Session I

AI in Remediation: From Business Strategy to Site Solutions

Moderator:  Eugene (Gene) Jones, Executive Director, Southern Waste Information eXchange, Inc.

Panelists:

Vincent Hunt, Founder & CEO, The Bureau of Creative Intelligence

Peter Lakanen, President, Platinum Web Development

Brendan Brown, PWS, Principal Scientist and Nature-based Solutions Discipline Leader, CDM Smith

Jevins Waddell, P.Tech., Eng., President & Co-Founder, TRIUM Environmental Inc.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the remediation industry—redefining how projects are planned, managed, and executed. This dynamic panel brings together five experts to explore both the business applications and the cutting-edge site technologies that AI makes possible.

Panelists will share insights on how AI is shaping the modern workplace and driving advances across the sector. Topics include leveraging AI for promotion and outreach, streamlining website development, and harnessing AI-powered remote sensing to revolutionize site restoration monitoring. The session will also highlight the use of advanced AI tools for real-time detection of hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and chlorides with a high degree of confidence.

Attendees will walk away with a practical understanding of how AI can support business growth, strengthen communication, and deliver innovative solutions for site remediation challenges today and in the future.

 Eugene (Gene) Jones, Executive Director, Southern Waste Information eXchange, Inc.

Gene Jones serves as Executive Director of the Southern Waste Information Exchange (SWIX), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which has been operating since 1981 assisting businesses and municipalities with their waste management and remediation issues. 

With over 40 years of experience, Gene specializes in building strategic relationships with waste and remediation firms.  He brings a vast knowledge of various  environmental sectors from organizing and managing conferences such as;

•  the PFAS Forum,

•  the Agricultural Plastics Recycling Conference & Trade Show, 

•  the Waste Conversion Technology Conference & Trade Show, 

• the Southeast Recycling Conference & Trade Show, 

• the New Life for Closed Gas Stations Conference and Exhibition, 

•  the International Symposium on the Redevelopment of Manufactured Gas Plant Sites, 

•  the National Conference on Waste Exchange and Resource Reuse, and 

•  Florida Remediation Conference.

as well as in managing associations such as:

•  Florida Agricultural Plastics Recycling Cooperative

•  Florida BioFuels & BioEnergy Association, Inc., 

•  Recycle Florida Today, Inc.,

•  International Society of Technical & Environmental Professionals, Inc., 

•  Florida Brownfields Association, Inc., and

•  Keep Florida Beautiful, Inc.

Gene is a Martial Arts practitioner and has his 8th degree black belt in Shaolin GoJu and a 5th degree black belt in Nisei GoJu. Gene is also the Author of Instant Self-Esteem: Empowering Self-Confidence and The Mindful Sensei.

Gene is also the inventor of the Soap Bag Saver, which he designed for the reuse of leftover soap bars.  

Vincent Hunt, Founder & CEO, The Bureau of Creative Intelligence

Vincent Hunt is a Frontier Technologist and Author whose work lives at the intersection of technology, human creativity, and the future. For over two decades, he has explored the edges of innovation—where imagination meets machines, and possibility becomes practice.
 

Recognized for his human-centered, future-facing approach to complexity, Hunt helps leaders and the organizations they serve expand, amplify, and preserve their creative capacity in a time of rapid technological change.
 

Whether delivering keynotes that inspire bold thinking, facilitating immersive experiences that unlock creativity, or writing works that illuminate the path ahead, his mission is clear: to safeguard and scale human creativity in the age of machines.

The Bureau of Creative Intelligence

At The Bureau of Creative Intelligence, we believe creativity is one of humanity’s most vital resources — and that in the age of machines, its expansion, amplification, and preservation are more important than ever. We partner with organizations that recognize two truths: that creativity is the soul of innovation, and value creation, and that AI, when embraced as a partner, can strengthen rather than weaken that soul. Whether serving creative teams seeking to safeguard their genius or human-centered organizations building cultures of creativity, we help leaders demystify AI, build confidence in symbiotic creativity, and unlock the capacity and confidence needed to thrive in the future.

Tagline
Expand. Amplify. Preserve.

The Bureau of Creative Intelligence

• Creativity is one of humanity’s most vital resources.
• Creative intelligence is both sacred and strategic.
• The future must be designed, not drifted into.
• Imagination is limitless—and it must be expanded, amplified, and preserved.

Peter Lakanen, President,  Platinum Web Development

Peter Lakanen began his career building and leading the IT and software development team at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Waste Management.

As the founder of Platinum Web Development, over the last 30 years, he has built and managed large, complex data-driven projects for a wide range of clients, including:

• Southern Waste Information eXchange
• Hopping Green & Sams
• State Library and Florida Archives
• Florida Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
• Florida Center for Public Management

A lifelong artist, Peter has been working with AI art systems since 2021 when he was using VQGAN to write his first prompts. As a pseudonymous AI artist, his work was selected to be shown at the Superchief Gallery in Los Angeles in 2022 and he was chosen to be an official NFT NYC 2025 Artist with work shown in Times Square. Additionally, he is one of Silicon Valley tech evangelist Robert Scoble's 3,500 AI artists in the world to watch.

Peter is currently using AI for his clients in a number of ways:

• Creating AI videos for social media marketing.
• Using AI as a force multiplier for coding and development.
• Incorporating AI into database searches for client systems to enable imperfect matches for complex data.
• He is also actively exploring the use of AI agents for office automation tasks.

Brendan Brown, PWS, Principal Scientist and Nature-based Solutions Discipline Leader, CDM Smith

Brendan V. Brown, PWS is a Principal Scientist and Nature-based Solutions Discipline Leader at CDM Smith with over 20 years of experience in environmental data collection, remediation, and ecological restoration. He leads Sky Wave at CDM Smith, which integrates AI and remote sensing to assess and manage environmental sites. Brendan is a registered Professional Wetland Scientist and FAA-certified drone pilot, with extensive field experience across the southeastern U.S. His work includes pioneering patent-pending digital data collection methods and leading R&D projects using UAVs to collect multispectral, thermal, and LiDAR data. He holds an M.S. in Biological Science from Virginia Tech and a B.S. in Forest Environmental Resources from the University of Georgia.

Jevins Waddell, P.Tech., Eng., President & Co-Founder, TRIUM Environmental Inc.

Jevins Waddell is the founder of TRIUM Environmental Inc. and co-developer of the Artificial Intelligence Site Characterization Technology (AISCT). With a background in hydrogeology and over 25 years in environmental remediation, he has been a leader in advanced in-situ chemical and biological treatment approaches while more recently focusing on AI-driven field screening technologies. His recent work has centered on bringing AI based real-time on-site integrated sensor technologies into site characterization, helping consultants and regulators achieve higher confidence in delineation and remediation planning.