Key Personnel

Emily Arnold is a member of both the grant management and the environmental consulting groups at BRS. Ms. Arnold received her Bachelors from Mount Holyoke College, her Masters in Geology from Temple University, and is a Professional Geologist. As a student, she researched water quality concerns in the Hudson River and Delaware River watersheds where she developed a passion for protecting our environmental resources and engaging communities with their local environments. As a professional consultant she has worked in 14 states.

Emily lives with her cat Two Face and spends her free time contra dancing (a form of folk dancing featuring long lines of couples), hiking, and learning Korean with her language exchange partners around the world.

Contact: earnold@brsinc.com

Lynn Brooks Avni, AICP is part of the planning team at BRS. A planner by training, she has experience in both the public and private sector. Her focus has been on streamlining municipal planning processes to make them more user-friendly. This includes understanding at the site level the minutiae of zoning codes and how they can both restrict and allow growth. She has experience in community outreach and coordination with a variety of project stakeholders, and she is well-versed in project reporting, case studies, and analysis of the economic impact of community revitalization and rebuilding programs. Lynn is interested in equitable planning and development initiatives that can prove transformative for a community. She studied English at Queens College, CUNY, and originally worked in publishing in New York City. Asked by her supervisor to assist her department with a strategic planning exercise, she found that she loved planning more than publishing and went on to complete her MPS in Environmental Science with a concentration in Community and Land Planning at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 2002. She currently resides in New York with her husband, two ridiculously active children, and two dogs. She is an alternate on her local planning board, and in her free time, you will find her cheering on her children at their sporting events. 

Contact: lbrooks-avni@brsinc.com

As a Licensed Landscape Architect (LLA) and project manager with BRS, Inc., Randy Baum assists municipal clients and redevelopers with parkland project plan development, consultant selection, and supervision and construction contract oversight. Randy has identified, obtained, and managed over $16 million in New Jersey Green Acres and other federal, state, and local grant funding for large scale capital improvement projects. Project funds were obtained through various state and federal agencies as well as philanthropic foundations, and required strict adherence to funding parameters from meeting the application criteria through construction oversight and fiscal reporting.

Randy is an accomplished park and recreational facilities designer with over 30 years of experience in the private and public sectors, and has a background in civil engineering and architectural restoration. He has provided design input and construction management for various historic buildings and structures within the City of Trenton parks, including the Comfort Station and Cottage within Cadwalader Park and the Marine Terminal Seawall at the Delaware River, as well as streetscape and public plaza improvements. Randy also has significant experience with site plan review, providing design review, input, and comment/testimony for over 100 development plan submissions for the planning/zoning boards.

Randy holds a B.A. in Landscape Architecture from Cook College, Rutgers University.

Contact: randy@brsinc.com

Laura Burnham helps BRS, Inc. clients tell their compelling story and gain the support they need to bring their projects to fruition. She brings more than 25 years of nonprofit management, creative placemaking, and economic development experience to her role as a planning professional, and understands firsthand what it takes to put mission and vision into action. She has provided cultural facility and business planning, community engagement, fundraising, grant writing, and program evaluation services to nonprofit organizations, creative businesses, local government, and state agencies.

Laura began her career as an artist and art historian, but quickly discovered a passion for using arts and culture to build communities. She has organized hundreds of exhibitions, public art projects, and events to bring people together for discovery and dialogue. One highlight was her role as project manager for Knotted Grotto, a large public art installation by artist Meg Saligman at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. Project HOME specifically commissioned the art project for the visit of Pope Francis, and the installation engaged over 150,000 people in sharing their dreams, wishes, and sorrows, creating an outpouring of humanity that forever changed those who were fortunate enough to witness it.

As executive director of Abington Art Center, Laura led the campaign for adaptive reuse of historic buildings and the development of a 27-acre, environmentally focused sculpture park on municipal land. The project leveraged partnerships and public and private funds to create a regional destination and cultural campus for the community. Laura was a founding member of Creative Montco, a civic initiative that developed a comprehensive cultural and creative economy plan for Montgomery County, PA, for 2012‒2022. She also served for many years on the board of the Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and serves as board treasurer for the historic Hiway Theater in Jenkintown, PA.

Laura holds an M.S. in Community and Regional Planning from Temple University, and a B.A. in Art History from the University of Tennessee. She recently received a certificate in TOP (Technology of Participation) facilitation from the Institute of Cultural Affairs. 

Contact: lburnham@brsinc.com

Alison Devine is part of the grant management team at BRS. An engineer by training, she has worked as a grant manager for EPA Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grant-funded projects in New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Ms. Devine became interested in math and engineering in high school. She studied biomedical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and after graduation, worked for the Federal Aviation Administration in Atlantic City, NJ, as a chemical engineer as part of a research and development team in the Fire Safety Branch. She later moved to the Environmental Protection Agency in New York City, which she worked for most of her career in air programs, contract management, and ultimately the Brownfields program, assisting numerous communities to tackle environmental obstacles to redevelopment. Alison currently resides in New Jersey with her wife, dog (a Brittany Spaniel), and cat. In her free time, she enjoys beaching, boating, and travelling. 

Contact: adevine@brsinc.com

Abigail Doris, a staff engineer at BRS, Inc., conducts fieldwork and contractor oversight and prepares RFPs and public bid specifications. She keeps projects moving by processing invoices, reviewing and approving contractor submittals, conducting assessment activities, and assisting with expediting permits.

Before joining the BRS, Inc. team, Abigail interned with various New York City engineering consultants and construction companies, working on projects for the Department of Buildings (DOB), MTA-Metro North, and RiseBoro Community Partnership. In these internships, she was able to survey the structural integrity of burned buildings, work on the East Side Access project, and provide consulting services to make affordable housing units more energy efficient.

Abigail earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Environmental Engineering from City College of New York. She enjoys painting nature, gardening, and traveling to exotic places for new adventures.

Contact: adoris@brsinc.com

Lori Fallon is BRS’s CAD/Database Specialist. Lori is an environmental engineer who assists clients with diverse visual representations of historical and existing conditions as well as design, conceptualization, and rendering of proposed redevelopment sites. She specializes in CAD drafting and Civil 3D modeling.

Most recently, Lori has been preparing detailed CAD drawings for site investigations, analysis, and remediation. She has constructed proposed site design and grading, sediment and groundwater analytical maps, potentiometric contour maps, and prepared 3D surface modeling and cut and fill calculations. Prior to that, Lori was an environmental engineer at a local consulting and engineering firm where she designed access roads and intersections for large scale wind farms across the country, along with preparing 3D models of proposed remediations and accompanying volume balances and quantity takeoffs.

Lori earned her B.A. in Earth Sciences with a minor in Mathematics from Boston University and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Princeton University. 

Contact: lfallon@brsinc.com

As a project manager at BRS, Inc., Alicia Flammia assists municipal clients, brownfield site owners, and redevelopers to plan and execute efficient site assessments, investigations, and remediation activities. Alicia is proficient in evaluating and designing cost-effective site and remedial investigation strategies to determine the potential environmental risks associated with a property or region of contamination. She also performs oversight and project management tasks, as well as research, analysis, and reporting related to community redevelopment and environmental planning.

Alicia began her environmental career working in northern California for the National Parks Service in Golden Gate National Recreation Area. During her time there, she performed habitat restoration on a former U.S. Army airfield in San Francisco that was eventually transformed into Crissy Field, with a restored tidal marsh, beach, and urban environmental education center for youth. She later worked for the University of California Natural Reserve System, where she performed invasive species eradication, conducted native plant research, and maintained the reserve’s trail system.

Alicia has an M.S. degree in Resource Management and Administration from Antioch University New England. Before joining BRS, Alicia spent 10 years as an environmental consultant, managing emergency response activities and environmental site assessment, characterization, and remediation of various types of properties throughout New England and the Northeast. She has experience working under the various environmental cleanup program regulations in Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.

Alicia has been an active participant in many community groups and municipal associations, and is currently the chair of her town’s conservation commission. She’s also very involved in her community’s local gardens and bike repair projects for disadvantaged youth. Alicia lives with three generations of her family, who support her ultimate dream of becoming a rock star.

Contact: aflammia@brsinc.com

Alisa Goren, a Professional Planner (PP), AICP, and Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM), leads the Planning and Grant Management services at BRS, Inc. Her work focuses primarily on assisting communities in with environmental planning initiatives, including brownfield redevelopment, green infrastructure, and coastal resiliency projects. She also performs funding research, grant writing, land use analyses, mapping, and community outreach related to long-range planning, climate change planning, community redevelopment, and environmental planning.

Additionally, Alisa assists municipal clients with managerial support of public sector community revitalization programs and projects, including managing municipal grants, overseeing contractors, and serving as a liaison between regulatory agencies, their grantees, and other program partners.

Alisa is passionate about community development, equitable and sustainable land use, and regional planning. Prior to joining BRS, she worked for PlanSmart NJ and was involved in the organization’s land use policy, regional planning, environmental planning, and arts and culture advocacy efforts. She was an environmental planning intern for the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, where she conducted environmental resource inventories for New Jersey townships, and was also a project manager for a community development corporation in Brooklyn, where she was instrumental in the completion of several affordable housing development projects.

Before transitioning to community-related work, Alisa was involved in the productions of several Broadway shows, including Rent, Avenue Q, and Baz Luhrmann’s La Boheme. She still listens to show tunes daily and is ready to lead sing-alongs at a moment’s notice. Alisa holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Brandeis University and an M.S. in City and Regional Planning from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. She lives with her two awesome sons and gets knee deep in muddy water bodies almost daily.

Contact: alisa@brsinc.com

Claire Juhlmann is the accounts administrator for BRS, Inc. Claire has worked for BRS, Inc. since 2009 and wears many hats at work. Her primary role is managing the extensive monthly invoicing process and researching and troubleshooting any invoicing issues. Claire is also responsible for reviewing and reconciling bank and credit card statements for the company and handling BRS employees’ monthly expenses.

Claire lives with her husband and two children, and likes to travel and spend time with her family in her free time.

Contact: claire@brsinc.com

Susan Kolich serves as an administrator for BRS, Inc. As an administrative professional, Susan provides executive-level support to the company principals and professionals, manages the firm’s administrative office, and assists in the facilitation and execution of administrative responsibilities throughout BRS, Inc. Susan is also the human resources manager, and represents the company on vendor accounts and committees related to office administration.

Growing up in a military family, Susan has traveled the world, including Germany, Japan, and Hawaii, where her father was stationed in the Air Force. When she’s not in the office, Susan and her husband are working on thier bucket list of places to visit, including Provence, where she would love to take cooking classes and learn more about wine. Susan holds a BA in Psychology.

Contact: susan@brsinc.com

Sonia Martin is an economic analyst and a member of the grant management team. Sonia has worked on macroeconomic analysis of debt sustainability in developing countries as well as grant management for municipal-level job creation and post-disaster rebuilding projects.

Sonia became interested in equitable economic development in high school, working for a social service office serving Central American migrant worker families in Ohio. That led her to an undergraduate degree in history at Yale University, and after graduation, she worked in Washington, D.C. as part of a legal/economic team travelling throughout the U.S. assisting black farming families with a class action civil rights lawsuit.

Barriers to economic opportunity became a focal point as she completed her Masters in Economics and Latin American Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and she later worked on economic rebuilding and revitalization programs in Serbia, Indonesia, and Ukraine.

Sonia shares her home with her husband, three children, a high-energy dog, and a very low-energy cat. In her limited free time, she works with a local non-profit that provides community-based resources to people seeking recovery from addiction/substance use disorder.

Contact: smartin@brsinc.com

Shannon Melnick is an environmental scientist with BRS, Inc. She has over nine years of experience managing NJDEP regulatory sites and performing environmental due diligence for various properties. Shannon works directly with the administrative and engineering staff to manage projects, including technical/regulatory reporting, data management and quality control, and grant writing.

After completing a B.S. degree in Environmental Science from Rutgers University, Shannon worked in an environmental testing laboratory where she performed analyses on environmental samples using instrumentation such as ion chromatography and UV-Vis spectroscopy. She then transitioned into the environmental consulting field where she managed NJDEP regulatory sites and performed environmental due diligence for industrial, commercial, and residential properties.

Shannon’s experience includes the performance of Phase I/II Environmental Site Assessments, as well as preliminary assessments, site investigations, and remedial investigations pursuant to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) regulations. She has experience overseeing remedial actions including but not limited to removal of underground storage tanks (USTs), soil excavations, in-situ chemical oxidation, pump-and-treat systems, and soil vapor extraction systems.

Shannon lives with her husband, son, and cat, and in her free time, she enjoys stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, hiking, and traveling with her family.

Contact: smelnick@brsinc.com

Charles Metzger is a Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) and Environmental Project Manager specializing in investigating and remediating contaminated sites.

His interest in the environment began in high school while volunteering with Clean Ocean Action and the National Marine Fisheries Service at Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Later, he completed B.S. degrees in both Marine Science and Environmental Studies from the Richard Stockton College of NJ (now Stockton University).

While at school, Charles spent early mornings on the water, rowing on the school’s crew team. He also worked for Rutgers University, participating in research projects throughout the New Jersey coast and New York harbor. This work culminated in a paper published in a regional peer-reviewed journal.

After college, Charles worked on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency contract with the Superfund program, investigating hazardous waste sites and overseeing cleanups throughout EPA Region 2. After that, he worked for private consulting firms, managing a broad range of projects in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for insurers and commercial clients. He also served as LSRP for numerous retail gasoline station sites.

In addition to investigation and remediation, Charles previously served as a Corporate Health and Safety Officer and has demonstrated experience using Geographic Information Systems software to visualize and analyze environmental data. He’s also Vice Chair of the LSRPA’s Site Remediation Conference Committee.

Charles shares his home with his wife, two kids, and an energetic chocolate lab.

Contact: cmetzger@brsinc.com

Denis Newcomer is a Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) and Environmental Project Manager, assisting clients with a wide range of environmental concerns and specializing in remedial investigations and cleanups.

Denis has over 30 years of experience, having managed numerous environmental cleanup projects in New Jersey and Pennsylvania to obtain Federal and State regulatory closures. Prior experience includes environmental consulting for chemical, manufacturing, power, real estate, petroleum, and insurance sectors as well as various other public and private sector clients throughout the United States and overseas.

Denis earned his B.A. in Geology from Williams College and M.S. in Geology from the University of Rhode Island. He is a Connecticut native and currently resides in Colorado with his wife and his adorable Malamute/Husky puppy, Copper. Denis provides onsite support for our work in Orem, UT and remote LSRP support for several of our New Jersey clients.

Contact: dnewcomer@brsinc.com

As an environmental scientist with BRS, Inc., Kathleen Nolan works directly with our administrative and engineering staff, managing projects and grants and preparing technical reports. Katie has over 20 years of experience both in the field and with technical documentation. Her background with environmental education and management and community outreach includes serving academic, private, and state and federal agencies.

In college, Katie worked briefly with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in its Wetlands Enforcement office. Upon graduation, she followed the palm trees to the Gulf Coast, where she worked on her master’s degree at Texas A&M University. Katie began her environmental career working for a consulting company along the border of Mexico as a technician and project scientist. She also worked on conducting surface and subsurface evaluations of soil and groundwater quality and environmental site assessments. Katie has participated in countless investigations identifying violations, conducting field investigations, recording data, handling environmental research, and preparing reports.

While in Texas, Katie studied under the leadership of the National Spill Control School, an organization that responds to and teaches the leaders in the oil spill response industry. After she finished her master’s degree, she returned home to New Jersey and continued working in the oil spill response industry. Her career then turned to environmental education before leading her to BRS. Katie’s background has focused on the fields of coastal and wetlands development and environmental contamination.

In her free time, Katie enjoys spending time with her family, being outdoors and traveling to exotic places. They spend time fixing up their historic home, traveling to the kids’ weekend sports events, and rescuing stray animals.

Katie holds a B.S. degree in Environmental Science from Stockton University and an M.S. degree specializing in Environmental Management and Remediation from Texas A&M University.

Contact: kathleen@brsinc.com

Sarah Oliver is a Planner at BRS, and is a certified Professional Planner (PP) in New Jersey. She graduated from Rutgers University Bloustein School with a Masters in City & Regional Planning, Concentration in Community Development. Throughout Sarah’s graduate studies at Rutgers she focused on community development and urban redevelopment, gaining experience with urban design and land-use planning. Her Master Studios involved creating a waterfront redevelopment plan for the City of Asbury Park, NJ, which integrated and preserved historic assets. Sarah has worked in both the public and private sectors of planning. Her experience in the public realm included projects and policy work at the county, state, and municipal level. On the State level, she worked as a Planner at the Department of Community Affairs where her duties involved meeting with municipalities to discuss the best way to provide for affordable housing while balancing the need for preserving open space and economic development. Sarah contributed to New Jersey’s goal of producing a comprehensive State Plan, by mapping affordable housing sites throughout the state. She also worked at the County level for the Farmland Preservation program in Monmouth County, where she assisted landowners with preparing a farmland plan and mapping preserved farms for the State Plan. In the private sector, Sarah worked as a Planner at consultant firms in the NJ/ NY region providing planning consultant services to municipalities, including site plan review, zoning recommendations, affordable housing planning services, and comprehensive planning. Sarah lives in New Jersey with her husband and two daughters. She serves on her local Historic Preservation Advisory Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment. Sarah loves the beach, the theatre, cats, and exploring new cities.

Contact: soliver@brsinc.com

Carolyn Reinhardt, Proposals and Marketing Coordinator, helps to identify and secure opportunities for BRS to leverage its expertise with new and existing public sector clients and to tell the story of the firm’s mission-driven efforts to assist communities as they undertake projects related to revitalization, sustainability, and resiliency.

Carolyn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and English from LaSalle University and has well over a decade of experience in communications, marketing, community relations, and project management. She lives with her husband, son, and cat and enjoys new places and experiences, great food, music, gardening, and hiking.

Contact: creinhardt@brsinc.com

Jennifer Taylor is a project manager at BRS, Inc. and a licensed professional engineer in New Jersey with more 13 years of experience managing public and private sector projects. After completing a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University, Jennifer began her career with a consulting firm. She has experience designing improvement projects for municipalities, municipal utility authorities, and schools throughout New Jersey. Jennifer later transitioned into the private sector and was responsible for conceptual design through construction completion for multiple clients, including financial institutions, residential developments, large retail establishments, and fast food eateries.

Jennifer received her Masters of Engineering degree in Environmental Quality Management from the University of Southern California. While studying at USC, she had the opportunity to work with the Port of Los Angeles to implement a port-wide Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. Jennifer loves to travel and has visited 27 of the 50 states and nine countries, and lived in England for four years. While abroad, she worked as a construction project manager for a private utility, overseeing the construction of new electrical substations and headed the regional flood defense program. Jennifer returned to New Jersey in 2013 to continue utility resiliency work for electrical substations throughout the state that were heavily impacted by Hurricane Sandy. She has extensive knowledge in construction management, preparation and evaluation of bid packages, contract administration, and permitting.

Jennifer has a Project Management Professional Certification and is also a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional. She lives with her husband and daughter, and enjoys a variety of seasonal sports, including kayaking, skiing, and hiking.

Contact: jtaylor@brsinc.com