The ENGEO Disaster Recovery team swiftly addresses geologic hazards including post-fire erosion, debris flows, landslides, coastal erosion, contaminated soil mitigation, and rockfall mitigation. This team, consisting of engineers, geologists, hydrologists, environmental scientists, and GIS analysts, specializes in rapid hazard evaluation, mapping, and mitigation design. By utilizing advanced technologies such as GIS tools and drone surveys, they work to protect critical infrastructure and properties, ensuring a swift recovery and facilitating resource agency permitting. Additionally, we implement and manage fire-fuel abatement zones through the creation and management of community-based hazard mitigation entities, further enhancing physical recovery efforts and financial resiliency.
Annamarie Usher, PE, QSD | Valencia, United States
Annamarie is an Associate with expertise in geotechnical and stormwater emergency response and recovery including field engineering support. With a background in geotechnical exploration, analysis, and design, technical report preparation, geotechnical and SWPPP consultation during construction, and project management. Annamarie has contributed to a wide range of projects, including rapid hazard evaluation and mitigation design. She serves both private and public sectors, working on master-planned, mixed-use, and residential developments; commercial developments; military base reuse projects; bridges; water tanks; and roadway capital improvement projects, including roadway and utility improvements. Her design experience encompasses landslide mitigation, corrective grading, analysis and mitigation of liquefaction potential, settlement analysis, design of shallow and deep foundations, pavement analysis, design of reinforced earth retaining structures, and large hillside grading design. Annamarie is proficient in utilizing advanced technologies such as GIS tools and drone surveys to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of emergency response and recovery efforts relating to geotechnical engineering and erosion control planning and implementation.
“Disaster recovery and rebuilding are not just about restoring what was lost, but about creating a stronger, more resilient future. We are committed to supporting communities through every step of the recovery process, ensuring that we build back better and more sustainably. Together, we can overcome any challenge and emerge stronger than ever.”
Chase Hemming, PE, CMEngNZ | San Ramon, California
Chase Hemming is a Senior Engineer with extensive experience in emergency response and post-fire mitigation. He has worked on various projects across California, New Zealand, and Australia, specializing in post-fire hydrology and mitigation. He excels in leveraging cutting-edge technologies, including GIS tools and numerical modeling, to improve the precision and effectiveness of his work.
Chase has been actively involved in emergency response and disaster recovery efforts. He played a key role in the Gunns Camp Debris Flow Assessment, where he reviewed local rainfall records and estimated the return period of the extreme rainfall event that caused severe damage to Gunn’s Camp. He also contributed to the Creek Fire response, focusing on hazard evaluation, post-fire mitigation, and emergency planning. Additionally, Chase worked on the Ongarue River Bank Stabilization project, providing stabilization recommendations to prevent further erosion and protect nearby infrastructure.
“I value the opportunity to help our communities during each stage of natural disasters—from initial hazard mitigation and public education, to boots-on-the-ground emergency response, to recovery and rebuilding. I particularly enjoyed collaborating with first responders and public officials following the Creek Fire to implement practical and sustainable engineering solutions.”
Hamish Foy, RPGeo | Auckland, New Zealand
Hamish Foy is a chartered Engineering Geologist with over 11 years of experience in land development and infrastructure projects based in New Zealand, America, and Australia. His work has involved project management, slope assessment, geotechnical analysis, geotechnical design, and construction monitoring. This has specifically involved providing geotechnical solutions for difficult sites, building strong client and contractor relationships, and developing efficient and practical solutions.
Hamish has been involved in multiple emergency events specifically the Christchurch Earthquake (2011), the Kaikoura earthquake (2016) Queensland Floods (2021) and the Auckland Anniversary Floods (2023). Across these events, his work has involved a combination of rapid risk assessment and long-term remediation and mitigation projects.
These projects typically had a strong geological and geotechnical focus. Hamish’s role typically included rapid hazard and risk assessment, geotechnical investigation, detailed geological and geomorphological mapping, temporary mitigation works design and permanent detailed design, and geotechnical project management. Hazards assessed included landslides, debris flows, rockfall, slope instability, erosion and scour, liquefaction, and fire damage.
“Although responding quickly and helping communities recover is our priority, we believe that our work goes beyond recovery and innovation—we design resilience for the future. Whether responding to earthquakes, landslides, or wildfires, our goal is to restore stability, reduce future risks, and help communities rebuild stronger than before.”
Heather Lyons, CMEngNZ (PEngGeol) | Auckland, New Zealand
Heather Lyons is a chartered Engineering Geologist with 18 years of experience in land development and infrastructure projects across New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the South Pacific. She has a strong focus on project management and client relationships, with skills in geomorphological mapping and geological modeling that are essential for developing risk-averse, cost-effective geotechnical design solutions.
Heather has been involved in several emergency projects, including both rapid risk assessment and long-term mitigation strategies for public and private assets impacted by extreme weather events which have led to flooding and landslides.
In 2023, Heather was involved in a national response to the Auckland Anniversary and Cyclone Gabrielle rainfall events, providing Rapid Building Assessment support to the Hawkes Bay region after it was devastated by an extreme flood event. She supported Auckland Council with landslide risk assessments of public and private properties impacted by landslides, using the Australian Geomechanics Society (AGS) 2007 Landslide Risk Management framework. She also responded to the closure of KiwiRail’s North Auckland Line due to Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary storm events, performing similar assessments and supporting the recovery effort from initial rapid response through design and construction, to the successful reopening of the line.
“Responding to natural disasters requires genuine collaboration between the many responders and the affected communities. It is a privilege to work within these communities during the initial recovery period and provides an opportunity to observe the impact of the event on the land and infrastructure. Our ability to learn from these observations is critical to developing tailored recovery strategies for these communities.”
Jeff Braun, PE, GE, PMP | Irvine, California
Jeff is a Principal and brings over 24 years of experience in geotechnical design, review, and project management services for projects throughout California. Prior to joining ENGEO, Jeff served as an Engineer Officer in the U.S. Army, providing master planning, design, construction management, and inspection services on projects in several countries with international clients and contractors.
Jeff has applied his expertise to numerous projects. For example, he has been involved in the Santa Rita Landslide Mitigation Design project in Guam, where he played a key role in designing and implementing mitigation measures to address risks. Additionally, Jeff has worked on emergency response and debris disposal plans for the countries of Costa Rica and Colombia, along with numerous public and private slope stability mitigation projects.
“Recovering from natural disasters requires long-term commitment and funding. While the initial response and cleanup receive the most attention, returning to any sense of normalcy requires years of effort provided by engineers and contractors with the technical experience to not only provide approaches that mitigate risks from the recent disaster, but more importantly, apply lessons learned to reduce risks from future disasters.”
Joe Tootle, PE, GE | Irvine, California
Joe Tootle is a Principal and has over 28 years of experience in project management, levee design, flood control structures, and emergency response. He has led numerous large-scale projects, including post-fire mitigation, landslide stabilization, seismic hazard analysis, flood fight operations, and post-flood damage recovery. Joe has been the lead geotechnical consultant on projects involving critical infrastructure, public buildings, and community centers.
Joe has played a key role in emergency response and disaster recovery efforts, providing practical and constructible engineering solutions. Joe has been involved in the Creek Fire Post-Fire Mitigation project in Madera County, California, assisting with hazard evaluation and emergency planning. He has worked on the Implementation and Management of Pre-Disaster Risk Reduction through Community Based Hazard Abatement Districts. Each of these projects has required the evaluation of multiple potential geotechnical and geologic hazards that necessitated an evaluation of the risk level, design of the preferred mitigation alternative, and the implementation of both deterministic and/or adaptive management improvement works.
“As design engineers, I think we need to reset our perspective to acknowledge that even well-designed infrastructure will not achieve a Zero-Risk result; therefore, true sustainability can only be achieved with both physical and financial resiliency.”
Richard Justice, CMEngNZ | Christchurch, New Zealand
Richard Justice is a Principal Engineering Geologist at ENGEO, with extensive experience in emergency response and rapid landslide projects. He has played a key role in assessing the resilience of the North Canterbury Transport Network following the 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake and managing slope instability hazards within the Rail Network in New Zealand.
Richard has also been involved in the response to Cyclone Gabrielle, working as part of a large delivery team responding to the damage of KiwiRail’s North Auckland Line. His role included review of hazard and risk assessments undertaken by the ENGEO team for both rail and road, as well as the design and implementation of mitigation works for rockfall and debris flow. His expertise in geotechnical risk assessment and stabilization has been crucial in managing and mitigating hazards in these emergency situations.
Richard has also been responsible for the development of many of the units that comprise the New Zealand Geotechnical Societies Slope Stability Guidance series. In particular, Richard is the lead author for Unit 6, which is dedicated to Debris Flow phenomena.
“Building resilience is a continuous process that requires dedication, innovation, and collaboration. At ENGEO, we are committed to applying our expertise and knowledge to create safer communities and ensure a swift recovery from natural disasters.”
