and refereed journals. His research interests span from agricultural systems engineering and management and the interaction of agriculture and the environment to terrestrial ecological modeling, artificial intelligence decision aid development, and environmental remediation and water and wastewater recovery and reuse.

Kazem holds a doctorate and master’s degree in Agricultural and Environmental Engineering from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and a First Certificate in English Literature and Language from the University of Cambridge in England. He was a lecturer at the Universities of Aberdeen and  Edinburgh in Scotland, and is an adjunct research associate at the University of Minnesota. He was also a senior scientist/engineer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Kazem innovated a modular universal wastewater treatment system which amongst other contaminants, removes contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as Forever Chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and endocrine disruptors.