Peer Praise: Staff Shoutouts and Celebrations

We all work with a team. Our project and client and career successes rely on each other. Here are some stories where we put a spotlight on our peers that help us shine, as told by their colleagues. There are so many great tales like this and we’ll keep telling them in this ongoing series.

Daniel Babcock, Project Geologist

Shoutout by Jasmin Toro, Project Engineer

How does your colleague help you?

Daniel is one of the most positive young professionals at Aspect I’ve been around. He supports a variety of environmental cleanup projects and is now exploring new territories as the Environmental Health and Safety representative. This is a key role that keeps our staff safe and our projects on point. He is also learning the ins and outs of project management while remaining closely engaged with the environmental field staff group. Without him, it’s unlikely we would have as strong a commitment in the field staff team in our environmental group.

What do you appreciate the most about your coworker?

Daniel is an available shoulder to lean on. Even when he’s well beyond a full work week, he’s available to help. Daniel is always a pleasure to communicate with; is proud of his work; and happy to share his skills with others. He does exactly what Doug Hillman – a recently retired Aspect owner – encourages us all to do: “Empower Others.”

Any other ways they stand out to you?

Across many projects this year – whether sampling a well or being patient with a hurried call from field staff or a client – Daniel leans into the unknown and embraces it. He’s fearless and wears many hats and wears them very well.

Carla Hanafee, Contract Specialist

Shoutout by Owen Reese, Principal Water Resources Engineer

How did your colleague help you?

Carla is a true specialist in one of my least favorite parts of project management – evaluating and negotiating contract terms. We’re all excited to get going on a project, but first there’s the hurdle of insurance, and limitations on liability, and other contract terms.

All critically important, but not particularly fun (at least for me). Carla’s always there to help me through this phase thoughtfully and quickly.

What do you appreciate the most about your coworker?

I really appreciate the care and ownership Carla brings to the contracting process – she proactively works to propose solutions to sticky contract terms and follows up with clients to see those changes through.

How else do they stand out?

We consistently get workable contract language that’s fair to the client while protecting Aspect from undue risk – all because of Carla’s help in sorting through the details.

Jill Van Hulle, Sr. Associate Water Rights Specialist

Shoutout by Kelsey Mach, Project Geologist

Jill (on the left) and Kelsey (on the right) at MLK volunteer event in January 2022.

How did your colleague help you?

Jill is my sounding board and often second brain when it comes to water rights projects. It’s a regular occurrence that I say “Jill, I got a puzzler for you” and she always seems to have thoughtful and helpful insight to provide.

What do you appreciate the most about your coworker?

Jill is good at having my back. I appreciate the feedback but also the overall support and unwavering confidence in me and my abilities.

How else do they stand out?

Ultimately, she helps to not only make my work environment better, but also to make the quality of work we produce at Aspect better.

Meet Aaron Fitts and Jasmin Jamal!

Aaron Fitts recently joined Aspect's Bellingham office and Jasmin Jamal recently joined Aspect's Portland office.  Here are five questions we asked to get to know them better.

Aaron Fitts, LG, Staff Geologist

Aaron and 2 1/2-year-old son Arthur.

1.  Where are you from? If you’re not from the Pacific Northwest, what brought you here? 
   I grew up in central Maine. The landscape in Maine and New England is a lot like the Pacific Northwest (PNW), except the mountains are smaller and the winters are colder. I spent all my time growing up in the woods or on the coast; I spent the summers racing bikes, surfing, and whitewater guiding, and in the winter I’d be climbing mountains, snowboarding, and cross-country skiing. It turned out that you could do all these things in the PNW too, but it’s also way more fun here!
    
2. What inspired you to pursue geology? 
   At the end of my Junior year of college, I had completed most of the requirements for a degree in physics and found myself with just electives left for my senior year. I was a bit sick of being stuck in physics laboratories all the time and saw geology as an opportunity to spend some time outside. I took eight geology courses in one year and was able to get a dual-degree. Ironically, I ended up spending most of my time in a basement geochemistry laboratory, though, I got out enough to make it worth it. I decided that I wanted to go to grad school where I could be in landscapes a bit more exciting than the Northeast. My undergraduate advisor recommended that I contact his colleague at Western Washington University in Bellingham, telling me that it was near the coast but surrounded by mountains. That was literally all I knew about the area when I drove across the country to get here. It ended up being a good decision.
    
3. What excites you and keeps you motivated? 
   Troubleshooting and problem-solving while working with clients, contractors, and co-workers is my favorite thing about working in this field. There’s something very satisfying about getting something complicated to work out in the end. Getting to do the type of science that I enjoy and seeing cool places at the same time is just a great bonus on top of it all.
    
4. What do you like to do when you aren’t working? 
   Lately, my favorite activity has been reexperiencing childhood activities with my two boys (11-months and 2.5-years old). My toddler is obsessed with riding his bike and running on the trails and my infant is obsessed with anything his big brother is doing. My wife and I do our best to keep up with them, but they’re a handful. When we do find time for ourselves, we usually end up riding our bikes anyway.
    
5. Where in the world would you like to travel next? 
   There are a lot of places around the world I’d like to visit; generally, any place with mountains, probably Chile or Argentina. Honestly though, even given the choice, I’d probably most like to just go to the Methow Valley. I really like it there.

Jasmin Jamal, EIT, Staff Engineer

Jasmin at the Trillium Falls near the Redwood National and State Parks in Humboldt County

1. Where are you from? If you’re not from the Pacific Northwest, what brought you here?
   I am from a city called Orange, in a county called Orange, in a state called California. My life-partner Jonathon and I visited Portland a few years back and immediately agreed that this was where we needed to be. Last summer, I finished grad school, he requested a job transfer, and before we knew it, we landed in Portland!
    
2. What inspired you to pursue environmental engineering? What made you curious about it?
   Growing up, my mom frequently took my sisters and me on camping, hiking, and biking adventures. I loved the outdoors as a kid but never imagined pursuing an environmental job as a career--I always wanted to be a teacher. During college, I stumbled upon the earth science program and fell in love. Around the time that I finished my undergrad, environmental engineering was introduced as a master’s program at my university. The variety of topics covered in the program were intriguing, so I went for it and fell in love for the second time! My interest in teaching hasn’t ceased but I envision myself now as more of a grey-haired professor.
    
3. What excites you and keeps you motivated?
   I like the diversity behind environmental engineering and am motivated by the fact that the environment is ever changing. I hope to work in multiple areas of interest including wastewater and surface water treatment, solid waste management and design, fate and transport of chemicals, and soil and groundwater remediation.
    
4. What do you like to do when you aren’t working?
   I enjoy hiking, biking, and camping, but I probably like all of that as much as I like being horizontal with my cat Carrie.
    
5. What five people would be your dream party guests?
   I’m going to pick a mixture of living and dead:
   1. My Uncle Tom (deceased)
   2. Barack Obama (living)
   3. Carrie Brownstein (living)
   4. 011 from “Stranger Things” (fictional)
   5. John Muir (deceased)