With 23 years of CEQA-NEPA experience, Monica serves as both the Southern California Cultural Resources Director and Environmental Compliance Manager. As director of cultural resources, Monica manages a team of cultural resources experts in the fields of archaeology, paleontology, architectural history, history, and tribal resources. She provides strategic guidance to local, state, and federal agency clients, along with private developers, in navigating complex projects in the contexts of CEQA, NEPA, and Section 106 of the NHPA. Monica’s strength lies in her ability to develop approaches to meeting environmental requirements on multi-jurisdictional, high-profile projects involving sensitive cultural resources where creative mitigation solutions are required. She boasts a number of project successes involving sensitive Native American resources including Traditional Cultural Properties under Section 106 and tribal cultural resources under Assembly Bill 52, as well as possessing extensive experience with historic and pre-historic human remains. Monica’s thorough understanding of Assembly Bill 52 has led to routine trainings for her clients and workshop presentations for the Association of Environmental Professionals.
In her role as environmental compliance manager, Monica manages a team of compliance specialists who assist agencies and other clients with the implementation of project mitigation measures and permit conditions to ensure projects are constructed consistent with environmental requirements. Monica has successfully managed numerous large-scale compliance monitoring projects in the areas of energy, transportation, and water. She and her team work closely with consructction contractors, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders, and are skilled in resolving issues in “real time” in order to ensure projects continue on schedule and are consistent with environmental commitments.
Monica holds a Master of Arts in Archaeology and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from California State University, Northridge. She is a Registered Professional Archaeologist (RPA), meets the Secretary of the Interior Qualifications Standards, and is the administrator for ESA’s Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management Cultural Resources Use Permit.
