About Us
Our Staff
EcoLogix Group draws upon the broad, deep experience and expertise of our team to analyze, provide progressive, efficient strategies, and implement programs tailored to the specific needs of our clients. Our staff consists of experienced environmental practitioners and business managers that have worked in the profit, non-profit and government sectors throughout the world. They are recognized experts with extensive and diverse experience in the unique integration of operations analyses, sustainability planning and management, public relations, communications, legal and business consulting services.
But our entity is much more than the list of
accomplishments of its principals. At its core, EcoLogix Group
is a collection of energetic and talented individuals who
share a deep commitment and a common purpose - to preserve
and enhance our world's ecosystems and their inhabitants by
guiding clients toward winning strategies to achieve sustainable
operations.
George A. Chmael II - President & Founding Partner
George, and the other of EcoLogix Group's Partners, launched our unique consultancy in 2001 following several years of planning. He is a highly accomplished environmental expert with 17 years of government, private and non-profit experience in policy development, community and governmental outreach, advocacy and education program development, litigation and facilitation. Trained as a lawyer and marine specialist, he possesses broad expertise in numerous arenas including water & air quality; fisheries and other natural resource management; land use; energy policy; and pollution prevention & management.
Prior to starting EcoLogix Group, George served as staff counsel and Acting Maryland Executive Director to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the nation's largest regional environmental advocacy organization, advising CBF on all environmental issues addressing water quality, conservation, wastewater treatment, point and non-point source pollution, and pollution prevention. He also practiced law for many years in the Northeastern United States with a primary focus on environmental litigation, remediation issues and environmental planning.
George received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Connecticut, a Juris Doctorate from the National Law Center at George Washington University, and a Master of Marine Affairs degree from the University of Rhode Island. His work has appeared on numerous occasions in various environmental, business and legal publications.
Thomas J. Filip III - Senior Consultant
Tom joined EcoLogix Group in 2003, after an illustrious career with the Army Corps of Engineers' Regulatory Program. Tom spent 25+ years as the Assistant Chief of the Baltimore District's Regulatory Branch, wherein he was responsible for the administration and enforcement of certain federal laws and regulations for the protection of navigable waters and wetlands and the management of a staff of sixty personnel. He has been recognized as a national leader in the design and management of programs for wetland protection and has received numerous awards as a result including the 1985 Corps' Handicapped Employee of the Year, the 1996 Hammer Award for his achievements in streamlining aquatic resource protection, and the coveted Coastal America Partnership Award in 1999 in recognition of his ability to pull together stakeholders to achieve mutual ecological benefits.
Tom has served as a national team leader coordinating the training of new Corps Regulators with special emphasis on Public Decision Making on the use versus the protection of valuable aquatic resources and was also the regional administrator and instructor for the Corps' Wetland Delineation Manual Training in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Tom is an instructor for the wetlands portion of the Johns Hopkins Odyssey Environmental Certificate Program.
Tom earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Loyola College and his Master of Science degree in Chemistry & Ecology from Morgan State University while working as a commercial crabber and party boat skipper on the Chesapeake Bay. He serves on several committees involved in developing and implementing the goals and commitments of the Chesapeake Bay Program.
Richard Gratz – Staff Consultant
Ricky first joined EcoLogix Group in 2004 as part of our internship program. Following graduation from law school and passing the Maryland Bar Exam, he joined the organization as a Staff Consultant. Ricky is engaged in a wide array of client projects and enjoys combining his legal education with his passion for the environment.
Prior to joining EcoLogix Group, Ricky worked as the Smart Growth Legal Intern for the Baltimore City Department of Planning. Additionally, he served as a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Michael J. Finifter of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. Ricky earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore, a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
Robert G. Hoyt - Founding Partner
Bob has been with EcoLogix Group since its inception. He is the former Assistant Secretary of the Maryland Department of Environment and has more than 20 years of experience in the government, private and non-profit sectors. A well-known and accomplished problem solver, he has extensive experience with all aspects of United States federal and State environmental program development and implementation and has routinely played key roles in high level policy discussions and negotiations with stakeholders, including the USEPA and several State environmental departments.
Prior to his service with MDE, Bob was the Vice President of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the nation's largest regional environmental advocacy organization, directing all of CBF's advocacy programs. Bob also served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New Jersey focusing on environmental matters.
Bob received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton and his Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University.
Burton G. MacArthur Jr. - Founding Partner
Burton joined EcoLogix Group in 2001 and is a veteran business manager with more than 30 years of experience including 25 years of top management responsibilities in the pulp and paper industry. An MBA-trained professional, he possesses broad expertise in manufacturing process reengineering, supply chain management, organizational development/change management and applications software services.
Burton previously served as Executive Vice President at Champion International Corporation. He also serves currently as Chief Executive Officer of Genesis Technology Solutions, Inc.
Burton received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Harvard and a Masters in Business Administration from Amos Tuck at Dartmouth.
Robert MacArthur - Founding Partner
Rob joined EcoLogix Group in 2001 and is a highly accomplished business management consultant and engineer with 16 years of experience serving the needs of the United States military and the private sector. Building upon his MBA training, he has honed his considerable business solutions, management consulting, technical training, engineering and programming skills both within the United States and abroad.
Robert previously served as an Engagement Manager at KPMG Peat Marwick, and as Regional Manager and Director of Professional Services at Project Software & Development Inc. In addition to his responsibilities with EcoLogix Group, Rob serves as Director, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for Genesis Technology Solutions. Prior to entering the business sector, Rob was an Engineering Officer in the United States Navy and currently serves as a Commander in the US Naval Reserve.
Rob holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Rhode Island. Rob is a licensed engineer with the State of Maryland and has been published numerous times in Plant Engineering, Maintenance Technology and other industrial publications.
Dr. Paul Massicot - Senior Consultant
Paul joined EcoLogix Group in 2005 after 30 years of public
service with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, where he directed
agencies with responsibilities including power plant siting, coal mining regulation
and reclamation, energy conservation, fisheries management, coastal zone management,
geological studies, and Chesapeake Bay restoration and monitoring. As a senior
member of our consulting team and a Ph.D. scientist, Paul brings his incredible
breadth of knowledge, relationships and experience to all manner of client
projects.
He has extensive experience in working with a wide variety of stakeholder groups, including local, state and federal agencies; the coal mining and electric power industries; the agricultural community; environmental and citizens groups; and scientific organizations. This experience includes consensus-building with multiple stakeholder organizations on subjects such as the Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategies, Maryland’s Clean Water Action Program, striped bass restoration and management, oyster restoration, and the Maryland Port Administration’s Dredged Material Management Program.
Paul received his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the University of Delaware and his Ph.D in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Glenn G. Page – Principal Consultant
Glenn joined EcoLogix Group in 2006, after more than 20 years in the private
and non-profit sectors applying organizational leadership to restoration and protection of the coastal realm.
Glenn has received national recognition for his work designing, implementing and evaluating innovative programs
at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Center for Watershed Protection and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.
As a senior member of the EcoLogix consulting team, Glenn adds a wide range of capability; via systems thinking
to assist organizations learn and achieve intended purpose in a sustainable manner.
Of particular note is the ability to guide organizations through the program design process,
incorporate outcome and performance monitoring for team learning and plan thoughtful evaluation
strategies that directly connect back to shared organizational vision and program design.
Prior to joining EcoLogix Group, Glenn developed and directed the conservation program
at the National Aquarium in Baltimore pioneering local, national and international stewardship programs
featuring community-based coastal habitat restoration, marine animal rescue, sea turtle conservation,
schoolyard aquaculture, coral reef and rainforest conservation. Common program elements include
extensive networks and partnerships, broad local stakeholder involvement, diverse and innovative
funding strategies, performance monitoring and evaluation and reflection. While many projects
received local, regional and national awards, in April 2000, Glenn received NOAA's Environmental
Hero award from Vice President Gore for significant achievement as "part of a large worldwide
community dedicated to building a legacy that will last for centuries."
Glenn is also the President of the Center for Watershed Protection, a non-profit corporation that provides
local governments, academics, and watershed organizations around the country with the technical tools for protecting some of
the nation's most precious natural resources: our streams, lakes and rivers.
Glenn received his B.A. from Guilford College and M.S from Johns Hopkins University and is a Certified Wetland Scientist.
Dr. Gareth Porter – Senior Consultant
Dr. Porter has ten years of experience as a consultant on global sustainable development issues, specializing in natural resources management. He has extensive experience in evaluations, analysis of policy and management issues, training and facilitation of agreement among stakeholders.
He has undertaken major program and project evaluations or reviews for the Global Environment Facility, United Nations Development Program and Conservation International. He has served as Team Leader for the first Overall Performance Study of the Global Environment Facility in 1997-98 and was the primary author for the creation of a system of program performance indicators for the International Waters focal area in 2001. Dr. Porter undertook the first major UNDP "outcome evaluation" for the UNDP Country Office in Beijing in 2003 on its energy and environmental work in China and has since carried out a similar evaluation for UNDP in Turkmenistan.
Dr. Porter has been a major figure in the field of analyzing the environmental impacts of subsidies in various economic sectors, but particularly in the fisheries sector. He has contributed influential papers on fisheries subsidies published by United Nations Environment Programme, and on the analysis of environmental impacts of trade liberalization in North American agriculture for the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation. He has contributed analysis on fisheries management as well as North Atlantic salmon aquaculture issues for World Wildlife Fund.
Before becoming an independent consultant Dr. Porter was Director of International Program for the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, Washington, D.C., from 1990 to 1996. He is the co-author of Global Environmental Politics, a college textbook which has gone through three editions.
Dr. Porter received a Ph.D. from Cornell University in Southeast Asian studies and comparative politics and has been on the faculty of American University and City College of New York.
Richard L. Sheckells, Jr. - Principal Consultant
Rick joined EcoLogix Group in 2004 after more than 30 years in public service, much of it in the transportation sector, where he managed a wide variety of operational, policy, and planning functions for both local and state government. As a senior member of the EcoLogix consulting team, Rick provides services to many of our diverse clients, but of particular note is his expertise in transportation-related environmental, economic, and social issues.
In 1989, Rick was appointed by Maryland Governor Schaefer to be the first director of statewide conservation programs. Subsequently, he served as Director of Planning and Environment for the Maryland Port Administration, which oversees operations at the public terminals in Maryland’s Port of Baltimore. His responsibilities included managing the dredging program, capital budget, quality cargo handling initiatives, land use policy, and strategic business planning. During his tenure, the Port of Baltimore’s public terminals achieved record high levels of cargo tonnage, local government enacted maritime business zoning protections, the Port launched an Environmental Initiatives Program, and the Maryland Legislature redefined the way external stakeholders engage in Port dredging and land use issues. Rick’s accomplishments also include representing transportation interests for the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia during the crafting of the multi-jurisdictional environmental agreement known as Chesapeake 2000. He also oversaw the development and implementation of the transportation components of Maryland’s Smart Growth initiative, a program recognized as a national model for planned land use, and was also the principal environmental advisor to the President of the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials. Rick also was a founding member of Clean Air Partners, a regional organization promoting voluntary action to reduce ground level ozone in the Baltimore-Washington region, and has served on numerous transportation-related committees and task forces at the state, regional and national levels.
Rick earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Towson University in Maryland.
Elizabeth Chmael - Manager of Administration
Elizabeth joined EcoLogix Group in 2003 and manages all of our administrative functions including human relations and general finance and also coordinates our intership program. In addition, Elizabeth provides vital administrative support to all of our work on behalf of our clients. Prior to joining EcoLogix Group, Elizabeth provided a wide array of support services for brokers at several large stock brokerage houses in the United States.
Elizabeth received her Bachelor of Arts degree from George Mason University.
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