The PREP Team

Lisa Blecker is the Administrator for the Pesticide Regulatory Education Program (PREP). She has been on faculty in the Department of Agricultural Biology at Colorado State University since August 2021. As the Pesticide Safety Educator, she delivers pesticide safety Train-the-Trainer programs for those who train fieldworkers and pesticide handlers throughout the state. She oversees the revision of study guides and exams for applicators seeking their private and commercial applicator certificates and licenses, delivers continuing education programs for pest management professionals statewide, and teaches an undergraduate course, Understanding Pesticides.

Prior to working at Colorado State University, Lisa was the Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) Coordinator and the statewide pesticide coordinator with the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) for 10 years. She previously worked in the IPM Program at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension for three years and at the University of Idaho IPM Center for five years. Lisa has also worked with National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Research Foundation (NASDARF) to co-write the National Soil Fumigation Manual. Lisa received her master’s degree at Colorado State University in a joint program with the U.S. Peace Corps. She spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Panamá during this master’s program and gained skills that have been invaluable to her career in Cooperative Extension.

Languages spoken: English, Spanish

Alicia Lenners has been the Pesticide Outreach Specialist in the Department of Agricultural Biology at Colorado State University since August 2023. In this role, she provides research for the development of pesticide workshop training materials, maintains that the Extension fact sheets are up to date, and acts as a point of contact for pesticide applicator testing centers. She also runs and maintains the Colorado Environmental Pesticide Education Program (CEPEP) and Pesticide Regulatory Education Program (PREP) websites.

Prior to working at Colorado State University, Alicia was an Environmental Protection Specialist at the Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters in Arlington, VA. She previously spent two years in Paraguay as a Peace Corps volunteer. In this role, Alicia partnered with community members and government agencies to develop and implement community-led conservation programs. This experience led to her interest in grassroots work in agriculture and environmental health.

Alicia has earned an M.S. in Ecology from CSU. She is passionate about ensuring support for consumer, occupational, & natural habitat health from pesticides.  

Languages spoken: English, Spanish

Cindy Wire works for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). She is the PREP Coordinator, and works closely with the EPA regions, states, tribes, and territories as well as other EPA offices including the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance. She has been with EPA headquarters since 2013 and works out of the US EPA Region 9 Office in San Francisco, California. Prior to joining OCSPP, Cindy worked on pesticide and agricultural issues for 12 years in both EPA Regions 9 and 10 (Olympia, WA).

Prior to her federal career, Cindy managed a water quality protection program for the Washington State Department of Agriculture, and worked on pesticide, water quality, and invasive species issues. Cindy has a master’s degree in environmental studies with an emphasis in aquatic ecology.