Management Team
Ancelmo Lopes
Chief Executive Officer
During his career, Mr. Lopes has held many posts in the healthcare arena, including serving as Senior Vice President and national leader for Coventry Health Care's Medicaid HMO programs, CEO of Health Care USA, Coventry's largest Medicaid HMO; CEO of Harmony Health Plans, a venture capital backed company and President of the Prudential Health Care Plan of the Mid-Atlantic.
Joel McEndree
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. McEndree has worked in the Finance, Accounting and Operational fields, as a Division Controller for Sav-A-Stop Incorporated, a major non-food wholesaler located in Jacksonville, Florida; Controller and Treasurer for privately held oil and gas exploration concerns under the Aikman Companies affiliation, including Midland Drilling Company in Midland, Texas; and finance, accounting and operational responsibilities for the Company's predecessor, a drug testing laboratory certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ("SAMHSA"), called Universal Toxicology Laboratories, LLC (UTL.)
Todd Gardner
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Gardner has experience with mergers and acquisitions, business development and strategy planning. He has process and department management experience overseeing Finance, Accounting, Human Resources and IT. He began his career in Public Accounting with Deloitte & Touché and has held several positions with major consumer product distribution companies.
Dr. Ronald C. Backer
Co-Founder and Co-Laboratory Director
Dr. Backer has over thirty years experience in forensic toxicology. During his tenure, he served as the laboratory director for multiple SAMHSA certified laboratories. Dr. Backer served as the Chief Toxicologist of West Virginia from1976-1988 and Chief Toxicologist for the State of New Mexico 1988-1991. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Forensic Toxicology (ABFT) (Certificate # 6), a Fellow of the Toxicology Section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and a member of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists. In 1992, he became Laboratory Director of Harrison Laboratories in Midland, which he took to SAMSHA certification in June of that year. In 1996, along with Mark Pace, he founded UTL; UTL became SAMSHA certified in 1997.
Dr. Backer received the “Ray Abernethy Award” as Outstanding Toxicologist in 1995. He has 80 publications and presentations in the area of Forensic Toxicology. Dr. Backer is an inspector for the ABFT, SAMHSA and the Department of Defense. Under his leadership, two laboratories received SAMHSA certification and he has served as a SAMHSA Responsible Person for over ten years.
Dr. James A. Bourland
Co-Laboratory Director
Dr. Bourland has over 25 years of experience in forensic toxicology. His tenure has included 15 years of experience with two State Crime laboratories and 10 years working in multiple SAMHSA certified laboratories. During his tenure with SAMHSA certified laboratories, Dr. Bourland has had multiple responsibilities including Toxicology Research and Development, SAMHSA Responsible Person, Laboratory Director for Hair testing and Oral fluid testing, and the Program Director for the toxicology analysis of Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) samples. Dr. Bourland is considered an expert in the field of pharmacology and toxicology and has published several peer-reviewed articles in this field. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Forensic Toxicology (ABFT) and is certified as a Toxicological Chemist under the National Registry of Certified Chemists (NRCC). Dr. Bourland joined Ameritox as Co-Laboratory Director in August of 2007.
Dennis Crouch
Director of Research and Development
Mr. Crouch joined Ameritox in August of 2007 after a career of over thirty years at the University of Utah's Center for Human Toxicology where he served as Research Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Director of the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Lab and a Co-Director at the Center. He has also served as a Visiting Scientist at the National Institute on Drug Abuse and is a past member of their Drug Testing Advisory Board (SAMHSA). Mr. Crouch has published over 80 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts in the areas of GC/MS, LC/MS, on-site drug testing, therapeutic drug monitoring, analytical toxicology, forensic toxicology, drugs and driving, and workplace drug testing. He is a Board Certified Forensic Toxicology Specialist and has routinely provided expert witness testimony in DUI, medical examiner, probation and parole and a variety of medicolegal cases. He is a member of multiple National and International professional organizations and a recipient of the Ray Abernathy Award from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Mr. Crouch has presented over 70 scientific papers at national and international scientific meetings.