We're continually growing our team to better serve our clients wherever their projects take them. Get to know some of our recent senior-level hires.
In Bismarck
Kristopher Ekart | Geologist
Kris joins Barr with eight years of experience as a geologist and a degree in geology from North Dakota State University. His experience includes performing environmental remediation activities involving crude oil, saltwater and brine, natural gas condensate, and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM). Kris oversees groundwater monitoring-well installations and other contractor work, performs Phase I and II assessments, and prepares site assessment work plans and final reports. He also has regulatory compliance experience with spill prevention controls and countermeasure (SPCC), stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPPs), and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) projects.
Jodey Houn, PE | Senior Civil Engineer
Jodey has more than 20 years of experience with mining and civil engineering design, including short- and long-range mine planning, state and federal permitting, report writing and preparation, and construction and project management of transportation and surface-mining infrastructure. His expertise includes surface mining applications, such as geologic modeling, dragline operations, truck-shovel operations, planning, optimization, scheduling, reclamation, cost estimating, and capital purchase evaluations. He served as the manager of engineering at his previous company, where he was responsible for providing strategic leadership to the engineering team, promoting a safe working culture, and overseeing continuous improvement initiatives.
In Denver
Jorge A. Mendoza Rizo | Senior Geotechnical Engineer
Jorge brings more than 10 years of experience working on projects involving slope stability, seepage, excavation, laboratory and field drilling testing, and settlement. Jorge also has extensive experience with tailings dams, earthen embankments, karstic features, and power plants. For Barr, Jorge has been working on a highwall slope-stability analysis for a quarry in Little Rock, Arkansas, and a wind project in Minnesota using FLAC numerical modeling software to determine ultimate bearing capacity for windmill foundations.
In Salt Lake City
Joseph Joshua | Senior Mining Engineer
Joseph brings 15 years of experience in the mining and manufacturing industry, with a particular focus on surface mining and quarry operations. He works on projects involving mine engineering and design; mine planning and scheduling; capital and operational expenditure; loading and hauling systems; in-pit crushing and conveying systems; ore control and ore blending; pioneering mining; drone operations; project management; and mine reclamation. Before joining Barr, Joseph held a series of roles at various mining companies in the Intermountain West. His work has given him experience with numerous commodities, including industrial minerals, base metals, and precious metals such as limestone, gypsum, sandstone, clay, cement, gold, copper, silver, and moly. At Barr, he will support projects involving mine planning assessments, resource assessments, preliminary economic assessments (PEAs), and mine expansions.
Chris Nyikos | Senior Mining Engineer
Chris is a minerals industry professional with over 40 years of experience in operations, engineering, and project management in the coal, potash, and trona industries. He has worked to help clients address a variety of mining and mineral processing technical and operational challenges. Chris has spent the last 20 years managing engineering and construction projects for multiple owners who came to view him as a trusted advisor, including Intrepid Potash, Peabody Energy Australia, Arch Coal (Arch Resources), and Texas Gulf Soda Ash. At Barr, Chris will assist our clients with all aspects of underground mining.
Scott Phillips, PE, MBA | Senior Civil Engineer
Scott has over 25 years of environmental engineering experience serving as a regulator, designer, and project manager for engineering and sustainability projects around the world. He has worked both for major mining companies and as a consultant, guiding development, permitting, operation, closure and remediation of mineral and waste-management operations. Scott has worked on projects in the western U.S., South America, and Sumatra, Indonesia, where he spent seven years developing the Martabe Mine. He has led and contributed to large-scale multidisciplinary teams to overcome challenges, minimize risk, collaborate with stakeholders, and innovatively discover new opportunities within the unique constraints of each project.
Joining us from Ecosphere
In October, Barr welcomed the staff of Ecosphere Environmental Services, Inc., a Colorado-based environmental services firm specializing in environmental compliance and permitting, natural resources surveys and studies, cultural resources management, and geographic information system (GIS) services. The Ecosphere team includes the following senior-level professionals.
In Albuquerque
Jerusha Rawlings | Senior Environmental Consultant
An environmental permitting and compliance professional with more than 25 years of experience, Jerusha coordinates and manages multidisciplinary documentation and field activities. Her skills encompass biological surveys, data analysis, technical reporting, and project management. She assists federal and New Mexico state agencies with mining, transportation, and utility projects, many of which involve complex permitting and/or regulatory compliance under the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and Clean Water Act.
In Durango
Mike Fitzgerald | Senior Environmental Consultant
Mike Fitzgerald has three decades of experience with National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act (CWA), and Endangered Species Act consulting and compliance. Over the course of his career, he’s managed thousands of environmental projects in the Rocky Mountain region and southwestern United States for a wide range of industries. With a biological background, Mike has expertise in planning and executing biological- and aquatic-resource inventories and assessments. He also has experience with CWA alternatives analyses associated with Individual Permits. Prior to joining Barr, Mike owned and led Ecosphere Environmental Services, Inc., now part of Barr. Under his guidance, Ecosphere flourished, earning a reputation for conducting sound environmental science that clients can trust. Mike is excited to continue delivering high quality, collaborative support to current clients as part of the Barr team and to expanding these services into additional markets and regions.
In Farmington
Joey Herring | Senior Environmental Scientist
Joey brings more than 25 years of experience on projects involving natural resource assessment, management, and compliance under federal, state, and tribal jurisdiction. She has managed projects under the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and has overseen or contributed to the preparation of hundreds of Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements. Her experience working collaboratively with numerous regulatory agencies has helped her build rapport and resolve complex issues among entities with conflicting interests.
In Pagosa Springs
Alison Rohwer | Senior Biologist
With more than two decades of experience in wildlife biology, ecology, hydrology, and botany, Alison lends her expertise to projects involving environmental compliance and project permitting. She is well versed in federal and state environmental compliance, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), and Endangered Species Act (ESA). Her specialties include avian and terrestrial wildlife surveys, botanical monitoring and inventories, listed and sensitive species impact analyses, wetland delineations and monitoring, and environmental planning. She’s worked on projects on both public and private lands involving renewable energy, transportation, extractive industries, local and regional utilities, and Phase I environmental site assessments. While Alison will continue to focus on the Four Corners region, she looks forward to providing services to clients in other areas.