Executives


EDPM was founded on April 1, 1990, by Charles M. Ash and Howard M. Strickler, M.D. Our corporate headquarters are located in downtown Birmingham.

Executive Team

Charles M. Ash Charles M. Ash/Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Ash received his B.A. and post graduate study from the University of South Alabama. He has lectured on alcohol and drug abuse issues throughout the country and has served as a drug program advisor and educator for numerous businesses, industries and law enforcement associations and agencies. He is a Director of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency Alabama Chapter. Mr. Ash began working in the health care industry in 1973, and specializes in drug and alcohol related health care issues.

Howard M. Strickler Howard M. Strickler, M.D./President and Medical Review Officer
Dr. Strickler received a M.D. Degree from the University of Louisville in 1979. Following a Residency at Anniston Family Practice in Alabama and a Fellowship in Addiction Medicine at Willingway Hospital in Georgia, he became certified in Addiction Medicine by the American Society of Addiction Medicine in 1986. He was trained as a Medical Review Officer in 1990, and was one of the first to be certified by the American Association of Medical Review Officers in 1992, when certification became available. Dr. Strickler has practiced medicine for more than 20 years.

Donna Smith Dr. Donna Smith/Regulatory Compliance and Program Development Officer
As one of the principal authors and architects of the regulations for the U.S. military, federal employees, and U.S. Department of Transportation(DOT) drug and alcohol testing programs, Dr. Smith has over 30 years' experience and expertise in regulatory compliance. She is a nationally recognized expert in the areas of Federal drug testing regulations, drug and alcohol testing procedures, drug and alcohol abuse awareness training for employees and managers, medical review officer(MRO) procedures, drug free workplace policy and procedures, and substance abuse prevention and rehabilitation. Since 1990 she has served on the faculties of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) for continuing medical education courses in drug and alcohol testing. Dr. Smith currently serves on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Federal Drug Testing Advisory Board (DTAB) and is the President of the Substance Abuse Program Administrators' Association (SAPAA), a national drug and alcohol industry association. Dr. Smith is an invited presenter at national conferences and symposia and is renowned for her training and education courses for urine specimen collectors, breath alcohol technicians, labor attorneys, managers and supervisors, employees, substance abuse professionals (SAP), and MROs. Dr. Smith earned a BA is sociology from Capital University, an MSW in clinical social work from Hunter College, CCNY, and an EdD/PhD in counseling psychology from Ball State University.

Dennis Bennett Dennis Bennett/Chief Development Officer
Mr. Bennett has spent his entire 40 year career within the drug and alcohol testing industry. He has the distinction of being one of the original architects of the DOT's drug and alcohol testing regulations now affecting over eight million employees in the U.S. Mr. Bennett completed 22 years of work within the federal government's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Programs and was a program analyst with the Secretary's Office of Drug Enforcement and Program Compliance, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in Washington, DC. Prior to joining EDPM, Mr. Bennett spent 17 years at FirstLab, a privately held third party administrator of drug and alcohol testing programs located in Pennsylvania.

Anoop K. MishraAnoop K. Mishra/Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Mishra received his B.A. degree from Birmingham- Southern College and M.B.A from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining EDPM, Mr. Mishra was a Strategy Consulting Manager with Accenture for four years. He worked with dozens of companies, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 firms, in developing long-term business strategies and executing revenue enhancement and cost reduction initiatives. Prior to business school, Mr. Mishra worked in urban economic development with Operation New Birmingham for three years, serving as Director of City Center Development.

Cheri NolesCheri Noles/Vice President of Administrative Services/Human Resources
Ms. Noles is responsible for Administrative Services and Human Resources for EDPM. Ms. Noles was employed as clinic manager by Brookwood Family Practice/Tenet Healthcare Systems for 18 years. Her 30 years in business and healthcare administration provides her with the experience to maintain and implement our professional standards.




Department Leads

The most valuable resource of any company is its employees, and EDPM is no exception. Each of our team members is focused on servicing your needs. With 300+ combined years of experience in the employment screening industry, EDPM is uniquely qualified to implement and support a comprehensive drug testing and background check program.

Jason Dailey/Sales & Marketing
If you have a question about EDPM services, or would like to set up an account with EDPM, contact us at: sales@edpm.com

Hunter Strickler/Sales & Training
If you want to know more about the DOT compliance training EDPM offers, or would like to register for one of our DOT compliance training programs, contact us at: training@edpm.com

Maria Lechtreck/Random Services
For questions regarding your random drug and alcohol testing program or random drug and alcohol testing compliance, contact us at: randoms@edpm.com

Sherry Ray/Reporting Services
If you have a question about result reporting, contact us at reporting@edpm.com

Kimberlie Dake/Accounting & Finance
If you have questions about an invoice or any other billing issue, contact us at: billing@edpm.com