iSi Celebrates Career of Founder Karma Mason
iSi said goodbye to the full-time career of founder, owner and COO Karma Mason, retiring after over 40 years of environmental and geological service.
Karma Mason
On February 20, iSi held an event to salute the career of Karma Mason, iSi’s long time President, COO, and co-owner, who is retiring from full-time duties.
TL;DR: Karma Mason co-founded iSi Environmental in 1990 and built it from a dining room startup to 150+ employees across four office locations. Her 30-year career combined deep geological and environmental expertise with operations leadership and board-level civic engagement. She remains available for technical consulting on geological projects.
Why This Matters: Facilities that lose subject-matter expertise often see compliance gaps widen and operational efficiency decline. Retaining institutional knowledge—whether through phased retirement, consulting arrangements, or documented procedures—protects your environmental and EHS programs. Many companies experience unexpected audit failures or regulatory exposure after founders or long-term technical leaders depart without structured knowledge transfer.
Karma started iSi with her husband Gary Mason, iSi’s CEO, in 1990. They built iSi from their dining room table to a thriving company of over 150 in 4 office locations. She started out wanting to be a PE teacher, but was convinced to get a geology degree by her father, who owned an oil and gas company. She worked with her dad for a number of years and when his business closed during the downturn in the oil industry, she went to work for the research and development department of Vulcan Chemicals (now OxyChem). Gary also worked at Vulcan Chemicals. When they decided to start their own business, Gary left Vulcan and Karma stayed on, but working nights and weekends to help keep the business running until she joined full time in 1991. She worked environmental and geological-related projects for many years. As iSi continued to grow, she eventually phased into more of the role of Chief Operations Officer. This highlighted her strengths of managing operations and driving for success.
Early Determination: 3 National Bowling Championships
Recently retired Wichita State University bowling coach Gordon Vadakin provided a narration to highlight Karma’s leadership, passion, and drive to succeed. As a freshman, Karma and her team had won the first ever National Collegiate Bowling Championship, and it was the first national championship for Wichita State in any sport. They won the national championship again in her junior year, after taking second in her sophomore year.
Gary Mason reads a narrative sent by former Wichita State University bowling coach Gordon Vadakin.
Vadakin become the coach in Karma’s senior year. He said that he let her completely run the women’s team for the year. In all his years of coaching since then, he had never seen anything close to what Karma did for that 1978 team. Karma’s team won the national championship again her senior year, making her the only person to be on three national championship bowling teams in the 45-year history of collegiate bowling.
Local Leadership Highlighted
Wichita Regional Chamber CEO Gary Plummer talks about the impact Karma’s had on the Chamber.
Gary Plummer from the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce and Alan Cobb from the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry were in attendance and each spoke glowingly about Karma’s leadership, assistance, education, and guidance she had given both organizations. Karma is currently on the board of both organizations and has been involved with each for a number of years.
Tracy Streeter, former director of the Kansas Water Office, expressed similar remarks about Karma from her time on the Kansas Water Authority. She was one of the longest serving women in the board’s history. Streeter praised Karma’s leadership in putting together the state budget for the group. When she presented the budget to legislators, she not only knew the budgetary dollars and cents, but she could speak to all of the technical issues involved as well.
Employee Thoughts
Karma goes through her retirement ideas gift and contemplates joining the Red Hat Society.
Gary Mason said that Karma had been telling many people she didn’t want a rocking chair as a retirement gift. She also received a symbolic key to the building (because she’s always welcome), and gifts to help her decide what to do in retirement such as a red hat, silver sneakers, free crochet lessons, and a book about progressive penny slots. Karma is known for her rock collection, so iSi did give her a serious gift: a heart-shaped geode from Utah.
Future Plans
Although she’s no longer going to be at iSi full-time, Karma will remain a part of the company and will continue to provide geological technical assistance when needed.
If You’d Like to Send a Message to Karma
If you’d like to send well wishes to Karma, email us or you can send a card or note to her in care of iSi Environmental, 215 S. Laura, Wichita, Kansas 67211.
Leadership transitions in environmental and EHS departments create risk windows—audit findings spike, training lapses occur, regulatory response slows. iSi Environmental bridges these gaps by providing interim consulting, documented technical support, and compliance continuity during management changes. Whether you’re transitioning leadership, losing a long-term environmental manager, or preparing your team for upcoming regulatory shifts, iSi’s on-demand expertise keeps your program stable while new leadership stabilizes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What services does iSi Environmental provide?
iSi Environmental provides comprehensive environmental and EHS compliance services, including geological consulting, environmental audits, and operational management solutions. With over 150 employees across four office locations, iSi serves facilities throughout the Midwest and specializes in helping businesses navigate complex EPA and environmental regulations.
Q: How long has iSi Environmental been in business?
iSi Environmental was founded in 1990 by Karma Mason and Gary Mason and has grown from a startup operation into a leading environmental consulting firm. The company has been providing environmental and geological-related services for over three decades.
Q: What is the difference between environmental and geological consulting?
Environmental consulting focuses on compliance with EPA regulations, environmental audits, and facility operations management. Geological consulting involves the technical assessment of geological conditions and subsurface investigations. iSi Environmental combines both disciplines to provide comprehensive facility support.
Q: Where is iSi Environmental located?
iSi Environmental is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas at 215 S. Laura, and operates four office locations across the region to serve clients throughout the Midwest.
Interim EHS consulting and leadership transition support start at $1,200/month for part-time technical advisory and regulatory response. Full-time interim management and documentation runs $4,000–$8,000/month depending on scope and facility size.
Need help bridging leadership transitions or ensuring compliance continuity? Contact iSi Environmental for a same-day quote, or explore our EPA and environmental services to see how we can help your facility.
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