Staff

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Andrew has called the Santa Barbara area home since 2010. Since graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a BS in Civil Engineering he has worked in site development design, surveying, as well as providing construction inspections. Andrew brings a diverse background of experience in both the public and private sectors having worked on a variety of projects including residential subdivisions, public roadways, commercial business parks, higher education developments, and ADA rehab projects.

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. 

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.). 

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 is a structural project engineer in our Los Angeles office.  After earning his degree in Civil Engineering from UC Berkeley, Greg joined the team at Ashley & Vance’s Oakland office where he was a member of the structural design team for some of the largest projects in AV history.  Greg has several years of structural design experience ranging from residential remodels and commercial TI’s to mid-rise hotels and seismic retrofits of large industrial buildings. Greg values all aspects of the engineering process, from client interface to collaboration between members of the design team to the technical details of engineering design.  

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.

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.

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.

As an alumnus of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the California Central Coast has been his region of focus throughout his career. Paul opened our Santa Barbara office in 2012, and remains one of the Principal Engineers overseeing the structural team in that location. He holds great rapport with clients with his positive attitude and energetic approach to all projects. He welcomes challenges and utilizes his extensive background in building construction, dabbling in a wide range of trades including welding, concrete, framing, and carpentry, in his work today. After using those skills and completing a father-son development project of two hillside residences in 2010, that comprehensive building experience now elicits his unique approach to structural solutions. Within the industry, Paul engages with the larger community by serving on the AIA Board of Directors for the Santa Barbara chapter since 2018. His role includes a seat as the Annual ArchitecTours Logistics Chair (since 2016) for the showcase of local accomplishments and contributions in design and engineering to the community at large.

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. 

Rosa is a structural project engineer in our Oakland office. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly Pomona, where she focused her studies on structural design. After college, she worked in construction management for public works projects throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. She then joined a structural engineering firm that specializes in forensic analysis and preparing repair protocol for damaged structures. With a passion for structural designs for new construction, Rosa welcomes the opportunity to resolve problems as they may arise. Outside of work, Rosa loves chasing her personal records in running/jogging, spending time with family and friends, and traveling. 

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. 

Shellie is a structural project engineer in the Bend office with design experience in a wide variety of structures including residences, commercial buildings, fire stations, educational facilities, and remodels. She enjoys looking at designs from a contractor's point of view and strives to produce the most constructible, efficient and economical designs possible.

Steven is part of the structural engineering team in our San Luis Obispo office, having received his M.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.  His design experience covers a variety of projects ranging from small-scale home remodels to multi-family residential developments. Steven brings thoroughness and close attention to detail to every project he works on, regardless of scale.

When not engineering, Steven enjoys hiking the San Luis Obispo area or reading a good mystery.

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.