Our team

John graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. John worked at the Port of Sunnyside Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant for 11 years in the lab, and then operations, before joining IER in September 2019. At the wastewater treatment plant, he started as a lab technician, but rapidly progressed in operations.

The treatment plant received a multitude of different industrial wastewater streams that varied seasonally. As a laboratory technician, John’s role was to observe the incoming levels of important parameters so that they could maintain optimized treatment in their sequencing batch reactor (SBR).

John was also actively involved in a range of activities from managing the lab to making day-to-day operational decisions for the treatment process.

This also gave John the chance to interact with the IER team as a customer. It was IER’s flexibility and ability to rapidly respond to the plant’s operational issues and technical challenges that convinced him to join the company. Today, he enjoys giving proactive service to his own customers and leads business development of AMALGAM products for the wastewater industry.

Outside of work, John likes to spend time with his family, playing board games with friends and working in his garden.

Karen Kurle previously worked as an international account manager, assisted the trade show manager for an electronics firm, and assisted the safety director for a truck brokerage company.

Since joining IER in 2005, Karen has contributed to the health and wellbeing of the company, her teammates, and our customers by taking on numerous responsibilities including customer service, bookkeeping, purchasing, scheduling, dispatching, inventory control, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and maintaining DOT and driver records.

Today Karen is IER’s Customer Service Manager and her priority is to ensure every customer’s request is researched and answered in a timely and professional manner. If you call IER, Karen will always be there with a smile and her full attention.

Outside of work, Karen enjoy spending time with my family.

In 2012, after many years working in the retail sector, Patrick decided to get his Commercial Driver’s License. He started his career as a truck driver with a local company before he joined the North Dakota oil fields, where he worked until the oil boom in North Dakota came to an end in late 2015.

This is what brought him back to the Pacific Northwest, where he could be closer to family and friends in his hometown of Othello, WA.

In November 2016, he joined IER and has been providing dedicated delivery services to IER customers ever since. Patrick drives from our Pasco plant to customer sites and has been an important part of IER’s growth in the Pacific Northwest region over the last few years. He has come to know IER’s business so extensively that he is a great resource for our customers, as well as a fantastic sounding board for feedback to IER’s technical and service team. He also enjoys supporting various technical projects that are always going on back at the plant! His natural curiosity and warm personality make Patrick a tremendous asset for our IER team!

Outside of work, Patrick enjoys woodworking, fishing, hunting and growing fresh vegetables in his garden.