Beyond Data Management Podcast

Cameron Garrison

The definitive podcast for government data management and stories from the field - with a special focus on Environment Health professionals.

  1. 3d ago ·  Video

    An Inspector’s Camera Roll: Sewage in Neighbor’s Yard, Dentures in a Bowl, and a creepy Pizza Place

    Joseph Addison (Fayette County, Georgia) has placed in the NEHA photo contest three years running. Recorded live at GEHA 2026, he walks Cameron through 12 photos from the field — the funny ones, the filthy ones, and the one he did not put on the report. In this episode: -“Biscuitus” and other kitchen personality that isn’t in the code -A septic repair that got dumped into the neighbor’s yard (2nd place, NEHA general category) -The pizza-place back room that looked like a lab — and why he pocketed the phone and left -Dentures in a mixing bowl A septic tank that floated out of the ground after a pump-out and a downpour -Bloodshot googly eyes over a prep sink -A hibachi floor so greasy it looked black — and why that still wasn’t an automatic close -The difference between “gross” and “will put someone in the ER” -Joseph’s point the whole hour: this is not a gotcha job. Inspectors are guests in someone else’s house. Call your inspector before the floor turns into sludge. Beyond Data Management — powered by HS GovTech. Recorded at GEHA 2026, Lake Lanier.  Special thanks to Danielle, Austin and the entire GEHA team for their invitation and hospitality. Be sure to subscribe for free to AFDO's Quick Take Friday's: https://AFDO.org/fresh-take-fridays Chapters: 0:00 Intro 0:23 Live from GEHA + the NEHA photo contest 1:48 Why some departments won’t let inspectors take photos 2:34 Fayette County, Georgia 3:09 Photo 1: World Famous Biscuitus 4:07 Photo 2: Septic repair dumped into the neighbor’s yard 7:11 Photo 3: The pizza-place back room 10:25 Why he didn’t write it up — or call the cops 11:17 The roadside fish box with one prop fillet 12:03 The dentures 21:00 The septic tank that floated out of the ground 21:45 Googly eyes over the prep sink 23:42 Dishwasher grease + the same facility’s floors 26:00 Hibachi grease measured in inches 28:20 Gross vs. what actually shuts you down 30:10 They volunteered to close — then pressure-washed the building 31:15 Recurring segment: Life on the Road with Joseph Addison 32:10 Advice to operators: call your inspector 33:14 Close This episode captures the unvarnished side of public health work. Cameron walks through an actual inspector actual camera roll, showing the bizarre and challenging scenarios that inspectors encounter daily. It is a raw look at what really happens when you walk into a site and find a pizza place that defies all logic. Subscribe for weekly public health and safety breakdowns. Let us know in the comments: what is the strangest thing you have ever found on an inspection? Beyond Data Management, powered by HS GovTech. Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

  2. Sep 8 ·  Video

    LA Has 15,000 Unpermitted Vendors — And 119 Free Carts Sitting in a Warehouse | Matt Geller

    Matt Geller is back — National Food Truck Association, Best Food Trucks, Revolution Carts — recorded live at GEHA 2026 at Lake Lanier. This one is not a “how to start a food truck” episode. It’s a field report from the biggest mobile-vending mess in the country. LA County paid for 125 permitted carts to get unpermitted vendors into the formal economy. Most of them are still sitting in a warehouse. An NGO was paid $1.2 million to get paperwork signed. Eight vendors made it through. Enforcement of unpermitted vending was paused. Meanwhile 15,000–30,000 unpermitted vendors are operating every day — no sinks, no commissary, no A grade — and permitted operators are competing against people who follow none of the rules. Matt also breaks: Kansas City’s 300-foot “no trucks near restaurants” rule Home Depot’s national push to put permitted carts in front of stores How ChatGPT sent Apple to Best Food Trucks Feeding Boeing’s Everett plant (the building that spans two counties) A new app that lets permitted trucks photo-report unpermitted vendors and heat-map problem corridors for health departments Plus the advice he actually gives people who want to start a cart: know your numbers, test throughput with 20 friends, and don’t price off pre-cook weight. If you work in environmental health, this is the episode that explains why “just give them a cart” fails without enforcement, education, and a real path into the formal economy. Recorded at the Georgia Environmental Health Association 2026 conference. Afdo.org/training  0:00 Intro 0:20 Live from GEHA 2026 with Matt Geller 1:03 National Food Truck Association + Kansas City’s 300-foot rule 2:04 Georgia laws, Home Depot, and the tamale-to-six-figures story 3:19 Revolution Carts: what they’re building 3:40 125 permitted carts for LA — most still in a warehouse 5:12 $1.2 million to hand out paperwork (8 vendors processed) 6:32 Enforcement pause, ICE, and competing with unpermitted vendors 8:29 Why vendors won’t take a free permitted cart 9:08 “Are we waiting until someone gets sick and dies?” 9:45 Two food systems: Venice gets an A, East LA gets whatever shows up 11:28 The pendulum: too strict in 2010, too loose now 13:06 Pop-up tents, no sinks, and outbreaks as a when not an if 13:52 The carrot: Home Depot, LA Metro, and county buildings 24:54 How ChatGPT sent Apple to Best Food Trucks 25:52 Feeding Boeing Everett — the building that spans two counties 28:29 What actually wins catering work (photos, signatures, not “sent from iPhone”) 30:21 From food-truck mania to part of the landscape 30:28 The operator who kept one truck unpermitted on purpose 31:33 The new app: permitted trucks report unpermitted vendors + heat maps 33:16 Advice if you want to start a cart: know your numbers 35:23 The pastrami-shrink math that killed a $5.99 sandwich 37:08 Wrap + what’s next Shorter set if you don’t want 18 markers: text Beyond Data Management — powered by HS GovTech. Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

  3. Sep 3 ·  Video

    From IBM Statistician to Kroger Food Safety Chef | Chef John live at GEHA 2026

    Chef John does food safety and regulatory compliance for Kroger’s Atlanta division — 182 stores across Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. Recorded live at GEHA 2026 on Lake Lanier. He started at IBM as a statistician, took a buyout, and IBM paid for Johnson & Wales. Now he’s the chef who still cooks for TV — and the guy who trains store leaders as Certified Food Protection Managers. In this conversation: How Kroger’s FAST system (Food at Safe Temperatures) puts sensors every four feet and alerts when a case goes above 41°F Freezing day-of-expiration product for Second Harvest instead of throwing it away. A mobile grocery store for food deserts, built with the Georgia Department of Agriculture Why Chipotle, Blue Bell, and Boar’s Head still sit in the back of consumers’ minds Wet-aging a ribeye in cryovac, sear hot, finish at 250°F to 133 Feeding 3,500 people at South Beach Food & Wine — with food safety first  What industry should actually do at state EH associations instead of treating inspectors like “the cops” Live from GEHA 2026, Lake Lanier, Georgia. Beyond Data Management, powered by HS GovTech. Chapters 00:00 Intro — live at GEHA 00:40 “If I told them my last name…” 01:45 182 stores, three states 04:12 IBM statistician → Johnson & Wales 06:32 Shrink, food banks, Second Harvest 09:19 FAST sensors every 4 feet 11:35 Chipotle, Blue Bell, Boar’s Head 13:49 CFPM training for every store leader 15:47 Mobile grocery store / food deserts 23:50 How Chef John cooks a ribeye 28:13 King’s Hawaiian / 3,500 covers 29:17 Super Bowl and World Cup food safety 33:41 Everybody has a camera 35:02 Recipe on the front, food safety on the back Links AFDO Crucial Conversations — https://www.afdo.org/training/ GEHA 2026 Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

  4. Sep 2 ·  Video

    He Walked Away From a PhD. Now He’s GEHA’s President | Austin Haney at Lake Lanier | Ep51

    Austin Haney is EHS-5, district standard trainer, data specialist — and president of the Georgia Environmental Health Association. Recorded live at GEHA 2026 on Lake Lanier. He did not take the lunch-table path. Bachelor’s and master’s at Valdosta State. Two years of a PhD at Oregon State. One year at UF’s Whitney Marine Lab. Then 2020 hit, and he asked what he actually wanted: a job that let him come home and still matter. His old office mate at the health department said there were no openings. Called back the next day. The job had been vacant a year. In this conversation: The interview question he actually asked: what does a day in the life of an EHS look like? Why the job is ServSafe + CPO + Level 2 soil classifier + chief rabies officer + mosquito ID under a microscope 12 to 15 mosquito species you see in a gravid trap — and the weird ones that show up in a light trap The memorable inspection isn’t the disaster. It’s the third visit to a troubled restaurant when he walked in and said “fantastic” before he started Why manager turnover broke the relationship that used to create that change GEHA’s travel-restriction year vs. this year’s rebound — and why he’s serving a second term as president Testing Georgia’s new statewide EHIS with 60–70 people on the call, going live in November Live from GEHA 2026, Lake Lanier, Georgia. Beyond Data Management, powered by HS GovTech. Chapters 00:00 Live from Lake Lanier 00:54 EHS-5, trainer, data specialist 01:18 GEHA president 03:32 The non-traditional path 04:16 Oregon State, UF, and 2020 05:22 The office-mate phone call 06:06 “What does an EHS actually do?” 07:13 How you ID a mosquito 09:13 Rabies, septic, and every cert in the book 10:37 GEHA, travel cuts, second term 16:00 The inspection story that isn’t gory 18:31 Turnover and lost relationships 19:50 Statewide data conversion 24:02 Thanks / next guest Links AFDO eNews & Quick Bites — https://www.afdo.org/newsletter-updates/ Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

  5. Sep 1 ·  Video

    Bullfrogs, Movie Sets & a SWAT Raid: Georgia EH Director Galen Baxter | Live from GEHA 2026

    In this episode of Beyond Data Management, recorded live at GEHA 2026 on Lake Lanier, host Cameron Garrison sits down with Galen Baxter, Director of Environmental Health for the Georgia Department of Public Health. Galen traces an unusual path into the field: high-school military enlistment as a linguist (Arabic instead of the Russian he wanted), a short stint teaching, then health education in Tift County before becoming an environmental health specialist. He moved from rural South Georgia counties to Lowndes County manager, state food program consultant and director, DeKalb pool program manager, Fulton County EH director, and finally the state director role he’s held for nearly four years. The conversation covers what that job actually looks like in a state with 159 counties, coast-to-mountains geography, and a metro area that briefly became “Hollywood of the South.” Galen explains how Georgia adapted rules for large-scale movie catering operations (including a visit to the Halt and Catch Fire set), created identifying stickers for production food trucks, and handled craft services versus full catering. He also talks about the political side of state-level advocacy, working with leadership that values environmental health, the challenge of recruiting into a “hidden profession,” internships with CDC and NEHA, and two inspection stories that stuck: live bullfrogs in a restaurant cooler and a night inspection that arrived with SWAT, ATF, and DEA. Special thanks to GEHA for inviting us to do the show live from Lake Lanier Resort. Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

  6. Aug 19 ·  Video

    Closing the Blind Spot: How AI Turns Fragmented Health Inspections into Real-Time Action for Brands

    In this episode of Beyond Data Management, Cameron Garrison shares his presentation from the AFDO AI in Food Safety Workshop in Columbus, OH titled: “Closing the Blind Spot.” For years, restaurant chains and food brands have struggled to get timely, consistent access to local health inspection results. With more than 3,000 environmental health agencies using different forms, scoring systems, and food codes, the data remains fragmented. Too often, corporate food safety and QA teams first learn about serious violations through media headlines instead of their own systems. Cameron walks through why earlier attempts (ETL feeds, public records requests, keyword matching) never scaled—and why AI changes the equation now. Semantic models can map disparate inspection findings back to a consistent standard (such as the FDA Food Code), apply brand-specific weighting, and deliver a unified national command center that sits alongside internal QA audits. The result: faster corrective action, stronger food safety culture, and a true partnership between regulators and industry on the shared mission of protecting the public. Whether you work in environmental health, state agriculture, or corporate food safety, this is a practical look at turning public inspection data into something both sides can actually use. Contact Cameron  Cameron@hscloudsuite.com  if you’d like to discuss the approach or get involved. Special thanks to AFDO for hosting an outstanding AI in Food Safety Workshop. #FoodSafety #AIinFoodSafety #HealthInspections #RegulatoryTech #EnvironmentalHealth #AFDO #FoodCode #QA #BeyondDataManagement Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

    Closing the Blind Spot: How AI Turns Fragmented Health Inspections into Real-Time Action for Brands

  7. Aug 11 ·  Video

    Mosquito Threats You Didn't Know About | Dan Markowski NEHA 2026

    Cameron sits down in Kansas City, at NEHA AEC, with Dan Markowski of the American Mosquito Control Association to discuss resources for environmental health departments, CDC-funded best practices and data guidance, climate-driven mosquito range expansion, the critical role of year-round surveillance, and modern ultra-low volume adult mosquito control. Recorded live on the exhibit floor at NEHA AEC 2026 in Kansas City. Beyond Data Management, powered by HS GovTech. Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

    Mosquito Threats You Didn't Know About | Dan Markowski NEHA 2026

  8. Aug 11 ·  Video

    What Can We Learn from New Orleans' Rodent Management? Claudia Riegel NEHA AEC Kansas City

    Cameron sits down with Claudia Riegel, Director of Mosquito & Termite Control for the City of New Orleans, to discuss her CDC Gulf South Vector project, rodent data work, program continuity since 1964, proactive media strategies, and her accidental path into vector control. Recorded live on the exhibit floor at NEHA AEC 2026 in Kansas City. Beyond Data Management, powered by HS GovTech. Send us Fan Mail Please remember to like and subscribe - and reach out to us with your stories and show ideas Beyond@hscloudsuite.com

    What Can We Learn from New Orleans' Rodent Management? Claudia Riegel NEHA AEC Kansas City
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

The definitive podcast for government data management and stories from the field - with a special focus on Environment Health professionals.

Information

  • Creator
    Cameron Garrison
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    66
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Beyond Data Management Podcast
  • Show Website
    Beyond Data Management Podcast