USACE, Transitioning to Civilian Work, and How to be a Parrot Head with Ed Kertis

Share your Field Stories!Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick! On today’s episode, we talk with Edward John Kertis, Acting Executive Director with Dawson about USACE, Transitioning to Civilian Work, and his passion for Parrot Heads. Read his full bio below.Special thanks to our sponsor for this episode to DAWSON!DAWSON is a Native Hawaiian global business enterprise serving Federal clients through construction, PTS and environmental services. Operating worldwide, DAWSON is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi with offices across the U.S. Rooted in the Hawaiian values of aloha (embodying humility, respect, and compassion for all) and ʻohana (family), DAWSON carries forward a kuleana (responsibility) to benefit the Native Hawaiian community. DAWSON's environmental branch brings science, solutions, and sustainability to planning, compliance, munitions and remediation. With a permanent 8(a) status, DAWSON is the perfect solution to all of your business needs. Help us continue to create great content! If you’d like to sponsor a future episode hit the support podcast button or visit www.environmentalprofessionalsradio.com/sponsor-form Showtimes: 1:24 Shout outs3:11 Nic and Laura discuss drought in the West7:51 Interview with Ed Kertis Starts11:28 Ed talks about USACE15:00 Ed's transition to civilian work22:26 Field notes segment31:45 How to be a Parrot HeadPlease be sure to ✔️subscribe, ⭐rate and ✍review. This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org.Connect with Ed Kertis athttps://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardkertis/Guest Full Bio:Ed joined DAWSON in November 2012 as a business development director. He became Chief Operating Officer in February 2019. In March 2020 Ed was asked to serve as the first Executive Director of the Hawaiian Native Corporation (HNC), a non-profit corporation founded in February 2004 and controlled entirely by Native Hawaiians. HNC is recognized by the Department of Defense under Federal statutory authority as a “Native Hawaiian Organization” (NHO) 8(a). It is the parent corporation of the DAWSON Companies.Ed graduated from Stetson University in 1984 with a B.S. in Biology and later earned a M.S. in Environmental Engineering Sciences from the University of Florida, majoring in wetlands ecology and hazardous waste management. He was a career Army officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), retiring as a colonel after 28 years of service. His military career included over a decade of command assignments. His commands iSupport the showThanks for listening! A new episode drops every Friday. Like, share, subscribe, and/or sponsor to help support the continuation of the show. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and all your favorite podcast players.