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Locations100% Employee Owned
An Employee Owned Company
Cramer Fish Sciences has been employee-owned since 2012 and 100% employee-owned since 2015. After one year of service, staff become employee owners at no cost to them. Having a company that is owned by its employees provides an environment of transparency and inspiration to make changes as we all lead the company to success. When the company does well, we all do well, as the employee’s equity in the company grows. The ESOP, or Employee Stock Ownership Plan, is overseen by an ESOP external trustee.
We are proud to be 100% employee-owned.
TI-TRUST
Kimberly Serbin, S.V.P.
ESOP Trustee & ERISA Fiduciary Services
Phone: (217) 228-8058
Quincy, IL
Building on over 65 years of experience, TI-TRUST, Inc. (“TI-TRUST”) is uniquely qualified to provide specialized fiduciary services for the administration of employer securities held in a qualified retirement plan, including Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and Nonqualified Plans.
In addition, TI-TRUST is nationally recognized as an industry leader in structuring and serving as a fiduciary for complex transactions with public and private companies in purchasing and selling employer securities on behalf of an ESOP. TI-TRUST has deep experience with the complex, yet frequent issues involved in such transactions including matters of corporate governance, securities, tax, finance, executive compensation, and warrants in addition to matters under ERISA.
TI-TRUST is an independent trust company and a leading provider of fiduciary and trustee services with locations in five states and more than $16 billion in assets under management for individual and corporate clients throughout the United States. TI-TRUST currently serves as Trustee for approximately 170 ESOP clients. We are an employee-owned company with our own ESOP.
Kimberly Serbin, Senior Vice President, Employee Benefits Group BS Business Administration / Accounting, Culver Stockton College. Kim currently serves as Sr. Vice President for 45 ESOPs, the majority of which are closely held companies, and has worked on a number of ESOP Transactions. In addition, she serves as Sr. Vice President for a number of 401k Plans as well as Non-qualified Plans. Kim is a member of The ESOP Association, National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), and is involved in various other local chapter organizations and speaking engagements. Kim has been with TI-TRUST since 2001 with past experience in the investment and insurance sectors.
Board of Directors
Cramer Fish Sciences leadership is overseen by the Board of Directors. The Board is comprised of both internal employee directors, and external directors, who each bring added value and balance.
The Board of Directors’ primary responsibility is to protect and grow the Shareholders’ value and carry out the mission and values of Cramer Fish Sciences. The Board has a fiduciary duty of care to act prudently. It also has a fiduciary duty of loyalty to act in good faith and in the interest of CFS and to all its shareholders. This must be done while satisfying the fiduciary duty of obedience to remain faithful to the purpose of CFS.
Brad Archibald, P.E., B.S.
External Director
Joseph E. Merz, Ph.D.
President, Principal Scientist, Adjunct Professor (UCSC), Internal Director West Sacramento, California
Olivia Hipes, M.B.A.
External Director Portland, Oregon
Patrick J. Swanick, M.B.A.
Chairman / External Director
Philip Roni, Ph.D.
Vice President, Principal Scientist, Affiliate Professor (UW), Internal Director Issaquah, WashingtonBrad Archibald, P.E., B.S.
External Director
B.S. Environmental Engineering
Brad is an independent member of the Cramer Fish Sciences Board of Directors. He is a licensed professional engineer (Montana) and has over 35 years of experience as an environmental engineer and engineering executive. Brad is a Principal Engineer with Pioneer Technical Services, a multi-disciplinary engineering and environmental services company headquartered in Butte, Montana. He served as President and CEO of Pioneer from 2004 through 2022, when he stepped back to a part-time role with the company.
Brad is a graduate of Montana Technological University, with a BS Degree in Environmental Engineering. He was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of Montana Tech in 2018.
Joseph E. Merz, Ph.D.
President, Principal Scientist, Adjunct Professor (UCSC)
B.S. Environmental and Systematic Biology; M.S. Biological Conservation; Ph.D. Conservation Ecology
Phone: (916) 250-2344
West Sacramento, California
Joe has more than 26 years of experience working for state, city, university, and public entities as a fisheries ecologist and performing studies and monitoring fish populations to protect and enhance their habitat. He has completed numerous assessments of habitat manipulation on aquatic resources, including habitat enhancement, flow manipulation, invasive species removal, and regulation implementation, particularly for Chinook salmon and steelhead. Joe has extensive experience with habitat typing and delineation with the use of GIS and aerial maps, has designed multi-million dollar projects to restore river channels and floodplains, and has trained numerous professionals in these techniques.
Selected Publications
Sturrock, A. M., S. M. Carlson, J. D. Wikert, T. Heyne, S. Nusslé, J. Merz, H. Sturrock, R. C. Johnson. 2019. Un-natural selection of salmon life histories in a modified riverscape. Global Change Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14896
Harrison, L. R., E. Bray, B. Overstreet, C. J. Legleiter, R. A. Brown, J. E. Merz, R. M. Bond, C. L. Nicol, and T. Dunne. 2019. Physical controls on salmon redd site selection in restored reaches of a regulated, gravel-bed river. Water Resources Research 55. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR024428.
Anderson, J. T., G. Schumer, P. J. Anders, K. Horvath, and J. E. Merz. 2018. Confirmed observation: a North American green sturgeon Acipenser medirostris recorded in the Stanislaus River, California. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 9(2):624-630.
Merz, J. E., L. Caldwell, M. Beakes, C. Hammersmark, and K. Sellheim. 2018. Balancing competing life stage requirements in salmon habitat rehabilitation: between a rock and a hard place. Restoration Ecology. Early View only. DOI: 10.1111/rec.12900.
Gundersen, D. T., S. C. Zeug, R. B. Bringolf, J. E. Merz, Z. Jackson, and M. A. H. Webb. 2017. Tissue contaminant burdens in San Francisco estuary white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus): implication for population recovery. Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 73(2):334-347.
Sellheim, K., M. Willmes, J. A. Hobbs, J. J. G. Glessner, Z. J. Jackson, and J. E. Merz. 2017. Validating fin ray microchemistry as a tool to reconstruct the migratory history of white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 146(5):844–857.
Merz, J. E., D. G. Delaney, J. D. Setka, and M. L. Workman. 2016. Seasonal rearing habitat in a large Mediterranean-climate river: management implications at the southern extent of pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.). River Research and Applications 32(6):1220-1231.
Merz, J. E., P. S. Bergman, J. L. Simonis, D. Delaney, J. Pierson, and P. Anders. 2016. Long-term seasonal trends in the prey community of delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California. Estuaries and Coasts 39(5):1526-1536.
Sabal, M., S. Hayes, J. Merz, and J Setka. 2016. Habitat alterations and a nonnative predator, the striped bass, increase native Chinook salmon mortality in the Central Valley, California. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 36(2):309-320.
Sellheim, K. L., M. Vaghti, and J. E. Merz. 2016. Vegetation recruitment in an enhanced floodplain: Ancillary benefits of salmonid habitat enhancement. Limnologica 58:94-102.
Sellheim, K., C. Watry, B. Rook, S. Zeug, J. Hannon, J. Zimmerman, K. Dove, and J. Merz. 2015. Juvenile salmonid utilization of floodplain rearing habitat after gravel augmentation in a regulated river. River Research and Applications 32(4):610-621.
Anderson, I. J., M. K. Saiki, K. Sellheim, and J. E. Merz. 2014. Effect of Didymoshenia geminata blooms on benthic macroinvertebrates in the Lower American River California. Southwestern Association of Naturalists 59(3):389-395.
Merz, J., T. M. Garrison, P. S. Bergman, S. Blankenship, and J. C. Garza. 2014. Morphological discrimination of genetically distinct Chinook salmon populations: an example from California’s Central Valley. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 34(6):1259-1269.
Merz, J. E., P. S. Bergman, J. F. Melgo, and S. Hamilton. 2013. Longfin smelt: spatial dynamics and ontogeny in the San Francisco Estuary, California. California Fish and Game 99(3):122-148.
Olivia Hipes, M.B.A.
External Director, C.F.O.
M.B.A.
Portland, Oregon
Olivia is an independent member of the Cramer Fish Sciences Board of Directors. She has over 25 years of experience in both Finance and Accounting. Olivia previously served as Cramer Fish Sciences’ Chief Financial Officer prior to joining the board. She spent many years running her own accounting firm, as well as serving in senior leadership positions in a vast array of organizations spanning from manufacturing to healthcare. Working with Cramer Fish Sciences for nearly a decade, it has been her great pleasure to see the organization grow into a healthy and prosperous sustainable business.
In addition to serving the board of directors, Olivia is the Chief Financial Officer for VisionGift, a Nonprofit cornea donation eye bank, whose mission is to honor donors by advancing sight for all humankind.
Olivia is a graduate from Warner Pacific University with a BA Degree in Business Administration with a focus in Accounting and earned her MBA with emphasis in Organizational Development from Marylhurst University.
Patrick J. Swanick, M.B.A.
Board Chairman, External Director
B.S. in Food Marketing, M.B.A.
Pat is the independent Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cramer Fish Sciences. He is a retired financial services executive, with extensive experience in the banking, collections, payments and technology sectors. Pat has accumulated significant corporate governance expertise as a Board Member for several public, private and employee-owned (ESOP) companies.
He currently serves on the Boards of Orchard & Vineyard Supply (OVS), a multi-state provider of agricultural supplies, headquartered in McMinnville, Oregon and the Tom Lange Company, an employee-owned distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables, based in St. Louis, Missouri.
Previously, Pat was CEO of Gila Corporation, a nationwide provider of collections services and outsourcing solutions located in Austin, Texas. He has served as Vice Chairman and President of Retail Banking at KeyBank, N.A., a super-regional bank headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Earlier in his career, Pat held senior positions with First Fidelity Bancorporation (now Wells Fargo) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Pat is a graduate of St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, with a BS Degree in Food Marketing, a minor in Spanish, and an MBA Degree, with a specialization in Management. He has completed additional coursework at Drexel University, the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and the Weatherhead School of Business at Case Western Reserve University. Pat maintains dual citizenship in the United States and the Republic of Ireland.
Philip Roni, Ph.D.
Vice President, Principal Scientist, Affiliate Professor (UW)
B.A. Business Administration (Marketing); M.S. Fisheries Science; Ph.D. Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
Phone: (206) 960-4484
Issaquah, Washington
Phil has nearly 30 years of experience as a fisheries research scientist and directs the CFS Northwest science team. He focuses on designing, implementing, completing, and publishing definitive studies to address pressing questions related to protection, management, and restoration of aquatic systems. His research for the last 20 years has concentrated on planning, prioritization, and evaluation of various watershed restoration techniques. He regularly teaches courses and has published numerous papers on restoration science, including the comprehensive book, “Stream and Watershed Restoration: A Guide to Restoring Riverine Processes and Habitats” (2013 Wiley-Blackwell).
Selected Publications
Krall, M. P. Roni, C. Clark, and K. Ross. 2021. Effects of livestock exclusion on stream banks and riparian vegetation in Washington and Oregon. Northwest Science 95: 1-21.
Clark, C., P. Roni, J. Keeton, and G. Pess. 2020. Evaluation of the removal of impassible barriers on anadromous salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. Fisheries Management and Ecology 27:102-110.
Roni, P., J. E. Hall, S. M. Drenner, and D. Arterburn. 2019. Monitoring the effectiveness of floodplain habitat restoration: A review of methods and recommendations for future monitoring. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water:e1355.
Roni, P. 2019. Does river restoration increase fish abundance and survival or simply concentrate fish? The effects of project scale, location, and fish life history. Fisheries 44:7-19.
Roni, P., P. J. Anders, T. J. Beechie, and D. J. Kaplowe. 2018. Review of tools for identifying, planning, and implementing habitat restoration for Pacific salmon and steelhead. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 38(2):355-376.
Roni, P., Johnson, C., T. De Boer, T. and G. Pess. 2016. Interannual variability in the effects of physical habitat and parentage on Chinook salmon egg-to-fry survival. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 73:1-13.
Roni, P., T. Beechie, C. Jordan, and G. Pess. 2015. Basin scale monitoring of river restoration: recommendations from case studies in the Pacific Northwest USA. Pages 73–98 in N. Fisher, P. LeBlanc, C. A. Rose, and B. Sadler, editors. American Fisheries Society, Symposium 78, Bethesda, Maryland.
Roni, P., T. Beechie, G. Pess, and K. Hanson. 2015. Wood placement in river restoration: fact, fiction and future direction. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 72(3): 466-478.
Roni, P., and T. Beechie. 2013. Stream and watershed restoration: a guide to restoring riverine processes and habitats. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, U.K.
Roni, P., T. Bennett, R. Holland, G. Pess, K. Hanson, R. Moses, M. McHenry, W. Ehinger, and J. Walter. 2012. Factors affecting migration timing, growth and survival of juvenile coho salmon in two coastal Washington watersheds. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 141: 890-906.
Roni, P., G. Pess, S. T. Beechie and S. Morley. 2010. Estimating changes in coho salmon and steelhead abundance from watershed restoration: how much restoration is needed to measurably increase smolt production? North American Journal of Fisheries Management 30:1469-1484.
Roni, P., K. Hanson, and T. Beechie. 2008. Global review of physical and biological effectiveness of stream rehabilitation. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 28:856-890.
Roni, P. 2005. Monitoring stream and watershed restoration. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland.
Roni, P., T. J. Beechie, R. E., Bilby, F. E. Leonetti, M. M. Pollock, and G. P. Pess. 2002. A review of stream restoration techniques and a hierarchical strategy for prioritizing restoration in Pacific Northwest watersheds. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 22:1-20.
Roni, P., and T. P. Quinn. 2001. Effects of artificial wood placement on movements of trout and juvenile coho salmon in natural and artificial channels. Transactions of American Fisheries Society 130:675-685.