Staff

Andrew is a project engineer in the San Luis Obispo office. He has completed structural designs for a wide range of projects for clients all over California including the City and County of Los Angeles, Napa and Sonoma counties, and a variety of public- and private-sector clients on the Central Coast. His project experience encompasses single- and multi-family residential, wineries, and designs requiring probable maximum loss analysis and reporting.

Prior to his employment with Ashley & Vance, Andrew was employed as a framer with a construction company based in San Luis Obispo. This hands-on experience, coupled with a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, enables him to provide efficient, cost-effective, and readily-buildable structural designs to meet both the architectural requirements and cost needs of our clients.

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.

Brett is a member of the Denver Office civil engineering team. He graduated from Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering. Since then Brett has been practicing in the State of Colorado preparing construction plans and engineering reports for a variety of projects including, custom residences, multi-family, commercial buildings, urban mixed-use, business parks, assisted living facilities, and residential subdivisions.

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.

Davis is part of the civil engineering team in the Bend office. He graduated from Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering where his primary focus was hydraulics and water treatment systems. Along with his collegiate knowledge, Davis also has experience as an onsite project engineer and with hands on experience as a carpenter. He has worked on building custom homes, helping to manage a multi-million dollar concrete structure project and creating concepts and outlines for solving Bozeman’s 2050 water storage crisis.    

Drew is a structural project engineer in the Santa Barbara office. He joined the A&V team after graduating with his BS degree in Civil Engineering with a structural emphasis. As a Santa Barbara county native, Drew is excited to work on projects that positively impact the community where he was raised.

Originally from Monterey County, Emilio works as part of the civil engineering team in the Santa Barbara office. Since graduating from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with his bachelors and masters in Civil Engineering, he has worked on a multitude of projects within Santa Barbara County. Emilio has a diverse background that includes public and private site design, commercial and residential development, and wet utility design. He enjoyed being part of the team that put together the final design plans and provided construction support for the Hotel Californian - an upscale hotel with a large parking structure, restaurants, and food services near the ocean on lower state street. Outside of work, Emilio likes to bake bread and swing dance.

Eric is a principal engineer who splits his time between our San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara offices. He graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a degree in Architectural Engineering and he is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of California.

Eric contributes over 10 years of structural design experience covering a wide range of projects throughout California and Hawaii. His projects include Niner Winery’s 57,000 sq. ft. concrete tilt-up wine processing facility in Paso Robles, California; the Waihonua Tower, a 418-foot-tall reinforced concrete high-rise condo in Honolulu, Hawaii; and The Pad a fun passion project climbing gym in Santa Maria, CA. Eric also has construction experience with slab-on-grade foundations and rough carpentry, designed on-site septic systems, and performed special inspections for helical anchors and grouted tiebacks.

Whenever Eric is able to take a break from work, he can usually be found on a sheer granite face, rock climbing throughout the Sierra Nevada range.

Evan Rickards can be found in the Bend office as a civil project engineer, with the experience and passion of working on wind farm development and small subdivision projects. As a graduate from George Fox University, he received his bachelors of science in civil engineering and was fortunate to experience work in both the public and private sectors giving him a unique perspective and insight into public projects. Having the opportunity to work on large renewable energy projects, Evan is knowledgeable of the importance of thoughtful design and thinking through problems before they occur. Evan hopes to impact his community with elevated design and development that will positively affect all who call Central Oregon home.

Greg oversees the structural engineering operations of our Sacramento office. He is a licensed professional engineer in the state of California and received his degree in Civil Engineering from University of California, Berkeley. Apart from working in Sacramento, Greg obtained a diverse engineering background by previously working as a structural engineer in both the Bay Area and Los Angeles. These experiences have led Greg to firmly believe the keys to project success lie in clearly understanding client objectives and tailoring each project to meet the client’s personal needs, while paying careful attention to not only cost, but also to regional-specific construction practices and the uniqueness of each local agency to ensure an efficient and seamless permitting process.

Greg served as a key member of the structural engineering team for a vast spectrum of projects, including countless single-family residential projects and commercial T.I.’s all throughout the West, seismic retrofits of unreinforced masonry and large industrial buildings, and several mid-rise hotels and apartment buildings, including the Fort Sutter Hotel in Midtown Sacramento.

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.

James grew up in North Carolina and studied chemical engineering at Oregon State University. He spent the following years as a professional plumber on the West shore of Lake Tahoe before transitioning into his career in structural engineering. James’s studies and previous experience provide him with a diverse outlook on building systems and enables him to seek multiple solutions to difficult problems. James is also an artistic person and environmentally conscientious--his favorite part of structural engineering is providing multiple design idea’s that consider economics, aesthetics, and smart building materials to achieve an architect’s vision.

Jason is a structural engineer in the Oakland office. He has experience designing a variety of  residential structures from Sonoma to Gilroy. Jason earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. When not working, Jason enjoys running and all forms of 2-wheeled transportation from push scooters to motorcycles.

Completing his Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly, Pomona, Jia is focusing his strengths as a structural project engineer located in the Pasadena office. He enjoys working in a team to provide cost effective and creative solutions for the client, while developing professional relationships. Jia sees challenges as opportunities to learn valuable knowledge and lengthen his abilities to explore solutions. He believes that hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. Aside from engineering, Jia enjoys hiking and physical activities.

Jim Lord brings 14 years of civil engineering design and project management experience to his role as principal engineer of the Bend, Oregon office. He has been living and working in central Oregon for over a decade and he has a deep understanding of the local standards, regulations, and business climate.

Jim designed and managed the approval and construction of many private development projects including the Simpson Pavilion ice rink project for the Bend Parks and Recreation District. He also has extensive experience working on public improvement projects. Jim was the lead designer and construction manager for the 3rd Street Underpass Stormwater Improvement Project in Bend, Oregon. This project retrofitted an existing 80-year railroad undercrossing that was prone to flooding with a collection and pumping system, conveyance piping, and various bio-swales. He also was a design engineer for the $1.8B San Diego Gas and Electric Sunrise Powerlink Transmission Line Project and was responsible for designing over 50 miles of access roads, maintenance pads, and pull-sites.

Jim is a proponent of sustainable design, low-impact development, and green building principals. He also owned and operated an organic farm for several years and has hands-on experience with agricultural and irrigation design.

John contributes a wealth of knowledge and experience in custom residential structural design to the AVE team. He has led many multifaceted jobs from design to construction and he exhibits critical attention-to-detail and problem-solving abilities while maintaining builder-friendly plans.

He has also served as the engineering lead on a spectrum of structural projects. Some of these include concrete tilt-up buildings, residences subject to coastal flooding, buildings requiring overpressure ‘blast’ design, structures requiring deepened foundations, beach access stairs, and commercial buildings.

Jon manages our Information Technology needs. He is based in San Luis Obispo but provides support for all of our offices. Working in the IT field since 2007, Jon has a Certificate in Computer Hardware and Networking from College of the Siskiyous, he is a Certified Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA), CompTIA Network + certified, and continues to study for additional IT industry recognized certifications.

Jorge is a structural project engineer in our Reno office. Native to Los Angeles, he graduated from Cal Poly Pomona majoring in Civil Engineering. Jorge brings experience in the design of Steel Joists from his previous occupation and has worked on local projects such as the Nugget Event Center in Sparks, Nevada. He has experience in residential construction bringing practicality and innovation to the office.

Jorge is an advocate of Heavy Timber construction and its overall benefits over traditional construction. His goal is to participate in the design of the tallest Timber structure in the United States. During his free time, you will find Jorge either playing sports, researching, solving puzzles, or singing.

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.

Kathleen is a LEED-certified professional civil engineer with experience preparing grading, drainage, and site utility plans for commercial, residential, and public works projects in the San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura County areas. Currently, she focuses most of her time on the hydrology and stormwater aspects of projects. She has a passion for low-impact design, which seamlessly complements her skills for innovative stormwater detention and stormwater treatment designs. She has prepared grading permit packages and construction drawings for drainage, grading, and utility plans. These projects have required stormwater management structures to filter, store, infiltrate, and release stormwater.

Kayla is a part of the Structural team in the Santa Barbara team. She graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Civil Engineering. After living in southern California and San Luis Obispo, Kayla is happy to find her middle ground in Santa Barbara. She is excited to explore the area through a variety of projects at Ashley and Vance.

Lilli is located in the Denver office with the civil engineering team. She graduated from Colorado School of Mines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering with a Minor in Humanitarian Engineering. Prior to joining Ashley and Vance Engineering, Lilli focused on gaining experience of her passion by working on water sanitation and new development in Honduras. She is looking forward to being able to apply her humanitarian knowledge to projects with the team. In her free time you can find Lilli in the mountains, tending her garden, or walking her dog, Indy. 

Originally from San Jose California, Logan moved out of state to Flagstaff Arizona where he went to school at Northern Arizona University. Here Logan received both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Civil Engineering as well as gaining some surveying experience before moving back to California. Logan was welcomed into our San Luis Obispo office as his next move back to California. As a member of the San Luis Obispo Office, Logan finds enjoyment in solving various engineering problems to further help out the community that he lives in.  Outside of the office, Logan likes to play a variety of video games, as well as playing sports, such as soccer and baseball.

Receiving his Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly, Matt joins our San Luis Obispo office. He holds a background in structural and civil design and enjoys working on a variety of projects. With his formal training of a welder, he can understand the challenges that job sites can produce and offer contractor-friendly solutions. Matt enjoys being involved with the team to create projects come to life.

With a BS in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and prior field and design experience with sewer bypass and irrigation systems, Max serves effectively as a project engineer working on various civil projects in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles requiring grading, drainage, utility, and erosion control plans. Along with general civil design, Max has been concentrating on hydraulic systems and has experience using Civil3D and HydroCAD for hydraulic modeling.

Max has also worked on larger single-family residence projects that require the preparation of Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans and has conducted numerous onsite SWPPP inspections since working at Ashley & Vance. With field experience in environmental design, Max recognizes the impact of his projects on surrounding ecosystems and ensures that vegetation and wildlife will be protected during every construction project.

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.

Nick is based out of our San Luis Obispo office. He specializes in the design of new structures, evaluation and rehabilitation of existing structures, and investigation of structural failures. His diverse experience as a structural engineer includes working with numerous types of structural materials and systems, which can range from traditional structural engineering methods to more innovative systems including base isolation and viscous dampers.

He was a member of the ASCE 7-16 sub-committee tasked with re-writing the Base Isolation and Energy Dissipation code. He applies his knowledge of performance based earthquake engineering in seismic rehabilitation of existing structures and design of new structures. Nick lived in Christchurch, New Zealand for approximately 3 years following the Canterbury Earthquakes, performing numerous seismic assessments and repairs to damaged buildings.

By completing numerous structural engineering projects throughout the US and New Zealand, he takes great pride in offering creative and cost-effective design solutions across multiple industries ranging from rocket launch complexes, industrial facilities, commercial buildings, and wastewater treatment facilities. In addition, Nick has five years of experience as a carpenter providing unique insight on constructability and practical issues related to structural behavior and design.

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.

Rafael is a graduate in the Architectural Engineering program at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He has a diverse background in structural, civil, and geotechnical projects. Rafael has completed residential and commercial designs, grading/drainage plans, and he has also performed geotechnical testing in the lab and field. He is well-versed in developing full construction documents and provides a real-world approach to his work.

Rafael currently works from our San Luis Obispo office on structural engineering projects. His enthusiastic attitude shines through his work and personal life. He enjoys playing soccer and spending time with his family.

Ricardo is a project engineer in our Los Angeles office. He received his Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering, with an emphasis in Structural Engineering, from the University of California, Irvine. He then began working at an engineering firm that specialized in seismic vibration isolation where he designed structural supports and anchorage for mechanical equipment. After becoming a licensed civil engineer, Ricardo deciding to pursue structural engineering, which was what led him into the engineering field to begin with. 

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.

Rubin is a project engineer for our structural engineering team in our Sacramento office. He received his Bachelor's in Civil Engineering from California State University, Sacramento and is continuing his education by achieving his Master's of Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Structural Engineering. Rubin is actively involved in the Structural Engineer's Association of Central California (SEAOCC) Sustainable Design Committee. In his free time, Rubin has a passion for exploring the outdoors and enjoys playing his guitar. 

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.

Located in our San Luis Obispo office, Sara utilizes her diverse background in design, communications, brand strategy, event planning, hospitality, and administration. She brings insight towards internal organization, provides executive and administrative support, and helps build a cohesive voice across our branch offices for clients, our communities, and industry professionals. Her bachelor’s degree in Art & Design from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo gives her a strong appreciation for functional design in all forms, so she is happy to help our engineers and principals stay focused on their creations and craft (while also sneaking glances at exciting building plans in the works).

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. 

Shannon, principal engineer for the San Luis Obispo office civil department, brings 18 years of civil engineering and project management experience to Ashley & Vance Engineering. Shannon’s technical experience ranges from utility design, water and wastewater process design, site development, and stormwater management. Having lived on the Central Coast for 24+ years, Shannon has extensive experience in the winery, agricultural, and industrial industries, especially related to water and wastewater resource management. Shannon is well versed in both public and private civil engineering projects, with comprehensive understanding of permitting and working with local agencies including SLO, Monterey, and Santa Barbara Counties, as well as CA State and Regional Water Boards.

Located in our Bend, Oregon office location, Stacey excels in her role as ​part-time ​office manager for AVE. She keeps the office running smoothly with her reception, administrative, and financial skills. Stacey has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and a background as a licensed tax consultant and an enrolled agent​.​​ Wearing many hats, she works for the Ashley & Vance Engineering Bend, Oregon office and also for a local accounting firm. ​Stacey has been a much-appreciated ​part of the Bend team since its inception​ in 2011​​.

Taylor Vaughn is a Structural Project Engineer at the San Luis Obispo office. He received his Bachelors of Structural Engineering from UC San Diego. Before completing his degree, he worked in the utility solar industry building some of the largest Solar power plants in the world, namely Topaz Solar Farm and McCoy Solar Project. Taylor enjoys applying his unique experience to complex structural engineering problems and watching projects grow from an idea to a real-world structure. In his free time, Taylor enjoys woodworking, golfing and tending to his 3-tiered wine barrel waterfall goldfish ponds.

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. 

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.