Expertise Driven
By Something More
Long before Sunflower Environmental was founded, one idea had already shaped how its owner approached responsibility:
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” — Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
The quote first appeared in the owner's college admission paper and continued to resonate throughout her professional career. Years later, that same philosophy became part of the foundation on which Sunflower Environmental was built:
If you have the knowledge and ability to make something better, you have a responsibility to care enough to act.
For our clients, that means doing the work correctly—understanding complex regulatory requirements, identifying and reducing compliance risk, developing programs that work within actual operations, and following through until the job is done.
For the professionals we train, it means going beyond simply meeting a training requirement. We want participants to understand why the requirements matter, how to apply them, and how to perform their responsibilities safely, successfully, and with confidence.
Expertise Driven
By Something More
Long before Sunflower Environmental was founded, one idea had already shaped how its owner approached responsibility:
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” — Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
The quote first appeared in the owner's college admission paper and continued to resonate throughout her professional career. Years later, that same philosophy became part of the foundation on which Sunflower Environmental was built:
If you have the knowledge and ability to make something better, you have a responsibility to care enough to act.
For our clients, that means doing the work correctly—understanding complex regulatory requirements, identifying and reducing compliance risk, developing programs that work within actual operations, and following through until the job is done.
For the professionals we train, it means going beyond simply meeting a training requirement. We want participants to understand why the requirements matter, how to apply them, and how to perform their responsibilities safely, successfully, and with confidence.
Community Involvement
For our community, it means showing up. Sunflower Environmental supports environmental stewardship, education, youth programs, families, and community organizations through charitable giving, sponsorships, volunteerism, and hands-on service.
Sunflower Environmental and its owner have been honored with local, state, and national recognition for their work and leadership. We are proud of those honors, but recognition has never been the reason for doing the work. It is a reflection of a philosophy that has remained remarkably simple:
Care enough to make it better.
Our Environmental Consultant, Joyann P. Hernandez
Joyann P. Hernandez is the owner and principal consultant of Sunflower Environmental, an environmental compliance and training company that provides businesses with tailored consulting services and customized environmental compliance and engineering training since 2020.
Joyann holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Roger Williams University and a master’s degree in environmental sustainability from the University of Edinburgh.
In recognition of her entrepreneurial efforts and philanthropy, she was named by Society of Women Engineers Magazine as one of the “2022 Women Engineers You Should Know” for her work in supporting children and advocating for women in STEAM.
She was also honored as Businesswoman of the Year in Greenlee County in 2023 by the EAC Small Business Association and has been nominated as one of 2024's Most Influential People in the Gila Valley. Joyann was named the 2026 Arizona Accent Magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year.
Joyann is affiliated with the Arizona State University Polytechnic Department as a professional development instructor and is a lifetime member of the Society of Women Engineers.
Additionally, she serves as the Entrepreneur’s Advocacy Manager for the Society of Women Engineers Affinity Group and is a board member of the Southern Arizona Environmental Management Society (SAEMS).
Her inspiration to start the company stemmed from personal experiences, including workplace fatalities and environmental contamination in her hometown.
Joyann challenges the traditional definition of business success by leveraging both her professional and personal skills to promote STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) and support children in need.
Just like sunflowers are known as hyperaccumulators, absorbing harmful toxins into their tissues, Sunflower Environmental aims to reduce environmental liabilities and risks, helping businesses safeguard their future and the well-being of their communities.
Our mission is to deliver exceptional service with integrity and dedication, offering customized training solutions, high-quality environmental services, and strategies that help reduce environmental liability and impact for our clients.
Trusted by Organizations Across Industries
See how our consulting, training, and compliance services have helped organizations improve safety and environmental performance.
"The trainer helped by making the class understandable. By letting us know how to navigate Hazardous Materials, substance and wastes compliance guide."
DOT Hazardous Awareness Initial Training, March 2024
"I thought the class would drag on and be boring. You made it fly by and very to understand. Good job on back tracking for those of us who had questions. You were very energetic despite a quiet class. Great Job! Thanks for the snacks."
DOT Hazardous Materials, March 2024
"Great Training. Joyann kept me engaged and interested and I definitely learned some new stuff! N/A Course was great, well taught, and very interesting."
DOT Hazardous Awareness Refresher, August 2023
"Nice job going over the RCRA training! Enjoyed the Pictionary game. Nice job on creating this fun tool to help us learn! The annual refresher booklet is easy to read. Adding the Pictionary game made you class interactive. Thanks for making this training enjoyable."
Custom RCRA Refresher, June 2023
"The class was very informative, creative and engaging Thank You are doing a great job of training. Keep up the good work. The games are fun"
HAZWOPER Refresher, June 2023
"Class Awesome, Learned a lot that has to do with my every day job at the warehouse. You have great energy and made the class fun and understanding. "
DOT Hazardous Awareness Refresher, February 2023
"Joy, was very clear and easily understood, you kept the class interesting and every body involved. Thank you"
Custom RCRA Initial, August 2023
"Great class made me understand somethings that hadn't clicked in other DOT Classes"
2026 DOT Hazardous Materials Shipper Refresher
"Keeping it engaging and dynamic helps so much, otherwise the information overload is worth it every 3 years. Snacks helped a ton."
2026 DOT Hazardous Materials Shipper Refresher
"Taken this class 2 times. Each time I have learned more and more. Great learning materials. Lots of information can be very dull to teach. Made it very painless. Great Instructor. Thank You"