Administrator: Heather Geldart
Heather Geldart serves as the Administrator of the Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR), leading the agency’s efforts to protect California’s natural resources through innovative spill prevention, response, and recovery operations. With over two decades of experience in emergency management at the federal, state, local, and international levels, she has successfully led large-scale disaster recovery efforts, regulatory modernization initiatives, and cross-sector partnerships to enhance environmental resilience. Before joining OSPR, Heather served as Deputy Director of Disaster Debris Recovery Operations at CalRecycle, where she spearheaded financial and operational improvements. She holds a Master of Arts in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Virginia.
After more than 20 years on the East Coast, Heather returned to her family’s generational ranch in Lincoln, California, where she lives with her husband and two children. She enjoys watching her kids explore sports, take advantage of California’s vast outdoor opportunities, and adapt to ranch life. A former professional softball player and a four-year starter for UVA’s varsity team, she brings the same competitive spirit and strategic mindset to her leadership at OSPR, ensuring the agency remains at the forefront of environmental protection and emergency preparedness.
Assistant Deputy Administrator: Amir Sharifi
Amir serves as OSPR's Assistant Deputy Administrator and is responsible for overseeing Prevention, Financial and Administrative Services, Public Outreach and Regulation operations. His team is responsible for providing a myriad of services that support OSPR's mission in protecting California's resources.
Amir holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Managerial Economics from the University of California, Davis. As an avid fisherman, when Amir's not at work you will find him spending time with friends and family on California's waterways.
Environmental Response Branch Chief: Kathleen Jennings
Kathleen is OSPR's Chief of Environmental Response, overseeing environmental scientists that are members of three regional Field Response Teams statewide. She also manages the OSPR Incident Tracking Database and provides oversight for OSPR’s Spill Desk, which provides spill notifications to OSPR responders.
Kathleen has been with the department for 22 years, serving in roles including field environmental scientist, supervisor and now branch chief.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Theology and a Master of Science in Environmental Management from the University of San Francisco (USF). She also holds a PhD in Wildland Resource Science from UC Berkeley. Her past research focused on impacts of various contaminants on terrestrial food chains and human-wildlife interactions. She has conducted human health and ecological risk assessments as a consultant and taught full-time in the USF Department of Environmental Science undergraduate and graduate programs.
Laboratory Program Branch Chief: Martice Vasquez, Ph.D.
Martice manages the OSPR laboratory program’s pollution response efforts in Rancho Cordova. She worked for OSPR from 2001 to 2005 prior to achieving her Ph.D. in Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry from U.C. Davis. She also served as an environmental scientist for the Regional Water Quality Control Board before returning to OSPR in 2013. When not spending time with her family, Martice also enjoys gardening, canoeing, and spending time with their dachshund.
Prevention Branch Chief: Jon Victoria
Jon serves as OSPR’s Chief of Prevention. He joined OSPR in 2011 as Prevention Branch Supervisor for Southern California. He has over three-decades of oil spill response experience in the marine environment, including hazardous materials emergency response situations. He started his career with the U.S. Coast Guard and eventually joined the oil spill co-op Clean Coastal Waters (CCW), an entity established to protect the coast and offshore oil platforms from spills. When CCW merged with Marine Spill Response Corporation he continued his work responding to spills and natural disasters on the west coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. He later headed up the Oil Spill Response Organization (OSRO) program for National Response Corporation in Southern California and was directly involved in major oil spill incidents including Cosco Busan and Deepwater Horizon.
Public Affairs Unit Manager: Eric Laughlin
Eric manages OSPR’s public affairs unit. He first joined the department as a public information officer in 2012, after a decade-long career as a television and print journalist. He has served in leadership roles at numerous oil spill responses statewide, including the Refugio Beach spill near Santa Barbara in 2015, and the Southern California Pipeline P00547 spill in 2021.
Eric graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication in 2002. He is among a national cohort of less than 200 public information officers that hold the prestigious Master Public Information Officer designation from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Preparedness Chief: David Reinhard
David serves as OSPR’s Chief of Preparedness. He joined OSPR after more than 20 years with the U.S. Coast Guard, in which he was most recently stationed as Commanding Officer of the Pacific Strike Team in Novato. Previous assignments took him to Sector San Diego, the Eleventh District Headquarters in Alameda, and other posts nationwide.
David’s specialty in the Coast Guard was oil spill and hazardous materials response; he responded to incidents including the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, the Anthrax response in Senator Daschle’s office, and Hurricane Katina. He also led Emergency Support Function 10 responses for Hurricane Maria in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Hurricane Florence in North Carolina
As Chief of Preparedness, David oversees the Response Certification and Contingency planning unit, the Drill and Exercise program, and the Certificate of Financial Responsibility program as well as the state’s involvement with Area Contingency Plans and Geographic Response Plans.
David earned a Bachelor of Science in Forestry and Natural Resource Management from California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo and a Master of Science in Emergency Management from Trident University International.
Financial and Administrative Services Chief: Lenore Phelps
Lenore serves as OSPR’s Chief of Finance and Administration Services. She started her career with the Department in 1998 as a student assistant with the Bay Delta Region and was involved in the Fishing in the City and Sandhill Crane projects. Lenore has worked for various CDFW programs, including the License and Revenue Branch, big game hunting projects and as part of the exploratory project for a preference point system. She most recently served as an Administrative Officer III, overseeing the Marine Region’s fiscal and administrative operations.
Lenore earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biological Science from California State University, Sacramento.
Response Technology Chief: Greg McGowan
Greg joined OSPR following a 23-year-plus career as a professional ecologist, during which he led an Incident Response and Recovery Team, addressing spills across North America. He has responded to incidents in the U.S. and abroad, typically serving in the Environmental Unit. At OSPR, Greg manages the Response Technology and Support team comprised of six technical disciplines and staffed by an outstanding group of subject matter experts. The technical teams include: Best Achievable Technology, Oiled Wildlife Response, the Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center, Applied Response Technology, Fishery Closure, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Law Enforcement Division Chief: Josh Nicholas
Josh began his career in state service in 1995 and joined CDFW as a sworn officer in 1998. He has since held patrol assignments throughout Northern California that include Wildlife Officer, Lieutenant, and Captain. He joined OSPR in 2007 and has been deployed to incidents including the Cosco Busan and Refugio oil spills and the Camp Fire in Butte County. He most recently served as Captain of OSPR’s Northern Law Enforcement squad and as Emergency Management and Homeland Security Unit Captain. He has also served as a Tribal Representative for emergency response. In 2024, Josh became OSPR’s Chief of Law Enforcement. He oversees a statewide team that protects the wildlife and waterways throughout California.
Assistant Chief Counsel: Carlos Mejia