Archives: Profiles

Jason Stoops, P.E.

Jason B. Stoops, P.E. is a seasoned civil engineer with over 24 years of experience specializing in geotechnical engineering and materials testing. Jason obtained his bachelors degree in Civil Engineering and masters degree in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Michigan. As an Office Manager, Project Manager, and Associate Owner at G2 Consulting Group, Jason has led geotechnical investigations and construction oversight on a wide range of developments across Michigan, from high-rise student housing to large-scale industrial redevelopments. A licensed Professional Engineer in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, Jason is also an Adjunct Professor at Lawrence Technological University, where he teaches Foundation Engineering and serves on the Civil and Architectural Engineering Advisory Board.
Beyond technical expertise, Jason is a dedicated advocate for infrastructure investment and civil engineering policy, having served in leadership roles with ASCE, including President of the Southeastern Michigan Branch. His passion for mentoring shines through both in academia and his volunteer work. A proud father of three and lifelong Michigan sports fan, Jason embraces his role as a “Coach for Life,” both professionally and personally, enjoying family time, coaching youth sports, and skiing in Northern Michigan. Jason previously chaired the Business Practices Committee and is an FOPP graduate

Dori Ross, P.E.

Dori Ross, P.E.: Senior Vice President of Client Services, Sanborn, Head & Associates, Inc.

Dori Ross, PE, is a dynamic leader and seasoned geotechnical engineer who drives excellence at Sanborn, Head & Associates (Sanborn Head). As the Senior Vice President of Client Services, Dori plays a pivotal role in shaping the firm’s strategic direction and ensuring unparalleled service quality. Her collaborative approach and deep expertise, as a member of the Executive Committee, make Dori a vital link between Sanborn Head’s executive team, client service areas, and functional leaders.
Dori draws on her background as an accomplished geotechnical engineer and proven business leader to guide Sanborn Head’s performance and help the firm achieve its corporate and strategic objectives. She focuses on improving operations, creating annual business plans and longer-term strategic plans, and mentoring and developing staff.
Dori has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Connecticut. She has been involved with GBA for many years and is an active member of GBA’s Business Practices Committee. She also serves on the board of directors of ACEC Massachusetts, where she served as Secretary and co-chaired the ACEC/MA’s Transportation Agencies Liaison Committee (TALC) for many years. Dori is a professional engineer in Massachusetts.
When not at work, Dori enjoys spending quality time with her husband Dana, their son Jake, and daughter Laney. She loves relaxing by the pool with family and friends, diving into a good book, tending to her garden, biking, and taking long walks with her two beloved chocolate labs.

Jeffrey P. Jaros

Jeff is President | CEO of NTH Consultants, Ltd. (NTH), an infrastructure and environmental engineering firm headquartered in Michigan. He joined NTH in April 2005 and was named a Senior Associate/Vice President in April 2008. He was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2017 and appointed to CEO in May 2023. Jeff received his B.S. in Meteorology from Penn State in 1991 and his M.B.A. in 2000 from Michigan State University.

Jeff started his career developing weather forecasts for a host of industries ranging from railways to professional sports teams. Having grown up during the bustling days of blast furnaces and steel mills in Pittsburgh, his desire was to use his degree to perform atmospheric modeling. After a short stint as a forecaster, he moved to Michigan to work with the regulatory agency performing emissions modeling for clean air act permits, and regional atmospheric modeling and meteorological modeling to support state-level programs aimed at reducing ozone.

During this time, Jeff earned his Executive M.B.A. and entered the engineering and environmental consulting industry providing permitting and compliance support to various industries and clients. Through the years, he assumed increasing leadership roles, culminating in his current role. He has been in the engineering consulting industry for over 20 years.

Today, Jeff lives in Michigan with his wife Renee and pup Sullivan. They are empty nesters and proud parents of two adult children. He is an active member of GBA’s Business Practices and Peer Review Committees.

Kent Bannister, P.Eng.

Kent is the President and CEO of TREK Geotechnical Inc., a growing earth sciences and materials testing consulting firm based out of Winnipeg, Canada. For the past 25 years, he has been a practicing geotechnical engineer throughout the prairie provinces of Canada and into Canada’s North. In addition to his corporate duties, Kent acts as a geotechnical design lead or reviewer on a variety of projects. Most notably, Kent has acted as the Geotechnical Lead for some of the largest design-build infrastructure projects completed in his home province. Throughout his career, Kent has served in a variety of roles to help to elevate the geotechnical profession. He first started volunteering for the Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS) while working on his M.Sc. degree in the late nineties. Since then, he has continuously served the CGS in a variety of roles most notably as member of their National Board of Directors as the Chair of the Professional Practice Committee from 2011 to 2015 and as Vice President Finance from 2017 to 2020. He presently serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Foundation for Geotechnique as their Treasurer. Kent attended his first GBA Conference a few years ago as a representative of the CGS, he was so impressed with what he saw that he returned to Winnipeg and arranged for TREK to join as a member firm immediately!
When he is not working, Kent enjoys spending time with his wife and their two teenaged sons. This generally consists of boating and camping through the summer months and chauffeuring kids to various activities for the remainder of the year. He believes in supporting his community and has served for several years on the organizing committee for the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba’s Annual Golf Tournament. He also provides financial and fundraising support to Make-A-Wish Canada and the Movement Centre of Manitoba.

Carrie Rodriguez, P.E., G.E.

Carrie Foulk, P.E., G.E., is a senior geotechnical engineer at BSK Associates and is a licensed Geotechnical Engineer in the State of California with nearly 20 years of geotechnical experience. Carrie obtained her bachelor’s degree at the University of Washington and master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She started in the geotechnical engineering industry in 1998 after a 2-year stint as a structural engineer at Boeing. Carrie also took a 5-year hiatus to be a stay-at-home mom when her children were born.
Today, Carrie serves as the Geotechnical Group Manager for BSK’s Livermore and Rancho Cordova offices and serves as BSK’s Geotechnical Technical Lead. She has a wide range of experience, especially with public works projects, schools, solar, and high-tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and California’s Central Valley. Carrie is the chair of the GBA’s Geotechnical Business Committee and recently graduated from the GBA’s Emerging Leaders Committee.

Stuart “Stu” Thompson

Stu Thompson is the President and CEO of CTL|Thompson, Inc. CTL|Thompson is a geoprofessional consulting engineering firm with over 200 employees in offices across the Mountain West. He is responsible for strategic leadership and curating the firm’s vision, mission, values, and culture.

Mr. Thompson is a former Chair of GBA’s Peer Review Committee and a graduate of GBA’s Emerging Leaders Class 1.

Stu and his wife, Kelly, live in the Denver area and will theoretically become empty nesters in 2023 as the third of three daughters begins her college adventure.

Dan Schaefer, P.E.

Dan Schaefer was born and raised in Rochester, NY. After reading the children’s book Who Built the Highway (Norman Bate, 1953) at an early age, Dan was hooked and knew that somehow, someway, he was going to be involved in construction. He spent many days as a youth watching construction projects in the city and building things around the house, and carried that interest to college to pursue a degree in Civil Engineering. After receiving his B.S.in Civil Engineering from New England College in 1985, Dan worked for Empire Soils Investigations, Inc. in western New York for five years before moving to Raleigh, NC in 1990 to join Froehling & Robertson, Inc. During his early years at F&R, he was able to complete a M.S. degree in Civil Engineering from North Carolina State University. In 2001, Dan became the Branch Manager of F&R’s Raleigh office. In 2015, Dan was promoted to the position of Vice President, a title holds today. In this role, Dan oversees operations in F&R’s North Carolina offices. He also administers several internally and externally facing programs geared toward improving F&R’s business practices.

Dan has more than 35 years of experience specializing in geotechnical engineering, construction inspection and materials testing, and a wide variety environmental consulting services. In addition to his management duties, he continues to serve as a senior engineer on a wide variety of site development, building and transportation projects with particular emphasis in foundation, retaining wall, pavement and slope design. Dan was the Chair of GBA’s CoMET Business Committee from 2017 to 2022.

Teresa L. Peterson, P.E., C.M.E., LEED AP O&M, ENV SP

Teresa L. Peterson, P.E., C.M.E., LEED AP O&M, ENV SP is a Vice President and Senior Project Manager for Gannett Fleming, Inc. working with their Facilities team. Gannett Fleming is a multidisciplinary, innovative consulting firm with over 2,500 employees across North America. She is the Northeast Regional Director of Sustainability and sits on Gannett’s Collaborative Research and Innovation Center working team. Based out of their Marlton, New Jersey office, she brings more than 20 years of experience successfully delivering projects to private and public clients in the facilities, transportation, power, and water utility markets. Peterson earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Science and Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and is a licensed Professional Engineer in New Jersey.

Elizabeth Clarke