Community Liaisons (CLs)

About

PHMSA's Community Liaisons (CLs) are responsible for face-to-face outreach and field compliance assistance on the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). Their goal is to improve hazardous materials transportation safety and security through increased communication and education. CLs are assigned to each of PHMSA's regional offices and are available to help businesses comply with the hazardous materials transportation regulations through educational and technical assistance. They also provide compliance assistance to federal, state, and local governments.

Community Liaison Bios

Eastern Region

Wayne Lalicon

Wayne Lalicon has been PHMSA's Eastern Region Community Liaison (CL) since August 2020. His primary responsibilities include cultivating relationships with industry partners, federal and state agency counterparts, and the public at large; assisting the public in understanding PHMSA's regulations; and relaying and exchanging information and expertise with government colleagues. In pursuit of new challenges and novel solutions to lingering problems, he approaches each task as a possible learning opportunity. By relying on his ability to make personal connections via substantive conversation and keen listening skills, Wayne is at his best connecting individuals to key information and resources.

Prior to joining PHMSA, Wayne had served in the Peace Corps in Rwanda (2014-2017) and Benin (2018-2020) where he honed his interpersonal and multicultural communication skills. He is an alumnus of Rutgers and UC Irvine as well as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Sigma Alpha, and Phi Sigma Iota honor societies. For his bachelor's degree and dissertation research, Wayne conducted substantial qualitative research on transnational migration, citizenship, nurses and veterans. He is fluent in French, can converse in Kinyarwanda, and is learning Yoruba.

Have a question? Contact Wayne.

Ijeoma George

Ijeoma George joined PHMSA's Eastern Region as a Community Liaison in January 2023. Ijeoma received her undergraduate degree in Psychology & Human Services and Master of Public Administration (MPA) with a concentration Administration Policy from Clayton States University. Ijeoma is a member of the Society for Collegiate Leadership & Achievement. Outside of work, Ijeoma lives with her husband and two sons in Atlanta, GA.

Prior to joining PHMSA, Ijeoma worked at the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Southern Region in Atlanta, supporting ASH Security and Hazardous Materials Safety from 2018-2023 as an Administrative Support Specialist. There she served as the main contact for ID Media Office -Southern Region with over 70 ID media offices. Ijeoma is skilled in administration, training Trusted Agents in media offices, security, collaborative problem solving, and public speaking. She speak four languages: English, French, Igbo & Yoruba.

Have a question? Contact Ijeoma.

Southern Region

Elizabeth A. LaDow

Elizabeth "Liz" LaDow, joined in March of 2019 and is the lead advisor and liaison for all hazardous material outreach and engagement initiatives and activities for the Southern Regional Office serving the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. She works closely with multiple federal, state and local officials to ensure the safe transportation of hazardous materials and other energy products.

Liz LaDow is an experienced materials specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the government administration industry. She is skilled in Administration, Training, Collaborative Leadership, Collaborative Problem Solving, Public Speaking and Project Management. She is a strong operations professional with over twenty-five years of experience working with fortune 500 companies such as Amazon, DOW, FedEx and Northrop Grumman. Her national public speaking engagements, both in-person and web-based, have included work with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), Council on Safe Transportation of Hazardous Articles, Inc (COSTHA), and most recently with the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States and American Craft Spirit Association following the Hand Sanitizer Relief notice that stemmed from the Covid-19 public health emergency.

Liz LaDow, is a veteran of the United States Navy having served in the field of intermediate aircraft maintenance in primarily the location of Misawa, Japan. She completed her bachelor's degree from West Virginia State College University (HBC) in 1996 and then obtained her Master's degree from the University of Kentucky in 1997. Liz is married to her husband, Ralph. The couple live in the Atlanta metro area of Georgia. Her outside interests include both hunting & fishing, youth sports, gardening, reading and cooking.

Have a question? Contact Elizabeth.

Central Region

Dan Richards

Dan Richards began his role as PHMSA's Office of Hazmat Safety's Central Region Community Liaison (CL) back in March of 2019, based in Central Michigan. His main responsibilities are to provide stakeholders with the necessary tool and resources to operate within the federal Hazardous Material Regulation safely and confidently.

Dan started his career with PHMSA back in 2013 as a Compliance Investigator in the Central Region, where he gained years of firsthand knowledge and experience of how the HMR applies to real life transportation/packaging situations.

Prior to joining the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration, Dan served in the United States Army from January 2004 until January 2013. During his experience in the Army, Dan trained Iraqi Police Officers in Operation Iraqi Freedom as well as being responsible for the enforcement of Department of Defense regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, as a Correctional Specialist at the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth Kansas. Also during his Military career, he gained experience in the safe transportation and handling practices of class one hazardous materials as a member of Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Field Artillery Units.

Have a question? Contact Dan.

Southwest Region

TBD

Western Region

Evelyn Yang

Evelyn joined PHMSA's Western Region in March 2023. As the Community Liaison for the Western Region, she serves as a bridge between the regulated industries, local communities, and the Federal Government. She takes pride in facilitating information exchanges and resource support to increase awareness of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), promote the safe transportation of hazardous materials, and ensure the safety of the American public.

Evelyn started her service career in public defense as a forensic specialist before transitioning to an investigator. She communicated complex scientific data and intricate case details effectively to audiences of various sizes and levels of understanding to obtain the best outcome for her clients. She graduated from George Washington University with a Master's in Crime Scene Investigation and from The University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor’s in Biochemistry/Cell Biology.

Have a question? Contact Evelyn.