Mary Kennamer at Grand Canyon

Mary Kennamer, P.E.

Project Manager

Professional Engineer Mary Kennamer started at ONE Environmental Group’s Raleigh office in September 2023. Mary brings extensive experience in environmental consulting for the solid waste and petrochemical industries, including air compliance and permitting, landfill gas testing, groundwater and stormwater compliance, SPCC plans, and buyer/seller due diligence. Her expertise benefits ONE clients who must meet federal, state, and local environmental regulations. Mary also assists her ONE teammates with various aspects of project management for vapor intrusion testing and other remedial activities.

“ONE is by far the most personable place I’ve ever worked at,” she says. “Everyone is invested in each other’s lives and their clients’ success.”

Mary earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas. She’s happy to live in Raleigh, her hometown that she calls, “a big city with a small-town feel.”

Mary recently married her husband, John, a homicide detective in Durham. They are new parents to a chatty, 5-month old baby girl named Joanna. “She’s got such a big personality already,” Mary says.

She and John are foster failures to three rescue Pembroke Welsh Corgis — Tessa, Diesel, and Pixie. Whenever she can fit it in, Mary enjoys riding her vintage Vespa scooter, baking, and exploring the local craft beer scene. She and John love to hike and aspire to visit every national park in the country. They have been to 11 out of 63 so far and hope to see Shenandoah and Acadia in 2024.

Hard Hats and Construction Plans

Town of South Hill Awarded Virginia Brownfields Assessment Grant

The Town of South Hill, Virginia was awarded a site assessment and planning grant with an initial total worth of $50,000. The ONE Environmental team assisted the Town with the successful grant application and is assisting them with management and performance of this assessment grant.

ONE helped inform the Town of South Hill about the grant and developed interest in the program. There are multiple properties included in this assessment, which is being completed as part of the Town’s vision for growth and expansion in the downtown area.

Specifically, ONE pursued Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund (VBAF) Site Assessment and Planning Grant funding to offset the costs of completing Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), site characterization activities including soil and groundwater samples, soil-gas surveys; and potentially asbestos containing materials and lead-based paint testing.

Investigations included review of historical documents and regulatory databases regarding former site use. When appropriate, additional assessment was performed at sites, such as asbestos containing materials inspection, limited Phase II ESAs (such as ground penetrating radar assessment), Phase II ESAs including soil and groundwater sample collection to determine if a site is contaminated, and Phase II ESA delineation to help further determine extent of contamination.

Grants help fill a financing gap for projects or phases of work for restoration and redevelopment of brownfield sites as well as address environmental problems or obstacles to reuse so that these sites can be effectively marketed to new economic development prospects that have not already commenced.

ONE Environmental has significant experience helping owners transform brownfields into economically viable properties. Click here to learn more about ONE’s Site Investigation and Remediation service offerings.

Melissa LeCroy Kirkpatrick, ONE Environmental

Melissa LeCroy Kirkpatrick

Environmental Consultant II

Melissa LeCroy Kirkpatrick joined ONE Environmental Group in October 2023. Based in ONE’s Georgia office, she will focus on due diligence and new development.

Melissa holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology/Ecology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She joined ONE after five years at an environmental consulting company where she worked in environmental planning and due diligence. In that position, Melissa worked with two of her current colleagues at ONE.

“I like the energy of the people at ONE,” she says. “Everyone has been so nice and kind. I’ve gotten messages from other people across the country who work here welcoming me to the company. It already feels like a family.”

Just a few weeks ago, Melissa married Kace Kirkpatrick, who, like her, is a fervent supporter of the Atlanta Braves. While he favors third baseman Austin Riley, she prefers catcher Travis d’Arnaud, touting him as MLB’s most underrated player.  “I grew up watching the Braves with my dad,” Melissa says. “Now my husband and I have Braves season tickets.”

The newlyweds enjoy spending time outdoors, especially with their two rescues: Layla, an Australian Cattle Dog; and Toby, a Rottweiler/German Shepherd mix. Both pups even played a role in their wedding. The couple loves to visit nearby wineries and just moved into their first home on 10 acres in Cochran, Georgia.

Noah Sacks

Environmental Consultant

Noah Sacks joined ONE Environmental Group’s Charlotte office in August 2023. His focus is industrial compliance.

Noah graduated from NC State University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science. He initially followed an engineering path there until a horticulture general education elective reminded him how much he enjoyed the natural sciences. He completed an internship at NC State in urban tree coverage that was especially rewarding.

During his first 16 months after graduation, Noah served in a geotechnical role for a Raleigh company that gave him a foundation in field services and client management. He sought a career position more closely aligned with environmental science and his commitment to the preservation of our natural resources. He found both at ONE.

“My passion lies in environmental stewardship and keeping everything in check,” Noah says. “I can do that in my role at ONE and the close-knit culture that the company has is a huge draw for me. I like that ONE takes an individualized approach to each client instead of following a standard model.”

As a newbie to Charlotte, the Raleigh native is having fun exploring the city in his free time. He regularly partakes in the local music scene with friends and is always game for visiting a new craft brewery. Noah is hoping to travel more, particularly to the western United States where he enjoyed family vacations as a youngster.

Jeff Roberts

Jeff Roberts

Senior Environmental Specialist

Jeff Roberts realized after college that he wanted a career that would contribute to making the world a better place. The Chester, Virginia native brings years of experience in environmental waste management and compliance to ONE Environmental Group. Jeff joined the Richmond office in July of 2023 to handle environmental waste related matters, helping sites become more environmentally responsible and compliant with governmental regulations.

“I worked indirectly with ONE for a long time and gained a deep respect for the company,” he said.

Jeff comes to ONE from Safety-Kleen (a Clean Harbors company), the largest re-refiner of used oil and provider of parts cleaning services in North America, where he worked as an Environmental Services Representative for more than 16 years. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Old Dominion University where, through his course study, he refined his interest in Earth and human sciences and conservation. Interestingly, Jeff has also worked as a travel writer, contributing to the coffee table book “Treasures of Virginia” among others.

Jeff and his wife, Barbara, share four adult children and two grandchildren, Camryn, 13, and Colin, 18 months. They’re also dog lovers with a trio in house — American/English Chocolate Labrador, Jafar; Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix, Penny; and Yorkipoo, Sophie. In his free time, Jeff is an avid outdoorsman, enjoying fishing, camping, mountain biking, skydiving and off roading with his 4-wheel drive pickup.

Hannah Tyler with Horse

Hannah Tyler

Environmental Consultant

Her parents were Navy helicopter pilots, and her brother joined the Air Force. Hannah Tyler thought about a military career but charted her own path in the environmental field. The Eastern Shore native who grew up in Virginia Beach earned her undergraduate degree from N.C. State University. Initially a chemistry major, she changed her focus to Crop Biotechnology after enjoying soil science classes and working in the soil science lab at the university.

“I always wanted to work outdoors,” she says. “It was just about finding a career that allowed me to do that and have it afford me the lifestyle I wanted. I didn’t know I wanted to go into the environmental arena growing up but it kind of found me and it’s all worked out.”

Hannah completed multiple internships at NC State, working for the Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory and in the Genomic Engineering Department, where the focus was genetically engineering mosquitoes for prevention.

Hannah joined ONE Environmental Group’s Richmond office in June 2023 and handles compliance and permitting.

“I like the community that ONE is,” she says. “I enjoy the getting-out-in-the-field aspect of the job and intermixing it with office work.”

Hannah took riding lessons as a kid and spends much of her spare time today eventing and competing in dressage with her Quarter Horse, Sunni. She also likes to hike the Appalachian Trail and spend time near the water.