Southwest People News for Sept. 4, 2023
Christi Byrd has been named national business line leader for WSP USA’s advisory practice and elevated to senior vice president. Based in Albuquerque, she now leads expansion of the practice with a focus on transportation, buildings, energy, water and environment sectors. Byrd had been a vice president and director of the practice’s systems analysis group.
Sundt Construction recently promoted Clint Sundt to senior vice president and district manager overseeing mining and special projects based Tempe, Ariz. Since joining the contractor in 1994, Sundt has worked on projects in the firm’s industrial group, including those in water and wastewater, mining and renewable energy sectors. He most recently was a group regional vice president. Also in Tempe, Sundt Renewables hired Jacqueline Swift as engineering project manager and Joshua Thomas as project manager to support its growing portfolio of renewable energy projects.
Graycor Construction Co. has hired 24-year industry veteran Brian Bea as project executive in the firm’s Southwest division. He is based in Phoenix. Previously, Bea held various management and director positions at regional and national construction firms that Graycor did not identify.
Universal Engineering Sciences has hired Sam Palmer as Las Vegas branch manager. He had been assistant director for the Clark County, Nev., Building & Fire Prevention Dept. and also served as Western operating group manager for Terracon Consultants Inc. Palmer is board chairman of the International Accreditation Service, a globally recognized accreditation organization. He also is past chairman of the Nevada Organization of Building Officials and of the State of Nevada Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Palmer now leads a 170-person staff.
Caddell Construction hired Brian Sheehan to lead its new Phoenix office. He assumes the role of construction executive from a previous position in the public sector as design and construction division manager for Maricopa County, Ariz. According to Caddell, the Phoenix office will serve as operating hub for its Western region operations.
John Stormont has been elevated to distinguished professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at the University of New Mexico School of Engineering, based in Albuquerque. He is a geological engineer whose research includes development of “dry barrier” techniques for covering waste landfills in arid and semi-arid regions, according to the school. Stormont recently has researched wellbore leakage in natural resource production wells and in wells used for carbon dioxide sequestration.
Bardia Nezhati has been named Southwest region growth leader for Parametrix, based in Las Vegas. The region currently includes offices located in California, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico. Nezhati has nearly four decades of industry experience.
He joined Parametrix in 2018 and has built its planning and engineering practice across Nevada, says the firm.
TSK Architects, a Henderson, Nev.-based architecture, planning and interior design firm, has rehired Vince Novak, now as senior designer. He previously worked in his own design firm focused on residential and commercial projects in Michigan and served as a TSK contractor.
