Staff

Austin became AVE’s second staff engineer working from our Bend, Oregon office. As a project engineer, Austin has worked on high-end residential houses, commercial buildings, retrofits, and remodels, as well as tenant improvement projects spanning from Southern California to Northern Washington. Austin enjoys bringing efficient structural design to complex architectural issues, especially in high-wind or seismic areas. Austin earned his Civil Engineering degree from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

Bree’s attitude and energy are unparalleled, allowing her to excel at a wide variety of tasks that include public outreach, marketing, and accounting. Having knowledge of accounts receivable and accounts payable, Bree aids in Ashley & Vance’s daily activities and assists the accounting department. Bree maintains office services by organizing administrative operations and procedures, preparing payroll and invoices, controlling correspondence, assisting with social media, and providing website administration. We are all grateful for Bree’s positive attitude and enjoy the pleasure of working with her.

An integral member of our team from the very beginning, Chad serves as a Principal Structural Engineer in our Santa Barbara office.  He has completed numerous structural engineering projects throughout San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, & Los Angeles counties, and has taken great pride in offering creative & cost-conscious design solutions in areas ranging from custom residential & multi-family housing, to commercial buildings & industrial facilities. Chad couples his extensive design experience with strong communication skills to effectively manage projects by actively interfacing with clients, fellow design professionals, governing jurisdictions, and his own team members on a day-in & day-out basis.

Chelsie earned her BS degree in Architectural Engineering with a minor in Construction Management from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She began working for Ashley & Vance shortly after graduating, and she continues to be a tremendous contributor to our San Luis Obispo office and our Santa Barbara office. She has worked on a wide variety of projects ranging from tract homes to high-end custom residences, commercial buildings, tenant improvements, and various retrofits and remodels. Chelsie enjoys how each project poses its own distinctive difficulties, and in turn, requires a unique and cost-effective solution.

Growing up on a ranch in Wyoming, Chelsie learned the value of hard physical work and the intricacies of the building process. As a young girl and into adulthood, she helped her father build multiple structures on their ranch and at their home. Chelsie’s exposure to the practicalities of construction gives her keen insight into the details and constructability of each of her projects.

Cristi Fry is employed in the San Luis Obispo office and is a Registered Civil Engineer, a Licensed Land Surveyor, and also a certified Qualified Storm Water Developer and Practitioner.  Cristi has been involved with land use and development since the early 1990s. She has worked on a wide variety of projects and has a specialized knowledge of subdivision design and subdivision mapping, including condominium mapping.

Cristi has been living on the Central Coast of California since 2000 and particularly enjoys aspects of the project entitlement process; site development constraint maps, preparation of conceptual development plans and preliminary drainage studies.  Cristi has an expertise in chain of title research and lot legality studies and thoroughly understands the subdivision progression timelines and the required coordination with the agency, Title Company, Land Use Attorneys, and BRE processors that may be necessary.  Cristi has experience processing project approvals with many jurisdictions throughout the state of California, from as far south as Malibu, and as far north as Napa.

Cristi has a husband, two adult children and two dogs.  When not working, Cristi enjoys traveling, camping, and house renovations.

Located in our San Luis Obispo office, Deon has a diverse background in the construction industry. With a BS degree in Architecture from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and 10+ years of architectural design, electrical design, and drafting with a focus in solar power, civil design and drafting, and structural drafting. He has physically worked on many different types of construction projects in the field and behind the desk. He likes to problem-solve and he brings an innovative, forward-thinking perspective to the design table.

Dustin Revel is on our civil engineering team in our Bend office. Dustin studied Environmental Resources Engineering (specializing in hydraulic systems, natural and manmade) at Humboldt State University. He has experience with residential, commercial, and industrial developments and has worked on several river restoration projects including fish passage improvements (dam removal, culvert replacement, etc.). 

Located out of the Bellingham office, Erik leverages his diverse background in geology, engineering, and construction as a project engineer focusing on structural design. Prior to joining Ashley & Vance, Erik worked as a carpenter throughout the west, and also worked as a civilian engineer for the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, WA. He applies the knowledge he gained from his experience to craft a exceptionally  cost-conscious, practical, and efficient approach to each project.

Erik has a Geology degree from Western Washington University, and a Civil Engineering degree from Montana State University. In his free time, he enjoys climbing, mountain biking, and sailing.

Fernando brings over 30 years of Civil engineering design and project management on the Central coast to the SLO office. A resident of Arroyo Grande and serving on one of the advisory boards, Fernando has a drive to serve his community and takes pride and joy in what he does each day. He has served in a variety of capacities, ranging from commercial land development design and project management, large public-private partnerships and large industrial and commercial developments.

When he’s not at work, Fernando and his wife love to spend time with the grandchildren, and Fernando enjoys his love of working and restoring old cars.

Ian is a project engineer for our civil engineering team in our Bend office. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Oregon State University. Utilizing his skills with Civil 3D and HydroCAD is to aid in the design process, Ian works on various public infrastructure projects, utility improvements, and private civil developments. He has also provided civil engineering services for multiple apartment complexes and roadway projects, and has construction inspection and surveying experience.

Jackson began his career working in the oil and gas industry designing support steel structures and performing pipe stress analysis for high pressure oil field processes. Jackson’s passion for designing complex pressure piping projects in the oil and gas industry has translated excellently with our structural group at Ashley & Vance Engineering. He is currently working as a project engineer and is involved in design and project management for multiple challenging projects within the structural group.

In addition to his design experience, Jackson has spent some time working in concrete construction and he took part in a large factory site redevelopment project in Indiana. Jackson is a graduate from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a degree in Civil Engineering. Jackson is very excited to be working with Ashley & Vance and strives to apply his previous experience and work ethic to the structural engineering projects we offer.

As a long time Santa Barbara local, Jason has been practicing civil engineering for over 20 years. He has worked on various high-profile projects with large multi-national civil engineering firms. For 10 years prior, he worked for Foster Wheeler Corporation in their Clinton, New Jersey office. He prepared civil and site improvement designs and plans for facilities serving the power, petrochemical, and pharmaceutical industries. Some of his past projects include grading and drainage design for international clients such as Amerada Hess, Shell Oil, and Merck Pharmaceuticals, both in the United States and overseas.

Jason is intimately familiar with the entitlement and permitting process for large and small projects on the Central Coast and Southern California. Recently he worked on high-profile projects in the education, hospitality and healthcare industries as well as on luxury residential developments. Through these projects, Jason has become very familiar with the expectations of several local agencies within Santa Barbara County. Jason is the principal civil engineer at our Santa Barbara office. 

Jim joined Ashley & Vance Engineering in 2017, after 12 years as an accounting manager for a large contractor in the oil & gas industry.  Working in the San Luis Obispo office, he brings a wide range of accounting knowledge and experience to the AV accounts team.  Jim earned a degree in Business Economics with an Emphasis in Accounting from UC Santa Barbara.

John Fischer, principal engineer of the Bend, Oregon office, brings 10 years of structural design and construction experience encompassing projects from San Diego to Seattle. From the conceptual phase to the construction phase, John contributes experience ranging from storage sheds to large custom residences, small tenant improvements to complex commercial buildings, and projects involving rooftop solar and retaining walls. John oversees all the projects that are performed by the Bend, Oregon office and produces a majority of the structural design.

As a former licensed contractor, John has a unique awareness of building economy and constructability. Years of working in the building trades have ingrained his ‘builder’s perspective.’ This contractor-friendly approach is highly valued by architects and builders alike. As a fourth-generation building professional from a family of engineers and developers, John’s passion for building projects runs deep. This inspires him to go beyond the norm in facilitating and coordinating successful projects.

With a background in forensic engineering, structural engineering for post-tensioning projects and project management, John is enthusiastic to apply his knowledge to diverse projects at Ashley and Vance. Prior to this position, John contributed complicated design solutions to over 30 bridges in the Bay Area. His experience in project management manifests in efficient and builder friendly solutions to complicated issues. John’s work ethic, organization and attention to detail are effectively applied to all of his projects.

Outside of work, John actively pursues his love of skateboarding, enjoys the great outdoors and traveling throughout the world.

Jordan is one of the original engineers at Ashley & Vance Engineering, and he is now the principal engineer of the Northern Nevada office. He has designed structural projects of all sizes including remodels, custom homes, commercial buildings, and healthcare facilities. Having spent significant time in the construction industry, he brings a sense of constructability to engineering and enjoys delivering projects that are buildable and cost effective, while ensuring quality client service through completion of every project.  

Born and raised in the Eastern Sierras, Jordan has a particular affinity for the mountains and enjoys the unique challenges that heavy snow and high earthquake loads bring to structural engineering. He has been the lead engineer on many high-end custom residential and commercial projects in Mammoth Lakes, June Lake, and Lake Tahoe in California, and Bend, Oregon as well.

Juan is part of our structural engineering team in the San Luis Obispo office. He graduated from Cal Poly with an Architectural Engineering degree and has previous experience performing geotechnical testing both in the lab and in the field. Juan brings a positive attitude and is excited to take on new projects with Ashley & Vance.

In his free time, Juan enjoys playing soccer with friends and family and attending live sporting events.

Karen Stoner has 17 years of design and construction experience, with projects across United States, China, Brazil, Mexico, Canada and France, in both high seismic and high wind regions.  Her work includes commercial ground up and tenant improvements, custom and tract housing, rooftop and ground mounted solar systems, anchorage of industrial equipment and rooftop units, institutional, industrial, educational projects, and anti-terror ‘blast’ design work.  She has provided designs using CMU, wood stud, heavy timber, reinforced concrete, hot rolled steel and cold formed steel building walls and frames, as well as low-impact or green technologies like Faswall ICF, Larsen Truss, and straw bale construction.

As a Project Manager, she has led teams of other engineers and drafters as the coordinated the construction of multiple structures on larger commercial sites.  She has also mentored her teams and clients on how to use certain CAD and BIM software and how to interpret codes in order to provide a complete design.

Ken Brown leads the Civil Department of the San Luis Obispo office. With over ten years of experience coordinating project development with private developers as well as cities, counties, and state representatives, Ken’s thoughtful interactions with all interested parties of a project lead to efficient, well-executed, impressive results. Ken works on a variety of complex commercial, municipal, and residential projects from the conceptual layout through the design and construction phases. He directs the preparation of civil improvement plans and oversees grading, drainage, water, and sewer design.

Ken is a Qualified SWPPP Developer (QSD) who performs and oversees hydraulic analysis, stormwater drainage facility design, and drainage reports. He is also experienced with construction observation and preparing full documentation that complies with city, county, and state requirements.

Matt received both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Nevada, Reno in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in structural design.  Upon graduation Matt worked overseas in Australia as a field engineer on a large natural gas project.  Since returning he spent over 4 years designing base isolation systems for both structural and non-structural applications worldwide.  When Matt is not in the office he can be found at the climbing gym or planning his next roller coaster road trip.

Matthew leads the Oakland office with a diversified, broad-based background as both a civil and structural engineer. His project experience encompasses residential and commercial remodel and new construction, tenant improvements for multi-national retailers, alterations and renovations for industrial and telecom facilities, seismic upgrades and rehabilitation of aging structures, wineries and public art installations, and nearly everything in between.

Matthew believes that the success of every project is firmly rooted in establishing client objectives and goals from project inception and ensuring those are met through communication, open collaboration, and the delivery of clear, coordinated, and constructible designs. Matthew has the unique ability to distill increasingly complex situations into increasingly simple and distinctive solutions. Prior to joining Ashley & Vance, Matthew was a partner at a San Francisco-based firm where he spent the better part of a decade leading the structural design of award-winning residences and restaurants, seismic upgrades of both commercial and residential properties, and “special situation” projects requiring out-of-the-box approaches.

Michael works as a Structural Project Engineer out of our Oakland office.  Originally from New England, Michael began working at Ashley & Vance Engineering after graduating from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with an M.S. & B.S. in Civil Engineering.  Prior to earning his degree, Michael interned with a local Structural Engineer in San Luis Obispo for 3 years where he was able to work extensively across a range of different projects, from exposed structural steel rehabilitation, to forensic engineering and litigation, to residential timber-framed projects.  This experience and education has helped him immensely to develop a passion for solving problems inherent with existing construction and structural retrofits.

Miles is one of our project engineers on our civil engineering team in the San Luis Obispo office. He joined Ashley and Vance shortly  after completing his degree in Civil Engineering at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Miles takes pride in developing civil engineering solutions that are constructible, sound, and cost-effective. In his free time, Miles can be found maintaining one of his several aquariums, playing the drums, and enjoying the natural beauty of the central coast.

Peter is a recent graduate from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a degree in Architectural Engineering.  Peter is excited to begin his Structural Engineering career at Ashley and Vance working out of the Santa Barbara Office.  After a couple summers of construction jobsite experience, he strives to build strong community ties and offer design solutions.  Peter takes pride in working with a team that offers creative, economic services from design to completion.

On his free time, Peter enjoys catching a morning surf and hitting the road for a quick lunch bike ride.

Rachel works on our accounting team in the San Luis Obispo office. She received her Accounting Specialization Certificate from Cuesta College and has A/P, A/R, and payroll experience. Rachel's focus is on client billing and customer service.

Rian is a structural project engineer in the Santa Barbara office who brings a diverse range of talent to the AV team. He has six years of structural engineering experience in light frame wood construction for residential and multi-family projects, and is an expert on engineered wood products. Rian is an innovator and a collaborator and enjoys putting his skills to work for his clients. He earned his BS in Structural Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and is overjoyed to be back on the central coast.

Robert is a project engineer on our structural team in the San Luis Obispo office. He graduated from Cal Poly with a General Engineering degree but learned to love buildings while employed by a Livermore based contractor. Robert has worked on high end residential, remodels and commercial buildings before and during his time at AV. 

Ashley & Vance Engineering has added Rollston Frangopoulos to their design team in Bend, OR. He has his bachelors degree from the University of Wyoming. Rollston is a PE and will soon start the application process for his SE. He has 9 years experience in structural design working on hospitals, K-12, wineries, residential, and commercial projects. Rollston has experience with concrete, steel, wood, and CMU construction types. He has worked on many seismic renovations and upgrades including multistory unreinforced masonry, concrete, and wood buildings. 

In his time off he enjoys mountain/road biking, skiing, and traveling to Greece to visit family.

Ryan is a structural engineer in our San Luis Obispo office and a Central Coast native. Ryan is a product of Cal Poly with a background in construction and residential design. He designs towards a practical and efficient structural solution that will satisfy the needs of the client and contractor. Ryan is excited to tackle new challenges and unique projects that will make each customer’s dreams come true. He takes pride in being part of a team that is dedicated to seeing a project through from inception to completion.

Scott Benjamin comes to us after spending 12 years doing architectural and civil design that specializes in building large dairies in the western United States. There he did both architectural and civil design plus surveying and some project management. Scott graduated from Montana State University Northern and has spent his career in several different aspects of engineering from designing and building farm machinery to Industrial food processing machinery to Designing Dairies.  Scott brings 11 years of experience using AutoDesk Revit. Scott will be working from his home in the Pinedale Wyoming area.

As a licensed structural engineer and principal of the Los Angeles office, Sean is responsible for overseeing the structural design of high-end residential, commercial, hotel, multi-use, and tenant improvement projects in the greater LA area. Sean stands out as a creative and versatile engineer with experience in concrete, steel, masonry, and wood construction for a wide variety of structural systems.

During his career, Sean has been involved as lead design engineer for several notable projects such as a 244-unit mixed-use development with two levels of subterranean parking in Marina del Rey, a 53 unit multi-family residential community in Palm Springs, a multi-story hotel addition with underground parking in Burbank and a major tenant improvement at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. He has a proven track record of delivering cost-effective and inventive designs that meet the goals of the clients, architects, contractors and other professionals. 

Steven Ambers is on our structural engineering team in our San Luis Obispo office. With prior residential design experience to supplement his Civil Engineering degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Steven is enthusiastic to apply his problem-solving skills to the varied projects undertaken by Ashley & Vance. 

Timothy recently graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno and now works in the Santa Barbara office. With an honors degree in Geological Engineering, he looks forward to bringing his passion for geotechnical projects and hydrology to the Civil team. During college, Timothy interned in a lab performing soil testing as well as in an engineering firm where he worked on geotechnical projects in mines and roads. He has also gained hands on experience in construction while framing buildings and remodels. After graduating, he spent a season wildland firefighting where he gained a larger appreciation for positive communication and teamwork and aims to bring these skills into the professional realm.

When he’s not inside, Timothy is outside... He loves shredding powder on skis, dirt on a mountain bike, and his hands on rocks while climbing. 

Truitt, a principal engineer and original founder of the company, approaches each client and project with his vast skill set, BS in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and broad spectrum of experience as a fourth-generation builder, journeyman carpenter, licensed general contractor, construction manager, and multi-family developer.

Truitt specializes in providing practical, buildable designs for all projects. He currently oversees land development projects in the San Luis Obispo office including challenging custom residences like cliffside homes in Shell Beach; luxury cabins tucked into mountainsides in June Lake and Mammoth Lakes; large multi-family housing developments such as Cypress Village in Buellton, Heritage Square in Santa Maria, and SLO Terrace in San Luis Obispo; large-scale mixed-use commercial projects throughout California; and wineries including Shale Oak Winery, Le Cuvier, and Adeleida Cellars.

Given his expertise in all stages of developing, designing, and building, Truitt provides a sought-after, knowledgeable perspective internally to our team of talented professionals at Ashley & Vance and also externally to our widely-varied clientele.

Tung is a structural engineer in our Reno office. As a long time Reno/Tahoe local, Tung obtained his MS degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno. He spent over 15 years in the seismic base isolation industry designing and managing isolation projects throughout the world. Currently, Tung creates structural designs for custom residential, multi-family and commercial projects.

Victor earned a BS degree in Architectural Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. After graduating he relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area to work in architectural precast concrete and podium structures. He is currently attending San Jose State University to receive his M.S. in Civil Engineering. He has joined the Oakland Office and is excited to part of the team and tackle projects throughout California.