Academic Credentials
  • M.S., Environmental Management, University of Maryland, College Park, 2005
  • B.A., Biology, Colorado College, 1987
Professional Honors
  • Phi Kappa Phi academic honor society

Stephanie Stephens is a principal scientist in Exponent's Chemical Regulation & Food Safety practice with more than 26 years of experience in EPA pesticide regulatory consulting, USDA APHIS permitting, pesticide regulatory compliance auditing, and pesticide litigation support. She advises agrochemical companies, biotechnology firms, law firms, and government agencies on FIFRA registrations, conventional chemical and biopesticide approvals, regulatory reevaluation programs, and multi-agency regulatory strategy. Ms. Stephens provides expert consulting and expert reports in support of pesticide-related litigation matters.

EPA Pesticide Regulatory Support

Ms. Stephens provides comprehensive regulatory consulting to conventional agrochemical and biotechnology clients navigating the EPA pesticide registration and reevaluation process under FIFRA. Her services span strategic registration planning, data development planning and management, agency liaison activities, submission preparation, and follow-on review support for new food and non-food use active ingredient registrations, product registrations, inert ingredient approvals, tolerance, tolerance exemption, and import tolerances.

Ms. Stephens has significant experience managing multi-year EPA pesticide reevaluation and registration review programs for existing chemicals, preparing and negotiating EPA responses on both technical and administrative regulatory issues, and advising clients on strategies to protect existing registrations and achieve timely approvals. She brings a uniquely integrated perspective to EPA pesticide regulatory work, having served in industry, consulting, and the federal government, giving her direct insight into how EPA staff evaluate submissions and what it takes to navigate the approval process effectively.

USDA APHIS Permitting

Ms. Stephens is an expert in USDA APHIS permitting programs, with experience managing APHIS regulatory projects both as a federal employee and as a private consultant. Her USDA APHIS expertise spans permitting for non-genetically modified and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), compliance program management for USDA Wildlife Services vertebrate control programs, and regulatory project management for APHIS program areas including VS feral swine programs, BRS permitting, and PPQ commodity inspection activities. She has also managed FDA regulatory compliance issues for animal drugs on behalf of USDA's Wildlife Services, including assessing data requirements for New Animal Drug approvals (NADs) and obtaining and managing Investigational New Animal Drug approvals (INADs). Her federal government background gives her direct working knowledge of how USDA APHIS programs operate from the inside.

Pesticide Compliance Audits

Ms. Stephens conducts facility- and program-wide pesticide regulatory compliance audits for both industry and federal agency clients under FIFRA and related regulatory frameworks. Her audit work covers conventional chemical pesticides, microbial and biopesticide products, and multi-agency jurisdiction scenarios involving EPA, USDA, and FDA. She has conducted on-site and off-site audits, presented findings and corrective action plans to client staff and senior leadership, and implemented program-wide improvements based on audit results.

Ms. Stephens has also prepared, managed, and reviewed compliance projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), including environmental assessments (EAs) and environmental impact statements (EISs), for both federal and industry clients. Her compliance audit expertise is grounded in her hands-on federal government experience, giving her practical insight into the standard of care expected by regulatory agencies.

Biopesticide Registration

In addition to conventional chemical pesticides, Ms. Stephens has led large-scale, multi-year registration programs for microbial biopesticides, biochemical biopesticides, and inert ingredients in the U.S. and internationally. Her registration expertise spans the full product lifecycle, from initial data gap analysis and registration strategy development through study placement and monitoring at contract laboratories, data package assembly, agency submission, and post-submission review management.

Ms. Stephens has specific expertise in planning global registration strategies with multidisciplinary teams; coordinating multi-agency jurisdiction scenarios involving EPA, USDA, and FDA; and managing import tolerance petitions for pesticide products in the U.S., Canada, and other countries. Ms. Stephens also has experience with FDA-regulated animal drug approvals, including New Animal Drug (NAD) and Investigational New Animal Drug (INAD) approval processes.

Pesticide Litigation Support

Ms. Stephens provides expert consulting and expert report generation in support of pesticide-related litigation matters, including FIFRA data compensation cases, regulatory compliance disputes, and matters involving pesticide registration requirements and agency standard of care. Her litigation support experience includes leading due diligence and data compensation projects, managing multidisciplinary scientist teams, assisting clients in preparing for testimony in data compensation proceedings, and preparing findings reports. She also provides FIFRA regulatory training to industry clients, law firms, and federal agency staff, helping legal teams develop a thorough understanding of the pesticide regulatory framework relevant to their matters.