ESA is pleased to announce exciting new additions to the Northwest region as we welcome Maya Hunnewell, Chad McKinney, Vanessa Rogers, and Colin Worsley to the firm. Each of these individuals bring a depth of experience within their fields—together, they will expand ESA’s scientific and regulatory expertise in our environmental planning, biological resources, and environmental hydrology and design practices; strengthen our collaborative partnerships with clients and partners; and guide strategic business development.
“Adding these four experts to the ESA team will not only bolster the planning, biological resources, and engineering services we provide to our clients in the Northwest, but they also bring valuable leadership perspectives into the firm,” said Northwest Regional Director Stacy Bumback. “Having worked with or crossed paths with each of them over the course of my career, I couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead for our region!”
Maya Hunnewell
Maya Hunnewell joins ESA as our Northwest Environmental Planning Business Group Director. With more than 20 years of professional experience as a permitting and planning lead, Maya’s work has greatly focused on overseeing environmental analysis and compliance on large-scale regional transit and transportation projects in the Seattle area, and working with multiple public agencies throughout Washington, such as Sound Transit, WSDOT, and King County Metro.
With her deep knowledge of the environmental compliance process, she will heighten the region’s State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) planning expertise to best serve clients in all of the markets we serve. As director of the region’s Environmental Planning practice, she will collaborate with ESA’s multidisciplinary specialists to align the region’s shared technical expertise in environmental services, community outreach, and permitting across projects. Says Bumback, “By strengthening and intensifying this collaboration, Maya will advance new opportunities for ESA’s practice growth and will establish substantial connections between our teams and, most importantly, with our clients.”
Chad McKinney
Chad McKinney is a water resources engineer and a technical leader in hydraulic/hydrologic analysis and design, bringing more than 16 years of experience to ESA. Chad joins the firm’s environmental hydrology and design practice as a Senior River Engineer and will apply his expertise in hydraulic structure analysis, sediment transport and design, and watershed modeling of complex reach-scale restoration in large river systems. He will also serve as a technical lead and reviewer for the practice’s renowned river-focused design.
Chad also brings notable experience working with tribal partners, having collaborated on and completing significant projects in major river systems along the Olympic Peninsula and Columbia Basin with tribal governments.
Vanessa Rogers
Vanessa Rogers joins ESA as Regional Business Development Leader to guide the Northwest region’s business development and seek out emerging opportunities in energy, water, and natural resources management. She brings more than 15 years of experience working with clients to ensure NEPA, federal Endangered Species Act, and National Historic Preservation Act compliance, and has secured federal, state, and local environmental permits (including Clean Water Act permitting) for numerous energy, mining, oil and gas, transportation, infrastructure, housing and commercial development, stormwater facilities, fish passage, and environmental restoration projects.
With her skills in strategic planning, program management, environmental policy and law, and sustainability practices, she will help our clients with new environmental opportunities and help address risks and challenges.
Colin Worsley
Colin Worsley has more than 20 years of experience as a wetland ecologist and project manager in consulting and public agency roles. He joins the Northwest Biological Resources Group as a Principal Wetland Ecologist, where he will apply his project management and scientific expertise with ESA’s team of scientists specializing in biological resources, resources management, wetlands studies, and habitat restoration.
His work as a wetland scientist has focused on delineation, classification, and management of wetlands, wetland assessments, federal, state, and local environmental regulations and permitting, and construction and post-construction monitoring. He also has a wealth of experience as a project manager and environmental lead, serving as a mitigation monitoring and maintenance lead and permitting agency coordinator and facilitating project communications and outreach.
We are thrilled to welcome these four exceptional scientists and leaders to ESA!
