Neel-Schaffer, True North announce 1 new Senior Vice President, 9 new Vice Presidents

JACKSON, Miss. (January 7, 2021) – Neel-Schaffer, Inc., and affiliate firm True North Emergency Management, LLC, are pleased to announce that 10 leaders within the company have been promoted to the role of Senior Vice President or Vice President for 2021.

Neel-Schaffer named six new Vice Presidents: General Counsel Ed Everitt, Telecom Manager Albert Wilson, and engineers Glenn Ledet, PE, Kris Lightsey, PE, Connie Standige, PE, and Chris Trebisky, PE.

True North announced that Derrick Tucker, PE, was promoted to Senior Vice President, and Doug Amato, Kingsley McCallum, and Richard Sosebee were promoted to Vice President.

Neel-Schaffer Promotions

Ed Everitt, Vice President:  Ed is a licensed attorney and registered Engineer Intern who currently serves as General Counsel for Neel-Schaffer. Ed recently passed the PE exam and is in the process of obtaining his Professional Engineer license. Prior to joining Neel-Schaffer, he spent seven years as in-house Counsel for one of the nation’s largest construction and engineering firms. Before going in-house, Ed practiced construction litigation for one of the preeminent law firms in the United States. Ed has a civil engineering background and worked for a consulting engineering firm prior to attending law school. He has extensive experience in the areas of construction law, risk management, contract review and negotiation and risk avoidance on construction projects. In his practice, he regularly reviews and analyzes issues on construction projects that lead to disputes. His experience includes representing contractors, engineers, developers, subcontractors, and owners.

Albert Wilson, Vice President:  Albert is a Senior Project Manager who manages Neel-Schaffer’s Telecommunications Division in Ridgeland, MS.  He joined the firm in 2003 and now leads our engineering services for major telecommunications buildouts, including wireless, fiber, and public safety radio systems for clients such as C Spire, a Mississippi-based wireless carrier and the 7th largest privately owned carrier in the US.  He oversees projects throughout the U.S. for Fortune 500 companies such as AT&T, Motorola, L3Harris, and Nokia and thrives in this market sector due to his driven nature, problem-solving ability, and attention to detail.

Glenn Ledet, PE, Vice President: Glenn joined Neel-Schaffer in 2019 and serves as the firm’s Program Manager for Coastal Science and Engineering. Based in the firm’s Baton Rouge (LA) office, he has 14 years of experience.  He is responsible for regional and corporate business development and project implementation of Coastal and Water Resources initiatives.

Kris Lightsey, PhD, PE, Vice President: Kris joined Neel-Schaffer in 2009 and serves as a Project Engineer and Manager in the firm’s Laurel (MS) office. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Civil and Environmental Engineering and spent four years as a graduate researcher for Mississippi State University on a National Science Foundation project that focused on wastewater treatment of hazardous organic compounds.

Connie Standige, PE, Vice President: Connie joined Neel-Schaffer in 2016 and has more than 30 years of diversified engineering experience. Based in our New Orleans (LA) office, she leads business development efforts for our Louisiana offices. Connie previously worked for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, where she held many roles, including Assistant Secretary of Operations and Engineer Administrator.

Chris Trebisky, PE, PLS, PP, Vice President: Chris joined Neel-Schaffer in 2012 and serves as a Senior Project Manager for a wide variety of site/civil and engineering projects. Based in the firm’s Madison (MS) office, he has served as Project Manager for recent high-profile projects such as the Brandon Amphitheater that opened in 2018 and the Amazon Fulfillment Center now under construction near Canton.

True North Emergency Management promotions:

Derrick Tucker, PE, Senior Vice President: Derrick joined Neel-Schaffer in 2002 and has worked as a Project and Program Manager for True North for more than 10 years. He has extensive experience managing disaster recovery and debris removal operations following large-scale events such as hurricanes Katrina and Ike. He is responsible for True North operations, which this year alone has included eight Public Assistance projects, three housing environmental/inspection projects, and Debris Monitoring for four tornadoes, four hurricanes and four major California wildfires. Derrick also serves as a Project Manager on water and wastewater engineering projects in Neel-Schaffer’s North Texas office.

Richard Sosebee, Vice President: Richard joined True North in 2016 and serves as a Disaster Recovery Project/Operations Manager. He has supported multiple complex disaster recovery operations around the country, including in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, in Houston following Hurricane Harvey and in Florida following Hurricanes Irma and Michael. Richard has served as PM this year on multiple Public Assistance, tornado and hurricane projects.

Kingsley McCallum, Vice President: Kingsley joined True North in 2013 and has more than 20 years of experience in disaster recovery management. He has supervised multiple recovery efforts following major disasters around the country, from flooding in Colorado to winter storms in Kentucky and tornados in Texas. Kingsley manages the firm’s housing inspection and environmental review projects and is currently leading our field operations on the California wildfire remediation project.

Doug Amato, Vice President: Doug joined True North in 2012 during the firm’s Hurricane Sandy cleanup efforts in New Jersey and has served as a Project Manager/Data Manager for multiple recovery efforts around the country, from multiple wildfires in California to Winter Storm Pax in South Carolina and Hurricanes Irma and Michael in Florida. Doug is currently supporting the State of California as their lead planner for a $250 million wildfire remediation project.

“I would like to congratulate each of these individuals for these promotions and for the accomplishments they have achieved for Neel-Schaffer and True North,” said Hibbett Neel, PE, CEO and President of Neel-Schaffer. “They reflect the values of our company and all do a tremendous job of serving their clients as well as the communities where they live and work.

“We look forward to watching them continue to grow and help others in the company develop as well.”

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