Bill Reese Joins CVSA as Director of COHMED Program

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is pleased to welcome William “Bill” Reese as its director of Cooperative Hazardous Materials Enforcement Development (COHMED) program, effective Jan. 9, 2017.

Reese has held various CVSA leadership positions over the years, including COHMED chair, Level VI committee chair, chair of the election committee, chair of the finance committee, and he served as the secretary, vice president, 2014-2015 president and past-president of the CVSA Board of Directors.

“Bill has been a member of the law enforcement community for more than 32 years and has more than 26 years of experience related specifically to the safe transportation of hazardous materials,” said CVSA Executive Director Collin Mooney. “With Bill’s seven years as part of COHMED leadership and his substantive and extensive experience with hazardous materials and hazmat training, it is clear that Bill will be an asset to this organization. We are proud to have him join the team.”

Reese is a former CVSA-certified North American Standard Inspection CVSA Level I, Level VI and cargo tank inspector. His more than 26 years of relevant experience with hazardous materials (hazmat) and hazmat inspections and regulations started in 1991 when Reese became a hazardous materials specialist with the Idaho State Police. He then became a sergeant and field supervisor of the hazardous materials team and was later promoted to lieutenant then captain of the Idaho State Police’s commercial vehicle safety and hazardous materials division. Most recently, he served as major and operations commander of the Idaho State Police.

Reese was a cargo tank and other bulk materials instructor and is a well-established subject matter expert. He has extensive experience as an instructor at organizations, agencies and institutions, such as the Idaho Office of Emergency Management, Idaho Emergency Services, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) National Training Center and the Institute of Emergency Management. In addition, Reese competed in the 1995 North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC) and took home three awards, included second place in the hazardous materials inspections category. Reese has also testified on behalf of the enforcement community at hearings in the Idaho House and Idaho Senate, and as CVSA president, he testified before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Highways and Transit in 2015.

As the Alliance’s director of COHMED program, Reese will provide leadership, guidance, expert advice, direction and administration in several aspects of CVSA’s hazardous materials activities. He will serve as the primary resource for internal and external stakeholders on hazardous materials issues and programs. Reese will respond to the needs of CVSA’s membership, provide quality programs and services, advocate the public policy positions of hazardous materials to the appropriate constituencies and work toward meeting the Alliance’s mission, vision and goals.

“I am excited to embark on this new path in my professional career and I’m looking forward to joining the Alliance as a staff member,” said Reese. “Having served in CVSA leadership for several years, I believe I possess an excellent working knowledge of CVSA operational policies, bylaws, financial resources, strategic plan, out-of-service criteria, administrative policies, and the Alliance’s mission, vision and goals.”