We are a Community Design Firm…
AWESOME YEARS
COOL, SMART, TALENTED PEOPLE
SHARED PURPOSE
It all started with 3 guys in a garage…
A three-person civil engineering and surveying firm began making its mark on Montana with a single purpose: To Plan and Design Enduring Communities. As the community of Billings grew, so did the firm – hiring more engineers, moving to bigger offices, and eventually, opening branch offices across the region.
With 50 years in our rear view, we have learned a thing or two about the power of a collaborative design team. We saw how communities thrived when a diverse group of design professionals worked with a united vision toward common goals. So, we have evolved into a comprehensive community design firm. Today, our Engineers, Surveyors, Landscape Architects, Urban Planners, Multi-modal Transportation Specialists, and Graphic Designers work together with our partners to make our world a better place. Looking forward, we see so much potential to improve lives through community design, and we will continue to grow to meet the challenge.
Looking back, there have been some bumps in the road and a few mountains to climb to get where we are today. But we see so many more opportunities on the road ahead. This year, Sanderson Stewart proudly celebrates 50 years of serving our communities
…and we’re just getting started!
FOLLOW THE LEADER –
ADVENTURES AHEAD!
The leadership team at Sanderson Stewart is filled with visionary people who live the core values that Sanderson Stewart was founded on. They are real people who feel passionately about making their neighbors’ lives better through innovative thinking and sound design principles – sometimes that requires forging a new trail, other times it is a familiar path – but…
the journey is never boring!
MICHAEL SANDERSON, PE, PTOE, LEED AP
President | CEO
When not globetrotting for his side job as International President of ITE, Michael and his black lab, Loki, like to run, fish, and watch his kids play volleyball & baseball. Words to live by: “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.” –Mario Andretti
RICK LEUTHOLD, PE, CDP, LEED AP
Chairman | Director of Business Development
Rick is a sunshine and rainbows kind of guy. When not traveling the world with his family and his westie, Duffy, Rick is working to make it a better place. That optimism and vision to see opportunity in every challenge is the reason he chose to become a civil engineer.
DANIELLE SCHARF, PE, PTOE, LEED AP
Principal | Bozeman Region Manager
“Remember to always be yourself. Unless you suck.” Luckily for us, Danielle can very much be herself. As our first-ever female stock holder, PTOE, and mom to 2 kiddos and one doggo, she excels at most things. Especially tailgating at Bobcat football games.
JOHN TUFTE, PE
Principal | Colorado Region Manager
Following in the footsteps of an amazing role model, mentor (& father), Erling Tufte, John always knew he was going to be a Civil Engineer. He started his career at Sanderson Stewart (back when it was called Engineering, Inc.) and – after receiving his masters and more than a little project experience – he is back once again. John, along with his golden retriever, Leo, is now managing the Colorado region for SS and looking forward to a lot more experiences. “Get ‘er done!”
D.J. CLARK, PE, PTOE
Principal | Billings Region Manager
Lucky for us and the communities he works in, DJ chose transportation engineering over meteorology in college. Still a tornado chaser at heart, DJ and his dogs Dakota and Mazey, now enjoy hunting safer things like ducks and geese.
TIM PIRTZ, PE
Principal | Chief Design Engineer
Tim loves the outdoors, but not extreme temperatures. That is actually one of the reasons he became a civil engineer. While working on a sweltering construction site one summer, he noticed that the engineer observing from his air-conditioned truck, and he knew that was the job for him. It is also the reason you won’t find him and his lab, Libby, ice fishing anytime soon.
ROBERT SANDERSON, PE, PLS
Board Member | Special Projects
Bob has been the North Star of Sanderson Stewart since the beginning. His earnest, cowboy way of getting things done, along with his strong sense of right and wrong have helped to create a great company. And a really rad ’56 suburban we like to call Old Blue.
KATIE KAY, PE
Associate Principal | DOT Group Manager
Katie specializes in all things DOT, and is our resident Right of Way guru. Born and raised in Billings, Katie loves spending time with her family on the fairways at Yellowstone Country Club. She is an avid Montana State Bobcats fan and legend has it that even her Koi wear blue & gold on game day.
BRYAN ALEXANDER, PE
Associate Principal | Commercial Group Manager
Bryan enjoys solving problems and creating lasting memories. Which is why he chose to be an engineer AND a professional photographer. With his family and cat, Baxter, he lives by the saying: “Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.” No challenge is too daunting. Not even being the crazy cat person in a dog-filled office.
GARY OWEN, PE
Associate Principal | Director of Quality
If you go boating with Gary, you had better be ready to sing some Conway Twitty songs. He isn’t afraid to share his love of “old” country music. Other things he loves include his terrific family; the MSU Bobcats; and math – which is what lead him to his (soon to be) legendary civil engineering career.
KARI ANDREN
Associate Principal | Director of Marketing | Branding Studio Manager
Inspiration can be found everywhere-Vikings games, driving, or walking the pups, Poppy & Thor on the beach. Keeping your eyes and mind open encourages more creative solutions, no matter where you are. “Lake hair, don’t care.”
AMY SCHNEIDER, MBA, SHRM-SCP
Associate Principal | Director of Human Resources & Administration
“Work for a cause, not for applause.” It couldn’t sum up Amy’s passion to improve people’s lives better. The clean freak in Amy is compelled to fix all our issues and tidy her house. Works out well for her two pups, Macy and Frankie, too.
LAUREN WATERTON, AICP
Associate Principal | Placemaking Studio Manager
Growing up just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park gave Lauren a unique perspective on the built environment and its integration with nature. She balances her love of outdoor activities and her fascination with the complexities of city growth to create great, active communities. She also balances on a unicycle, but that’s a story for another day.
MARK HOLLE, CPA
Associate Principal | Director of Finance & Accounting
Mark’s favorite saying is “Everything is fixable!” Which is great, since he is a CPA. It ain’t easy keeping a bunch of inspired designers on track financially. Apparently, golf isn’t easy for him either, but he doesn’t let that stop him from swinging.
CHARLES SONNIER, PE, CFM
Associate | Residential Group Manager
Charles started his career with Sanderson Stewart in Bozeman before moving to Colorado in the early 2000s. Before that? Well you might have to ask him about his rock ‘n roll days and sound engineering skills. Seriously impressive!
JOEY STASZCUK, PE, PTOE
Associate | Community Transportation Studio Manager
When Joey isn’t working to create enduring communities at Sanderson Stewart, you can usually find him outside, enjoying Montana’s many splendors. As an avid hunter and new dad, Joey knows the importance of taking care of our communities, and all of nature’s bounty for years to come.
CURTIS KRAMER
Associate | CADD MANAGER
You’d be hard pressed to find a bigger MSU Bobcats fan than Curtis. When he’s not cheering on his beloved Cats (or Las Vegas Raiders), you’ll likely find him hanging out with his wife and daughters or driving kids to school on the neighborhood bus!
DOUG PEZOLDT, PLS
Associate | Survey Group Manager
“Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities… because it is the quality which guarantees all others.” – Winston Churchill – is Doug’s favorite quote. It makes sense, because he needs lots of courage to wrangle so many surveyors at one time. When not managing the field crews, you can find Doug & his wife of 30 years cheering for his beloved Texas A&M Aggies.
CHRIS NAUMANN
Associate | Senior Planner
As a Senior Planner, Chris works collaboratively across the firm to achieve the triple bottom line of cultural, economic, and environmental sustainability to improve the communities in which we live, work, and play. Chris is also a busy and active member of the Bozeman community, where he serves on many boards and councils including the Greater Yellowstone Coalition National Council and the Northern Rockies Economic Development District Board among others.
STEPHANIE HUDOCK, PE
Associate | Water Studio Manager
Steph isn’t afraid of a challenge – she happily took the lead in launching the firm’s dedicated Water Studio all while delivering world class service to both her teammates and clients. When she’s taking a break from kicking butt, Steph is usually shredding the slopes or sliding around the ice rink while competing with the company’s curling team.
TESSA WERMERS, PE
Associate | Senior Engineer
When Tessa isn’t sharing her road design expertise on DOT-focused projects, you are likely to find her outdoors with her family (and pup!) enjoying all of the fun that Montana has to offer!
ERIN CLAUNCH, PE, PTOE
Associate | Municipal Group Manager
Erin is an active guy. Not only is he the firm’s Municipal Group Manager where he helps design enduring community solutions for cities, towns, and counties all over the Rocky Mountain Region, he is also a football referee, which takes him to the far reaches of Montana to officiate high school games. In his spare time, you’re likely to find Erin cheering on his kids at volleyball meets or his favored Las Vegas Raiders on Sundays.
CORA SMIT
Associate | Senior Marketing Coordinator
Cora is a member of the firm’s Branding Studio and leads the firm’s bid/proposal process. As a CSTP focused on the pursuit of Enduring Community Design and an active community volunteer, Cora is very inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt who once said, “Success must include two things: the development of an individual to his utmost potentiality and a contribution of some kind to one’s world.”
WE HAVE A VISION
of being ridiculously good at what we do without taking ourselves too seriously. We call this vision Ridiculocity and CSTP are the key.
AWARDS + RECOGNITION
We are proud to be recognized as a leader in our industry and beyond. Our innovative business and design practices have created a fun, challenging, and creative work environment that allows our Cool, Smart, Talented Professionals (CSTP) to shine. As partners in the design process, Sanderson Stewart continually looks for ways to make our clients’ projects and experiences ridiculously great.
We have fun, and sometimes receive a little recognition while doing it!
