February 5, 2025

Hargis

Barranick

Kavulla

Brush

Eldredge

Slatton

Koch

Ide

Kunimoto

Helms

VanderKley

Peery

Pentz

Koch

Hargis Engineers has promoted seven employees to the senior leadership team. Brad Slatton, Kevin Eldredge, and Shannon Brush have been promoted to principal and are joined by new associate principals Josh Kavulla, Michael Baranick, and Taylor VanderKley, and new senior associate Ben Helms.

Since joining Hargis in 2007, Slatton has leveraged his background as a financial business analyst to strengthen the firm's business operations team. His leadership has supported the firm in navigating domestic and global growth, identifying advantageous benefit options for staff, and aligning with the distinct financial reporting requirements of public, private, and Fortune 100 clients.

Eldredge brings nearly three decades of telecommunications and audio-visual experience. Accustomed to working with Fortune 100 and 500 enterprise clients, he applies his technical expertise and leadership to guide teams in delivering solutions that align with innovative priorities and highly sophisticated specialty program applications for visionaries across the Americas.

With over 22 years of service, Brush has been a cornerstone of Hargis' marketing and business development efforts. Her active involvement as the team lead and mentor, as well as serving on boards and committees across the industry, fuels the firm's brand recognition and position across multiple markets, while her focus on cultivating market sector expansion through new discipline introductions contributes to the firm's broader reach.

Kavulla brings 25 years of experience as a consultant and owner representative specializing in multiple facets of technology. His leadership is instrumental in serving Fortune 100 and 500 clients, driving high-profile corporate office regional growth, and delivering hyperscale data center applications on accelerated timelines to meet the demands of dynamic client expansion.

Baranick leads Hargis' energy services team, helping clients achieve conservation benchmarks and align capital planning with sustainability goals. His advocacy on technical committees and leadership in code development ensure that Hargis remains a voice for productive change in the industry.

VanderKley's investment in the delivery of educational projects has contributed to several firsts for clients throughout the Puget Sound region. His adaptive approach has enabled him to be responsive to changes in the industry, build new relationships, and provide internal leadership to our digital applications team in the spirit of delivering on clients' needs.

Helms joins the team as a senior associate. He is a key member of the security and telecommunications team that serves public clients' interests. He is actively serving the enterprise needs of Washington state's departments of corrections, social and health services, and children/youth/family services. His efforts have also served colleges and universities statewide, demonstrating his commitment to higher education enterprise needs.

Hargis also announced six new associates. They are Brian Kunimoto (telecommunications), Devin Ide (mechanical), Haley Koch (electrical), Jake Reny (mechanical), James Pentz (mechanical), Travis Peery (telecommunications).