Our Team
Maria (Gena) Barous-Dongaris, MBA
President
Ms. Dongaris oversees the overall management of the company and assists in developing, monitoring and evaluating the overall corporate business strategy. She is responsible in overseeing the financial accounting, operational analytics, all payroll activity and human resources of the company and works with the Principal of the company to establish long range business goals and policies that contribute to the vision and success of Athenica. In addition, she participates in developing new business in identifying new opportunities and determining the cost effectiveness of prospective services. Ms. Dongaris has delivered extensive improvements in the company’s financial and corporate infrastructure that allowed Athenica to double in revenues in the past four years.
Spiro Dongaris, P. E.
Principal
Spiro Dongaris, founder of Athenica Environmental Services Inc.(Athenica), is a Professional Engineer with over 30 years of extensive experience in Environmental Engineering, Industrial Hygiene, Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), remediation system design, and remediation and abatement projects. Mr. Dongaris has comprehensive knowledge of environmental regulations as they apply to the various projects that our company undertakes. Mr. Dongaris has designed and overseen a large number of environmental remediation and abatement projects throughout the New York metropolitan area. As the principal of Athenica, he is responsible for the overall quality of work for the firm and along with the President acts as one of the main client contacts for the firm’s projects.
Yianni Dongaris
Director of Operations
Yianni Dongaris is the Director of Operations at Athenica Environmental Services Inc., leveraging a robust background in financial analytics, data-driven solutions, and systems management to enhance operational efficiency and cross-functional collaboration within the environmental engineering sector. With over 7 years of experience in consulting, data analysis, and financial crime compliance, Yianni brings a unique skill set to the table, applying technical expertise to streamline operations, improve decision-making, and drive innovation. Yianni brings a fresh perspective to the operational landscape of environmental engineering, helping the firm achieve greater efficiency and innovation.
As Director of Operations at Athenica Environmental Services Inc., Yianni is focused on integrating advanced data analytics and technology solutions to improve project management, resource allocation, and operational processes. Yianni brings his technical experience in data analysis and his statistical knowledge to assist the firm in deriving insights from large volumes of data and performing in-depth systems analysis.
Albert Smith III
Financial Controller
Mr. Smith is a dynamic professional, serving as Controller overseeing the firm’s daily accounting operations. His keen financial acumen ensures the firm’s economic stability and growth managing the cost accounting, payroll, accounts payable and accounts receivable departments.
An alumnus of Rutgers University twice over, the School of Management & Labor Relations and Rutgers Business School, Mr. Smith plays a pivotal role in the financial governance at the firm, overseeing budgeting, financial reporting, and strategic fiscal planning helping to guide the leadership of the company’s strategic financial decisions.
Paul Lindell, PG
Senior Project Manager
HazMat Services
Paul Lindell has over 25 years of experience in the environmental industry working with clients in the industrial, municipal, and petroleum sectors to solve their environmental compliance issues. His experience includes Phase I and II environmental site investigations (ESAs), cost to closure forecasting, outsourced environmental program management, remediation feasibility and design, and environmental contracting. His experience working with and for regulatory agencies under remediation contracts has allowed him to develop a deep understanding of regulations and how to negotiate with the agencies.
Currently, Mr. Lindell is on a long term engagement with the NYC School Construction Authority as an internal consultant with their Industrial and Environmental Hygiene Division. He supports the NYCSCA in their due diligence efforts related to property acquisitions, lease renewals, and new leases for new schools, their Universal Pre-K initiative, and the recently rolled out Gym Expansion initiative.
Kenneth Wenz, Jr., PG, LEP
Senior Project Manager
HazMat Services
Kenneth P. Wenz, Jr. has more than 30 years of experience in the environmental field, comprising both consulting and regulatory positions. Ken is a Licensed Professional Geologist in New York, a Registered Professional Geologist in Pennsylvania, a Licensed Environmental Professional in Connecticut, and a Certified Professional Geologist. He has managed and implemented numerous projects in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Vermont, which have included federal and state Superfund investigation and remediation programs, Brownfield projects, state and local programs (e.g., NJ ISRA, CT RSR, NYCOER, etc.), petroleum spills, and property transfers (Phase I/II/III ESAs), as well as soil, soil vapor, sediment, and water assessment and remediation programs for numerous commercial, industrial, and government clients.
Ken provides project evaluation, technical input, and review of project deliverables, to ensure that all work meets all applicable project requirements as well as our exacting quality standards.
Albert Sikorski
Senior Project Manager
Industrial Hygiene Department
Albert Sikorski has over 20 years of experience in the environmental services industry, has supervised and participated in a wide range of industrial hygiene/environmental hazard investigations, project design and remediation/abatement projects. He is responsible for reviewing building survey data, creating a scope of work, developing budgetary cost estimates and designing complete asbestos remediation. Additionally, he coordinates multiphase abatement projects, oversees remediation and inspects work sites, ensuring compliance with applicable legal requirements.Mr. Sikorski also serves as the on-site principal contact, interfacing directly with the client’s representative and the removal contractor. His responsibilities include abatement contractor coordinator for projects, assignments of tasks to field staff during projects and assuring regulatory compliance on job sites.
Ruslan Kleyner
Q/A & Q/C Project Manager
Industrial Hygiene Department
Mr. Kleyner has been a part of Athenica’s Team for 15 years. His responsibilities include gathering all information for completed projects, reviewing all documents and releasing invoices in a timely manner. Mr. Kleyner interacts directly with clients such as NTT Data, NYC School Construction Authority, STV Construction Inc., abatement contractors and provides excellent customer service. In addition, Mr. Kleyner prepares proposals for potential clients and provides direct assistance to the Project Managers. Mr. Kleyner is a NYS Asbestos Inspector.
Artur Martirossian
Air Monitoring Project Manager
Industrial Hygiene Department
Arthur Martirossian has over twenty (20) years experience in the environmental services industry, has supervised and participated in a wide range of industrial hygiene/environmental hazard investigations, project design and remediation/abatement projects. He is responsible for reviewing building survey data, creating a scope of work, developing budgetary cost estimates and designing complete asbestos remediation. Additionally he coordinates multiphase abatement projects, oversees remediation and inspects work sites, ensuring compliance with applicable laws requirements. Mr. Martirossian also serves as the on-site principal contact, interfacing directly with the client’s representative and the removal contractor. His responsibilities include abatement contractor coordinator for projects, assignments of tasks to field staff during projects and assuring regulatory compliance on job sites.
Juraj Bardiovsky
Lead/Mold Project Manager
Industrial Hygiene Department
Juraj Bardiovsky’s experience includes over ten (10) years experience in the environmental services industry, where he has participated in a wide range of industrial hygiene/environmental hazard investigations and remediation/abatement projects. His involvement in various industrial hygiene/environmental hazard projects from the beginning to completion has made him very experienced in management of complex projects. He has and continues to work on projects for municipal clients such as the New York City Housing Authority, New York City Board of Education and the New York City School Construction Authority.
Juraj is tasked with estimating and carrying out projects involving mold, lead and asbestos sampling, designing project specific remediation procedures and overseeing the bidding process. In addition, he is also a part of the management team which oversees and performs surveys and reports results for lead-based paint and drinking water throughout the city of New York Schools.
Natalia Kozlova
Lead Project Manager
Industrial Hygiene Department
Ms. Kozlova has over ten years’ experience and is responsible for preforming on site quality control field inspections and coordinates all work crews for environmental lead based paint projects. Ms. Kozlova is an EPA certified lead risk assessor and has been tasked with managing the company’s contracts with NYCHA. She also provides technical management support to managers and the business team to help facilitate, expedite, and drive to closure assigned sites for asbestos as needed. She is also a NYC DEP Asbestos Investigator.
Jessica Collins
Project Manager
HazMat
Jessica is a geologist and project manager with more than 16 years of wide-ranging experience in the environmental consulting field. Her experience has included designing, implementing, and managing a wide range of environmental investigation and remediation programs for sites in New York.
She has scoped, implemented, and managed all phases of environmental assessment and remediation projects, including due diligence/Phase I site assessments, Phase II/III investigations, and remediation/OM&M projects, that have ranged from individual residential properties to regional projects encompassing multiple properties.
Ms. Collins has substantial experience with projects involving regulatory involvement and oversight, including local, state and federal Superfund, Brownfield, and Voluntary Cleanup programs, and has served as field team leader for numerous investigation and remediation programs, and has managed and trained field personnel.
She also has considerable experience in data assessment and interpretation; preparation of work plans, scoping documents, investigation reports, remediation plans, remediation reports; technical review of documents prepared by others; and development and management of project budgets.
Evan Greenberg, E. I. T.
Project Engineer
Hazmat
Evan Greenberg is an Environmental Project Engineer with a diverse skillset, including groundwater, soil and soil vapor sampling, sub-surface investigations, effluent collection, remedial operations, lead paint inspection and risk assessment, lead water sampling, on-Site project coordination, and review of laboratory analytical reports. He has also designed and implemented engineering controls for vapor intrusion mitigation projects, including sub-slab depressurization systems, and composite cover systems. His experience also includes performing Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) at residential, commercial and industrial properties throughout the New York Metropolitan area in accordance with ASTM E1527-21 standard practice for Phase I ESAs. Mr. Greenberg has performed site assessments to characterize subsurface conditions, has overseen monitoring well installation, and has implemented Community Air Monitoring Plans.
Ahmed Shaheen E.I.T.
Project Engineer
Hazmat
Ahmed Shaheen is a Project Engineer with over 7 years of experience in environmental consulting. His experience includes environmental regulatory compliance, performing Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments at residential, commercial, and industrial properties, air quality permitting and compliance, and modeling. He is knowledgeable of regulations and guidance of Federal, State and City agencies such as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP), New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), and New York City Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation (OER).
Mr. Shaheen’s skillset includes groundwater, soil and soil vapor sampling, effluent collection, remedial operations, lead paint inspection, onsite project coordination, and review of laboratory analytical reports. Mr. Shaheen has prepared Environmental Impact Statements, Construction & Operation Environmental Management Plans, and site assessment reports.
Michael Oliver
Geologist II
Hazmat
Michael Oliver a Geologist II and Environmental Scientist with more than 3 years of experience in environmental consulting. His experience includes preparing Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) for residential, commercial, and industrial properties, and drafting Phase I ESA Reports. Mr. Oliver has also implemented Phase II ESAs at numerous residential, commercial, and industrial properties, including soil, groundwater, soil vapor/ambient air, and underground injection control (UIC) sampling; conducted geologic assessments and prepared boring logs/field sampling forms; conducted data assessment; and has drafted Phase II ESA reports.
He has significant experience with remedial investigation sampling and remediation oversight projects, including use and troubleshooting of field instruments; sample collection for various environmental media; underground storage tank (UST) removal; petroleum spill remediation and closure; sub-slab depressurization system (SSDS) installation, testing, and monitoring; and UIC structure clean-out operations.
He has experience preparing remedial action reports and analyzing laboratory supplied data packages. Mr. Oliver is also experienced in using ground penetrating radar (GPR) operations for locating subsurface utilities, USTs, UIC structures, and piping.
Priyanthi Karrupiah
Project Engineer
Industrial Hygiene
Priyanthi Karuppiah is a Project Environmental Engineer in Athenica’s Industrial Hygiene Unit. Ms. Priyanthi received a M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering from the New York University and her Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from Anna University, India. Since her start at Athenica, she has worked managing several projects for large city agencies, including the New York City Department of Education (DOE) and NYC School construction Authority (NYCSCA). She is responsible for overseeing field personnel, scheduling, and reporting XRF inspections and lead-based paint abatement project monitoring. She facilitates timely communication with several project contributors, including the client, school personnel, and abatement crews. As a certified EPA-licensed Lead Based Paint Risk Assessor, she verifies that each job is in accordance with current regulations and that lead hazards are properly eliminated. Ms. Priyanthi also contributes to the management of large-scale New York City Public Housing (NYCHA) projects. She writes timely reports, analyzes XRF and lab data and conducts QA/QC of reports completed by office staff.
In addition, Ms. Priyanthi is involved with assisting in conducting Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments and sampling programs that includes soil sampling, soil vapor sampling and vapor intrusion tests. She assists with writing technical reports and analyzing field test results. She also assists with research, review and interpret engineering drawings and specifications, historical maps, regulations and other city directories and databases.
Ms. Priyanthi had 1+ years’ experience as a lead inspector and asbestos inspector conducting lead-based paint inspection for DOE and SCA projects throughout the 5 boroughs in NYC at her previous employment. Beyond lead paint projects, Ms. Priyanthi’s past experience included conducting phase I environmental site assessments, report writing, scheduling and performing QA/QC for DOE water sampling projects tested for lead. Additionally, Ms. Priyanthi has clear knowledge of the remediation industry and has experience in designing remedial action and reviewing remediation and spill reports for e-designated sites in New York City area. She has also attained her HAZWOPER 40 hour and OSHA 30 hour certifications
Franklin Rivera
Assistant Project Manager
Industrial Hygiene
Franklin Rivera is an Asbestos inspector and a US/EPA lead risk assessor. He is tasked with conducting asbestos inspections, writing the investigation reports along with assisting the project managers. In addition, he assists in oversight of lead-based paint projects for NYCHA. He assists in the data collection and analysis, preparation of reports, and helps in the oversight and coordination of filed personnel on both NYCHA and NYCSCA projects.
Diana Polonska
Assistant Project Manager
Industrial Hygiene
Diana Polonska is an environmental scientist and a graduate from CUNY Hunter College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies. As an environmental scientist with Athenica, she is responsible for assisting the project manager in oversight of lead based paint projects, and collection of samples of environmental media. In addition, she assists in data collection and analysis, preparation of reports, and help in the oversight and coordination of field personnel on NYCHA projects. Coordination includes scheduling inspections with NYCHA management and providing status updates regarding completion of turn over inspections as various NYCHA developments.
Ms. Polonska has performed lead paint inspections in residential apartments for both NYCHA and private clients and has coordinated with field and laboratory personnel to provide clients with a final report that reflects the results of the inspection.
Matthew Taylor
Assistant Project Manager
Matthew Taylor is an environmental scientist in Athenica’s Industrial Hygiene Unit and graduate of Brooklyn College with a degree in Earth & Environmental Science and Political Science. As an environmental scientist, he assists the lead project managers in oversight of lead-based paint projects and he assists in data collection and analysis, report preparation, and coordination on NYCHA projects.
Maureen Gillette
Assistant Project Manager
Maureen Gillette is an Environmental Scientist in the IH Department of Athenica having received her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science, magna cum laude from Queens College.
She assists the project managers in data collection and analysis, preparation and execution of reports, and helps in the oversight and coordination of field personnel on many NYCHA asbestos projects. Maureen is also a NYS Asbestos Inspector and conducts many inspections for a variety of clients in the five boroughs.
Hailey Sanchez
Environmental Scientist
Industrial Hygiene Department
Hailey is a graduate from Hobart and William Smith Colleges with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies and a minor in Biology.
As an Environmental Scientist with Athenica, she is responsible for assisting the Project Manager in oversight of lead-based paint projects.
She assists in data collection and analysis, preparation and execution of reports, and help in the oversight and coordination of field personnel on NYCHA projects.
Jennifer Mahoney
Environmental Scientist
Industrial Hygiene Department
Jennifer Mahoney is an Environmental Scientist with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from Villanova University.
Her responsibilities comprise assisting project managers with data collection and analysis, data assessment, preparation and analysis of reports, performing QA/QC of field work, and reviewing all field personnel documentation.
Katerina Pantginis
Environmental Scientist
Industrial Hygiene Department
Katerina Pantginis is an Environmental Scientist with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Muhlenberg College. Her responsibilities comprise assisting project managers with data collection and analysis, field screening of samples, data assessment, preparation of reports, and coordination of field personnel for various sampling projects.
In addition, she has collected soil, sediment, and water samples; conducted geologic characterization of soil and sediment samples; utilized field instrumentation for sample screening; prepared samples for laboratory analysis; and conducted laboratory analyses on soil, sediment, and water samples.
Brideen Peel
Environmental Scientist
Industrial Hygiene Department
Brideen Peel received her Bachelors of Science degree in Environmental Science from Binghamton University. Her responsibilities comprise assisting project managers with data collection and analysis, field screening of samples, data assessment, preparation of reports, and coordination of field personnel for various sampling projects. In addition, she has collected soil, sediment, and water samples; conducted geologic characterization of soil and sediment samples; utilized field instrumentation for sample screening; prepared samples for laboratory analysis; and conducted laboratory analyses on soil, sediment, and water samples.
Patrick Muccini
Environmental Scientist
Industrial Hygiene Department
Patrick Muccini received his Bachelors of Science degree in Environmental Science from Binghamton University. His responsibilities comprise assisting project managers with data collection and analysis, field screening of samples, data assessment, preparation of reports, and coordination of field personnel for various sampling projects. In addition, he has led a team in conducting surveys using Field Maps and ArcGIS while also managing field data collection and entry.
He has also collected species and soil samples in the field and was responsible for analyzing the samples and wrote reports on his findings. He also utilized field instrumentation for pre-data analysis to initiate a study to determine the most effective treatment for Beech Leaf Disease using different treatment methodologies on three different groups of trees.
Marbella Ospina
Office Manager
Marbella Ospina has been a member of the Athenica Team for over 20 years. Currently, Ms. Ospina manages the billing of many of our projects and specifically a variety of our bigger clients, such as the New York City School Construction Authority (NYCSCA), NTT Data and NYCHA. Ms Ospina supervises the administrative team and makes sure everything is working smoothy in the office. Ms. Ospina is also a licensed Notary Public.
Laura Palacios
Accounting Assistant
Laura assists accountants with administrative tasks, including data entry, invoice processing, maintaining financial records, and supporting the preparation of financial reports. She ensures accuracy and compliance with accounting standards, working under the supervision of our financial controller and office manager.
Diana Mayancela
Project Coordinator
Diana is mainly responsible for answering our phones and is often the first friendly voice you’ll encounter when calling. Her duties include organizing documents, managing incoming and outgoing mail, and assigning project numbers for new initiatives. She assists the personnel in the office.