Section

9

9. List of Preparers

LIST OF PREPARERS
Chicago-St. Louis High-Speed Rail 9-1 Tier 1 DEIS 

9.0 List of Preparers 

Name Qualifications Primary 

Responsibilities 

Federal Railroad Administration

B. Eric

Almquist

MAEd, Curriculum and Instructional Development; BS,

Environmental Management; 7 years experience Reviewer

Andrea H.

Finn

MS, Forest Ecology; BS, Agricultural Sciences; BA,

Government and Politics; 16 years experience Reviewer

Andréa

Martin BS, Biology; 21 years experience Reviewer

Illinois Department of Transportation

Walt

Zyznieuski

M.A., Environmental Studies; B.S., Geography; 30 years

of experience Reviewer

Brad

Koldehoff

M.A., Anthropology/ Archaeology; B.A., Anthropology;

30 years experience Reviewer

Parsons Brinckerhoff

John Page MUP, Urban Planning; BS Urban Planning; 36 years

experience Reviewer

Timothy

Selover

MBA Concentration in Finance; Certificate in

Metropolitan and Planning Development; BS

Civil/Environmental Engineering; 17 years experience

Reviewer

Stephanie

Brown

MRP, City and Regional Planning; MS

Civil/Environmental Engineering; BS Geosciences; 10

years experience

Reviewer
Chicago-St. Louis High-Speed Rail 9-2 Tier 1 DEIS 

Hanson

Kirk Brown,

PE

BS; 43 years experience in transportation

management, design, construction, planning

and environmental studies.

Tier 1 Project Manager, Tier

2 Senior Policy Advisor

Brandi Cox AS; 4 years experience as an engineering

technician.

Engineering Technician

Tier 1 Design Plans

Matthew

Dondanville Engineering Student. Engineering Intern Tier 1Design Plans

Don Fleming,

PE, SE

BS; 43 years experience as a senior railroad

and bridge specialist designing more than 145

bridges and inspected and rated over 600

bridges, and principal‐in‐charge for more

than 150 railroad bridge projects.

Tier 1 Concept Level

Structural Review

Matt Fletcher,

PE, SE

MS; 20 years experience planning, design,

bidding and construction of railroad bridges;

registered professional engineer and

structural engineer.    

Tier 1 Concept Level

Structural Review, Tier 2

Preliminary Railroad

Bridge Drawings

Craig George

AS; 28 years experience as an engineering

technician performing design, drafting and

inspection services for many bridge and road

projects.

Engineering Technician

Tier 1 Design Plans, Tier 2

Design Plans

Matt Heyen,

PE

BS; 10 years experience in transportation

engineering including roadway design, utility

management, storm sewer design, sanitary

sewer design, quantity take‐offs/cost

estimation and project management.

Tier 1 Project Engineer

Bob Johnson

AAS; Engineering Technician with 20 years of

experience including providing alignment

and profile designs, plotting survey

information and checking computations, and

drafting and design services for intersections,

roadways and bridges.

Engineering Technician

Tier 1 Design Plans

Beth A. Kohl

11 years experience as administrative

secretary, document and file management,

project report preparation and public

involvement documentation.

Administrative Assistant

Tier 1 Document

Organization

Jim

Ostermann

Senior Engineering Technician providing

design and drafting on a variety of roadway

and rail projects.

Engineering Technician

Tier 1 Design Plans
Chicago-St. Louis High-Speed Rail 9-3 Tier 1 DEIS 

Danny Pop

Senior Engineering Technician; 22 years of

experience including topographic, land and

GPS/DGPS surveying, construction staking

and construction observation, survey crew

chief; and provides design and drafting on a

variety of roadway and rail projects.

Tier 1/2 Senior Engineering

Technician

Brad Randall,

PE

BS; 35 years experience performing rail

inspections and construction services for rail

lines and preparing construction documents,

conducting field investigations and preparing

plans, specifications and reports.

Tier 1 Railroad Engineer

Kevin Seals

BS; 26 years experience in preparing and

managing projects that require NEPA

documentation including Environmental

Impact Statements and Assessments;

additional experience includes conducting

stream bank restorations, habitat evaluations,

wildlife assessments and threatened and

endangered species surveys and highly

qualified in the delineation, functional

assessment, permitting, construction and

restoration of wetlands.  

Senior Environmental

Scientist, Tier 1

Environmental Document

Preparation, Tier 2

Environmental Lead

Julie Shipp,

EIT

BS; 4 years experience performing

calculations, measurements used and field

observation for roadway, sewer and

streetscape projects.

Tier 1/2 Engineer

Parsons Transportation Group

Joel Budnik

MS, Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences; BS,

Fisheries and Wildlife Management, Minor

in Biology; 15 years experience in natural

resource management; biological surveys,

wetland determinations; environmental

impact assessment; and preparation of

environmental documents.

Alternatives Screening (St.

Louis and Chicago

Alternatives), preparation of

alternatives section of Tier 1

document, and GIS analyses.
Chicago-St. Louis High-Speed Rail 9-4 Tier 1 DEIS 

Luke F.

Eggering, PWC,

PMC

MS, Biology (Fisheries); BS, Fish and

Wildlife Management; 23 years experience

in fish and wildlife management, wetland

management, wetland permitting (Section

404/401), and NEPA document preparation;

Professional Wetland Scientist (Society of

Wetland Scientists) and certified project

manager.

Tier 1 document preparation

and review for land use,

social impacts, environmental

justice, and alternatives

analysis.

Elizabeth

Federico, AICP

CTP, LEED

BC+D

Master of Regional Planning (MRP) Land

Use and Environmental Planning; BA, Art

History; 12 years experience in

transportation, land use, and environmental

planning. AICP Certified Transportation

Planner.

Purpose and Need

Cory Grayburn

BS, Environmental Resource Management;

25 years experience in NEPA studies and

documentation for transportation projects.

Purpose and Need analysis

and documentation, Tier 1

document preparation for

energy and secondary and

cumulative impacts, and

QA/QC review of the Tier 1

document.  

Amber

Josephson,

LEED AP

BS, Watershed Science; 4 years experience

in environmental planning, analysis, and

document preparation; Section 404

permitting; certified wetland scientist.

Tier 1 EIS document control,

permits, construction

impacts, and mitigation

actions.

Erich Kutschke

BA, Geography; 11 years experience in

environmental and transportation planning,  

application of CAD and GIS for alternatives

development, analysis, wetland mitigation,

site development and NEPA.

GIS analyses for impact and

mitigation actions, graphics

management and production.

Thanh Luc,

INCE

BS, Mechanical Engineering; 22 years

experience in conducting environmental

noise and vibration impact analyses.

Noise modeling and impact

analysis

Amanda

Molsberry

MS, Environmental Science and Policy; BS,

Geography; over 7 years experience in

environmental planning; NEPA Analysis;

Socioeconomics; Economic Modeling;

Environmental Justice.

Tier 1 document

socioeconomic and

community characteristics.
Chicago-St. Louis High-Speed Rail 9-5 Tier 1 DEIS 

Tony Pakeltis,

AICP

MUPP, Urban Planning and Policy; BUP,

Urban Planning; BS, Environmental Design;

22 years experience in environmental

document preparation.

Project Manager;

Environmental Lead, Purpose

and Need, alternatives

evaluation, transportation

analysis, document

coordination.

Rebecca Porath

MS, Zoology; BS, Fisheries and Wildlife

Management; over 13 years experience in

environmental planning and NEPA

documentation; certified wildlife biologist.

Data collection, analysis, and

key participant in preparation

of EA affected environment

and consequences sections,

including land use and visual

and aesthetic quality.

Daniel Prevost,

AICP CTP

MA, Urban and Environmental Planning;

BA, Environmental Science and Policy; 14

years experience in environmental and

transportation planning, analysis, and

NEPA documentation.

Special lands, cultural

resources, and safety and

security.

Michael Weber

BS, Physiology, University of California at

Davis; over 21 years experience in air

quality and noise assessment and reporting.

Air quality assessment.

ABNA

Anastatia Asare

MS, GIS; provided ARC GIS and MapInfo

GIS manipulations for waste water and

transportation infrastructure.

GIS database compilation,

mapping and implementation  

Nick Coates,

PLS

Licensed Surveyor and GIS specialist; 24

years experience on large transportation

infrastructure projects.

GIS management, data

collection  

Verender Garg,

PE

Professional Engineer specializing in GIS

for waste water and transportation

infrastructure.  

GIS database compilation,

mapping and implementation

for the HSR corridor
Chicago-St. Louis High-Speed Rail 9-6 Tier 1 DEIS 

Beaman

Robin

Beaman

MS, Kogod School of Business at

American University; BA, School of

Communications at Howard University.

Public Engagement Tier 1

Vector

Laurna

Godwin

MS, Journalism; BA, English Literature

and American Studies. Public Engagement Tier 1

Third Rock

Gerry

Fister

BS, Geology; 24 years experience in

preparing Phase I & II ESAs & site

remediation; Project Manager for

various environmental projects.  

Affected Environment, Environmental

Consequences, Mitigation, and

Document Preparation for special

waste

Amanda

Kerley

BA, History; Environmental Planner; 6

years of experience preparing CEs, EAs,

and social and economic assessments for

IDOT, TDOT, and KYTC.

Affected Environment, Environmental

Consequences, Mitigation, and

Document Preparation for

agriculture/farmland

Gina

Morris

MS, Geology; 38 years experience in

preparing & supervising NEPA

documentation and 404 permitting &

mitigation; Professional Geologist &

Professional Wetland Scientist.

Supervision of Third Rock Tier 1

sections; Affected Environment,

Environmental Consequences,

Mitigation, and wetlands & floodplains

sections

James

Storm

BS, Wildlife Management; Biologist; 8

years experience in ecological

documentation.  

Affected Environment, Environmental

Consequences, Mitigation, and

Document Preparation for natural

resources & water quality/resources

GHD

Kenneth

S.

Mierzwa

BA Management; 25 years experience Reviewer