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WSP USA Bolsters Southwest Mountain District Leadership

WSP USA Bolsters Southwest Mountain District Leadership

WSP USA, a leading engineering, environment and professional services consultancy, has added Kitty Barkley, Newel Jensen and John Rohner to the senior leadership team in the firm’s Southwest Mountain district.

Barkley (Santa Fe), who transferred from WSP Australia, now serves as vice president/senior director and district business line leader for planning;

Jensen (Salt Lake City) joins the firm as a vice president and major projects manager; and

Rohner (Denver) joins the firm as the Colorado/Wyoming Transportation business leader.

“We welcome this outstanding group to our senior leadership team in this district,” said Shaun Grimm, senior vice president and Southwest Mountain district lead. “These three are exceptional professionals whose experience and expertise will greatly support our growth in this district.”

In her new role, Barkley leads the growth of the planning team and provides technical leadership and business development support to the district. She also builds relationships with clients in the district.

Barkley offers more than 30 years of experience in the environment and infrastructure industries, where she has been responsible for leading large, multi-disciplinary teams on major rail and highway projects in the U.S., Southeast Asia and Australia. Previously based in Sydney, Australia, she worked on Sydney Metro and Fast Rail projects. She also served as the regional environmental manager for the California High Speed Rail Program, where she was responsible for the environmental teams working in the Central Valley project sections. 

She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in communications and Clemson University with a master’s degree in urban/regional planning.

As vice president and major projects manager, Jensen directs project development from conceptual and preliminary engineering to final design and plans, organizes and supervises engineering activities for major projects.

Jensen has served as an executive project manager and engineer with extensive experience in transit and highway design-build. He served as a vice president for a global engineering firm, where he led the design teams for bus rapid transit, light rail transit and highway projects in Utah and throughout the west. He returns to WSP, having worked for the firm from 2012 to 2015, during which time he served as project director for the Provo-Orem Bus Rapid Transit Project on behalf of the Utah Transit Authority.

Jensen is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, and the University of Utah with a master’s degree in civil engineering.

Rohner, as senior director and local business leader, develops and implements marketing strategies and coordinates workshare with offices across the West Coast. He provides coordinated leadership with other local and national business line leaders for the pursuit of transportation focused highway, bridge, roadway corridor, transit and rail, multi-modal and aviation-based transportation improvements, and supports client and project opportunities for all WSP’s services.

He has 23 years of experience designing highway and bridge projects, as well as 13 years managing teams of bridge engineers and technicians. He previously served as vice president and deputy Colorado alternative project delivery lead at a global engineering firm, as well as its southwest bridge group leader and project manager.

Rohner is a graduate of Iowa State University with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering. In 2016 he was part of a Bridges to Prosperity contingent that constructed a 51-meter suspension bridge in Panama.

The Southwest Mountain district is part of the West region at WSP, covering all business and projects in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.