Proposed Slate of Candidates
Candace Baker, LSRP
Candace Baker is a Senior Professional with GEI Consultants. She has over 30 years of experience in the environmental field including over 20 years in New Jersey. Candace holds a BA in Environmental Studies with a Natural Sciences Concentration from Simon’s Rock College and an MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. She has been an LSRP for over 10 years. As an environmental consultant, she manages environmental remediation projects for energy, developer, municipal, industrial, and residential clients.
Candace has been an active member of the LSRPA since 2016. She is Chair of the Risk Management and Loss Prevention Committee and also sits on the Emerging Contaminants, Governance, Regulatory Outreach, and Communications committees. Candace has served as an LSRPA Board of Trustees member since 2020 and recently served as President.
In addition to her work at LSRPA, Candace is a member of the Conservancy Council for the New Jersey chapter of The Nature Conservancy. In addition, she is a member of NJDEP’s RAO Guidance and PFAS stakeholder groups.
Candace enjoys reading, movies, crafting, and eating baklava. She resides in Hasbrouck Heights with her husband of 25 years, Rich, her mother-in-law, Jeri, and her two children Ember (18) and Josie (14).
Michelle Bouwman, LSRP
Michelle is a Senior Consultant and Associate Vice President at Verdantas, where she serves as the operations leader for the firm’s NJ/NY Division and NJ LSRP practice. Michelle guides strategy and operational excellence across a diverse portfolio of projects and staff. In her technical practice, she synthesizes a deep understanding of New Jersey regulatory requirements with decisive communications to make complex datasets accessible and actionable. She is a regular speaker and author at industry events and publications.
Michelle has volunteered with LSRPA since 2021, when she joined the newly formed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, which she now chairs. She is additionally a member of the LSRPA Communications Committee and Contaminants of Emerging Concern Committee. She is a member of the NJ Society of Women Environmental Professionals, where she was selected as the recipient of the 2025 “Growing Great Women in the Garden State” award. She is also a board member and treasurer of MAEVE Somerville, a non-profit focused on intentional community building and service projects for moms and families.
Michelle holds a B.S. from MIT in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, and a post-baccalaureate certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from Pennsylvania State University.
Rakesh “Rocky” Ganta, MS, LSRP
With more than three decades of environmental consulting experience, Rocky Ganta brings extensive technical and managerial expertise in the petroleum, construction, and manufacturing sectors. Since 2002, he has served as President of RLG Environmental, Inc., based in Elmwood Park and Bound Brook, NJ, leading diverse projects involving underground storage tank closures, soil and groundwater remediation, vapor investigation/mitigation, ISRA/RCRA cleanups, Brownfield redevelopment, and Environmental Site Assessments.
Earlier in his career, Rocky held project management and engineering roles at Reach Associates, Inc. and A.W.K. Associates, Inc., overseeing investigations and remedial actions in compliance with OSHA, RCRA, ISRA, and AHERA regulations.
Rocky holds a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Osmania University. He is a Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) in New Jersey and holds NJDEP Tank Closure & Subsurface Evaluator and OSHA 40-Hour HAZWOPER certifications.
Actively engaged in professional and community service, Rocky serves as Secretary and Board Member of the LSRPA and Vice-Chair of the Finance Steering Committee. He is also a member of the Warren Township Environmental Commission, Planning Board, Lions Club, and Chamber of Commerce, and a former Board Trustee and Past President of the Wellspring Center for Prevention.
Antia Locke, LSRP
Anita Locke is a Senior Scientist at Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. She has 24 years of experience in consulting including assisting clients with a wide range of environmental investigations, assessments and remediation in New Jersey. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Geology from the University of Delaware. She has performed, managed and directed varied investigation and remediation projects for private and commercial entities including the industrial manufacturing, development, warehousing and petroleum sectors.
Starting in 2015, Ms. Locke has served as the LSRP for various sites including ISRA-subject facilities (both entire site and multi-tenant) with long environmental histories and many contaminated areas of concern (AOCs). In this capacity, she has supervised ISRA-subject transactions, soil groundwater, VI and ecological investigations and evaluation of emerging contaminants. Projects have also included remedial strategy development, implementation and complex permitting matters.
In addition to serving as an LSRPA Board of Trustees Member, Anita is also Chair of the LSRPA Finance Committee; and serves as the New Jersey Society of Women Environmental Professionals (NJSWEP) Golf Committee Co-Chair.
Patrick Mottola, Esq.
Patrick is currently a member of Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC (CSG Law), where he practices with the law firm’s Environmental Group. In his role, he brings extensive experience advising industrial, commercial and developer clients on a variety of issues related to Brownfield redevelopment, site remediation, real estate and corporate transactions, regulatory compliance and permitting, and resolution of enforcement and litigated matters. Patrick also has extensive experience as an environmental professional, providing counsel, creative solutions, and management strategies for all types of environmental issues. With extensive background as an environmental lawyer, environmental risk manager, and geologist, Patrick evaluates environmental issues holistically by integrating legal, technical, and financial perspectives to serve the business objectives of the client. Patrick is an associate member of the LSRPA, serving on both the Legal and Legislative Affairs committee and the Sounding Board. Patrick has served on the Board of Trustees since 2024.
Michael Poland, PE, LSRP
Michael Poland, PE, LSRP has over 25 years’ experience in consulting and founded Poland Environmental Consulting LLC in 2018. He has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering and a master’s degree in Geo-Environmental Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. He has served as Treasurer and Secretary of the LSRPA Board of Trustees and was previously Chair of the LSRPA Continuing Education Committee.
Mr. Poland has managed a wide variety of environmental site remediation and engineering projects, principally as the Licensed Site Remediation Professional, for numerous New Jersey construction and redevelopment projects. Mr. Poland’s project experience includes all phases of environmental site remediation work, such as environmental due diligence for property transactions, environmental investigation, and remediation design and oversight at contaminated sites.
John Scagnelli, Esq.
John Scagnelli is a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law school. Mr. Scagnelli’s environmental law practice covers the entire environmental law field, including environmental compliance, environmental litigation, environmental auditing, environmental permitting and environmental counseling. Mr. Scagnelli has extensive legal experience servicing law firms, businesses and public entities. He serves as environmental counsel for banks and lending institutions, commercial and industrial companies, states and municipalities, real estate development organizations, and other organizations.
Mr. Scagnelli’s environmental work includes remediation projects and litigation relating to state environmental statutes; federal and state occupational safety and health statutes; federal and state asbestos requirements; and federal and state underground storage tank regulations. Mr. Scagnelli also has extensive experience in the area of environmental pollution legal liability and environmental cost cap insurance. He also handles tax appeal cases to reduce property tax assessments of environmentally contaminated properties undergoing environmental remediation.
Mr. Scagnelli is a Partner and Past Chair of the Environmental and Land Use Law Group at Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC. He previously worked at Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan, a New York City firm, and served as Managing Partner of the firm’s Newark, New Jersey office and Chair of the firm’s Environmental Law Practice Group. Prior to that, Mr. Scagnelli worked at the Clapp & Eisenberg in Newark, New Jersey, where he served as Chair of the firm’s Environmental Law Department. Mr. Scagnelli also served as legal counsel with Chesebrough-Pond’s, Inc. and as Vice President and General Counsel of Allied Maintenance Corporation, a subsidiary of Ogden Corporation. Mr. Scagnelli has also served as special environmental counsel to public authorities and municipalities, including the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, the Passaic Valley Sewerage Authority, and the Jersey City Redevelopment Authority, and the cities of Elizabeth and Hoboken, among others.
Mr. Scagnelli is a New Jersey Commissioner on the Interstate Environmental Commission and is currently the Vice-Chairman.