Parvonay L. Stover
Title: Chief of Staff
Degree(s): Bachelor Degree in Political Science, Ball State University; Master Degree in Public Affairs, Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Special license(s): N/A
Experience: With over a decade of state service, Parvonay is dedicated to improving the lives of Hoosiers and finding creative solutions to complex problems. Most recently, Parvonay served as Executive Director of Contracts and Compliance with the Department of Correction, where she created a new division to centralize and streamline strategic sourcing, contract administration, compliance monitoring, and grants management for the department’s administrative offices and correctional facilities. Prior to that, she was Government Affairs Director for the Office of the Attorney General, where she worked to advance legislation to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive business practices and ensure the safety of victims of violent crimes. Parvonay has also served as Legislative Director for the Department of Child Services and successfully advocated for numerous legislative initiatives on child abuse and neglect prevention, educational attainment of foster youth, juvenile justice, human trafficking, adoption, and child support. Parvonay also served as a Budget Analyst with the State Budget Agency and started her career as a Legislative Assistant for the Indiana House of Representatives.
Nancy King
Title: Assistant Commissioner, General Counsel, Office of Legal Counsel and Criminal Investigations
Degree(s): Bachelor of Arts, Indiana University, Bloomington; Doctor of Jurisprudence, Indiana University, Bloomington.
Special license(s): N/A
Experience: Nancy has accumulated over 24 years with IDEM’s Office of Legal Counsel, working in all media. Nancy drafted originating legislation for the Title V air permitting program and accompanying rules and has worked primarily in the areas of rules and legislation drafting and review for all programs, as well as program counsel. Nancy has been the section chief over the rules section within OLC and subsequently, the branch chief over the rules development branch. Nancy has worked extensively with IDEM’s rulemaking boards. Additionally, Nancy has been counsel for the Natural Resource Damages Co-Trustee within IDEM and worked to secure the NRDA settlement which resulted in the dredging and cleanup of the Grand Calumet River in Northwest Indiana.
Valerie Tachtiris
Title: Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Office of Legal Counsel and Criminal Investigations
Degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Environmental Administration from the University of Evansville; Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
Special license(s): N/A
Experience: Valerie has over a decade of experience in environmental law and litigation, most notably having spent almost ten years at the Indiana Attorney General’s Office where she defended and prosecuted environmental matters for state agencies including the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Department of Health, and Department of Natural Resources in matters before administrative, state, and federal courts.
Matthew Stuckey
Title: Assistant Commissioner, Office of Air Quality
Degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Indiana University – School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Special license(s): N/A
Experience: Matthew started at IDEM in 1993 in the Office of Management and Budget as a Stores Clerk. He was hired by IDEM’s Office of Enforcement in 1994 as a case manager where he handled air cases and represented enforcement on OAQ work groups. In 2005, Matt transferred to OAQ as a senior environmental manager in the New Source Review Section of the Permits Branch. He became section chief of that section in 2006. In 2007, Matt became the deputy chief of the Permits Branch and not long after was promoted to the chief of the Permits Branch.
Phil Perry
Title: Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Office of Air Quality
Degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Industrial Education and Technology from Ball State University
Special license(s): N/A
Experience: Phil has over 37 years of experience working the in environmental field starting with the City of Indianapolis, Air Pollution Control Division in 1984 and moving onto IDEM in 1989 with the Office of Solid and Hazard Waste Management, Hazardous Waste Permitting for 5 years. He has worked in the Office of Air Quality since 1994 and previously served as the Compliance and Enforcement Branch Chief for the last 22 years.
Brian Wolff
Title: Assistant Commissioner, Office of Land Quality
Degree(s): Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, Indiana University Bloomington with a concentration in Ecology and Ornithology
Special license(s): N/A
Experience: Brian has worked for IDEM for over 23 years. He was first hired into the Office of Land Quality in the summer of 2000 and worked for 4+ years in the Operations and Science Services sections. He later moved to the Office of Air Quality, working on human health risk assessments, air monitoring data analyses, air toxics emissions inventory, environmental justice, and project management. After 8+ years, Brian moved to the Office of Water Quality as Branch Chief of the Surface Water and Operations Branch. Brian oversaw wetlands permitting and compliance, stormwater permitting and compliance, MS4s, regional sewer districts, and water enforcement and operations.
Andrew Pappas
Title: Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Office of Land Quality
Degree(s): Master of Public Health, Environmental Science, Indiana University School of Medicine; Bachelor of Arts, Public Relations, Purdue University
Special license(s): N/A
Experience: Andrew has over 15 years of environmental and public health experience in both public and private sector. Before joining IDEM’s Office of Land Quality as a Technical Environmental Specialist, Andrew worked for the Indiana Department of Health’s Environmental Public Health Division managing several statewide regulatory programs and regularly worked with IDEM on programs including Fish Consumption Advisory, PFAS, private water wells, and cancer cluster inquires. His experience spans regulatory program management, Federal grants and program management, emergency response, technology management, and public outreach campaigns.
Colleen Rennaker
Title: Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Office of Land Quality
Degree(s): Bachelor of Science from Purdue University in Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences and Wildlife Management
Special license(s): N/A
Experience: Colleen started at IDEM in 2016 as an Excess Liability Trust Fund (ELTF) Claim reviewer. She has served as the Section Chief of the UST Operations Section and the Product Owner for the Tanks Modernization Project, focused on developing a database for Indiana’s UST program.
Martha Clark Mettler
Title: Assistant Commissioner, Office of Water Quality
Degree(s): Master of Planning in Environmental Planning from Indiana University; Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs from Indiana University.
Special license(s): N/A
Experience: Martha has been with IDEM in the Office of Water Quality since 1995. She has held the positions of Branch Chief of the Watershed Planning Branch and also the Section Chief of the Ground Water Section.
Paul Higginbotham
Title: Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Office of Water Quality
Degree(s): Bachelor of Arts in Biology, with a minor in Criminal Justice, from Anderson University.
Special license(s): N/A
Experience: Paul has been with IDEM since 1992. He was Branch Chief of the Permits Branch in the Office of Water Quality for nine years and also served as the Solid Waste–Underground Storage Tank Enforcement Section Chief in the Office of Land Quality.
Bob Lugar
Title: Assistant Commissioner, Office of Program Support
Degree(s): Bachelor of Science, Political Science, Ball State University
Special license(s): IDEM Class 2 Municipal Wastewater Operator and IDEM Class B Industrial Wastewater Operator
Experience: Bob has 22 years of operational and managerial experience in water, industrial wastewater, and municipal wastewater fields. He additionally, spent 4 years supervising utility infrastructure and wastewater plant construction.
Carl J. Wodrich
Title: Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Office of Program Support
Degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology, Eastern Illinois University; Master of Science in Biology, Eastern Illinois University
Special license(s): N/A
Carl has over 21 years of experience in the environmental and natural resources field and began his career in 2000 as a General Summer Assistant/Intern and as an intermittent staff member with the Office of Water Quality’s Assessment Branch. Carl spent almost six years with IDEM that also included time spent managing Section 319 water quality grants and as a project manager in the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) program at IDEM until 2006 when he began his tenure with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources as their NRDA Program Director. Carl was then promoted to Director of Ecological Services for the DNR when, in addition to his work on the Grand Calumet River in Northwest Indiana, he was tasked with coordinating the development and approval of the agency’s in-lieu fee (ILF) program for stream and wetland mitigation and in 2014 was awarded the Colonel Richard Lieber Award of Excellence (DNR Employee of the Year) for his efforts. Carl most recently served as the Assistant Director of the Division of Land Acquisition managing these two programs prior to his return to IDEM to serve as the Deputy Assistant Commissioner for OPS.