RACER Management Team

Elliott P. Laws

Trustee

Elliott P. Laws was appointed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court as the Trustee of the RACER Trust. 

He also is a partner at Crowell & Moring LLP, where he provides strategic counseling and legal, policy and crisis management advice on environmental and energy policy issues, regulation and litigation, addressing Superfund and hazardous wastes, brownfields redevelopment, environmental remediation, chemical regulation, clean air and clean water. Drawing upon his deep environmental experience, he is able to help clients develop innovative resolutions to complex environmental issues.

Elliott is a former official of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where he served as assistant administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response. In that role, he was responsible for regulatory and policy development and implementation for solid and hazardous waste management. This included the Superfund, RCRA, brownfields and underground storage tanks programs. Prior to his role at EPA, Elliott was an attorney at the U.S. Justice Department, president of safety, health and environment for Texaco Inc., and a former Manhattan assistant district attorney.

Bruce Rasher

Redevelopment Manager

Bruce Rasher is responsible for managing the redevelopment, sale and lease of the Trust’s properties, in consultation with the Trustee and federal, state and local officials. He previously served as Vice President of CB Richard Ellis, Inc., the world's largest real estate services firm, where he was based in Detroit and managed CBRE's North American manufacturing and brownfields specialty practice groups.

He is the former mayor of Marshall, Mich.

Patricia A. Spitzley

Deputy Redevelopment Manager and Director of Government Relations

Patricia A. Spitzley has worked in the environmental/regulatory arena for more than 20 years. She held various leadership roles in Michigan state government, including environmental policy, legal affairs, communications and community outreach. She also was appointed to serve as Communications Director for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality as well as the Chief of the Office of Legal Services for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Steven Black

Transaction & Operations Manager

Steven Black implements the Trust’s real estate redevelopment strategy by coordinating efforts of internal and external partners to effect the sale, lease and license of Trust properties. He also supervises RACER's team of site managers and on-site contractors, who are responsible for minimizing holding costs and managing and maintaining each property in a marketable condition. Mr. Black is a Certified Economic Developer and has extensive experience in brownfield redevelopment and economic development, having served eight years as Deputy City Manager of Community Development for Bay City, MI, before joining RACER. He previously was Vice President of Saginaw Future, Inc., a regional economic development agency.

Nathan Etu

Real Estate Manager

Nathan Etu is responsible for title matters, marketing, data management, and the real property tax for RACER Trust’s portfolio, and for GIS mapping in support of RACER’s cleanup and redevelopment mission. Before joining the Trust, he served in supervisory positions at the U.S. Commerce Department, state universities, and a disaster relief organization along the U.S. Gulf Coast in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He holds an MBA from UMass Lowell, an MS in Urban Planning from Eastern Michigan University, and is a licensed real estate professional and drone pilot. He is a member of the Warren County (N.Y.) Board of Supervisors.

Carl Garvey

General Counsel

Prior to joining RACER, Carl served for more than 20 years as an attorney for the U.S. EPA, primarily as Superfund enforcement counsel at EPA Headquarters and at EPA Region 2 in New York.

At EPA, Carl most recently served as Acting Branch Chief and staff attorney in the Office of Site Remediation Enforcement ("OSRE") within the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. He successfully negotiated Superfund settlements, agreements, and associated legal instruments including cost recovery and work settlements, easements and deed restrictions, prospective purchaser agreements, and access agreements and orders.

Scott R. Hamilton

Chief Financial Officer

As Chief Financial Officer, Scott R. Hamilton directs and coordinates the Trust’s financial and budget activities to fund operations, minimize risks, increase efficiency and ensure compliance with requirements of the Settlement Agreement. He is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor and Certified Fraud Examiner, with experience in investigative and forensic accounting. His career includes 10 years with AlixPartners, LLP, a global crisis management and turnaround consulting firm, and 5 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP. He holds an MBA in Finance from Wayne State University and a degree in Accounting from the University of Central Florida.

Pamela Barnett

Cleanup Manager for the former GM properties in Delaware, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia

Pamela L. Barnett manages all aspects of site investigations; design and implementation of remedial project work; and integrating remedial project work with redevelopment activities at Trust properties in six states. Ms. Barnett is a professional geologist with extensive environmental experience in consulting and manufacturing.

Robert Hare

Cleanup Manager for the former GM properties in Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin and New Jersey

Robert W. Hare manages all aspects of site investigations; design and implementation of remedial project work; and integrating remedial project work with redevelopment activities at Trust properties in six states. Mr. Hare has more than 32 years of experience with environmental compliance and remediation at auto facilities. Most recently, he served as Director of Environmental for Motors Liquidation Company, overseeing environmental operations of the estate and managing remediation projects in Michigan and New Jersey. Mr. Hare has co-published various papers on waste water treatment and remediation and is the recipient of the Ohio Water Environment Association F.H. Waring award for outstanding contributions to the industrial waste water field (1992). He is a registered Professional Engineer in Ohio, Registered Environmental Manager/Registered Environmental Property Assessor, and a Certified Hazardous Material Manager.

M. Brendan Mullen

Cleanup Manager for the former GM properties in New York

M. Brendan Mullen manages all aspects of site investigations; design and implementation of remedial project work; and integrating remedial project work - including demolition - with redevelopment activities at Trust properties in New York. He is a board-certified environmental engineer and holds an MBA in financial management.

Grant Trigger

Cleanup Manager for the former GM properties in Michigan

Grant R. Trigger manages all aspects of site investigations; design and implementation of remedial project work; and integrating remedial project work with redevelopment activities at Trust properties in Michigan. Mr. Trigger is a professional engineer, environmental attorney, and adjunct professor of Law at the University of Detroit School of Law. He also serves on the Executive Council of the Michigan Chapter of the National Brownfield Association.