Ms. Steenis graduated from Western Washington University with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Engineering Geology. And was awarded her Geology License in May 2023. She has worked on numerous environmental cleanup projects throughout the state of Washington. She has provided project management and technical assistance which has included: preparing work plans, remedial investigation reports, and cleanup action plans for cleanup sites. It has also included: managing soil and groundwater investigations and cleanups, implementing groundwater monitoring plans, and directing all field activities such as: sampling, health and safety, and subcontractors. Environmental project expertise includes analysis and interpretation of the following environmental regulations and programs: RCRA, CERCLA, and Washington State’s Model Toxics Control Act. The main focus of Ms. Steenis’s work has been on site investigations for the Pollution Liability Insurance Agency (PLIA) and their related cleanups.

Ms. Steenis also conducts Asbestos Containing Material surveys for Albertsons throughout Washington as the stores begin the remodeling process.

Ms. Glaze has over 7 years of experience in environmental consulting, serving clients at the federal, state, local levels and private sector. Her experience includes environmental due diligence, environmental site assessments, and environmental investigations and remediation. Her field work experience includes soil sampling, indoor air/soil vapor sampling, groundwater sampling, drilling oversight, temporary and permanent well installation, and construction and remediation oversight. She also has experience preparing environmental reports, including Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments, UST closure and assessment reports, and grant applications.

Christian Hayes joined the Jacksonville Beach VERTEX team of Fire Protection Engineering professionals in July of 2021, after graduating Suma Cum Laude from the University of North Florida where he studied electrical engineering and computer science. Christian has a very good professional and personal outlook, and is a great communicator. He is very proficient in AutoCAD, Microsoft Suite, programming fundamentals, and using his skills for his professional team and adequately growing his company. He is passionate in ensuring the safety of others via fire protection engineering drawings and reports, as well as developing custom automation tools to improve work efficiency.

In his spare time, Christian enjoys gymnastics; traveling; hiking and the outdoors; going to the beach; math tutoring; digital art; and website development. His greatest passions are physical fitness and nutrition, and spending time with friends and family.

As a Project Manager with Vertex, typical responsibilities include: managing selected assignments within the region; meeting budget and delivery timeframes; ensuring that assignments are executed with technical proficiency, accuracy, and professionalism; reviewing and interpreting plans and specifications; performing site investigations to assist in the preparation of technical reports with photos and graphics and claim synopses; inspecting properties and buildings; reviewing and interpreting building codes; analyzing project documents relating to defect and warranty claims; assisting with quantity takeoffs and cost estimating; assisting with file setup, filing, and documentation; making employee safety a priority, in accordance with corporate policy; representing Vertex to clients in a professional manner.

Prior to joining Vertex in 2016, Mr. Thomas spent 15 years in property damage restoration. He has held roles such as restoration technician, equipment supervisor, project manager, estimator, office manager and operations manager. Mr. Thomas has over 15 years experience in both unit cost estimating and time and material billing during large catastrophe events such as Hurricanes Dennis, Gustav, Ike, Irene, Flooding Event of Northeast Oklahoma in 2007, Flooding Event of Cedar Rapids, IA in 2008 and May 2013 Tornado Event in Moore, Oklahoma.

At VERTEX she has focused primarily on Owner’s Representation services including the 462,160 SF Mattison Estate Senior Living project in Upper Dublin, Pennsylvania. Ms. Ansley promotes an integrative project development process which facilitates project design and construction team members working together in a positive, non-adversarial manner to assure project success. In addition, she has performed building assessments for development feasibility studies, construction monitoring and construction document reviews during her time at VERTEX.

Tom Frieden earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from James Madison University with a concentration in Environmental Engineering and additional areas of study including environmental soil science and hydrogeology. Upon joining VERTEX, Tom worked as a field scientist supporting large-scale development projects in Boston, MA where he oversaw excavation and managed the disposal of contaminated soils. Tom subsequently transferred to the Mid-Atlantic region where he continued to develop experience in remediation field methods and site investigations. Currently, Tom specializes in environmental site characterization and impacted soil management associated with commercial real estate transactions and redevelopment projects. Tom earned a Geologist-in-Training (G.I.T) designation from the National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG) and is currently working towards his Professional Geology (P.G.) licensure.

Deborah Gabay is an experienced Associate Consultant specializing in various aspects of construction, from project management to quality control, with a strong academic background and industry certification. She earned her B.A. in Environmental Studies and M.A. in Urban Development from Binghamton Univeristy in 2018 and 2019, respectively. She wishes to continue her experience with consultant work with construction and engineering projects.

Mr. Duverge is a Consultant out of VERTEX’s New York office and has been a part of a variety of surety projects ranging from the enlargement of an Air Force Base hangar in New Hampshire to renovating an Elementary School in Pennsylvania. Mr. Duverge graduated from Lafayette College in 2018 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and is currently pursuing his Masters of Engineering degree in Construction Engineering and Management at the University of Colorado Denver.

Ms. Emma Theisen is a recent graduate of Texas A&M University, with a Bachelor’s of Science in Civil Engineering. Emma is currently located in Vertex’s Denver office and using her educational background in Civil Engineering to help complete Civil Forensics Claims assignments. Emma completed a Capstone design project focused in Structural Engineering while at Texas A&M University, but is also well versed in Environmental Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, and Transportation Engineering.

Cecilia Henderson is a Senior Project Manager with the Environmental Insurance team. Ms. Henderson’s current duties include preparing claim investigation and claim status reports, conducting site visits to oversee underground storage tank removal and pollution events, reviewing cost proposals and invoices to evaluate if costs are reasonable and necessary for remediation, reviewing historical site documents, evaluating laboratory data in context of applicable regulatory requirements, and evaluating source, timing, and potential intermingling of contaminant releases.

Ms. Henderson also assists the VERTEX Remediation group as needed with asbestos sampling, vapor sampling, and data evaluation tasks.

Ms. Henderson is the Colony Specialty Assistant Account Manager and VERTEX point of contact for the Washington Pollution Liability Insurance Agency (PLIA).

Mr. Eichenlaub has over a decade of experience in the due diligence practice. To date, he has been involved with over 1,400 properties totaling over 250 million square feet in over 45 US states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, China and Canada. Currently, Mr. Eichenlaub serves as a Senior Project Manager at VERTEX.

As a Senior Project Manager at VERTEX, Mr. Eichenlaub is responsible for specific job functions related to Property Condition Assessments (PCAs), Property Condition Screens (PCSs), Energy Savings Investigations (ESIs), Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) Assessments, Climate Vulnerability Assessments (CVAs), Carbon Risk Assessments, Mold Investigations, Construction Monitoring and other due diligence projects.

Mr. Fernandez has over 30 years of experience managing all facets of Construction, beginning as a site manager and growing into an international business unit manager for large multinational companies. He specializes in team building and ensuring that construction operations under his supervision result in the delivery of high-quality projects meeting or exceeding client expectations.

Mr. Fernandez worked in the South Florida construction market for over 20 years before beginning to work internationally in Latin America, based out of Panama.

He has worked in various sectors of the construction industry, his prior experience includes the construction and/or renovations of major projects such as Airports, Hospitals, Schools, Convention Centers, Luxury Hotels, large scale Residential Development projects, Multi-family Residential and Commercial buildings; as well as Civil infrastructure projects including Bridges, Roads, Potable Water Treatment plants and distribution systems, Waste Water Treatment Plants, Power Generation and distribution projects.

Mr. Murray has almost 6 years in structural design engineering and is a Forensic Engineer for VERTEX’s Forensic Engineering Department. Mr. Murray is responsible for performing inspections and generating technical reports for the Chicago/Midwest forensic engineering division.

Ms. Wade recently joined the VERTEX team of professionals as an Administrative Assistant, coming to VERTEX with more than 20 years of experience in an Executive Administrative Assistant role. She has a proven track record of C-Suite level executive support in the field of comprehensive design and engineering, surveying, planning and landscape architecture. Her background includes a variety of administrative and project related tasks including, but not limited to, contract and proposal preparation, invoicing, scheduling meetings, maintaining staff and conference room calendars, coordinating travel arrangements and maintaining confidentiality.

Dylan is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Natural Sciences where he earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Building Construction Technology. He is currently finishing his Masters in Management from the University of Colorado. Dylan has worked on seven MSBA K-12 school projects in the role of both Assistant Project Manager and Construction Site Manager, balancing the role of the owners eyes on site as well as handling the paperwork and change order process. Dylan also worked in a dual role as Construction Site Manager and Project Manager on Boston University’s $300M Net zero Energy Data Science Project. He also was a member in the ESG subcommittee for VERTEX, specifically relating to the environmental portion, that created the companies ESG plan. Dylan is a hardworking, critical thinker with excellent collaboration and communication skills.

Andrew joined the VERTEX family in 2012 with over eight year’s experience in real estate lending, including construction and renovation loans and distressed assets/real estate owned (REO).

Prior to VERTEX, Andrew worked at a non-bank lender performing due diligence as well as ongoing monitoring of construction loans for resorts, hotels, marinas, and golf courses. Additionally, Andrew has experience and expertise in internal and external auditing, risk assessment, and lean process improvement and design (certified Six Sigma Black Belt).

Kate has over 15 years of experience in the design and construction industry. Having worked for an architect, contractor, and OPM, she has managed many MSBA, UMBA and private higher education projects. Kate has a thorough understanding of FF&E and technology packages having managed and coordinated them on multiple projects from design to completion. In addition, she oversaw renovations to a historical 27-unit mixed income apartment building on Nantucket and has worked with a Community Preservation Committee, Historical District Commission and MassHousing. Kate works on various capital projects including K-12 and higher education. With her well-rounded background, team player approach and effective communication skills, she fosters a collaborative environment for all. Kate is well-organized and goal orientated which provides the team the ability to stay focused and be effective for a successful project outcome.

Ms. LeBlanc is a Consultant I in VERTEX’s Irving, TX office. She earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a minor in Chemistry from Louisiana State University. Prior to joining VERTEX, Ms. LeBlanc worked as a Project Engineer for a General Contractor completing multi-family construction projects in Virginia and Texas. Her responsibilities included facilitating project buy-outs, managing requests for information and submittals, and creating and tracking project procurement logs. She also has prior experience in Environmental Consulting which included project management and coordination, site assessments, remediation design and implementation, technical report writing, and data management.

Ms. Newton joined the VERTEX Team in 2021. Prior to working at VERTEX, she attended the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed a Master’s Degree in Structural Engineering. After graduation, she worked for a firm in Chicago for 3 years as a structural design engineer preparing drawings and calculation packages for the design of various types of building envelopes including curtain wall, storefront, window wall, skylight, metal panel and terra cotta panel systems. She gained valuable experience working on new and rehabbed structures all over the US and with a range of materials such as aluminum, glass, steel, wood, concrete and masonry.

Kevin Talley has over 5 years’ experience as a construction claims consultant, with a specialty in delay analysis, in addition to 5 years of experience in general contracting on projects ranging in value from $7mm to $50mm.

Ms. Hatch is a Project Manager within the Due Diligence/Remediation Division of VERTEX. She is a certified Engineer in Training and a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a degree in both Environmental Engineering and Environmental and Sustainability Studies. She has experience with a wide array of projects including site investigations, soil remediation, groundwater treatment, indoor air quality, and stormwater management. She is also currently working towards her Master’s degree in Environmental Management at the University of Denver.

Ms. Sarles is a Project Manager at VERTEX. She earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University. Ms. Sarles previously served in multiple construction management roles for a national General Contractor/Construction Management at Risk firm.

Christopher Smith has over 23 years of experience in civil and structural engineering, including project engineering, analysis, and design. This experience involves analysis, design, and investigation of structures and associated components. These structures also consisted of concrete and steel type frames or wood components. Mr. Smith currently serves as a Senior Forensic Engineer based out of VERTEX’s Fort Lauderdale office, providing structural damage assessments, cause and origin investigations, repair and design recommendations, and estimates for residential and commercial applications. He has experience in assessing damage, design, and repair pertaining to structural members, roof systems, foundations, and civil forensic services.

Kirk O’Brien has been a Licensed Architect since 1987, and long-time member in good standing of the American Institute of Architects, and very active in local chapter leadership. In private practice for twenty seven years as Principal of Aedifice Ideas > Architecture (now Ideas, Inc.) in San Diego & Los Angeles.

Mr. O’Brien began his career after graduating from the University of Idaho with a Bachelor of Architecture Degree in 1983, focusing primarily on Institutional/ Educational and Commercial projects, and Multi- and Single Family Residential work. With an interest in architectural history, also worked part-time as an adjunct professor at both the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and The New School of Architecture in San Diego, California.

Mr. Stefan has approximately ten years of experience in indoor environmental consulting. His experience includes water sampling, water loss/moisture intrusion investigations, microbial assessments, HVAC assessments, LEED IAQ assessments and construction management plans, technical specifications and remediation plans, hazard communication programs, integrated pest management programs, various occupant exposure assessments in industrial and non-industrial settings, technical report writing.

Mr. Stefan also has experience as a regional manager, performing duties such as overseeing Industrial Hygiene teams, sales and client relations, report reviews, proposal creation, and IAQ training and education.

Mr. Ehrman has over 5 years of experience in environmental consulting and project management, serving clients at the federal, state, local levels as well as the private sector. He has a background in water treatment plant, groundwater pump and treat system, air sparge and soil vapor exhaust system operations. Compliance inspections including Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs), Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans, construction SWPPPs, and hazardous waste and universal waste inspections. Compliance sampling including stormwater, industrial waste stream, groundwater, air, soil vapor and soil sampling. He also has experience in the field with construction equipment operation and construction site inspections. Mr. Ehrman has extensive experience with operation and maintenance of groundwater and wastewater treatment systems, as well as report writing and data collection and independently making and following a schedule for inspection completion. He has recently received the certification of Certified Indoor Environmentalist (CIE) from the American Council for Accredited Certification (ACAC).

Roy is a project management professional with 26 years of experience in commercial building, oil and gas, power, nuclear, and civil sectors. Specific international project assignments include ConocoPhillips APLNG Project, Woodside’s Pluto LNG Project, and Keppel Verolme Shipyard (Holland). A proven manager of large, cross-functional teams with specialist expertise in project management, schedule, and commercial management. He acted as delay expert on complex offshore projects in Europe following a successful domestic career working with major EPC Contractors and Clients, including; Bechtel, Lockheed Martin, and Westinghouse in the United States.

As a Consultant with VERTEX, Mr. Srinath Annu’s typical responsibilities include: develop and maintain project schedules and forecast; prepare owner pay applications; analyze and resolve construction field issues; manage the project vendors; prepare detailed report of project status; investigate and analyze surety performance and payment claims; communicate with all the parties involved in the assignments including clients, project staff, subcontractors and owners effectively; look after employee safety a priority both in-house and on-site; maintain job files and as-builts; prepare meeting minutes for all job meetings; solicit pricing for and prepare subcontract and owner change orders.

Sri recently authored the blog “Limiting Risks of Scope Gaps and Subcontract Exclusions in Completion Projects” that takes a look at scope gaps and subcontract exclusions as they relate to the success, or potentially failure of completion projects.

Emily has over ten years of experience in the design and construction industry. Her accomplished background includes roles in structural engineering design, general contracting, and owner’s project management. Emily’s vast experience facilitates effective communication with people viewing the project through various lenses. She has worked on a wide range of projects, including multiple public K-12 schools, accelerated repair projects, and a privately owned 24-story condo tower that achieved LEED Platinum status. As a Project Manager at VERTEX, Emily manages a variety of projects including K-12 and higher education facilities. With her team-oriented, hands-on approach, Emily executes projects by establishing clear goals and implementing realistic strategies to achieve those goals.

Steven is a Project Executive in VERTEX’s Owner’s Project Management (OPM) service area. He has nearly 40 years of construction management experience, 17 years of which has been with VERTEX, and prior to VERTEX, 10 years as a project manager for a MA general contractor exclusively working on MA public school construction.

Mr. Morrow has a strong background in residential and commercial buildings, structural systems, architectural systems, and building analysis. He is a licensed structural engineer in Hawaii, Massachusetts, Texas, and Florida. He has applied his knowledge as a member of the forensic engineering division at Vertex to provide clients with structural damage assessments, cause and origin investigations, and code compliant repair and design recommendations for residential and commercial applications. His experience includes assessing damage and recommending repairs on a wide variety of building systems, including structural members, roofing systems, and foundations.

Jonathan Hahn has been with VERTEX since its founding days and has worked on a great variety of projects ranging from heavy highway bridge/infrastructure to multifamily, mixed-use commercial/vertical construction including public and private schools, department of defense, and green energy projects. Mr. Hahn has served many roles in the field including construction manager, on-site monitoring, owner’s representative, and project manager for completion projects.

Mr. Bator has over 19 years of experience in the environmental consulting industry on a variety of pollution sites, including: petroleum releases, dry-cleaning releases, chemical explosions, truck rollovers, oil and gas pipeline releases, site redevelopment impacts, sedimentation events, and bulk storage facility releases.

Henry Stormer is the National Division Manager for VERTEX’s Fire Investigation Division. His primary responsibilities include management of origin and cause investigations nationwide for the insurance industry as well as conducting Cause and Origin investigations of fire and explosions.

Chris Phillips has over 30 years of progressively responsible and diverse experience in the disciplines of environmental compliance, industrial hygiene, due diligence and safety and currently serves as a Regional Vice President for VERTEX in the Western Region. Mr. Phillips is responsible for assisting with the development, management and execution of the Environmental business in the West, consistent with the company’s vision, mission and core values.

As Division Manager of the Air Quality service sector of VERTEX, Mr. Scates oversees asbestos, lead-based paint and other industrial hygiene projects. Specific expertise includes: asbestos, lead, industrial hygiene, construction defect investigations, bio-aerosol sampling, emergency response actions, risk assessment, epidemiology, remedial work plan preparation and remedial oversight.

Mr. Crosby is a Senior Project Manager and New Jersey Licensed Site Remediation Professional with over 20 years of experience working on environmental due diligence and site remediation projects in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Keith Pitman joined Vertex as a Senior Forensic Electrical Engineer in 2022, bringing with him extensive work experience in forensic engineering, high voltage power systems, telecommunications, consulting, teaching, entrepreneurship, code compliance, and executive leadership. He holds a MSEE degree from Syracuse University and a BSEE from Cornell University. Mr. Pitman’s service record includes: a combined 18 years as the senior most executive of three different consumer owned electric utilities, 4 years as the co-founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of a large scale renewable power plant development business, and time as a staff member with a governmental electric utility regulatory department. A licensed Professional Engineer since 1995, Keith has served as a private consultant and trusted advocate for numerous clients including governments, utilities, industrial facility owners, and investors. In addition to his expertise in electrical engineering, Keith Pitman also has extensive experience in education, business management, real property valuation, public speaking, and as an elected public official.

Brandon Huffman has been employed as a Fire Protection Engineer for over 15 years.  He has extensive experience in fire alarm design, flame and gas detection design, fire sprinkler design, special hazard systems design, egress analysis and modeling, fire modeling and other general fire protection consulting services.  His experience includes projects in the military, governmental, commercial, industrial, LNG and oil and gas facilities.  He specializes in the design fire protection systems for commercial, residential, and industrial facilities.  He has been the lead engineer on multiple projects involving the design and engineering of fire alarm and mass notification systems, including high-rise buildings and campus wide systems.  He is an active member of the National Fire Protection Association and the Northeast Florida Chapter of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers.