Aug 14, 2024

Jackson Main Architecture

Fortaleza

Jackson Main Architecture has promoted Che Fortaleza to the position of associate. Previously serving as a project manager, Fortaleza brings nearly three decades of architectural expertise to her new role, with a specialized focus on multi-family residential projects.

Since joining the firm in 2019, she has demonstrated exemplary leadership in managing complex projects from conception through completion. Fortaleza is an active member of the American Institute of Architects Seattle Code Committee, the Design Review Board for Downtown Seattle, and the Technical Advisory Group for the Washington State Building Code Council.

Johnston Architects

Simons

Lopez

Borsari

Baiata-Nicolai

Flores

Seikel

Peabody

Johnston Architects (JA) has promoted Jasmyn Flores to senior marketing specialist, Jesse Baiata-Nicolai, Sierra Borsari and Natalie Lopez to associate, and John B. Simons to senior associate.

The firm has also hired Addison Peabody as a designer and James Seikel as business manager.

Flores earned her BA in Apparel Product Development with a Minor in Interior Design from the University of Idaho. She joined JA in 2019 and applies her expertise in proposal management, award submissions, graphic design and website development to the firm's marketing efforts.

Flores has been instrumental in JA's successful pursuits for the Pierce County Library System's new Sumner Library, Puyallup Library Teen Center Remodel and the Camas Public Library Renovation. She led award submissions for the Winthrop Library, which was recognized with an AIA Seattle Award of Honor, AIA Washington Council Civic Design Award and WoodWorks Design Award.

Baiata-Nicolai earned his BS and Master's degrees in Architecture from the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. He joined JA in 2021 and serves as the firm's design technology manager, where he optimizes the use of design platforms and Building Information Modeling. His responsibilities range from creating custom parametric content in Revit to developing Python plugins. Recently, he has been instrumental in creating a rendering material library to manage the extensive image assets required for high-quality photorealistic renderings.

Borsari earned her BS in Architecture from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and holds Master's Degrees in Architecture and Civil Engineering Construction Management from Washington University in Saint Louis. She joined JA in 2022 and brings her expertise in public projects, multifamily developments, and single-family projects to the firm.

At JA, Borsari recently served as the project manager on the Redmond Senior & Community Center. She has also worked as the project architect for a custom residence in Salida, Colorado, and as the project architect for the Lake Wilderness Community Clubhouse.

Lopez studied Human Resource Management at Western Governors University and joined JA in 2022. Lopez has made significant contributions to JA's operational excellence, including improvements to the firm's hiring process, employee onboarding, payroll, staff feedback process, and managing employee relations. This includes creating a new assessment system to gather feedback for managers through anonymous surveys and supporting firm leadership in its implementation.

Lopez also overhauled the performance review process to ensure a consistent experience for all staff. She holds an HR certification through the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM-CP).

Simons earned his BS in Architecture from Texas Tech University and a Master of Architecture from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. He joined JA in 2019, bringing expertise in design and project management for a mix of project types and scales in New York and abroad. Simons is currently serving as project architect for the 18,000-square-foot Lake Wilderness Clubhouse for the city of Maple Valley and project manager for the new Sumner Library in Pierce County. His experience at JA spans multiple sectors, including multifamily, single-family, civic facilities, and hospitality projects.

Peabody earned his BA in Architecture from the University of Washington, where he graduated Cum Laude with Honors in 2018. He returned to UW to earn his Master's in Architecture and was the program's 2022 recipient of the AIA Medal for Academic Excellence. Prior to joining JA in 2023, Peabody's work included high-rise student housing, mid-rise multifamily and affordable housing developments. He has extensive 3D rendering and visualization experience in traditional and alternative delivery models such as Design/Build. At JA, Peabody served as a designer on the Puyallup Library Teen Center Remodel, Camas Library Renovation and a new library for Park County in Powell, Wyoming.

Seikel received his Bachelor's in History from Purdue University and earned his Master's in Museum Studies from Indiana University, along with his MBA in Finance and International Business from the University of Illinois. Seikel's diverse work history includes roles in museum administration for the State of Utah and the city of Port Isabel, Texas, and in operations for Encompass and Semi-Retired MD. In 2021, Seikel co-founded a bookkeeping business aimed to support small businesses and nonprofits. Seikel brings to JA expertise in accounting, finance, human resources, information technology, marketing, operations, and strategy.

As business manager at JA, Seikel's role is to maintain the firm's accounting and finance practices, streamline operational programs, and ensure clear fiscal communication with clients, consultants and employees.

Parametrix

Jabbar

Drangsholt

Steven Drangsholt has joined Parametrix as a senior consultant with over 17 years of experience in the water and wastewater industry.

Drangsholt has worked with several consulting firms and Seattle Public Utilities. His project experience includes wastewater treatment plant facility planning and combined sewer overflow efforts in Western Washington. He has served in leadership roles with the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association and Water Environment Federation.

At Parametrix, Drangsholt joins the firm's water practice, providing water and wastewater engineering and design services to cities, counties, water districts, and other public agencies across the Pacific Northwest.

Rebecca Jabbar has joined Parametrix as a data scientist. Her expertise includes data analysis and reporting, change management, resource documentation, data science and model training, and project management.

Prior to joining Parametrix, Jabbar was a senior data analyst at the Washington State Department of Transportation. In this role, she led and managed data analysis projects and teams and used machine learning and generative artificial intelligence to streamline processes and forecast future transportation behavior.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with a minor in Anthropology and a Data Science Professional Certificate.

At Parametrix, Jabbar joins the firm's Corporate Information Technology team as part of the company's Innovation Center, providing data analysis and reporting to public agencies and other clients across the Western United States.

Aug 07, 2024

Barghausen Consulting Engineers

Pilburn

Dickler

Bond

Ibarra

Shirkey

Escobar

Shyshpanov

Barghausen announced the following new hires and promotions in June.

In the firm's Kent office:

Christopher Shirkey started as a survey chainperson on June 17. He attended the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Oregon State University from 2016-2019.

Evan Ibarra started as an administrative assistant on June 24. He graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. degree in Business Administration. Previously, Ibarra worked at A Place for Mom, Inc. for six years where he held numerous positions. He is skilled in data entry, consumer privacy, contract management, state compliance, project management, and DocuSign.

Jared Waldo started as a land surveyor in training on June 18. He graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a B.S. in economics in December 2009. He has 10 years of field experience and 12 years of office experience. Waldo has lined out field crews for boundary, topographic, and construction surveying needs. He previously worked in several surveying roles including a survey department manager at Cascade Surveying and Engineering.

JP Bond joined as an architectural CAD technician on June 2. He graduated from the University of Idaho with a B.S. in Architecture in May 2024. Previously, Bond worked as an architectural drafter/designer at Selkirk Design Co. He is highly experienced with architectural design software and has five years of experience in residential design and site development.

Mollie Dickler started as a design engineer on June 17. Dickler graduated from Virginia Tech in May 2024 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. She previously held several internships at AE2S, HNTB, Robert B Balter Company, and Coastal Resources. She has experience in Rhino 6, and AutoCAD Civil 3D.

Logan Piburn has been promoted to senior project architect. Piburn joined Barghausen in 2023. He's taken on leadership roles, mentored staff, and led initiatives including setting Revit standards for the firm.

In the Roseville, Ca. office:

Eugene Shyshpanov started on June 26 as a design engineer. He graduated from Sacramento University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering in May 2023. He recently worked as a civil project designer at Cartright Nor Cal.

In the Long Beach, Calif. office:

Rafael Escobar started as an electric designer - energy on June 10. He graduated as a general electrician from Southern California Institute of Technology. Escobar recently worked as an electrical/mechanical designer for SPEC Services, Inc. He is skilled in reading blueprints, AutoCAD, mechanical design, drafting, MicroStation, Aveva, and Bluebeam.

MLA Engineering

Palekha

Avellandeda

Bearden

MLA Engineering, a structural engineering firm based in Seattle, recently hired three professionals.

Joining MLA as a senior associate is John Bearden. Bearden brings structural engineering leadership to community-based projects. His advanced knowledge and experience gained over the past 25 years include a list of high-profile clients: NBC/Universal, National Gallery of Art, Boeing, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Chevron, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Air force, Seattle Mariners (T-Mobile Park), Sound Transit, and Port of Seattle.

Bearden specializes in constructability reviews and cost estimating. He is a member of the Structural Engineers Association of Washington (SEAW) and American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). He holds a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.

Raul Avellandeda has joined as a project designer. Avellandeda is a recent graduate of Virginia Tech where he earned a master's degree in civil engineering with a structural engineering focus. His research involved testing flooring systems for seismic loading —updating equations in code to account for more capacity with less material. His investigations are continuing remotely and will culminate in a PhD while he also gains valuable hands-on experience at MLA.

Sophia Palekha has joined as a revit technician. Palekha comes to MLA with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Washington State University. She has expertise in Revit, combined with a background in CAD and SketchUp.

Parametrix

McDonald

Wildt

Parametrix has added two cultural resources specialists.

Jenny Wildt joins as a senior cultural resources specialist with 23 years of experience specializing in historical archaeology, public interpretation, landscape archaeology, archaeological research design, and project management. Wildt comes to Parametrix from ICF where she worked as a senior archaeologist. At Parametrix, she will expand the firm's range of cultural resources service offerings and support clients across the Pacific Northwest and California.

Reed McDonald joins as a senior cultural resources specialist with 15 years of experience specializing in archaeological fieldwork, including supervising crews and facilitating conversations between stakeholders on complex cultural and environmental issues. McDonald has previously worked with the Salmon-Challis National Forest and the Bureau of Reclamation's Pacific Northwest Regional Office where he managed the Columbia-Snake Salmon Recovery Office cultural program.

Parametrix's cultural resources practice includes professionals in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, and New Mexico providing archaeological inventory, historic built resource surveys, geoarchaeological studies, Indigenous relations, ethnographic studies, preservation planning and public interpretation.