We are committed to providing products, services, and expertise that consistently deliver at the intersection of water security and safe environment while helping our clients address their complex needs. We are a team of highly motivated and experienced engineering, sales, operations, marketing, and customer service professionals.
Steve Schira
President & Chief Executive Officer
For more than 25 years, Steve has been on the cutting edge of providing sustainable technologies that meet the highest environmental standards for public health and patient safety, resulting in a reduction of clinical, utility, and energy costs. Steve is also the Managing Director of Terra Marra International and a member of the advisory boards of Hatenboer Water Treatment International (Netherlands) and Teikoku Trading Company Ltd. (Japan). Steve is an active member of many national and international organizations and committees, including the European Union’s Biocidal Copper Task Force, the North American Silver Task Force, the American Society of Plumbing Engineers, the American Society for Healthcare Engineering, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control, the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management, and the American College of Healthcare Executives. Steve is based in our headquarters office in Lombard, IL.
Tory Schira
Chief Operating Officer
Tory currently oversees daily operations, as well as strategic planning and development. He plays a leading role in the company’s supplier relations and in strategic initiatives to foster growth and innovation. He graduated from Colorado State University with a BA in international business marketing. Prior to joining LiquiTech, Tory worked for a number of prestigious companies, including Coca-Cola and Solomon Smith Barney. He is an active member of a number of organizations, including the Chicago Health Executives Forum, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control, the American Society for Healthcare Engineering, the Global Alliance for Patient Safety, and Save the Children. He is based in our headquarters office in Lombard, IL.
Michael Mashione
Director of Manufacturing
Michael Mashione brought over 25 years of professional experience in Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, Systems Engineering, and Quality Assurance to LiquiTech when he joined the company. Michael has demonstrated expertise in managing Shipping/Receiving, Tooling, and Program management groups for global tier 1 automotive suppliers which have included Lear, UGN and ITW. Over the years he has acquired skills and expertise in Lean manufacturing principles including TPS (Toyota Production Systems) along with Kaizen, Root Cause Analysis, 5S, and Standard Work Development. Michael was educated at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, MI. and Wayne State University in Detroit MI. where he received his BS in Industrial Engineering. He is based in our headquarters office in Lombard, IL.
Mark DeSanto
Director of System Design
Mark is responsible for the sizing and production of each LiquiTech® system. During his time at LiquiTech, Mark has managed field service, commissioning, start-up, technical support, service sales, factory service, and field applications engineering groups. Prior to founding LiquiTech, Mark was the President of Electro Pure Water Systems and also served as the Director of North American Services for a Fortune 200 company. He holds degrees in Electronic Engineering from DeVry Institute of Technology and Process Control Instrumentation from the University of Syracuse in New York. As part of his continued research and development of the LiquiTech® technology, Mark has provided technical services and equipment for the LiquiTech® copper silver ionization system on several peer reviewed studies through the University of Pittsburgh. He has also been awarded several patents on LiquiTech’s® equipment and design. Mark is based in our headquarters office in Lombard, IL.
Jan Niehart
Director of Accounting & Logistics Assistant
Janna (Jan) Niehart has served LiquiTech Environmental since 2007 in her role as Director of Accounting and Logistics Management. Jan’s expertise in the arenas of General Accounting, Financial Management Human Resources, Employee Benefits and General Business Management are indicative of how her daily contributions to the Company far exceed the words in her title.
With career experience in the areas of Manufacturing, Retail, Events Planning, and Construction, Jan adds a perspective to business that constantly benefits our Customers as well as it does our Company. In short, the word “can’t” is not in Jan’s vocabulary.
Jan is a member of AIPB, SHRM and Women in Business. She was educated at Daly/Cherry College and North Carolina State University.
Chris Ebener
Senior Operations Engineer
Chris Ebener is a mechanical engineer with a proven track record of diagnosing and remediating public water system issues of various size and complexity. He solves the problems that others can’t. Chris is an expert on the bio-chemical make-up of facility water systems, system architecture, as well as various methodologies of public drinking water treatment. His passion is safe facility drinking water. Chris’s presentations typically enlighten audiences on the bacteria hosted within their pipes, disinfection, and impact on value based metrics. He also moderates discussions about how facilities have proactively solved or remediated their public water challenges.
Shayan Beg
Technical Operations Engineer
Shayan works on system startup and training, account management, system process, and operations. While in school, he worked on research and development for LiquiTech, improving the efficiency of the copper silver ionization system in collaboration with Northern Illinois University. Shayan holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Northern Illinois University, and is based in our headquarters office in Lombard, IL.
Chris Brown
National Sales Director
Maile Akina
Water Security Solutions – West
Maile educates healthcare providers on waterborne pathogens and expand awareness of hospital-acquired infections. Her passion for working in healthcare stems from her years of helping Vietnam Veterans within the Veterans Administration. In her current role as Water Security Solutions, Maile continues to develop strong working relationships with customers and prospects throughout the Northwest Region. She is an active member of the California Society for Healthcare Engineering, where she has been a featured speaker; the American Society for Healthcare Engineering; American Society of Plumbing Engineers, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control; and Women Healthcare Executives. Maile is based in San Francisco, CA.
Robert Lundy
Water Security Solutions – East
Robert is responsible for educating facilities on waterborne pathogens and hospital acquired infections in the Northeast Region. He is a consummate sales professional and brings over 15 years of sales and management experience from Medtech startup, Finance and Telecom sectors. His unquenchable work ethic and attention to detail enables him to cultivate and maintain lasting relationships with our clients.
Corey Harper
Melissa Simon
Marketing Manager
Melissa leads marketing projects focused on growing market share, driving revenue, enhancing customer relationships, understating marketing trends, developing the LiquiTech brand, public relations, merchandising and various special projects. When she’s not inspiring her team to drive meaningful business change, you’ll find Melissa spending time outdoors with her husband, daughter and Labrador retriever. She has a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University and worked in marketing leadership roles in both healthcare and heavy equipment for the past 15 years.
