NFPA would like to thank the volunteer committee that helped develop the Certified Emergency Power Systems Specialist (CEPSS) for Facility Managers Certification. In the course of their work, committee members performed a job task analysis, determined the exam weighted criteria, and created the exam content. The hard work and dedication of the following individuals, along with the rest of the volunteer committee, made the development of this credential possible.
Joseph A. Berdetta FMP, CEPSS
Facility Director
Kent Place School
Joe Berdetta has been a facility director for a private school for the last 8 years. He is responsible for all capital improvements and maintenance, construction, life safety, grounds and renovation as well as compliance on a 26 acre campus with 9 buildings totaling 500K square feet and aged from 122 years to 6 years.
Prior to his present position Joe had a 28 year career as an electrical contractor working in New Jersey and New York City as well as project management work for some national construction firms in seven different states. He installed several industrial and commercial UPS systems in manufacturing plants, hospitals and office buildings.
Joe has worked extensively with the firefighting industry (Symtron and Kidde) installing and maintaining many state of the art fire fighter training centers from Connecticut to Washington DC. He is also an active member of IFMA’s New Jersey chapter and serves as 2nd VP on the executive board promoting membership and career advancement through certification programs.
John Connell, CEPSS
Electrical Operations Supervisor
Boston College
John has been at Boston College for over 10 years, serving the last 5 years as the electrical operations supervisor. He directs and provides oversight of the electrical operations for Boston College. This includes maintenance and repairs for over 7 million square feet of property, including residence halls, academic and administrative areas, museums and life science buildings, and division one athletics facilities.
John provides project management of capital improvements on campus totaling $500k - $3 million annually. He has implemented and outsources a preventive maintenance program for 48 campus emergency generators and a campus high voltage maintenance program for the electrical infrastructure.
Prior to Boston College, John worked as a building electrician in the financial district in downtown Boston including employment with Fidelity Investments and TIAA-CREF.
Paul Dunphy, CEPSS
Electrical Inspector / Compliance Coordinator
Harvard University
Paul Dunphy has over 25 years of experience in a downtown high-rise facility operation, as an electrical supervisor and facility manager. In the last 15 years, he has worked at Harvard University in the engineering and utilities group as an electrical inspector and compliance coordinator. Paul is a principal member on NFPA 4, Standard for Integrated Fire Protection and Life Safety System Testing.
John R. Kocian, CHFM, CEPSS
Project Manager
J&J Worldwide Services
John Kocian has worked in healthcare for over 35 years. He has extensive knowledge and experience with level I and II emergency power supply systems, paralleling switchgear, and automatic transfer switches in a health care setting. John is a licensed electrician in the state of Texas, a member of NFPA (healthcare section), and a long standing professional active member of the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE). He obtained his Certified Healthcare Facility Manager certificate in July 2010 from the American Hospital Association. He also possess a NILUPE 4th Class Power Engineer’s license to operate high pressure steam boiler plants.
John has traveled to many different military hospitals while working for J&J Worldwide Services to provide consulting services to his fellow project managers at the various sites in the areas of environment of care and life safety.
Alex Machaiek, CEPSS
Manager of Buildings and Construction
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Alex Machaiek is the manager of buildings and construction at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is responsible for all aspects of facility operation, maintenance and construction for a 23 building, 800,000 square foot campus, located in downtown Boston. Prior to working at Harvard, Alex was an engineering officer in the United States Merchant Marine and worked as a marine engineer on deep-water offshore drilling vessels.
He holds a United States Coast Guard, Chief Engineer’s License, for Unlimited Horsepower. He has a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering from Massachusetts Maritime Academy and Master’s in Management from Harvard University.
Raymond A. Muratore, CEPSS
Critical Infrastructure Manager
Scripps Networks Interactive
While studying electrical engineering and computer science at Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, Ray decided to switch gears and become a union electrician in New York City. His career covered the full spectrum of the electrical industry, but his specialty was troubleshooting, modifying, and designing control systems for everything from residential HVAC and lighting systems, to complex conveyor systems. After 20 years in the field, Ray accepted a desk job with a global investment bank headquartered in New York City. Over the next 13 years of mergers, outsourcing, insourcing, outsourcing again, he held various positions including; trading floor support, data center facilities manager, and facilities critical systems manager. Several years ago he traded in the bright lights and city streets of New York City for a million stars and two lane country roads in Knoxville, Tennessee, where currently he is the critical infrastructure manager for Scripps Networks Interactive.
Robert G. (Rob) Riesner, MBA, CEM, CEPSS
Assistant Director for Electrical Trades
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Rob is responsible for operations and maintenance for nearly seven million square feet of occupied building space devoted to professional and graduate teaching and medical research on 71 acres in downtown Baltimore, including the oldest building in continuous use for medical education in the Northern Hemisphere (Davidge Hall, 1813). His areas of responsibility include electrical distribution and generation, vertical transportation, and electronic and life safety systems.
Prior to working for the University of Maryland, Rob worked for several electrical equipment manufacturers including manufacturers of automatic transfer switches and UPS systems. He has also worked in the electrical testing industry and for electrical contractors specializing in medium voltage distribution and power generation.
Rob received a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Studies and a Masters of Business Administration both from University of Maryland University College. He holds a Master Electrician License in Maryland and is authorized as an electrical inspector by the Maryland State Fire Marshal. He holds a Certified Energy Manager credential and has previously held a Certified Building Commissioning professional designation, as well as an Electrical Generating Systems Association Technician certification.
Filippo Scafidi (Fil), CEPSS
Director of Support Services
Euclid Hospital
Fil Scafidi has been employed at Euclid Hospital for the last 35 years. He manages several support services departments, along with maintenance and construction. Fil is a Master HVAC and plumbing technician by trade. He is a US Navy veteran that served for 22 years in the US Naval Construction Force. Fil is also an active member of the local NOSHE chapter and an active member of the American Society for Healthcare Engineers.