Staff

August is a graduate from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a degree in Architectural Engineering. He is excited to begin his structural engineering career at Ashley and Vance working out of the Oakland office. As a Summer intern for an engineering firm in Redding, he saw firsthand how miscommunication between engineer and contractor can lead to inadequate structures and expensive mistakes. Outside of work, August enjoys traveling, reading, spending time with family, and keeping up with Bay Area sports.

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.

As a licensed civil engineer in Colorado and California, Bruce has worked on public school improvement projects, as well as public and private sector infrastructure projects. His project experience includes survey and design for multiple resource conservation districts throughout the West, planning and design for wastewater and water treatment projects, financial, and regulatory planning services from a civil engineering capital perspective, and preparation of full construction documents including specifications, plans, and bid documents.

Bruce is highly efficient with civil engineering software such as Autodesk Civil 3D, and has provided Civil 3D training seminars for other design professionals in the industry.

With a Structural Engineering license, a degree in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and construction management experience at Walt Disney Imagineering, Charles allows his construction background to drive his innovative designs. As a lead structural engineer for custom residential and commercial projects, Charles designs and oversees structural projects at Ashley & Vance Engineering.

Charles is a licensed structural engineer in not only California, but also in Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Texas, and Florida. His residential structural designs include projects spanning from Brentwood/Beverly Hills over to Malibu/Pacific Palisades up to Santa Barbara/Montecito throughout San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties. And he has led numerous commercial projects on the Central Coast such as SLO Brew Retrofit, Chinatown/Monterey St. Retail and Hotel Serra.

Chris is a project engineer for our structural engineering team in our Santa Barbara office. His experience includes marine structural and civil work, construction coordination, residential and commercial design. Chris received his Bachelor’s degree in Structural engineering from UC San Diego and his Master’s in Civil & Environmental Engineering from San Jose State University.

A Santa Barbara native, Dale worked for his father, a masonry contractor, before pursuing degree in Civil Engineering from San Diego State University.  He worked for the private firm of SB&O, Inc. in San Diego before returning home to work for the County of Santa Barbara Public Works Department. During his 16 years at the County, he worked as a project engineer for the Solid Waste Division and the Water Agency designing & managing various projects on the local landfills & reservoirs before serving as the Development Engineer for the Flood Control District.  While working at Flood Control, Dale served 10 years on the Subdivision Development Review Committee, supervised the Development Review Division, and gained his Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) Certification. Dale returned to the private sector, and worked the next 12 years at MAC Design Associates. While here, Dale gained his QSD/QSP Certification, and served as the Principal Engineer on various land development projects.

When not in the office, Dale enjoys traveling, photography, motorcycling, sailing, camping, snowboarding, mountian biking and volunteering his time at the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission serving as a Mentor and as Marketing Photographer. 

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.

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 and the Waihonua Tower, a 418-foot-tall reinforced concrete high-rise condo in Honolulu, Hawaii. 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.

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 joined our San Luis Obispo Office on the structural design team after receiving his M.S. in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. With a relentlessly analytical approach, Ian is often tasked with AVE’s most difficult and challenging projects. Over the years, Ian’s designs have incorporated wood, concrete, masonry, and steel framing systems as well as retrofits of unreinforced masonry—and, in some cases, all on the same project.

Ian has worked on a variety of projects including custom residential homes, seismic retrofits, and commercial structures. Ian enjoys the challenges posed by unique projects and skillfully works through them to reach practical and cost-effective solutions. This results-orientated approach has allowed him to work through some of the largest commercial projects in the San Luis Obispo downtown corridor including Garden Street Terraces and the retail portion of Chinatown.

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.

Located in our Bend office, Jenilee is a licensed professional with over 10 years of experience as a civil engineering consultant in the Central Texas land development market.  She designed, permitted and managed a multi-million-dollar commercial mixed use urban infill project in Austin, Texas featuring 350 multifamily units, 100,000 SF of Class A office space, 7,500 SF of retail and attached parking garage.  Jenilee brings to the team project management experience in complex commercial, mixed use, office, industrial and condominium projects from conception through close-out.

Outside of her passion for land entitlement, Jenilee enjoys backpacking, scuba diving and a good book.

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.

Juan received his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly SLO. Prior to working at Ashley and Vance, he gained experience preparing grading, drainage, and site utility plans for residential and commercial projects in Orange County. He continues his career working in our civil engineering team in our San Luis Obispo office.

Juan can often be found hiking the local trails, relaxing at the beach, or body boarding in the ocean.

Julie is a project engineer for the Structural Engineering Team in the Tahoe office. Julie received a Bachelor's degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder, with a focus in Structural Engineering. She has a knack for problem solving and noticing flaws and errors in design. She has a wide range of construction design experience with an Electrical Contractor and an MEP design firm in Las Vegas, as well as a wealth of knowledge of the Energy Code and Solar. She has been working on a variety of Residential, Commercial, and Hospital projects.

Katie is a project engineer in the Santa Barbara office with a BS in Architectural Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  After spending two years in her native San Francisco Bay Area working on high end residential and large corporate campuses, Katie is happy to be back on the Central Coast and part of the Ashley and Vance team.  Katie’s optimistic attitude helps her tackle difficult engineering problems with creative cost effective solutions. When out of the office Katie enjoys the many activities Santa Barbara has to offer including beach volleyball, surfing, free diving, and sailing.    

Lisa is a civil project engineer in our Denver office. After earning her degree in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas, she moved to Colorado to pursue her career and the mountains. Lisa joins Ashley & Vance Engineering after many years of industry experience with a general contractor as well as a full-scope architecture and engineering company. Her background working alongside other disciplines has helped shape her to be a well-rounded engineer that understands the challenges faced by not only civil engineers, but every aspect of the building process. She utilizes that knowledge to make every project as effective, efficient, and economical as possible. In her spare time, Lisa can be found in the beautiful Colorado mountains or playing with her pup, Truffle.

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.

As one of the principal structural engineersin the Santa Barbara office, Paul demonstrates a strong ability to communicate with clients along with a positive attitude and energetic approach to all projects. He welcomes challenges and enjoys working with clients to find a creative, cost-effective, and efficient solutions to any structural problem. Paul has a degree in Architectural Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and an extensive background in building construction, dabbling in a wide range of trades including welding, concrete, framing, and carpentry. He put those skills to work when completing a father-son development project of two hillside residences. Paul's comprehensive building experience elicits his unique approach to structural solutions. His structural designs have ranged from large custom residences to commercial projects, as well as a number of seismic retrofits along the Central Coast.

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. 

Located in the San Luis Obispo office, Ryan graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and has stayed in the area to take advantage of the good weather and scenery.  He is a hands on person with a knack for fitting things together and helping to solve practical problems. Over the years he has worked on projects from custom residential to mixed use to OSHPD. This variety of projects has given him a well-rounded skillset and the ability to come up with a solution for any problem.  When Ryan is not solving puzzling situations on paper, he is often seen on his bike on the roads of the San Luis Obispo are or on his mountain bike & dirt bike, shredding it in the hills.

Located in our Santa Barbara office, Sally represents Ashley & Vance when greeting clients on the phone and in person. With a background in the office administration and bookkeeping, she is apart of the admin team with the daily tasks of invoicing, collecting, document filing/organizing, business development, and staff support.

Sarah is a project engineer and aspiring land surveyor in our San Luis Obispo office. She has worked in the civil engineering world for over 2 years even though she has very little background in the field, only one CAD class. In 2016, she graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Dance and a minor in Business. When she graduated, she was completely burnt out from the dance world and moved back to her hometown and worked for an architect as a bookkeeper and drafter. Less than a year later, she ended up landing her first engineering job with a firm in SLO, just by knowing the right people, having goals and a good attitude to learn everything from the ground up. She is very excited to be a part of the A&V team.

Outside of work, Sarah likes to backpack as much as she can, wherever she can. She also enjoys traveling, snowboarding, rocking out at concerts, and being the best plant mom she can be.

Scott is a structural project engineer located in our Reno office.  He graduated from the University of Nevada Reno with his BS in Mathematics and continued his education receiving his MS in Civil Engineering, with a focus in Structural Engineering, from Colorado State University. Scott enjoys problem solving and has worked construction on several small residential projects which has allowed him solve some of the physical hurdles that arise in implementing their design. He brings an open mind to the team and looks forward to creating unique solutions for any project he works on.

After graduating with a B.S. in Architectural Engineering at CalPoly, Serena is ecstatic to begin her structural engineering career at Ashley and Vance. Through her education and internship experiences Serena has had structural design experience with steel, timber, and concrete including PT. Her favorite part of being a structural engineer is that there’s always more to learn and new creative structural solutions to discover. Serena also enjoys skiing and scuba diving whenever she has a chance.

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​​.

Before joining the Bay Area team, Thaddeus graduated with a degree in Architectural Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He remained in the area for a time working on structural design projects throughout the Central Coast furthering his knowledge in the field. After deciding to move north, Thaddeus joined our AVE team as a structural project engineer in the Oakland office.

Through his past work on new residential construction, seismic retrofits, and commercial projects he has honed a passion for developing cost effective and practical engineering solutions. Thaddeus now brings this passion into his work in the Bay Area while contributing to the diverse project types undertaken by Ashley & Vance Engineering.

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.

With background in both architecture and construction, Tyler knows some of the needs and desires of architectural design and how structural engineering can supplement and enhance those goals. Initially calling Bishop and the Eastern Sierras home, Tyler attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and majored in Architecture and Architectural Engineering. He first started working for Ashley & Vance while attending college and continues to help our clientele with his valuable and unique skill set. He returned to the mountains and to the Tahoe area after college and also spends part of his time in Fairbanks, Alaska.