ENGEO announces the promotion of seven leaders to higher levels of service. Says ENGEO president Uri Eliahu, “These individuals consistently go above and beyond in service to clients and staff. Each one takes to heart what it means to mentor, serve and teach in ways that further our vision, mission and values.”
Jeff Adams, PhD, PE, Principal, joined ENGEO in 1999 and is based in San Ramon, California. He leads environmental assessment, characterization, remediation projects, and Geologic Hazard Abatement District (GHAD) formation. Dr. Adams has contributed to a wide range of remediation and development projects in high-density and low-density urban and suburban settings redeveloped for a variety of uses. He has also assisted clients in developing real estate project budgets and cash flow analyses where innovative solutions have been considered or necessitated. His research interests include green and sustainable remediation (GSR) environmental applications and emerging public/private financial mechanisms to mitigate flood-related losses. He has authored and co-authored numerous environmental remediation-related textbooks, instructional materials, and research papers that have been presented worldwide and published in a diverse group of academic and professional journals. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Additionally, he received his MBA from the University of Washington.
Neil Charters, MIPENZ, CPEng, Principal, joined ENGEO in 2010, and serves projects throughout New Zealand, providing both engineering geology and geotechnical engineering services as well as serving to develop others in their careers to achieve their professional goals. Neil assists local communities with the recovery efforts from natural disasters, including rockfall assessment following the 2010-2011 Christchurch Earthquakes, assessing the geological hazards on the trekking route into Everest Base Camp in 2015, working with Civil Defence following the Kaikoura Earthquake in 2016, and assessing natural hazards to assist firefighters during the 2017 Christchurch Port Hills fire. In normal day to day work, Neil provides engineering services on projects including large commercial developments, railways, highways, general infrastructure, and residential development. Neil supports projects from the feasibility stage through detailed design and construction monitoring. His experience spans both islands of New Zealand, Nepal, New Caledonia, British Columbia, and Canada.
Janet Kan, GE, CEG, LEED AP, Principal, joined ENGEO in 2003 and has over 16 years of experience in geotechnical engineering. Based in San Ramon, California, Janet has managed numerous large-scale public projects, including the California High Speed Rail Silicon Valley to Merced and Caltrain Corridor sections, BART Yard and Shops in Santa Clara, Maple Street Correctional Facility in Redwood City and Sutter Medical Center in Santa Rosa. In addition, she is the project manager for private projects including residential, commercial, mixed-use and master planned developments. Janet is familiar with preparation of geotechnical reports according to Caltrans, SP 117, and OSHPD guidelines. Both a geotechnical engineer and a professional geologist, Janet’s expertise includes developments on compressible deposits; mitigation of liquefiable sites, and seismic analyses including site response and spectral acceleration development and geotechnical and geological assessments for tunnel design.
Andrew Firmin, GE, QSD, Associate, focuses on providing geotechnical engineering, stormwater, and design services for a variety of private and public projects including residential, commercial and industrial developments, roadways, railways, bridges, parking and solar structures, flood control and water/wastewater facilities. He has recently worked on development projects in the City of Milpitas near the proposed BART station, public and private San Francisco Bay shoreline projects, and is currently working with Tesla and Google on expansion projects at their work campuses. Andy joined ENGEO in 2006 and is a graduate of the University of California at Davis.
Scott Johns, PE, QSD, Associate, joined ENGEO in 2007 and is passionate about being a part of the ENGEO team, where he has the opportunity to work on projects that elevate communities large and small, surrounded by exceptional team members, partners, and clients that make it all worthwhile! Based in San Jose, California, Scott serves private and public clients on varying degrees of scale and complexity. He specializes in environmental assessment, characterization, and remediation and is versed in a broad spectrum of geotechnical and hydrologic interventions including geotechnical and geologic analysis and creek restoration. Scott oversees Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) for his clients, and consults on cleanup of contaminated sites with a range of impacts such as petroleum hydrocarbons, metals, pesticides, nitrates, PCBs, and volatile organic compounds in soil, groundwater, and soil vapor. In addition, he guides clients as they navigate complex regulatory concerns linked to environmental clean-up activities; for example, he often serves as an intermediary to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), and Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC).
Scott has provided his expertise to projects such as the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) rail extension, the NPL Superfund site at El Toro Marin Corps Air Station, and the Middlefield-Ellis-Whisman (MEW) Plume and NPL Superfund Study Area. He is a California Professional Engineer and holds the following certifications; 40-hour HAZWOPER, Qualified SWPPP Developer (QSD), Qualified SWPPP Practitioner (QSP).
Karen Jones, CEnvP, Associate, is an expert in geotechnical, geological and contaminated land assessments in the UK, New Zealand and Australia. Her experience covers a wide range of developments, including infrastructure, commercial, industrial and residential from both an engineering geology and contaminated land perspective. Karen is based in Wellington, New Zealand.
Erika McDonald, PE, MIPENZ, Associate, specializes in the assessment, remediation and management of contaminated land and groundwater. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, Erika serves a variety of large- and small-scale projects for industry, land development and government. Over the last 14 years, her involvement in these projects has included design and implementation of field programs, technical input, remedial design and project management. Her role also includes frequent liaison with councils and government entities to ensure that consent conditions, regulatory requirements and complex environmental factors are clearly understood by all stakeholders. Erika is an excellent communicator and client manager.
