Our Team
Ryan Sawyer, AICP
Ryan Sawyer is a Project Director with 17 years of experience preparing environmental analysis reports in compliance with NEPA, CEQA and related environmental laws and regulations for a variety of clients, including numerous tribal governments, public agencies and private entities. She is a credentialed environmental planner through the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and has led the preparation of environmental documents for projects large and small across California and the United States. Her diverse project experience includes analysis of tribal fee-to-trust acquisitions; water, wastewater, and transportation infrastructure; housing projects; mixed use and commercial projects; entertainment complexes and hotel facilities; light and heavy industrial manufacturing and processing plants; and recreation and open space.
She has a thorough understanding of the environmental regulatory process, and takes pride in developing partnerships founded on trust earned through demonstrated expertise and commitment.
Ryan’s experience includes managing or directing the preparation of:
- More than 50 NEPA compliance documents for various federal agencies, including EISs, EAs, and categorical exclusion documentation for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Federal Highway Administration, and others. She is particularly familiar with BIA NEPA processes associated with federal land into trust projects. Multiple NEPA compliance documents managed by Ms. Sawyer have been subject to legal challenges, and each have been upheld in federal court.
- Technical studies and planning documents for more than 50 Native American Tribes throughout the U.S., including tribes in Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Idaho, California, and Michigan.
- More than 10 CEQA compliant EIRs for large-scale specific plans, annexations and tentative map projects throughout Northern California. Examples include the Vanden Meadows Specific Plan and Annexation in the City of Vacaville, and the approximately 700-acre Amoroso Ranch Specific Plan in the City of Roseville.
- Environmental documents for dozens of wastewater treatment, recycled water, and water supply infrastructure projects, including projects involving federal funding through the EPA. Examples include an EIR/EA for the Placer County Wastewater Treatment Plant Abandonment Project, CEQA-Plus IS/MND for the Shasta Lake WWTP Upgrade Project, and EIRs for the Hollister Domestic Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- Transportation infrastructure projects, including roadway widening, bridges, highway interchanges, roundabouts, signage and resurfacing. A key example includes the preparation of IS/MND, EA and all associated permitting, including a CWA 404, 401 and Incidental take permits for a 5-mile roadway widening and bridge project in a rural area of Fresno County.
- IS/MNDs for subdivision and rezoning projects to support greenfield and infill development, including housing, commercial uses, and gas stations.
When Ryan is not busy working on environmental documents, she is raising her two daughters, that are her heart’s pride and joy. They spend time reading Harry Potter books, playing board games, and running around to softball games and practices. In her spare time….well let’s face it, she’s a working mom, there is no spare time.
Jen Wade
Jennifer (Jen) Wade is a Project Director with over 17 years of experience in the environmental consulting field. She has managed the preparation of NEPA, CEQA and tribal environmental compliance documents, along with overseeing regulatory permitting for a wide range of projects. These projects include residential and commercial development, tribal fee-to-trust transfers, tribal gaming facilities, tribal gaming facility expansion, solar energy development, affordable housing redevelopment, solid waste facilities, and infrastructure improvements.
Key accomplishments include:
- Managed Tribal Environmental Impact Reports for two of the largest tribal casino expansions in California.
- Co-chaired and presented at multiple Law Seminars International conferences regarding environmental compliance on tribal lands.
- Worked with a wide range of federal lead agencies including the U.S Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), National Indian Gaming Commission, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Federal Aviation Administration.
- Managed the preparation of four complex EISs for large, mixed-use development, for which the USACE Regulatory Program, Sacramento District, served as the lead agency. The EISs involved complex impact analysis of impacts to suitable habitat for federally-listed vernal pool species.
- Assisted in preparation of programmatic CEQA compliance for regional and statewide solid waste facilities including anaerobic digesters and dairy manure digesters/co-digesters.
When not working, Jennifer is chasing down her two young girls and two Pomeranians. She is an avid dog lover and traveler. Her favorite destinations include Maui, Capitola, Murphys and Tahoe.
Bibiana Sparks
Bibiana Sparks is a Project Director with 14 years of experience in preparing and managing NEPA and CEQA compliance reports and related documents. She has provided environmental consulting services to dozens of projects across nine states for local, State, and federal agencies, as well as an array of tribal governments and private enterprises. Through her experience with heavily complex and controversial projects she is adept at coordinating with lead agencies, stakeholders, sub-consultants, and project teams to produce thorough, technically accurate, legally defensible, and consistent environmental compliance documents.
Bibiana’s accomplishments include:
- Managed and was primary author on NEPA compliance documents prepared either under direct contract with tribal governments or under a three-party agreement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), for projects in California, Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan, Oklahoma, Illinois, Florida, and Louisiana.
- Assisted tribal staff in the preparation of applications and supporting documents for dozens of tribal fee-to-trust acquisitions throughout the United States.
- Managed the preparation of CEQA compliance documentation for several complex and controversial housing and commercial development projects including, most recently, the Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) for the Point Molate Mixed-Use Development Project for the City of Richmond in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Managed and was primary author on several CEQA compliance documents for water and wastewater infrastructure projects, some of which included discussion of federal crosscutting regulations (also referred to as CEQA-plus documents) to support federal environmental compliance associated with grant applications for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Programs and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF).
- Received accreditation from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as a Lead Verifier of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Data Reports as an Transactions Specialist (a verifier accredited to provide verification services to electric power entities; suppliers of petroleum products and biofuels; suppliers of natural gas, natural gas liquids, and liquefied petroleum gas; and suppliers of carbon dioxide).
Bibiana has been affectionately called the “Chaos Coordinator” while managing projects, but the moniker seems more appropriate when she is home with her young daughter and three cats. She has participated in a monthly book club and monthly ‘must-see’ movie viewings with friends before and throughout the pandemic and enjoys going on walks and picnics along Lake Natoma and the American River.
Kt Alonzo
Kt Alonzo is a Project Manager, biologist, and tribal consulting and NEPA/CEQA expert who provides professional consulting services to Native American Tribes as well as to local, state, and federal agencies. In addition to NEPA, fee-to-trust, and gaming expertise, she also oversees the development of various types of tribal documents, such as Master Plans, Environmental Ordinances, Wetland/Natural Resources Management Plans, Tribal Initial Studies, Tribal Environmental Impact Reports to address off-reservation impacts, Agricultural Plans, and various grant-related documents.
Josh Ferris
Josh Ferris is a Project Manager with 21 years of experience managing environmental compliance for a diverse range of tribal projects and public infrastructure projects. He specializes in assisting clients with site assessment, due-diligence, project design, plan development, regulatory compliance, permitting, agency coordination and public outreach. He has managed every step of the environmental process from concept to completion. In addition to project management, Josh has expertise in conducting a broad range of environmental analyses including GIS, land use, water resources, aesthetics, and socioeconomics.
He has also conducted growth-inducement and cumulative analyses that evaluate project related impacts on a regional level. Josh has overseen the completion of EIR/EIS documents for complex and often controversial projects requiring strict adherence to project timelines, interagency cooperation, budgetary constraints, and legal standards. Josh has experience working with a variety of clients including tribal governments, state and federal agencies, local governments, municipal service providers and project proponents. Outside of the office, Josh enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter exploring the woods and waters near their home in Maine. He can also be found working on keeping their nearly 200-year-old farmhouse from falling into the ground or working on an endless list of woodworking, archery and boating projects.
Annalee Sanborn
Annalee Sanborn is a Project Manager and environmental analyst with over 11 years of experience in CEQA and NEPA projects of varying sizes and complexity. Her CEQA expertise includes the preparation of Initial Studies and Environmental Impact Reports for water development projects, housing and related infrastructure, vineyards, water rights, timber harvesting, and more. Ms. Sanborn also has experience preparing and facilitating Clean Water Act (CWA) and Streambed Alteration Agreement (SAA) applications for water diversions, crossing projects such as bridges and culverts, and restoration projects. She has extensive vineyard and winery experience in Napa, Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino counties, from early project planning stages through to completion of construction and mitigation monitoring.
G.O. (Geo) Graening, PHd
Geo holds a Ph.D. in Biology and a Master of Science in Engineering, and is a California Registered Environmental Assessor and an ISA Certified Arborist. Geo has 25 years of experience in environmental assessment and research, and has authored / co-authored numerous Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, NEPA Environmental Impact Statements and Environmental Assessments, CEQA Environmental Impact Reports and Initial Studies, FESA Biological Assessments, CESA Biological Resource Assessments, and Aquatic Resource Delineations.
Geo also serves as an adjunct professor at California State University Sacramento and is an active researcher in the area of conservation biology and groundwater ecology. When not working, he enjoys dancing (Tango & West Coast Swing), kayaking, painting, and fiction writing.
Kimberly Fuchs, MS
Kimberly Fuchs is a Senior Environmental Analyst with a diversity of environmental, technical, and field experience. She has completed multiple environmental studies in Alaska and the continental U.S. including: fish, bathymetry, water quality, and marine mammal studies; wetland presence and absence verifications; Phase I ESAs; and riparian functional assessments She has worked with a variety of agencies on permitting and compliance. Her experience includes technical writing and report preparation, preparing NEPA and CEQA documentation, peer/independent technical reviews, and quality assurance/quality control.
Outside of the office, Kim enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her five American Bullies. She has a sense of adventure and loves to travel to new places and experience the culture. Her favorite activity is to explore the depths of the ocean and the sea creatures that inhabit it while scuba diving.
Kristen Miner, MS
Kristen Miner is an Environmental Analyst with over 7 years of experience accumulated from a diversity of areas that has created a rich background conducive to tackling dynamic and challenging environmental issues. She has prepared numerous CEQA, NEPA, tribal-compact, and other environmental compliance documents for a diversity of tribal governments, local/State agencies, and private enterprises with development ranging from small infrastructure and residential projects to large commercial gaming projects. She has experience and technical writing expertise in most environmental issue areas included in environmental compliance documents, and consistently demonstrates excellent active problem-solving skills in order to produce comprehensive products that are project-tailored for her clients.
In addition to environmental compliance documents, she is accustomed to reviewing technical studies, has co-authored Environmental Site Assessment Phase Is, has performed CalEEMod modeling for estimating pollutant emissions, and has experience with utilizing GIS software. Outside of environmental compliance, she has previous survey and research experience from both federal and academic institutions. She performed botanical surveys and data management for the U.S. Forest Service in the Stanislaus National Forest that included assisting with post-burn management of the Rim Fire and meadow restoration/monitoring projects. She assisted with an ecological research project studying pollinators and agriculture for the University of California, Davis. She has also worked abroad, managing a research project studying solar energy and agricultural water use practices in rural India.
Kristen loves to learn and try new things, a characteristic she displays both inside and outside of work. She is an avid podcast and audiobook listener, loves to cook and bake from scratch, practices Shorin-ryu karate with her husband, dotes on her finicky cat, and travels when she can. She is also learning Spanish with hopes to one day talk with husband’s Chilean family without her husband’s interpreter services.
David Sawyer
David Sawyer is an Environmental Analyst with more than 7 years experience preparing environmental documentation in compliance with NEPA, CEQA and related regulations. He has expertise in impact analysis of geology, soils, hazardous materials, public services, recreation, and utilities. Additionally, he has a working knowledge of state and federal environmental policy, and has prepared dozens of Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessments in accordance with BIA requirements for land into trust projects.
Kelli Raymond
Kelli Raymond is a Senior Biologist with 10 years of experience. She has expertise in a variety of fields, including biological resources, regulatory permitting, water resources, tribal environmental compliance, CEQA, NEPA, and water rights. She has experience managing projects as well as providing technical expertise from the initial design phase through construction monitoring and on-going operational compliance. Kelly began her career working for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, where she spent several years participating in species management planning, hunting programs, and various fieldwork activities including live handling of deer, bighorn sheep, elk, and migratory birds.
Outside of work Kelli enjoys horseback riding, hiking, kayaking, and spending time with family. She has a long wish list of travel destinations and hopes to one day be proficient in gardening and repairing cars.
Emma Miller
Emma Miller is an Environmental Analyst with expertise in reviewing air quality impact assessments and greenhouse gas analyses for proposed land use developments subject to CEQA review. She is skilled in conducting technical analyses for air quality and greenhouse gas and has a proven track record in preparing technical reports in compliance with CEQA, NEPA, and AQMD guidelines. She is also experienced in leveraging advanced modeling tools, including CalEEMod and AERSCREEN, to construct comprehensive visualizations of air quality assessments and toxic exposures.