Meet our leadership team:
Our goal is to provide clients with a level of personal commitment and company reliability not found elsewhere. Together with our Senior Associates and technical and operational professionals, we are always aspiring to enhance our capabilities so we can better serve our clients’ needs.
Meet our technical and operational professionals:
The Ascent in-house team consists of many devoted professionals who are more than just highly qualified and competent environmental, planning, urban design, natural resources, and climate change consultants. These environmental professionals also believe in the firm’s basic values and contribute strongly every day to making Ascent a caring, nimble, supportive, forward-thinking, enjoyable, and original company.
Adriana Alba
Proposal Manager
Manal Aleidan
Office Administrator
Corey Alling
Graphics and
Communications Specialist
Carlos Alvarado-Laguna
Wildlife Biologist
Jazmin Amini
Transportation and
Environmental Planner
Dimitri Antoniou, AICP
Air Quality and Climate
Change Practice Leader
Saba Asghary
Environmental Planner
Jessica Babcock
Environmental Planner
Sean Bechta
Senior Environmental
Project Manager
Chad Beckstrom, AICP
Senior Environmental Director
Andrew Beecher
Climate Action Planner
Tammie Beyerl
Senior Botanist and
Wetland Ecologist
Joshua Boldt
Senior Biologist
Lily Bostrom
Senior Environmental Planner
Jacklyn Bottomley
Environmental Planner
Lisa Bradford
Project Accountant
Stacey Bradford
Senior Lead Project Accountant
Matthew Brehmer
Air Quality Analyst
Pam Brillante
Biologist
Jessica Buehrle
Human Resources Assistant
Kirsten Burrowes
Senior Environmental Planner
Yingying Cai
Environmental Planner
Latonya Carson
Project Accountant
Eric Cohen
Environmental Planner
Mara Crist
Contracts Assistant
Alta Cunningham
Architectural Historian/
Environmental Planner
Josh Eastes
Environmental Planner
Mike Eng
Senior Natural Resources Specialist
Suzanne Enslow
Senior Project Manager
Tristan Evert
Environmental Planner
Brittany Foad
Administrative Assistant
Jim Foust
Marketing Coordinator
Allison Fuller
Wildlife Biologist
Matthew Gelbman, AICP
Planner
Heidi Gen Kuong, AICP
Urban Planner/
Project Manager
Amber Grady
Architectural Historian
Nicole Greenfield
Environmental Planner
Cole Hackett
Environmental Planner
Steve Henderson
Senior Wildlife Biologist
Sarah Henningsen
Environmental Planner
Shannon Hickey
Botanist and
Wetland Ecologist
Nirmeen Hijjawi
Administrative Assistant
Fred Hochberg
Senior Climate Action Specialist
Peter Hoholick
Air Quality and GHG Analyst
Brenda C. Hom
Senior Air Quality and
Climate Change Specialist
Tanya Jones
Senior Environmental Planner
Reida Khan
Environmental Planner
Kelley Kelso, CPESC
Environmental Scientist
Christine Kenney, CPSM
Marketing Manager
Jamie Kirchner
Administrative Assistant
Bryn Kirk
Environmental Planner
Hannah Kornfeld, AICP
Climate Action Planning Manager
Angela Khermouch
Urban Designer
Rachel Kozloski, CPSS
Soil Scientist/
Environmental Planner
Paul Kronser
Urban Planner
Gayiety Lane
Document Production Specialist
Adam Lewandowski, AICP
Senior Project Manager
Erin Longo
Senior Project Accountant
Marianne Lowenthal
Environmental Planner
Alyssa Luna
GIS Specialist/
Resource Analyst
Tiffany Lunday
Environmental Planner
Grace Mannell
Environmental Planner
Tasha Marshall
Contracts Administrator
Andrew Martin
Senior Environmental Planner
Michele Mattei
Document Production Specialist
Matt McFalls
Senior Air Quality and
Climate Change Manager
Jim Merk
Editor/Project Coordinator
Lisa Merry
GIS Specialist/
Resource Analyst
Rachel Mills-Coyne
Environmental Planner
Jessica Mitchell, AICP
Environmental Planner
Luis Montes
Outreach Specialist/
Climate Action Planner
Roberto Mora
Archaeologist
Taylor Morgan
Diversity and Recruiting Specialist
Molly Nagle
Environmental Planner
Amy Nelson
Biologist
Phi V. Ngo
GIS Specialist/
Resource Analyst
Chelsey Payne, AICP
Director of Urban Design
and Planning, Sacramento
Brian Perry
Senior Publications
and Graphics Specialist
Rebecca Pope
Planner
Fred Pree
Senior Lead Project Accountant
Tracy Prybyla, PACE
Office Administrator
Jing Qian, PhD
Air Quality Analyst
Lara Rachowicz, PhD
Senior Environmental Project Manager/Senior Ecologist
Christy Ryan, CPSM
Marketing Director
Sonam Sahu, PhD
Climate Change Analyst
Parminder Sarow
Project Accountant
Elena Savignano
Transportation Analyst
John Singlaub
Senior Environmental Planner
Haley Shaver
Urban Planner
Andrea Shephard, PhD
Senior Environmental Project Manager
John Steponick
Climate Change Analyst
Riley Smith
Document Production Specialist
Anh Thai, LEED AP
Senior Planner and
Urban Designer
Ted Thayer
Wildlife Biologist
Sara Violett
Botanist
Kathie Washington
Senior Environmental Planner
Hannah Weinberger
Biologist
Julia Wilson
Air Quality and
Climate Change Specialist
Taelor Whittington
Biologist
Karileigh Williams
Biologist
Suzanne Wirth
Marketing Administrator
Kari Zajac
Senior Environmental Planner