Government – Earth Consultants: Recent Episodes

Brion Hurley: Lean Six Sigma for Good

Applying Lean Six Sigma to the Environment

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In this episode, I share an interview with Evan Unger, who is a change leader with expert facilitator that helps leaders transform their virtual teams to dramatically increase collaborative decision-making, buy-in and results. He shares his professional journey from a leadership role at Merck to becoming an expert in collaborative leadership and facilitation. He introduces Continue Reading

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In this episode, I share an interview with Travis Keener (the “Spill Plan Man”) from November 2025. He is a licensed engineer specializing in spill prevention, control, and countermeasures (SPCC) for industrial facilities. He explains that federal EPA regulations require sites storing over 1,320 gallons of oil-based liquids to maintain rigorous spill plans and secondary containment systems, such as earthen berms or Continue Reading

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In this episode, I share an interview with Dr. Yvonne Howze from December 2025. She specializes in Personal Mastery Leadership along with Organizational and Operational Excellence. She shares her remarkable journey from kindergarten lessons to becoming a nationally recognized leader in education, quality, and nonprofit improvement. With professional experiences spanning education, healthcare, transportation, and major Continue Reading

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In this episode, I share an interview with Mike Wrathall, where I explore his background in strategy, agile methods and sustainability. His early career involved building digital services, primarily for government and social housing organizations, such as streamlining the process for getting people who are homeless or victims of domestic violence into safe housing quicker. Continue Reading

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In this episode, I share an inspiring interview with Dr. Lucas Chesla, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt with Value Added 616, and founder of the nonprofit, Full Armor Ranch. In a world where continuous improvement leads to transformative change, he stands out as a master in blending Lean Six Sigma methodologies with meaningful purpose. Continue Reading

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In this episode, I share an interview I had with Andrew Rowe, former CEO and Executive Chairman of AllMed Healthcare Management in Portland, Oregon. After 20 years of leading AllMed through a Lean transformation, he is now focusing his time on bringing Lean and quality principes into the Portland metro area as a community service Continue Reading

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In this episode, I share an interview I had with Alen Ganic, an experienced Lean and Six Sigma coach who spent 14 years with the City of Grand Rapids implementing Lean and has also setup numerous volunteer groups and organizations to help those in need. He shares examples of project improvements he worked on in Continue Reading

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In this episode, I share a webinar I gave to the ASQ Lean Enterprise Division I share examples of how Lean tools like process mapping, 5S, and Kanban boards helped improve efficiency and effectiveness for nonprofit organizations focused on societal or environmental challenges. I also share my favorite real-world examples from the City of Denver, Continue Reading

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In this episode, we interview Jennifer Peterson, the manager of Continuous Improvement at Muscatine Power and Water (MPW) in Muscatine, Iowa. She discusses how she got into continuous improvement (CI) and the impact it has had on MPW employees and customers. She highlights the importance of: Jennifer also shares several examples of successful CI projects Continue Reading

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In March of 2024, the Iowa Sustainable Business Forum (ISBF) and Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) were still separate organizations, and they agreed to host a joint webinar to promote Energy Efficiency and Lean. I was fortunate to connect up with Paul Lemar, Jr. from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), who has Continue Reading

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In this podcast, I share the presentation I gave virtually at the Lean Global Connection...

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In this podcast, I share an interview I had with Reed Harrison, Executive Director of...

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In this podcast, I share a presentation that was Part 1 of a 2-part sustainability...

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In this podcast, I interview Kerry Lewis Bass, who has many years of experience improving...

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In this podcast, I share a webinar held with Dr. Luciana Bardi and Darcy DeGeorge...

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In this podcast, I talk to my friend, Joy Mason, CEO and founder of Optimist...

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In this podcast, I interviewed Jenelle Zito, who is the Director Of Continuous Improvement at...

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In today’s episode, I share a presentation from the IISE Seattle conference on May 23,...

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In today’s episode, I interviewed Elisabeth Swan, who has over 30 years of process improvement...

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In today’s episode, I interviewed Tracy O’Rourke, who has over 20 years of process improvement...

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Today I recapped the last year, and give some insights into my plans for 2022....

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In this podcast, I facilitated a webinar on engaging employees to gather innovation and improvement...

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In this podcast, I interview Clare DiFrisco. She is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black...

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In this podcast, I interview Michael Areola, who is a Product Development consultant and Agile...