Summit Professional Team Bios

B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno

Phil Baumann is Summit Engineering's official jack-of-all-trades. Phil has worked for Summit since 1999. He has served in various capacities as a surveyor and civil designer. His surveying experience includes field work as a chainman/party chief, performing topographic mapping and construction staking both with conventional and GPS data-collection equipment. His civil design experience includes subdivision grading and utility placement, tract home structural design, and preliminary pipeline design. His recent project of note is the Reno Livestock Events Center storm drain and sanitary diversion project.

A.S. Pre-Engineering, Great Basin College
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno

Nitin Bhakta is the Office Manager at Summit Engineering's branch office in Elko, Nevada. Nitin has over 16 years of civil and geotechnical engineering experience with Summit. As a Project Manager, he has been responsible for numerous residential and commercial civil engineering improvement projects. Responsibilities include project management, tentative and final map design, site grading, roadway design, storm and sanitary sewer design analysis, hydrology reports, site utility design, and permitting with local and state government agencies. Additional areas of experience have included geotechnical investigations surveying and materials inspection and testing.

B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno

Dan Birchfield has been employed with Summit Engineering for approximately 10 years. He is a Civil Engineer with the firm and works on various design and construction projects within the civil, hydrology, public works, and geotechnical departments. Currently, Dan is performing in the capacity as a project and construction manager for several projects at the NV Energy North Valmy Generation Station. This includes improvement design, project coordination, technical analysis, and construction management/inspection for the power plant near Valmy, Nevada. Dan is a licensed Civil Engineer in Nevada and California and is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Christina Brennan graduated from UNR with a B.S. in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in geotechnical engineering, and has been working at Summit Engineering since March of 2011. She currently works in the geotech lab and is handeling the Environmental Phase I services. Outside of the office, Christina rides and trains horses for Three-Day Eventing (an Olympic Sport), and she is currently training three horses for carrying levels of the sport.

Jeff Brooke is a Survey Project Manager and Public Land Survey System Specialist with Summit Engineering. With over 30 years in Land Surveying, his experience is wide and varied with an emphasis in property boundary. As Survey Project Manager, he is involved in the oversight and resolution of special boundary issues relating to the Public Land Survey System, including irregular section work, unusual boundary issues and special-rights issues including easements, rights-of-way and adverse rights. Mr. Brooke is highly trained and has extensive experience in the analysis of circumstances arising from lacking evidence, conflicting historical records, erroneous documentation and other origins of property boundary issues. In addition to many other boundary surveys, he was in direct supervision of the boundary resolution and base mapping of four major ranches in the Truckee Meadows totaling over 2600 acres in area. He was also responsible for construction survey management and oversight of the residential development on these and other projects. In his time as a land surveyor he has been involved in almost every aspect of land surveying including water-rights, FEMA flood studies, ALTA Land Title Surveys, routing studies, hydrographic surveys and more. Jeff has 5 previous years experience surveying with Summit and rejoined the Summit team in June of 2011.

Summit Engineering Corporation Project Coordinator, Professional Land Surveyor, Civil Designer Eagle Summit Solutions, LLC. Managing Member James Darrough has been employed at Summit Engineering for over 14 years. He began work at Summit in 1997 as a land survey crew chief. Seven years later, he moved into the office and joined the public works and commercial design team as a civil designer. Since 2007, he has extended his efforts beyond his job description to locate new clients and projects, and has been active in meeting with tribal leaders to promote ideas of conventional and economic development in Indian Country. His views of Native American development also helped form Eagle Summit Solutions, LLC., where he serves as a managing member. Please feel free to contact James directly at (775) 787-4381 for more information on how he can help your project move forward.

B.S. Environmental and Natural Resource Science, University of Nevada, Reno
M.S. Hydrology, University of Nevada, Reno

Charlie Dettling has a master's degree in Hydrology and over 7 years of experience in hydrological and hydraulic analysis and specializes in surface water hydrology, watershed analysis, and flood plain analysis hydraulics, erosion control, water quality monitoring, and wetland delineation. He has been a project manager on numerous public works and residential improvement projects. His responsibilities include project management, site grading, storm and sanitary sewer design and analysis, hydrologic analysis, hydraulic analysis, floodplain evaluations, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplain studies and Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) models. Additional areas of past experience encompass the regulatory aspects of water resources and the application of National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, Section 404, and other related federal and state water-related planning.

B.A. Geology, UC Santa Barbara

Kirk Dixon has been Laboratory Manager of the Geotechnical Division for the past 22 years. Kirk is directly responsible for the coordination, review and timely and accurate reporting of all lab projects. Other responsibilities include the training of all lab personnel, the regular calibration of all lab equipment and the billing of all testing performed. Kirk has 27 years experience in materials testing (soil, asphaltic concrete, and Portland cement concrete) and related geotechnical testing, inspection and management. When he's not in the office, Kirk pursues his passion for the great outdoors, including hiking, snowshoeing and drinking fine hand-crafted beer.

Suzan started with Summit 22 years ago. She began her career as a draftsman in 1990 and advanced her skills to the engineering and surveying departments as their Project Assistant. Again in 1995, she changed departments to the water rights department to expand her work experience for Summit. She was promoted to manager of the water rights department in 2000, where she has held this position very effectively for the past 11 years.

B.S. Civil Engineering-Specialty Transportation, Technical University Cluj-Napoca Romania

A Transylvanian by birth and education, a Nevadan by choice, has over 15 years of international experience in Civil Engineering, including Land Development, Transportation, International Technology Transfer of Specialty Building Materials, and Contracting.

In his 10 years with Summit, Robert has designed and managed a significant number of residential and commercial developments. His design work includes: Somersett Parkway and numerous subdivisions in the Somersett Development in Reno, and the Idaho Street Reconstruction in Elko. As project manager or engineering department manager of the Las Vegas office, Robert managed and designed: IGT Las Vegas Campus, The Arroyo Market Square (a 90 acre Commercial Retail Power Center containing 31 buildings) in Clark County, and The Home Depot in Pahrump. Robert is hands-on in the design and permitting phases of the projects.

Growing up in a multilingual environment Robert values efficient communication as the key to achieve effective results. He blends education, experience and creativity to develop and negotiate technically and economically feasible solutions that satisfy both the developer and the government agencies.

B.S. Geological Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno
B.S. Geology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Jack Glynn has worked as the Geotechnical Department Manager for Summit Engineering Corporation for 22½ years. Jack is responsible for overseeing all aspects of many jobs including; geotechnical investigations, environmental site assessments, materials testing and observation, as well as 1704 Special Inspections. He is responsible for proposals, statements of qualification, and client billings. Jack also provides materials testing and inspection services, test pit and drill hole logging and sampling, and environmental sampling for numerous clients throughout the State. A mentor for many staff members, Jack directs personnel towards training in-house for geotechnical investigations, environmental, and materials testing and inspection certifications.

B.S. English, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
B.S. Civil Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Lawrence Grube has over 30 years of surveying, engineering, and photogrammetric experience. He has published two papers and has been the invited speaker for several seminars on photogrammetry. He has been an instructor for photogrammetry at the University of Nevada, Reno and for building construction surveying at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He has supervised more than one thousand projects in photogrammetry and surveying. Larry was the Northern Nevada supervisor for the 1999 Federal Base Network/Cooperative Base Network (FBN/CBN) static GPS and worked closely with the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) in a highly successful project to reduce precise geodetic control nationwide and improve the geoid model (Geoid 1999 and Geoid 2003).

B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno

Tom has been employed with Summit Engineering for approximately 11 years and is currently the Geotechnical Manager in Elko, Nevada. He is responsible for providing geotechnical services including: subsurface soil investigations, geotechnical investigation reports, ICC 1704 Special Inspections, construction inspection and materials testing, as well as providing civil engineering design & project management for mining, industrial, commercial, and residential projects.

B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Washington

Coliin has been employed with Summit Engineering for approximately 14 years and is currently a senior project manager with the firm. He has managed civil design engineers and staff designers and is in charge of the preparation of engineering design reports, civil improvement plans, technical specifications, engineer's cost estimates, as well as providing assistance in permitting through jurisdictional agencies. Mr. Hayes has performed these professional services in support of both public and private development projects, and is a licensed civil engineer in Nevada and California.

Ron Holverson has more than 40 years of surveying experience, much of it while working for Summit Engineering in the company's Elko office. In his tenure with Summit, Ron has been responsible for township surveys and breakdowns, mineral surveys and claim staking, numerous construction projects involving slope-staking, radial stake-outs, redheads, control networks, calculations and field-fit construction.

B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno

Bryce Juzek is a second-generation Summit Engineering employee who graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering from UNR in 2009. Bryce is currently working out of the Elko office, where his main duty is to serve as an inspector for the Idaho Street project. He has also worked as part of a design team, in his four-year tenure at Summit Engineering.

John Juzek has been with Summit Engineering since 1983. He started working as a Senior Party Chief and was promoted to Survey Manager of the Reno office in 1997. John's responsibilities include project coordination, all survey crew scheduling, office calculations, preparing proposals and meeting with perspective clients.

B.S. Geology, University of Nevada, Reno

Rodd Lighthouse has been employed with Summit Engineering for 24 years and is currently a project manager with the firm. Rodd's belief that within every engineer is a little boy who likes to take things apart has informed the way in which he approaches each new project. After receiving a B.S. in Geology from UNR he started at Summit doing inspection. He moved into the Geotechnical portion of the company and while working from the Elko office began seeking new clients for the growing corporation. When he moved back to Reno a job in Civil Engineering opened and Rodd made the switch. He now manages a staff of civil design engineers and staff designers and is responsible for the preparation of engineering design reports, civil engineering design improvement plans, technical specifications, and engineer's estimates. During the construction phase of projects, Rodd reviews and approves material and traffic control submittals, prepares agendas and conducts weekly construction meetings to monitor construction progress. His clients value the practical approach he brings to solving problems. Rodd's experience with projects, literally, from the ground up, and his diverse professional background lend him a credibility invaluable in this industry.

B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno

Pete McCreary dismantled, modified and tried to improve everything he owned since he was a boy, so the next logical step was to earn a B.S. degree in engineering from UNR, which he received in 2009. Joining Summit Engineering shortly after graduation, Pete quickly proved his engineering expertise, and was appointed to manage the Elko geotechnical engineering lab, where he has spent a significant amount of time working on the Idaho Street Project.

Certificate in Geographic Information, Ferris State University

Jim McGuire is a Survey Project Manager and GIS Specialist. He utilizes his 30 years of experience to oversee primarily boundary-related projects, including ALTA Surveys, Parcel Maps, Records of Survey and Boundary Line Adjustments. His responsibilities include preparing final maps, writing legal descriptions, field crew note reductions, survey calculations, cost estimating, project administration, client contact, proposals, billing and other duties associated with surveying projects. As GIS Specialist, Jim is responsible for all GIS mapping projects undertaken by the company. Working exclusively with Trimble GIS-grade GPS equipment for field collection and ESRI ArcGIS software for map production and analysis, his duties include project planning, GPS data collection and post-processing, ESRI geodatabase development, and the preparation of GIS maps, displays, and reports.

B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno

Dylan Menes is an experienced structural manager with more than 15 years of structural, geotechnical, and public utilities engineering experience in Nevada and California. He has joined Summit Engineering Corporation to expand the firm's expertise in structural engineering and has been here for five years. He has a diverse project experience background, allowing him to bring an understanding of the necessary elements that help owners and clients through the engineering process. While with Summit Engineering, Dylan has been Project Manager on various projects for the firm's commercial, public works, and residential builders, as well as providing consultation services for manufacturers, insurance companies, and litigation. His project management experience has included structural design and project management of track and custom homes, heavy industrial facilities, concrete tilt-up warehouses, and commercial masonry structures. In addition, he has geotechnical experience in field exploration, retaining structure design, and earthquake fault investigations. Dylan has also taught undergraduate and graduate level courses in Timber Structural Design at the University of Nevada, Reno.

B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno

Brian Moon has been a member of Summit's public works design team for the last 4 years. He has been employed with Summit Engineering in positions of increasing responsibility for 10 years. As a member of the public works design team, he is a civil engineer working both on design projects and in the field providing construction management. His expertise is in the design and construction of public improvements such as; storm drain, sanitary sewers, water lines, roadways, and drainage improvements. He is registered as a professional civil engineer, and is certified by the Nevada Alliance for Quality Transportation Construction (NAQTC).

B.S. General Studies, University of Nevada, Reno

Steve Morton has been with Summit Engineering since 1997. He started in the Geotechnical Department's materials-testing laboratory and then worked briefly in surveying. Steve has worked for six years in the Land Planning Department and for four years as the Planning Manager. He works closely with the Land Development, Mining, and Public Works Departments to assist with planning and permitting-related issues, code research, public outreach, entitlement procurement and representation, and assistance with site design. Steve prides himself on being detailed-oriented, knowledgeable and reviewing code to ensure site design and submittals are accurate and complete. Steve strives to maintain the strong working relationships with local and state entities and continues to expand the duties of the Planning Department.

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno

Rich Pettinari has been employed with Summit Engineering for approximately 7 years and is currently a project engineer/manager with the firm. He serves as a civil designer and/or project manager and is responsible for roadway reconstruction and/or rehabilitation projects and site improvement projects, including the preparation of civil design improvement plans and contract documents. Rich served in this capacity for the RTC on the West Seventh Street Reconstruction project in Reno, Nevada. Currently, he is performing in the capacity as a project engineer for the RTC Robb/Sharlands Intersection Improvement project, which will reduce the congestion at the intersection of Robb Drive and Sharlands Avenue in Reno, Nevada.

B.S. Biology, University of Nevada, Reno

Joe has worked at Summit Engineering in various capacities for roughly 10 years. A Nevada native, Joe was born and raised in Yerington, where his family still owns the original 160 acres they homesteaded in the late 1800s. Previously, Joe was involved in the design and engineering of multiple projects, including Somersett and the Alexander Luxury Apartments. Currently, he is spending his time in the field using his NAQTC and ACI certifications. Joe has been responsible for testing and inspection of many mining projects located in Nevada, including Round Mountain Gold, Barrick Goldstrike and the Marigold Mine. He also has experience in the inspection of residential projects, most recently the Eureka Canyon Subdivision.

Geary Robertson is a Special Inspector 1704 who has spent a good deal of his career as the "go-to guy" for public works paving projects. Geary is an exceptional plan reader and has been managing his own work from various Northern Nevada outposts for many years. Most recently, Geary's projects have included both the hospital and the Amtrak Station in Winnemucca, Nevada.

B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno

Ben Robles has been employed with Summit Engineering for 6 years and is currently a project engineer/manager with the firm. Ben serves as a civil designer and/or project manager and will be responsible for RTC roadway reconstruction and/or rehabilitation projects and site improvement projects, including the preparation of civil design improvement plans and contract documents. He served in this capacity for the RTC on the Las Brisas Boulevard Reconstruction project in Reno, Nevada. Currently, Ben is performing in the capacity as a project engineer for the RTC Sparks Consolidated project, which includes the reconstruction of 11 streets in the Conductor Heights subdivision in Sparks, Nevada.

B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno

Matt Roulias joined the Summit Engineering team in June of 2003 after graduating with a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno. He holds Professional Civil Engineer registrations in Nevada and California. Through his tenure at Summit, Matt has gained experience in both private development and public works projects. He has performed a variety of roles at Summit including: project management, personnel management, client relations, scheduling, permitting, agency coordination, report writing, civil design and project specifications. Matt displays strong leadership, management, organizational, and interpersonal skills.

B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Newcastle, Australia

Joshua has been employed with Summit Engineering for approximately 5 years and is currently a Geotechnical Designer/project inspector. Joshua graduated with a B.S in Civil Engineering from the University of Newcastle, Australia. He traveled the world through Europe, England, and India and played soccer in Japan for a representative team from Australia. Summit acquired his talents when he arrived in North America. Previously, Josh was involved in the design and engineering of multiple projects for the firm, including Point Legado, 4th Street Apartments and the Eureka Canyon Subdivision. Currently his responsibilities include Geotechnical investigation and providing construction inspection and testing services. Joshua provided geotechnical investigation services on the Idaho Street regional road repair plan, the Wadsworth Bypass and the Mae Anne Avenue Reconstruction. He also provided inspection and testing services to the RTC on the Las Brisas Boulevard, West Seventh Street, and Mae Anne Avenue Reconstruction projects. Joshua has designed mutable septic systems for both private and commercial projects and is certified by NAQTC for Sampling and Density, Aggregate, and Asphalt and ACI certified.

Denzil Tapper is one of Summit's better-known imports. He is equally appreciated for his lively sense of humor and his skill as a Special Inspector 1704. Denzil was born and raised in England and arrived at Summit, by way of many places, in 1994.

B.S. Civil Engineering, Northeastern University

Bob Thibault spent his formative years in New Hampshire and attended college at Northeastern University in Boston, where he completed a B.S. in Civil Engineering. An avid fly fisherman, the West called, and Bob moved to Salt lake City in 1998. From there, Summit Engineering lured Bob on as a staff designer. With his move to Elko in 2006, Bob became the Survey Crew Supervisor, and he continues his work as a staff designer on the public works/transportation agency design team. Bob contributed his design knowledge to the Vista-Prater Sewer Interceptor, the Robb Drive Reconstruction Project, and the Granite Lockwood Aggregate Facility. In his moments of free time, Bob volunteers with the Nevada Department of Wildlife angler education program, where he teaches fly fishing and fly tying.