Jun 21, 2023

Barghausen Consulting Engineers

Dunham

Alfaro

Machiela

Gaitan

Buchanan

Waight

Forza

Barghausen Consulting Engineers, Inc. has expanded its team by hiring eight new employees as of April 2023. In Kent the firm has welcomed an administrative assistant, a people and culture administrator, and two people and culture assistants. Additionally, the Roseville, CA location has brought on a new design engineer and a project architect. The Richland, WA location welcomes a project engineer and a senior civil project manager.

Clarice Buchanan started at Barghausen as the people and culture administrator on April 17. She holds a B.A. in business administration with an emphasis on management and HR from Pacific Lutheran University, graduating in 2021. Prior to joining Barghausen, she worked as an Ops/HR Coordinator at WideNet Consulting Group.

David Gaitan EIT, joined Barghausen on April 17 as a design engineer. He graduated from CSU Sacramento in May of 2020 with a B.S. in civil engineering. He previously worked at a geotechnical engineering firm where he helped with technical fieldwork for residential, commercial and industrial projects for three years.

Kerah Iyall joined Barghausen on April 25, as an administrative assistant for the permitting and compliance team. She holds a B.A. from WSU and is currently pursuing a master's degree in library and information science from UW Seattle. Prior to joining Barghausen, she worked as a registrar for the Bethel School district, and completed a fellowship with the Association of Research Libraries during her time at WSU.

Nathan Machiela joined Barghausen on May 1 as a senior civil project manager in Richland, WA. He graduated from Washington State University with a B.S in civil engineering. He started in engineering in 1998, and he worked with Barghausen from 1998-2003. Nathan earned his P.E. in 2002 and has been working in the industry managing and directing projects for over 25 years.

Omar Alfaro joined Barghausen in Roseville, CA, on May 8 as a project architect. Alfaro is a California licensed architect with 30 years of experience after graduating from U.C. Berkeley. He previously worked at Barghausen 14 years ago, and for the last 2 years he had his own practice where he worked on high end residential, retail and office projects.

Hannah Dunham joined Barghausen on May 22 as a people and culture assistant. She graduated from Washington State University in 2022, with her B.A. in social sciences and human development. She comes from a background in customer service, where she previously worked as a customer liaison at California Closets.

Derek Forza joined Barghausen in Richland, WA on May 30, as a project engineer. He graduated from Washington State University in 2015 with a B.S. in civil engineering. He previously worked at Aqtera Engineering and Parametrix, for a combined tenure of eight years. His primary focus includes both design work and field inspection, with an emphasis on utility, pipeline, and site development work.

Iona Waight joined Barghausen on May 30 as a people and culture assistant and will be working at the front desk as a receptionist. She holds a B.S. in psychology from Grand Canyon University and has a background in customer service, having previously worked at Bigfoot Java and Ben Bridge.

MG2

Wortman

Sarah Wortman has joined MG2 as director of marketing. With more than 20 years in the industry, Wortman has developed a winning approach to communications and business development. Based in the Seattle office, Wortman will work closely with senior management and principals to direct the firm's marketing efforts and drive growth.

Prior to joining MG2, Wortman held senior marketing roles at architecture and design firms across the country. Wortman earned a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a Master of Fine Arts in Radio/TV/Film from Northwestern University. She is active in several AEC organizations including NAIOP; SMPS, where she is a past president of the Chicago chapter; and IFMA, where she is currently President of the Corporate Facilities Council.

Olson Kundig

Ours

Olson Kundig announced that Mark Ours has joined the firm as director of project delivery. In this role, Ours will lead the advancement, implementation, and continual optimization of firm-wide best practices and processes with respect to the delivery of Olson Kundig's projects. Working with owners, operational and design/technical directors, project managers, and other firm leaders, he will maintain a diligent awareness of the firm's needs, frictions, and opportunities for refinement and innovation.

Ours brings over 25 years of experience executing high-quality buildings. Prior to joining Olson Kundig, his multidisciplinary career included architecture, construction management, strategy, and management for enterprise-scale clients and stakeholders.

RGI

Kolachev

Lear

Pletsch

RGI has welcomed three new team members.

Samantha Pletsch is the firm's new marketing specialist. Pletsch has over six years of marketing experience and a bachelor's degree from UW's Foster School of Business.

Kayleigh Lear has joined RGI's administrative team in the Bothell office. Lear brings over seven years' clerical and executive support experience.

Petko Kolachev has joined RGI from Strasser where he spent two years as a project coordinator. Kolachev gained experience with Solidworks in his last role and is eager to expand his drafting skills and knowledge in the field of environmental consulting at RGI.

Jun 14, 2023

FSi

Gaballah

FSi has hired Faheem Gaballah, as an electrical engineer. FSi's newest electrical designer, Gaballah, brings a degree from Benha University (2014), LEED Green Associate credentials, and nine years of practical experience designing complex electrical systems for corporate clients.

Graphite Design Group

DiRaimo

Berg

Alice

Ochs

Oplinger

Sundstad

Matt Marek

Joe Marek

Graphite Design Group has expanded its leadership group with the promotion of two new principals and six directors.

Marc Oplinger has been promoted to principal. With 33 years in the design profession, Oplinger is a seasoned project manager serving both institutional and commercial markets. His portfolio includes life sciences, healthcare, corporate offices, mixed-use and educational facilities. Since joining Graphite in 2014, he has led the design of projects for a range of clients, including RED Development, Vulcan Real Estate, and Northwest Administrators.

Brian Ochs has also been promoted to principal. Ochs is an experienced design leader with projects found throughout the country. Ochs is Graphite's residential market lead. His projects in the Pacific Northwest include Clise's 40-story McKenzie tower and the Parque Kirkland with Henbart Development.

Nancy Alice is now director, building technology. Alice has decades of experience as a senior project architect, manager, and specification writer. Her expertise ensures that design teams may balance innovation, performance, and risk throughout the life of a project. She is currently overseeing the Graphite team delivering the three-tower West Main project in Bellevue, Washington for Vulcan Real Estate.

Bryan Berg is now director, experience design. Berg thinks deeply about design decisions and the depth of meaning that goes into making them. Curiosity tends to drive his process and spark questions aimed to unveil significance to his client's brands. His creativity and curiosity are leading him to explore ever more responsive environments at the intersection of architecture, art, and technology.

Ryan DiRaimo is now director, sustainability. DiRaimo has both domestic and international design experience and has worked on both small and large-scale mixed-use projects, with an eye towards integrated, sustainable solutions. As director of sustainability he finds opportunities in projects across the broad spectrum of markets Graphite serves, integrating the needs of the client, user experience, and the surrounding environment.

Joe Marek is now director, project delivery. Marek is a veteran project architect with over three decades of national and international experience. As director of project delivery, he leverages real-world experience to ensure Graphite's design and documentation process is efficient and complete. Recent projects include Lakefront Blocks and Bellevue Plaza.

Matt Marek is now director, retail. Since joining Graphite in 2014, Marek has continued to leverage his skills in multi-project delivery programs to aid retail brands such as, Amazon Retail and Starbucks reach their aggressive growth goals. He specializes in prototyping, standards, team building and innovating to improve project delivery processes. Marek has managed and grown numerous retail accounts, helping his Graphite team successfully complete over 400 projects across 44 states.

James Sundstad is now director, brand strategy. Sundstad is an award-winning creative director, brand strategist and store designer. For over 35 years his expertise has set the course for some of today's most successful brands. Sundstad's focus on branding and telling the brand's story through environmental experience is informing current Graphite design efforts with clients such as Starbucks Coffee and MiraWorld. His experience spans hospitality, fashion retail, convenience stores, grocery, drug stores and restaurant projects spanning the globe.

Herrera

McKernan

Herrera has welcomed environmental data scientist, Shannon McKernan to the firm. McKernan is based out of Herrera's Seattle office and has a diverse background ranging from lab quality control to environmental geology data management and field work. She comes to Herrera from PES Environmental, Inc. where she worked as a senior staff geologist. McKernan has a Bachelor of Science in Zoology, Geologic Sciences from the University of Florida and a Master of Science in Groundwater Geochemistry and Geomicrobiology from the University of Oregon.