Speakers

Brian Beidle

FSS Inc.

Brian has twenty years of commercial pest control experience and has a Bachelor of Science in entomology, from Iowa State University, and is board certified. He has experience and expertise with problems regarding rodents, cockroaches, ants, flies, and other commonly stored product pests. Working with birds is also another specialty.

Paul Bello

PJB

Paul J. Bello is the owner & sole consultant of PJB Pest Management Consulting. He is both an Associate (ACE) & Board Certified Entomologist (BCE) with over 40 years of industry experience in termite, wood destroying organisms & pest control. With his years of experience in building a company, technical training, and in-depth field experience, Paul can provide his clients with valuable educational resources & business knowledge.

Foster Brusca

The Pest Posse

Foster Brusca, the Head Wrangler at The Pest Posse, has over 30 years of experience in the pest control industry. I hold an active California Operator’s license in Branch 2. Since joining The Pest Posse in 2019, I have been instrumental in supporting small to medium-sized pest control businesses through training, mentoring, and providing expert solutions. I currently co-host episodes on Pest Posse TV and serve as a trainer for the Pest Posse Academy, focusing on effective pest control strategies and customer service excellence. I have also authored the best-selling book The Fundamentals of Pest Control: Strategies from a Pest Management Professional and regularly contribute to Pest Management Professional magazine.

Ben Channon

Xcluder

Ben Channon, Xcluder’s Commercial Division National Sales Manager, has 16 years of experience in the pest management industry, specializing in food manufacturing and distribution environments and other third-party-audited facilities. Ben is an Associate Certified Entomologist and certificated pesticide applicator. A former member of the NPMA Commercial Committee and Greater Chicago Pest Management Alliance Board, Ben studied business at Northern Illinois University and Loyola University Quinlan School of Business.

Stan Cope

Rose Pest Solutions

Stan holds a Bachelors degree in Biology from Swarthmore College, a Masters degree in Entomology from Delaware, and a PhD in Public Health from UCLA. He served almost 24 years as a Medical Entomologist in the United States Navy, including 4 years as the ‘Head Bug Guy’ for the Department of Defense. Stan retired from the Navy in 2012 with the rank of Captain. He joined Terminix as the Director for Entomology and Regulatory Services followed by AP&G (Catchmaster) as Vice President of Technical Products and Services, and he moved to his current position in September of 2023. Stan received the ‘PestVet of the Year’ award in 2021 from the National Pest Management Association.

JD Darr

NPMA

JD is the Senior Director of Public Policy at the National Pest Management Association where he oversees federal and state legislative and regulatory efforts and programs. He is also the staff liaison for the Public Policy Committee and Fumigation Committee. JD received his BA in environmental studies from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.

Bob Dold

Rose Pest Solutions

Bob Dold is the President of Rose Pest Solutions. He has been involved in the industry for over 25 years and is the current Secretary of the National Pest Management Association. Bob also, served in the United States House of Representatives for two terms representing Illinois 10th Congressional district before returning to Rose. He received a BA from Denison University, his JD from Indiana University and His MBA from Northwestern Kellogg School of Management.

Alan Feuer

Preventative Pest Solutions

Alan is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Following his service, he returned home to the Albuquerque area and fell into a job with a local pest control company. Little did he know, this job would lead to a career. Over the past 20 years Alan has worked for 2 excellent companies, Carter Services and Preventive Pest Control, where his role was training, development and technical direction. During these tenures Alan earned his ACE in 2008, served on the Copesan Technical Committee, and as chairman of the NPMA WDO committee, and earned the ACE professional award.

Ameya Gondhalekar

Purdue University

Dr. Ameya Gondhalekar is a research associate professor in the Center for Urban and Industrial Pest Management at Purdue University. He is originally from Mumbai, India where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Agricultural Sciences and Entomology, respectively. His training in Urban Entomology began at the University of Florida, where he completed his PhD working with German cockroach toxicology and resistance management. His research program at Purdue focuses on basic biology (insect toxicology and physiology) and integrated management of urban insect pests. His current reaesrch focus is on cockroaches and bed bugs.

Lee Green

Indiana Department of Health

Lee Green is the Senior Medical Entomologist and Director of the Entomology Lab at the Indiana Department of Health. Before taking on that role in 2021, he was a field Medical Entomologist at the Indiana Department of Health for over 15 years where he served as a vector-borne disease subject matter expert in Northern Indiana. During that time, he collected and identified over a half a million mosquitoes and thousands of ticks to study the arthropods and diseases that impact human health. He is a board member of the Indiana Pesticide Review Board, Indiana Vector Control Association, and Indiana Environmental Health Association.

Catherine Hill

Purdue University

Dr. Catherine Hill is Professor and Head, Department of Entomology, Purdue University where she leads an internationally recognized program focused on the control of arthropod-borne infectious diseases that threaten public health and biosecurity. Her research combines molecular, computational and drug discovery approaches to advance understanding of vector biology and design new, safer technologies for vector control. She led the Lyme disease tick genome project, an initiative funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and works closely with public health partners to help prevent disease spread. Dr. Hill received her doctorate from the University of Adelaide, South Australia and completed postdoctoral training at Eli Lilly and Company and the University of Notre Dame researching the genome of the malaria mosquito.

Francie Hindrichsen

Simply Integrated

Francie Hinrichsen is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, and real estate investor. Francie earned a master’s degree in business administration from Ball State University in 2013. She is the founder of Simply Integrated, LLC, a data and analytics marketing consulting company, and Founding Females®, an entrepreneurship education company. In her consulting work, Francie helps companies grow and scale by developing tailored and effective marketing programs based on search engine optimization and conversion rate optimization. Francie was awarded the 2022 Women in Business Leadership Award from Bradley University for her work to empower entrepreneurs. In 2024, she was recognized by Susana Mendoza, the Illinois State Comptroller, for her work promoting new opportunities in entrepreneurship.

Pat Hottel

Terminix

Patricia Hottel has over 45 years of pest management industry experience specializing in food plant pest management. Pat has a bachelor’s degree in entomology from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in instructional technology from the University of Central Missouri. She is currently a Technical Manager in fumigation and heat treatments for Rentokil Terminix and is a Board-Certified Entomologist (BCE). Pat has received numerous awards, including Professional Woman of the Year and Chairperson of the Year for her work on NPMA’s Insect Control Committee. She is a recipient of the Syngenta Crown Leadership award for professional pest management and has been honored with the Distinguished Service Award from the Entomological Society of America. She is a frequent presenter at industry conferences as well as a regular contributor to food and pest management industry trade journas. Pat has provided consultation and training services to a wide variety of food processors in the nation.

Darren Hunsaker

All Clear Pest Control

Darren Hunsaker is a partner in All Clear Pest Control and Co-Founder of Smarter Launch in Queen Creek, Arizona. He started his pest control career as a technician in 2007. In 2010, he started Seville Pest Control before acquiring All Clear Pest Control in 2015. Darren is known as a FieldRoutes guru and has always enjoyed using technology in new ways not seen in the industry. He shares that knowledge with others to help them reduce their time working in their business and move to growing their businesses.

Darren has devoted his time to the pest control industry by serving as a board member of the Arizona Pest Professional Organization starting in 2018. While serving there, he successfully helped launch AZPPO’s Mastermind program, chaired the Education Committee and helped head the largest Great Western Conference in AZPPO’s history.

Nina Jenkins

ConidioTec

Nina is an Affiliate Professor in the Penn State Department of Entomology and Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of ConidioTec LLC. ConidioTec is a spin-out company from Penn State based in Centre Hall, PA. It holds the exclusive license for the Patented technology behind Aprehend.

Patrick Kelley

Insects Limited

Patrick Kelley is currently the Managing Director of the Insects Limited – Center for Stored Product Protection. Insects Limited is a pheromone technology company specializing in insect trapping systems for stored product pests. Pat is a Board Certified Entomologist (BCE) through the Entomological Society of America. His received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Geology from Purdue University, and a Master of Science degree in Entomology from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.

Sylvia Kenmuir

BASF

Sylvia is the Senior Technical Services Representative – West for BASF. Her focus is on Urban Pest Management for urban pests such as ants, termites, and commensal rodents since 2019. She provides technical support and field trials on BASF solutions on the west coast. Prior to BASF, Sylvia was the National Technical Director in Distribution for 30 years. Education: B.S., Biology- California State Polytechnic, Pomona; MSc. Entomology - University of Nebraska Lincoln. Professional Licenses: Board Certified Entomologist #3194, Licensed California Pest Control Advisor and Qualified Applicator. Professional Affiliations: Co-Chair of the West Coast Rodent Academy, Chair of California Professional Women in Pest Management, Past Director for Entomological Society of America Certification Board. Sylvia is also the author and host of a Podcast titled: “ACE the ACE with Sylvia Kenmuir.”

Emory Matts

Rentokil-Terminix

Emory currently holds the position of Rodent Technical Manager at Rentokil North America based in Dallas-Fort Worth. He is certified as a BCE and CCFS. Emory attended the University of Minnesota where he earned an MS in Entomology; he also holds a BA in Biology/Biological Sciences from Hamline University.

Dini Miller

Virginia Tech

Dini M. Miller is a Professor at Virginia Tech (since April 1st, 1999), and the Urban Pest Management Specialist for the state of Virginia. Dr. Miller is an internationally recognized expert in the area of urban pest management, particularly German cockroach and bed bug biology, behavior, and control. She has produced a number of bed bug action plans for the management of infestations in different environments, and has published multiple scientific papers evaluating modern bed bug response to chemical and non-chemical treatments in the field. Her research program currently focuses on the cost and efficacy of assessment-based pest management (APM) methods for the control of German cockroaches, bed bugs and other structural pests. Dini Miller received her undergraduate degree from UCLA and her Masters and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Florida where she studied Urban Entomology, specifically German cockroach biology and aggregation behavior. Dr. Miller has won numerous awards for her work in urban entomology, including being inducted into the Pest Management Professional Hall of Fame.

Dave Mueller

Insects Limited

David Mueller, a 1975 Purdue University entomology graduate, founded Fumigation Service & Supply, Inc. and Insects Limited, Inc. in 1981 and 1982, respectively. Insects Limited specializes in pheromone technology, focusing on research, development, and distribution of pheromones and trapping systems for insect management. Fumigation Service & Supply offers comprehensive pest management solutions, including fumigation services for various industries. In 2018, after 44 years in the pheromone and fumigation business, Mueller transitioned leadership of the companies to his sons, with Pete Mueller becoming the owner and president of Fumigation Service & Supply, Inc. and Tom Mueller becoming the Owner of Insects Limited, Inc. Mueller has made significant contributions to the field of stored product protection through his publications and educational efforts. In 1995, he received the EPA's Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award for his efforts in educating the pest control community about alternatives to ozone-depleting substances.

Jose Pietri

Purdue University

Jose is a broadly trained microbiologist and entomologist. He earned his BS degree in cell biology and PhD in microbiology from the University of California, Davis where he studied mosquito immune responses to malaria parasite infection. He then completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, Santa Cruz investigating the cellular interactions between the symbiotic bacterium Wolbachia and its insect hosts using a fruit fly model. Afterwards, he spent several years in the private sector where his research was focused on developing microbe-based strategies to control public health pests, including mosquitoes, bed bugs, and cockroaches. Jose joined the faculty of the University of South Dakota School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in 2018, and in 2024 he was granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor. He was recruited to Purdue University as the OW Rollins/Orkin chair in 2024.

Barry Pittendrigh

Purdue University

Dr. Barry Robert Pittendrigh is the John V. Osmun Endowed Chair of Urban Entomology in the Department of Entomology. He also previously the C.W. Kearns, C.L. Metcalf and W.P. Flint Endowed Chair in Insect Toxicology at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. He is the author of over 200 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, many in the field of insecticide resistance and insecticide resistance management. He has worked on numerous insect pest species, including bedbugs, termites and human lice. He has worked on the molecular basis of pesticide resistance and computational modeling of how to manage pesticide resistance. He holds an MS in Entomology from Purdue University and a PhD in Entomology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Leo Reed

OISC

After a 13 year career in law enforcement, Leo came to the Office of Indiana State Chemist as a pesticide investigator. Leo has been with the Office of Indiana State Chemist for 30 years, with the last 16 as the manager of the certification section.

Pete Schopen

RV There Yet Consulting

Pete is a second generation Pest Control pro. He started Schopen Pest Solutions in 2006 and quickly grew it into a multimillion dollar company, covering Illinois and Wisconsin. In 2023, he sold his company and started up a new business called RV There Yet Pest consulting. Pete has served on various boards, including the Wisconsin Pest Control Association, the Illinois Pest Control Association, the greater Chicago Pest Management Alliance, and the Purdue Pest Management Conference committee. He has been a monthly contributor to Pest Management Professional magazine since 2006. Pete has been happily married to Tami Schopen for 33 years and they have two sons-- Trey, a lawyer in Charlotte and Caleb, a senior at Cornell College.

Kevin Thorn

Thorn Pest Solutions

Kevin Thorn is an Associate Certified Entomologist and President of Thorn Pest Solutions based out of Pleasant Grove, Utah. Kevin is a published author with his book Here to Help: Pest Management Solutions for Commercial Properties and was the recipient of the 2018 National Pest Management Association's Young Entrepreneur Award. He is a regular speaker at pest management conferences, universities, and associations and is the Past-President of the Utah Pest Management Association. Thorn has a passion for utilizing technology to enhance pest management services and improve the lives of professionals. Kevin Thorn, ACE Associate Certified Entomologist PRESIDENT Thorn Pest Solutions.

Darren Van Steenwyk

Sprague Pest Solutions

Darren is currently working as a Regional Entomologist for Sprague Pest Solutions in Northern California and Northern Nevada. Darren is currently licensed in 4 of the Western States, holds his BCE, and achieved his master’s degree in Pest Management from the University of Florida. In his role in Sprague, he works with the state and national associations on legislative and regulatory issues.

Mark VanderWerp

Rose Pest Solutions

Mark is the Manager of Education and Training for Rose Pest Solutions, the nation’s first pest management company, founded in 1860. Mark learned a thing or two about pest management from his years in the field, having previously served as a commercial technician and then a supervisor in Rose’s Grand Rapids district office. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in entomology from Michigan State University in 2005. Mark is a board-certified entomologist through the Entomological Society of America, on the board of the Michigan Entomological Society, and a member of the newly formed Urban Pest Management Technical Committee. Finally, Mark is obsessed to an almost unhealthy degree with insect macro photography—his images have won photo contests and have been used in a variety of entomological and pest management publications.

Jeff Waggoner

FSS

Jeff is the Vice President/General Manager of Fumigation Service and Supply Inc. (FSS). He is ACE certified. Jeff attended Purdue University. He has held the following positions at FSS – Foods Division Manager, Regional Manager, General Manager and Vice President. He participates in industry organizations such as IAOM, NHLA, IPSA, and GEAPS.

Brian Walsh

Penn State

Brian Walsh is a spotted lanternfly researcher and Horticulture Extension Educator with Penn State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences. A commercially licensed pesticide applicator, he was hired specifically to expand and facilitate lanternfly research at PSU in 2019. Prior to that, he owned and operated a landscape contracting business for two decades in Southeast Pennsylvania that specialized in customized IPM programs and research proven management practices.

Ryan Yutzy

FSS

Ryan A. Yutzy is the Safety and Compliance Manager of Fumigation Service and Supply, Inc. He is currently based out of the company’s main office located in Westfield, IN. He graduated from Purdue University with a BS in Organizational Leadership and Supervision and a minor in Entomology. Ryan has been with the company since 2010 and has gained experience in fumigating many different stored products. As an authorized OSHA trainer he regularly administers the company’s safety training, DOT compliance training, Department of Homeland Security compliance training, and also oversees the companies other regulatory requirements. Since 2010, he has given several talks relating to fumigation techniques and fumigation safety. Ryan is an active member of the Grain Elevator and Processing Society.