Meet our Senior Staff

Dr. Margaret H. Whittaker has over twenty years of experience in both the performance and management of toxicology and human health hazard and risk assessment-related projects. She is currently the Managing Director and Chief Toxicologist of ToxServices LLC, where she serves as the project manager and technical lead of ToxServices projects for the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Safer Choice Program, Clean Production Action's GreenScreen®, international certification organizations, testing laboratories, and consumer products companies that manufacture and test products such as food additives, food contact materials, cleaning chemicals, fragrance agents, electronics, cosmetics, dietary supplements, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and drinking water additives. As project manager and technical lead for contracts with these organizations, Dr. Whittaker has contributed to and/or managed the development of hundreds of human health risk assessments, chemical hazard assessments, exposure assessments, as well as hundreds of product-specific toxicology evaluations.

Dr. Whittaker is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology who earned a Ph.D. in Toxicology from The University of Maryland, Baltimore and an M.P.H. in Environmental Health from The University of Michigan. Dr. Whittaker is a U.K./Eurotox Registered Toxicologist, as well as a Chartered Biologist and Fellow of the U.K. Royal Society of Biology. Dr. Whittaker has built her career on a foundation grounded in leadership and adherence to details and timelines. One of her first career awards (1992) was a United States Coast Guard Commandant's Award for Outstanding Civilian Service, where her "alacrity and tenacity" displayed while working on projects associated with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 were officially recognized.

In addition to her extensive program management experience, Dr. Whittaker has extensive technical experience in hazard identification and non-cancer and cancer dose-response assessment, including quantitative risk assessment (e.g., benchmark dose modeling for both carcinogens and non-carcinogens). She specializes in conducting chemical hazard assessments and chemical alternatives assessments. Prior to creating ToxServices in 2003, she worked at two of the country's leading toxicology and risk assessment consulting firms (The ENVIRON Corporation and The Weinberg Group).

Dr. Jennifer Ator (formerly Fleischer) is a Principal Toxicologist who earned her Ph.D. in Toxicology and M.H.S. in Environmental Health Sciences from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Ator prepares, reviews, and manages quantitative human health risk assessments, exposure assessments, product and ingredient safety assessments, and regulatory compliance evaluations for a diverse range of substances within a variety of national and international regulatory contexts, including food allergens, food additives, food contact materials, medical devices, consumer/household products, personal care products/cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and dietary supplements, among others. Recent work has focused on quantitative exposure assessments, particularly for Proposition 65-listed substances, nanomaterials, and impurities, often in response to actual or potential litigation. Dr. Ator advises clients and serves as an expert witness on key technical issues, such as clinical and nonclinical testing strategies, study design and monitoring, and data interpretation; the scientific merit of test data provided by claimants or other parties; regulatory compliance requirements for U.S., EU, and other markets; and comprehensive interpretation of test data and literature. She provides critical scientific support to inform her clients’ risk management decisions (e.g., product recalls, product liability claims) in a transparent and scientifically-sound manner.

Ms. Erica Harriman serves as ToxServices Safer Choice Program Manager. In that role, she manages ToxServices' U.S. EPA's Safer Choice Product Labeling Program and GreenBlue®'s CleanGredients® Program Operations. Erica directs and manages client, U.S. EPA, and GreenBlue® interactions, project budgets, and project timelines. She works closely with ToxServices' toxicologists to complete projects quickly and within budget. She also oversees staff dedicated to supplier disclosure and communication. Since joining ToxServices in 2013, Ms. Harriman has been instrumental in implementing systems dedicated to increasing efficiency of third-party reviews. Ms. Harriman earned her Master of Science in Environmental Science and Policy from Johns Hopkins University and her Bachelor of Science degree in Integrated Science and Technology with an Environmental concentration from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Ms. Kristi Gomella is a Project Manager at ToxServices and is responsible for managing ToxServices’ Full Materials Disclosure Screened Chemistry® (ToxFMD®) program. In this role, she works directly with clients in regards to project quotes, timelines, budgets, and the collection of proprietary supplier information necessary to perform hazard assessments for the ToxFMD® Screened Chemistry program. She additionally assists in tasks related to the U.S. EPA Safer Choice program. Ms. Benoy graduated from The University of Vermont with a B.S. in Environmental Sciences and Biology prior to joining ToxServices in 2016. Her work history includes research & development and quality assurance in consumer packaged goods.

Mr. Edward Pavia is an Environmental Engineer who earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington and his Master of Science degree in Appropriate Technology from Appalachian State University. Mr. Pavia manages sustainability-related projects for clients in the construction, furniture, and textile/apparel sectors seeking Cradle to Cradle Certified Products Program certification, Health Product Declarations, verification of compliance with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL), and ToxServices’ Full Materials Disclosure certificates (ToxFMD). Mr. Pavia additionally works with clients to adopt and implement chemical optimization and sustainability-related process improvements focused on a client’s supply chain, this also includes managing projects associated with regulatory health and safety reviews of both new and existing products. He is an industry expert in various sustainability-related standards, such as Cradle to Cradle Certified Standard, the Health Production Declaration Standard, the Living Product Challenge Standard.

Dr. Jennifer Y. Tanir is a Senior Sustainability Scientist at ToxServices, where she manages projects for built environment clients, including Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Products Program certification and Living Product Challenge’s Transparent Material Health. Additionally, she manages ToxServices’s ToxFMD Screened Chemistry® Library, and coordinates supplier outreach and audits for the U.S. EPA Safer Choice Program. Jennifer joined ToxServices in 2019 with almost 20 years of green and sustainable chemistry-related experience working in industry, non-profit organizations, and consulting. Jennifer has a Ph.D. in polymer/organic chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and B.S. in chemistry from the University of Richmond. She serves in leadership roles in several professional organizations, including the Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment, Chemical Society of Washington, and National Capital Area Chapter of the Society of Toxicology.

Dr. Wang is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Environmental Biology and doctoral degree in Human Toxicology. She performs human health and environmental hazard, exposure and risk assessments on drinking water contaminants, consumer products, industrial chemicals, medical devices, and food additives for public and private sector clients. She reviews and performs quality control of reviews on product formulations for submission to the U.S EPA’s Safer Choice Products Labeling Program, GreenBlue’s CleanGredients, and Cradle to Cradle Innovation Institute’s Cradle to Cradle certification program. She also performs chemical hazard assessments and quality control of these assessments under Clean Production Action's GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals criteria and is an instructor for the basic and advanced GreenScreen® training courses. In addition, she establishes no significant risk levels (NSRLs) for carcinogens listed on California’s Proposition 65 and conducts exposure and risk assessments to determine compliance with Proposition 65 regulations.

Nancy Linde is a Senior Toxicologist with a M.S. in Environmental Health from the University of Michigan. She has over 20 years of experience working with industry and regulatory agencies assessing chemical-based products for human and environmental health exposures, regulatory compliance, and sustainability. She has participated in the design and development of numerous third-party conformance standards, authored and peer reviewed hundreds of chemical based hazard and risk assessments, and worked with clients to advocate for new products, new uses, and failure resolution. Nancy conducts chemical hazard risk assessments under frameworks including the GreenScreenÒ for Safer Chemicals, U.S. EPA Safer Choice Criteria, and the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institutes’ Cradle to CradleTM Certification Program. She is also an accomplished human health risk and exposure assessor and excels at performing California Proposition 65 Safe Harbor Assessments.

Dr. Zach Guerrette is a Senior Toxicologist with a Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology from the University of Washington and B.S.'s in Biochemistry and Zoology/Ecology, also from the University of Washington. Dr. Guerrette is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology. While at ToxServices, Dr. Guerrette has been involved in the assessment of toxicological data for the purposes of defining hazard and risk for chemicals used in cosmetics and personal care products, cleaning products, medical devices, textiles, electronics, and food. He is involved in assessing hazard for the U.S. EPA’s Safer Choice program, Clean Production Action’s GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals Program, and the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Program. Dr. Guerrette has over seven years’ experience evaluating toxicological databases and conducting dose-response analyses to define points of departure for use in safety assessments. Dr. Guerrette has also performed exposure and risk assessments of chemicals found in consumer products in order to determine compliance with established reference values, including U.S. EPA reference doses and the State of California’s Proposition 65 safe harbor values. Dr. Guerrette also assesses the safety of building materials by preparing Health Product Declarations (HPDs) and as a member of the HPD Collaborative Hazards Sub-Group. Prior to joining ToxServices, Dr. Guerrette’s professional experience included serving as an environmental scientist for an environmental engineering and science consulting firm.

Dr. Jennifer Rutkiewicz is a Senior Toxicologist who studied terrestrial ecotoxicology while earning her Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of Michigan and her M.S. in Biological Sciences from Wright State University. Dr. Rutkiewicz completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan prior to joining ToxServices in 2013. At ToxServices, she performs toxicological hazard and risk assessments of materials in a variety of consumer products, including cosmetic and personal care products, electronics, and cleaning products, evaluates auxiliary textile processing formulations under the ToxServices' Full Materials Disclosure Screened Chemistry™ (ToxFMD®) Program, and performs human health risk assessments of chemicals extracting from medical devices and drinking water system components. Dr. Rutkiewicz also evaluates product submissions to U.S EPA's Safer Choice Product Labeling Program, GreenBlue®'s CleanGredients®, and the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Products Program, and assesses chemicals using Clean Production Action's GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals, and has served as a GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals training course instructor.

Dr. Mouna Zachary is a UK-based toxicologist who joined ToxServices in mid-2009 after completing her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Hull, England. She is a chemist who specializes in the use of Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship (QSAR) software to help businesses assess and predict the behavior of chemical compounds in environmental systems. She has expertise in both European and North American regulations pertaining to chemicals and has conducted numerous workshops pertaining to REACH compliance and appropriate use of QSAR software. At ToxServices, Mouna has been involved in preparing chemical hazard assessments on numerous chemicals and formulations using ToxServices' Full Materials Disclosure Screened Chemistry™ (ToxFMD®) Program, Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Products Program, and Clean Production Action's GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals. She has served as a GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals training course instructor and was involved in creating the framework underlying the revised GreenScreen® polymer assessment method. Dr Zachary is also specialist in preparing Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for substances and mixtures in compliance with the U.S. GHS (OSHA HazCom) and the EU-GHS (CLP). Mouna holds a BSc in Applied Chemistry and MSc in Chemical Process Technology from the University of Durham, England, and a PhD in chemistry from the University of York, England. She is a member of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).