Beyond Data Management Podcast

In this episode of Beyond Data Management, powered by HS GovTech, Cameron Garrison sits down with Alicia Love, Bureau Chief of the Meat, Milk & Egg Inspection Bureau at the Montana Department of Livestock.

Alicia shares her unexpected journey from wildlife management dreams → vector control → becoming a food safety leader in one of the most unique state agencies in the country. She also delivers practical, biology-based strategies for one of the toughest parts of regulatory work: de-escalating conflict with angry operators, restaurant owners, and meat plant workers.

🔑 Key Topics Covered:
• How the amygdala hijack affects inspectors and operators — and why stepping away is often the smartest move
• Practical phrases and excuses to reset heated situations without losing authority
• Body language tips (why standing in doorways makes things worse)
• Recognizing when a situation has crossed from "unpleasant" to "unsafe"
• Dealing with lies, complaints, and burnout in food safety inspections
• What makes Montana’s Department of Livestock different from typical ag or public health departments
• Real field stories — from cockroach surprises to being asked to write up a violation on purpose

Whether you're a food safety inspector, environmental health professional, or anyone who deals with regulated industries, this episode gives you tools to stay calm, protect your mental health, and build better relationships in the field.

Alicia’s popular de-escalation training (recently presented for NEHA and others) is designed specifically for inspectors — not law enforcement — and focuses on real-world regulatory interactions.

📌 Resources & Links:
• Alicia’s recent NEHA Conflict De-Escalation Webinar [add link if available]
• Montana Department of Livestock Meat, Milk & Egg Inspection
• NEHA Pre-Conference Training with Alicia Love (August 2026)

If you're in regulatory work, drop your biggest inspection conflict story in the comments — we read them all!

👉 Subscribe for more real conversations with leaders in environmental health, food safety, and data management in government.

#FoodSafety #EnvironmentalHealth #DeEscalation #FoodInspection #RegulatoryTraining #PublicHealth
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Episode 34 of Beyond Data Management is here, and this week Cameron Garrison is joined by Melissa Rogerson for another Ask the Inspector-style conversation powered by questions from across EH Nation.

In this episode

We dig into the real-world challenges food inspectors and environmental health professionals face every day — from difficult operators and illegal food vendors to training new inspectors, handling deception in the field, and helping people break into food safety careers.

Melissa Rogerson brings frontline environmental health experience and practical insight to a wide range of audience-submitted questions, including:

-what inspectors hear when operators say “you were just here”

-how to handle illegal or unpermitted food vendors

-whether operators use small talk to distract inspectors

-the mental toll of difficult inspections and dishonest interactions

-what training works for new inspectors

-how to coach staff who miss violations

-strange but memorable things seen in kitchens

Featured Guest

Melissa Rogerson
HS GovTech
Former El Paso County Environmental Health Department, Colorado

About Beyond Data Management

Beyond Data Management, powered by HS GovTech, explores environmental health, public health, inspections, compliance, data systems, and the real-world work happening across agencies and communities.

Connect with us

Have a question, story idea, or want to be featured on the show?
Email: [email protected]

Comment below:
What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen in a kitchen that wasn’t technically a violation?

#FoodSafety #HealthInspector #EnvironmentalHealth #PublicHealth #FoodInspection #RestaurantInspections #FoodSafetyCareer #EHNation #HSGovTech #BeyondDataManagement
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Season 2 of Beyond Data Management is here — and we’re kicking things off with a special Ask the Inspector episode.

Host Cameron Garrison welcomes back Kristin Geary of HS GovTech to answer real questions from across EH Nation about food safety, health inspections, food trucks, fake complaints, rodents, date marking, code interpretation, and what inspectors really deal with in the field.

This episode dives into some of the most common — and most frustrating — issues facing environmental health professionals and food safety inspectors today, including:

food truck commissary problems

illegal and unpermitted vending

fake or retaliatory complaints from former employees

whether restaurants get tipped off before inspections

rodent and mouse infestations in food establishments

single-use cups and lids stored in bathrooms

date marking rules for pickled and brined foods

borderline hot and cold holding temperatures

how inspection reports spread on social media

whether TV and movies unfairly portray health inspectors

If you work in environmental health, food safety, public health, or operate a restaurant, grocery store, food truck, or retail food business, this episode is packed with practical insight.

In this episode:

Why food trucks are one of the hardest areas to regulate

The real challenge with commissary agreements

How inspectors deal with bogus complaints

What happens when employees report hidden food safety issues

When date marking rules do — and do not — apply

Why rodent complaints matter so much

How much discretion inspectors actually have

Why inspectors are often misunderstood in pop culture

Featured Guest

Kristin Geary
HS GovTech
AI For The Public Good Symposium:  As mentioned in this episode Cameron is speaking at this event at Bowling Green State University on April 2nd.  Details can be found at:  https://events.bgsu.edu/event/public-allied-health-symposium

About Beyond Data Management

Beyond Data Management is the podcast powered by HS GovTech, exploring environmental health, public health, government technology, regulatory challenges, and the future of inspection and compliance work.

Connect with us

Got a question, topic idea, or want to be featured on the show?
Email: [email protected]

Comment below with your thoughts:
What’s the biggest food safety issue inspectors face today?

#FoodSafety #HealthInspector #EnvironmentalHealth #PublicHealth #FoodTrucks #RestaurantInspections #FoodCode #EHNation #HSGovTech #BeyondDataManagement
Send us Fan Mail
Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas [email protected]

Happy holidays EH Nation! 🎄 It’s our Season 1 finale and year-end holiday extravaganza. We launched this show and channel in April with a simple goal: spotlight the “hidden profession” of Environmental Health (EH) with real stories, teachable moments, and some truly unforgettable clips. Eight months later, we’ve crossed 1,000,000+ views across all platforms — and it's all due to each of you.  From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support in season one!

Today’s holiday year end wrap up highlights show features some of the most memorable moments of our first 32 episodes:

 🎄Early-warning signals that predicted the Chipotle outbreak before it happened: Patrick Quade (DineSafe / iwaspoisoned.com) on brand risk signals years before headlines

 🎄NEHA AEC (Phoenix) on tour + Evan Satel, actual Jeopardy champion

 🎄Dr. David Dyjack (NEHA) calling the screw worm resurgence (then it arrives), plus his crawl-space wall of rats story 😳

 🎄Chirag Bhatt (Houston) runs a bribery sting with HPD & the 6pm news

 🎄Graham Mitchell (UK): a mouse baked into a sliced loaf… and the guy who wanted a crocodile in his bathtub

 🎄Van Craesap (OH): a basement sewage flood… hiding over 600 tires

 🎄Steve Mandernach (AFDO): why indecision in government creates chaos (and the 25-year petition problem)

 🎄Bob Custard: EH as problem-solvers first (the church, the privy, and real community fixes)

 🎄Viral viewer clip: a McDonald’s fry hopper turned bio-brick (yikes)

Holiday fun: name the “violations” in the movie scene game (A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone 2)

Bonus: Behind-the-scenes at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s synchronized holiday light show
👉 Send your photos/videos or questions (EH pros & public welcome): [email protected]
👉 Shorts, reels & polls weekly — subscribe so you don’t miss 2026’s new formats, on-the-road episodes, and deep dives.
🎄You can get more information on the Speedway Lights, including get tickets at:  https://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/events/speedway-christmas/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23277708479&gbraid=0AAAAA-nPOtWjzjgLs4hUSN8sKSxGZ0fJN&gclid=Cj0KCQiAo4TKBhDRARIsAGW29be2bEmYqPXe_grgOQE4d1Rgr82mJQ4rKahith-1f-vCcYAUk14YFTIaAqCkEALw_wcB

From all of us at the Beyond Data Management Show and HS GovTech we wish you and yours the best holiday season and a happy 2026 - we look forward to more exciting conversations every Tuesday right here in the new year!

Chapters
00:00 Cold open & holiday set reveal
02:00 Why we launched + 1M+ views milestone
05:30 Clip: Patrick Quade — Chipotle early warnings & brand risk
09:40 Clip: NEHA AEC live + Jeopardy champ Evan Satel
12:40 Clip: Screw worms prediction → reality (Dr. David Dyjack)
17:20 Clip: Dyjack’s crawl-space rats moment
19:55 Clip: Cherag Bhatt HPD sting (cash, cuffs, 6pm news)
23:10 Clip: Mouse baked in bread (Graham Mitchell, UK)
26:05 Clip: Viewer video — bleach on food & when product is destroyed
29:00 Clip: Basement sewage flood + 600 tires (Van Christup)
32:30 Clip: Government indecision & food chemicals (Steve Mandernach)
36:15 Clip: Problem-solver not just a regulator (Bob Custard)
40:10 Clip: Viral fry hopper bio-brick at McD’s
42:40 Holiday movie safety violations game
47:30 Speedway Christmas lights preview & sign-off

Have a story, mystery photo, or temp-event head-scratcher?
📩 [email protected]
 — say if you want to come on to discuss your picture or to remain anonymous.
Send us Fan Mail
Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas [email protected]

Happy Tuesday, EH Nation! Today we head to the Pacific Northwest with Bonnie Waldemarson (Senior Environmental Specialist, Idaho North Central District). We dig into rural, multi-program Environmental Health: food safety, onsite septic, drinking water, and what happens when a caterer “cans” centerpieces (hello, botulism risk). We also break down that viral clip of an inspector pouring bleach on food—when and why that happens.

You’ll hear about:

How Idaho’s district model covers 5+ counties with tiny teams

Wednesday coliform result sprints & rapid operator outreach

Canning at a catering gig (and the rules operators miss)

Mobile food trucks culture shift in rural towns

Working across state lines (WA/ID) and tribal jurisdiction (Nez Perce)

Childcare licensing changes and what parents should ask

“Education first” enforcement—and the rare times product gets destroyed

Boat-access inspections in Hells Canyon (yes, seriously)

👀 Have photos or videos for us to analyze on-air?
Email: [email protected]
 — note if you’d like to come on to tell the story.

⏭ Next week: our Season 1 highlight reel (final episode of the year). Subscribe now and make sure to not miss it!

Chapters below ⬇️

Chapters / Timestamps

00:00 Cold open & holiday setup
00:40 Guest intro: Bonnie Waltmarson (Idaho North Central District)
02:05 Idaho’s district structure & small-team reality
04:10 On-call drinking water: lab pickups, coliform timelines
07:05 Rural distances, courier vs. long drives to labs
09:10 Multi-program life: food, septic, land division, solid waste
11:30 The “rustic wedding” canning jars story (botulism talk)
16:05 Why inspectors sometimes bleach and discard food at events
19:25 Temporary events: temperature control & realistic volumes
22:00 Mobile food trucks: culture shift and compliance
24:45 Border & tribal jurisdiction: WA/ID & Nez Perce Nation
28:10 What the public should ask vendors & daycares
31:00 Childcare licensing changes & media/PIO lessons
34:20 Photo contests, using pics for training & reports
37:15 Septic mis-installs, when photos beat words
39:30 Field perks: boat-in inspections in Hells Canyon
41:20 Wrap + how to submit your pics/videos to the show
Send us Fan Mail
Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas [email protected]