Expert Teachers
When we say our instructors are the best, we are not exaggerating.
Available 24 hours a day
Over 100 years combined experience
Top of their field
Attend a minimum of 16 hours of continuing education monthly
Michael Benedetto
Mike has been an instructor for CHC Training for 10 years, with 16 years of experience in the construction safety industry. He specializes in EPA courses, specifically in asbestos and lead paint for supervisors, project designers, workers, management planners, and building inspectors. He also teaches OSHA safety courses.
Mike’s background is primarily in asbestos and lead abatement supervision, as well as construction safety management. He gained seven years of field experience as an asbestos and lead paint abatement supervisor, and five years as a construction safety manager. He entered the industry at 18 years of age because it allowed him to work his way through college by working part-time, as well as offering room for advancement.
Mike enjoys being an instructor because “teaching gives us the ability to find creative ways to distill complex information into digestible, understandable information from a student perspective.”
In his free time, Mike loves reading history, weight training, and traveling in his campervan.
Daniel Beaver
Dan has been teaching for CHC Training since its inception in the early 2000s, having already been teaching certification classes since 1991. Such a long-running history has made him a knowledgeable expert in basically all the disciplines in CHC Training’s curriculum. These days, he’s mainly focused on teaching AHERA courses to contractors, supervisors, inspectors, management planners, and project designers.
Dan started in the construction industry in the late 1970s and has worked as a carpenter framing houses, installing sheetrock, and building cabinets, mainly for schools and commercial buildings. He transitioned from construction to environmental safety in 1987, shortly after AHERA was enacted and has stayed ever since. He has been employed as a Safety Director for large and small firms alike and headed the Environmental Safety Department for Denver Public Schools before making his way to safety training.
Dan’s favorite part about training is being authoritative. “I get to tell the truth and prove it,” he says. “There is so much misunderstanding out there. I know what the regulations demand and I enjoy providing the correct requirements.”
Outside the classroom, Dan enjoys woodworking, hunting, paddle boarding, and ocean kayaking. He would do woodworking and hunting 24 hours a day if he could.
Frank Hulce
Frank has over eight years of experience as a CHC Training instructor. He teaches asbestos classes for inspectors, management planners, project designers, supervisors, and workers. In the discipline of lead, he teaches RRP and courses for inspectors. Most of his asbestos abatement experience in the field comes from work in schools, and most of that work has been associated with bond programs and mill levies. Frank joined the industry in the spring of 1988, when the recently-enacted AHERA regulation created a new industry with new opportunities to ensure safety from hazardous materials in school environments
When it comes to teaching, Frank likes all of it, especially the interaction with students. When he manages to make time for a break, you’re likely to find him fly fishing in the great Colorado outdoors.
Aaron Hix
Aaron has been a part of the CHC Training team since October 2015. A well-rounded generalist, he teaches courses in almost every discipline – asbestos, lead, mold, and First Aid/CPR. Aaron is a great example of upward mobility in the field of environmental safety and training. He started out as an asbestos worker, where he spent about six months learning the ropes before he started supervising small-scale projects. After a year or so, he began supervising larger-scale projects and acted as a supervisor until the end of 2016. Since then, he’s been splitting his time between working as a supervisor, instructing asbestos and lead courses, performing asbestos and lead inspections, and performing Air Monitoring Specialist work.
Having stumbled into the field by coincidence while job searching, he decided to stay and advance his career when he realized the industry’s shortcomings and his role in making change. He loves instructing because the environment is welcoming and the quality interactions he has with the students. Outside of work, he spends time in the outdoors hiking, camping, and hunting. Aaron is also an avid woodworker with his own home workshop. He and his soon-to-be wife love to travel everywhere possible with their dogs and camper.
Matthew Valdez
Matthew has been an instructor at CHC Training for over four years, with expansive multidisciplinary expertise. He specializes in AHERA asbestos disciplines, as well as Colorado Air Monitoring courses. He also instructs most lead and RRP courses, as well as the Certified Mold Professional.
He’s been building his professional background for over fifteen years. During that time, he’s been a field chemical technician transferring hazardous chemicals from rail cars, an asbestos supervisor heading various projects from small-scale residential to large industrial, and an environmental consultant for an environmental firm. He then went on to become a project manager, focusing on bidding and the successful completion of asbestos, mold, and lead projects before finally starting his own consulting firm specializing in industrial hygiene for asbestos, mold, and lead projects.
He found his way into the industry through a friend who paid for his initial course. His favorite thing about instructing is the interaction with students and watching them grow throughout the course. He’s also been able to travel to new places like Alaska to teach courses in-person. Outside the classroom, Matthew enjoys art shows, trying out tasty new local restaurants, going to rock concerts, and exploring all the Colorado outdoors have to offer.
