Gary Lester

Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Lester has worked in the field of aquatic ecology since 1987. His principal area of expertise is the bioassessment of surface waters using biological indicators. As CEO of EcoAnalysts, Mr. Lester’s duties include project management, supervising project management and operations personnel, oversight of QC process, contract management, stewarding client relationships, and business and leadership development for the company. He is an active member of the Society for Freshwater Science and he is a founding member of the Taxonomic Certification Committee. The committee has developed a taxonomic certification program for North American taxonomists and has certified over 150 individual taxonomists. He has contributed technically to EPA’s National Aquatic Resource Surveys and EcoAnalysts has been the primary provider of taxonomy services for these surveys since 2007. 

Mr. Lester has been involved in the planning, coordination, and management of projects from inception and serves as a technical and contracting liaison between EcoAnalysts, clients, and subcontractors. He has developed an excellent working relationship with EcoAnalysts’ subcontractors and has experience overseeing subcontractors’ performing biological, chemical, and toxicological sample processing. He has contributed to the writing and editing of many general laboratory and project specific SOPs and QAP and is regularly involved in project scope development. He develops pricing and budgets for EcoAnalysts services on a per project basis and manages the financial aspects and budgets for projects. Mr. Lester provides troubleshooting throughout projects at various levels addressing technical questions, protocol adherence, and data delivery.