BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Charles Ochola PhD., is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) with over a decade of experience in environmental protection measures, human health and risk assessment, environmental policy, and environmental regulations. Charles has in the past conducted research that included the development of nano-materials for subsurface remediation, the Identification of new and innovative applications for industrial co-products and by products and he has also investigated the toxicity of nano-Zero Valent Iron on living cells. He has published numerous papers in Environmental and Engineering publications related to the reuse of industrial co-products and by-products and has served as a Guest Editor for the International Journal of Environmental Waste Management.  Charles has been a reviewer for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and has also consulted on various projects for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States Department of Energy, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance. Charles’ educational background consists of a PhD: Environmental Engineering, a Master’s: Civil and Environmental Engineering both from Lehigh University and a Bachelors: Physics from East Stroudsburg University. 

Russ Burke is the Vice President of Steel Mill Services at the Edw. C. Levy Company and joined the NSA Executive Committee in 2021. Russ has over 15 years’ experience in the slag handling and processing industry and had worked in various mobile equipment maintenance positions and management roles prior to joining Levy. He has almost 30 years of experience in equipment management, with expertise in equipment reliability and fleet management. Russ holds an AAS in Diesel Technology, a BS in Project Management, and an MBA. He is a proud father, devoted husband and a Navy veteran.

Charles Cook is the Director of Operations – North America at Harsco Environmental. Prior to joining Harsco Environmental, Charles worked in the steel industry since 2004 holding a variety of positions in a management role. Charles has a BS in Human Ecology from The Ohio State University. He has been involved with the National Slag Association since 2010 as a member and was Co-Chair of the Operations Committee from 2011 until 2018. He currently resides in Cincinnati, OH with his wife and two sons.

Jeff Mellen is the SR VP Sales & Marketing for Phoenix Services LLC. Jeff has been involved in the aggregates industry for 35 years, and in the steel industry for 24 years. Jeff has a B.S. Geology and Masters Degree in Business Administration.

Michael Costa TMS Executive Vice President – Marketing and International Operations, has more than 28 years of experience in the industry. In addition to driving the marketing and technical services groups, Mike is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the Company’s international sites, collaborating, and working with the Company’s domestic and international marketing team on all contract renewals and requests, and new projects. Mike joined the Company in 1993 in the Engineering Department and has held various positions of increasing responsibility in the Engineering, Operations and Marketing departments at the Company. Mike has a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD and an MBA from Villanova University in Villanova, PA..

Mark Whalen is Executive Vice President Operations – North America, TMS. Mark joined the TMS as a Senior Vice President in 2013. Mark is a seasoned steel industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience managing safety and dealing with issues regarding operational efficiencies, environmental performance, quality, customer service and productivity. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Whalen was a partner at Carnegie Steel Partners. He was Chief Operating Officer of RG Steel. He also worked at ArcelorMittal’s Indiana Harbor operation as Vice President and General Manager; U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley and Fairfield Works as General Manager; USS Serbia as Director of Operations; and USS Kosice as General Manager of Primary Operations. He also worked at AK Steel Corporation in a variety of positions of increasing responsibility. Mark has PhD and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University.

Joe Burkey currently holds the position of Regional President, North America for Harsco Environmental. Joe joined Harsco in 2017 as Harsco’s Site Manager at Nucor Yamato Steel. Joe moved into the North American Commercial Department in 2019 as a Business Development Manager. In 2020, Joe was promoted to Commercial Director, North America and held this position for two years. In September of 2022, Joe was promoted to the Regional President, North America for Harsco Environmental. In total, Joe has been involved in the mill service industry for 10 years. Joe also serves on the Board for the American Iron and Steel Institute. Joe and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Dominic, and reside in the Pittsburgh, PA area.

Glenn Hundertmark has been employed by Harsco Environmental since 1992 and serves as the Environmental Manager for North America out of their Pittsburgh, PA office. Glenn earned his BS from The Pennsylvania State University in Environmental Management. Prior to joining Harsco, Glenn worked as an environmental consultant.

Steve Hall is Executive Vice President for North America for Phoenix Global. He has over 38 years of experience in the service industry. Mr. Hall started his professional career with Schlumberger. His global career spanned 33 years until retiring in 2017. After that, Mr. Hall joined a US focused service company until he joined Phoenix Global in 2022. He earned a B.S. in Chemical engineering from Worchester Polytechnic Institute and holds an MBA from the Freeman Business school at Tulane University.

Carl Erickson is Director of Operations Support for Phoenix Global. He has over 17 years of experience in the Steel Mill and Steel Mill Services industry. Carl spent 15 years in operations and logistics management with ArcelorMittal and Cleveland Cliffs. Carl joined Phoenix Global in early 2022. He earned a B.S. in Sports Management from Indiana State University and holds an MBA from Indiana University.

Kelly Cook is the Director of Technical Marketing for the Edward C. Levy Company. She is a graduate of Purdue University with over 15 years of lab experience with aggregates, agricultural products, asphalt, cement, concrete and steel mill services. She is a member of the Transportation Research Board, Indiana Mineral Aggregates Association, National Slag Association, and ASTM International, where she develops and maintains standards, specifications, and best practices for the aggregates industries. Kelly is an expert on iron and steel slag characterization and has presented across the United States and in Europe.