Unleashed With Big Red Dog Engineering

Episode 62 of the WGI Unleashed podcast takes us back to West Palm Beach, FL, to get to know David Gerber, a Project Engineer in our Roadway (Transportation) division. David (aka Gerber to most) has been an integral part of the WGI team for over a decade and has had the unique pleasure of working out of several different WGI offices during his time here. Despite thinking we knew all of Gerber's ins and outs, we discovered during this podcast recording that we had only scratched the surface. We learned that he was born in Miami but grew up in the Lakeland area between Tampa and Orlando. Following high school graduation, he quickly booked it back to South Florida, where he first attended the University of Miami (UM) before transferring to Florida International University (FIU), where he completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. We listened while Gerber told us how a chance encounter at a wedding was not only how he ended up here with us at WGI but also what spurred his interest in transport

For episode 61 of the Unleashed podcast, we traveled down to West Palm Beach, FL, to talk to Connor Bailey, a Senior Planner in our Land Development group. Connor has been a part of the WGI team for over five years and recently earned his planning certification through the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). Connor told us what it was like growing up in Orlando after spending the first few years of his life in a tiny town in northern Wisconsin. We learned he earned not one but two degrees from Florida Atlantic University; a Bachelor of Urban Design (BUD) AND a Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP). In talking to Connor, we learned what an urban planner does and what exactly his job here entails. He shared with us what his favorite part about working at WGI is, and we also uncovered the fact that he has another unique role here at the company, one specific only to the 2nd floor of our corporate office

In the 60th episode of our WGI Unleashed Podcast, we spoke with Hang Masterson, Studio Manager for our Landscape Architecture team in the West Palm Beach, FL office. We listened to Hang as she told us what it was like growing up in a small town in Northern China

On the newest episode of WGI Unleashed, we got to know Jasmin Ramirez, a human resources generalist who is based out of our Orlando office. Jasmin has been an integral part of WGI and the HR team for over 4 years and is a Florida native who is also bilingual. (Fun fact

For episode 58 of our Unleashed podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with the always entertaining Andrew Kong, a senior manager for our Restoration division based out of our Charlotte, NC office. Andrew has been an integral part of WGI for over 16 years and leads a team of restoration engineering professionals in the southeastern region of the U.S. Right from the beginning of our interview with Andrew, we knew we were in for a treat! He brought so much energy and positivity

In episode 57 of WGI's Unleashed podcast, we spoke with Sandor Laszlo, the Regional Manager of Technology in our Geospatial division. Sandor joined the WGI team about three years ago and brought over 20 years of professional experience with him. Sandor told us what it was like growing up in Fords, New Jersey, a diverse suburb of New York City, where he spent the entirety of his childhood before heading off to college. We discovered that he started his career in software development, spending almost 20 years in that field before transitioning into engineering, ultimately refining his focus on geospatial technology. We also delved into some of the latest, cutting-edge technology WGI has been investing in, and learned how Sandor and his team have being utilizing this equipment to enhance our projects and benefit clients. Listen to Sandor's episode now to find out what his go-to karaoke song is, what exit he's from in New Jersey, and to hear the unique way he pronounces the word coffee!

For episode 56 of our Unleashed podcast, we chatted with Augustine Verrengia, a Market Leader for our Civil Engineering team in our Austin, TX office. Augustine has over 12 years of Engineering experience and is coming up on his 1st anniversary with WGI. Augustine talked to us about growing up in the Austin area, walked us through the early days of his career after graduating from The University of Texas at San Antonio with a bachelor of science in civil and environmental engineering, and told us the story of how he ended up here at WGI.  We learned he recently got married and discussed the joys of becoming a new parent and raising a family in the same city he grew up. He also let us in on some intriguing endeavors he has embarked on in the past, took us through some of his hobbies, and told us the life-altering reason he had to scale back on one of his favorite outdoor activities. Augustine has substantial experience in civil engineering design, project management, and construction administration duties gain

In our first episode of 2022, we got the privilege to speak with Britney Cooper, Business Development and Marketing Representative located in our Houston, TX office. Britney talked about studying abroad in Italy, being born in south Florida,  and studying at Southern State University. She also discusses how she met her now-husband on a blind date before both of them moved to Texas to teach kindergarten. Britney now has two young boys, a dog named Luca (named after the movie), and 4 chickens where she gets fresh eggs every day! Britney jumped into the AEC world in 2015 and has not looked back. Her creative side, management, and organization skills have assisted her in becoming a successful marketing manager and assisting in business development efforts.

For our final WGI Unleashed episode of the year, and in celebration of National Twin Day on December 18th, we talked to WGI’s only set of twins, Ashley Schmidt and Jackie Tuten. Both are located in our Austin, TX office and have been with WGI for over 6 years.

We had an entertaining time this episode talking with Chad Riddle, a Project Manager on our Land Development team in Jacksonville, FL. Chad began his career with WGI in the West Palm Beach, FL office before transferring to our Jacksonville office to help jump-start our land development division there. Chad has extensive knowledge and experience in the production and management of design and drafting services on a variety of projects. His range of work includes mixed-use developments, residential community design, and commercial/urban infill. As a project manager, Chad is responsible for site and landscape design, managing projects through the local agency approval process, and assisting clients from concept through construction to ensure their design intent is maintained.

We had a blast this episode talking to Blake Wallace, a Data Engineer in our Tampa, Florida office. Blake is a part of our Info Technology division and has been with WGI for over 3 years. Blake told us what it was like growing up in a small town in Florida, after being adopted from Thailand as a toddler. We learned that he joined the Marines fresh out of high school, and also got some insight on just how much fun one can have when working the night shift alone at Kinkos. Blake discussed his love for all genres of music, that he likes to build and race drones (who knew you could race drones

We had the privilege of talking to Wes Kaisershot, Regional Manager Utilities Engineering on our SUE team located in our Austin, TX office. Wes has been with WGI for less than a year but has over 23 years of experience in his field.

In this episode, we got to chat with Amanda Montgomery, an Environmental Scientist on our Environmental Services team. Amanda is based out of our Fort Lauderdale, FL office and has been with WGI for 4 years. She is one of WGI's most active brand ambassadors and exudes passion in everything she does, which is why our hosts were so eager to have her as a guest on the show.

In this episode, we got to chat with Tom Bernard, the Market Leader of our MEP Division based in our Tampa, FL office. Tom has recently celebrated his one-year anniversary with WGI and was excited to hop on the mic and join us on the show.

In this episode, we got to chat with Shad Shafie, VP of the Buildings division based in our San Antonio, TX office. Shad drove to the Austin, TX office to record this episode of the podcast for a riveting conversation. Shad discussed his early life growing up in the Austin, TX area and going to college at The University of Texas where he played football and studied Architectural Engineering. He also discussed moving around the country to many cities with his wife before they had two daughters. We also learned about Shad's passion for photography, skydiving, 80s music, Las Vegas, and more!

In this episode, we got to sit down in the Tallahassee, Florida office to chat with Loren Steele, Project Engineer with our Transportation team. Loren is originally from Jacksonville, FL, and moved to Tallahassee, FL to attend FSU where she obtained her bachelor’s in Civil Engineering. In her free time, she discussed how she enjoys home improvement projects and spending time outside at the park where her kids can play. She also gave gardening tips to our host, calling back to our previous episode with Floyd Jackson. Loren's transportation design experience encompasses a wide range of assignments involving roadway design, plans production, quantities/estimating, planning, public involvement, and engineering research, analysis, and reporting.

In this episode, we got to sit down in the Tampa, Florida office to chat with Floyd Jackson, Chief Designer with our Civil Engineering team. Floyd talked about growing up in Florida and attending the Santa Fe College in Gainsville, FL on a scholarship for being a school ambassador for two years. He then graduated from the University of Central Florida where he obtained his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He also discussed getting married, traveling the world, and his newfound hobby - gardening! Floyd and his wife started gardening during the pandemic and have not stopped since.

In this episode, we got to sit down in the Tampa, Florida office to chat with Marcia Alvarado, Market Leader for our Structures and Parking division. Marcia discussed growing up in a military family and her travels around the world. She also discussed her path to the engineering profession, going to college with a full-ride to play basketball, and her life as a model working during New York Fashion Week. She received the USF College of Engineering Young Alumnus Award in 2018. Marcia is a graduate of Leadership Tampa Bay and serves as the Diversity and Inclusion Chair for the Board of Directors. Marcia provides a unique combination of experience with structural engineering and Building Information Modeling (BIM) coordination as a project manager. She has 16 years of structural engineering experience and project management of new construction and renovation in healthcare, commercial, higher education, multi-story residential, federal, aviation, and parking garages. She also has engineering experience in structu

In this episode, we got to sit down in the Austin, TX office to chat with Colter Sonneville, Project Manager and Certified Arborist in our Landscape Architecture department.

Our hosts got a kick out of our new guest this month, Joelle McCormick, Team Leader based in our Austin, Texas office on our MEP Engineering team. She talked about growing up in New Jersey and going off to college at The Pennsylvania State University to become a doctor. She changed her career path to becoming an engineer because she is good at solving problems and making systems work efficiently. She went on to talk about how she found herself moving to Austin, Texas after a site visit with a previous employer while eating Thai food. She ended up here at WGI and has been with us for 5 years!