Team

LEADERSHIP

Tania treis

PRINCIPAL

SUSANNE HEIM

PRINCIPAL

Key Staff

Megan Peterson

Director

Angie Alexander

Angie Alexander

Director

Jessica Koteen

Senior Manager

Emily Capello

Senior Manager

Rita Wilke

Senior Manager

Aaron Lui

Senior Manager

Whitney Broeking

Senior Project Manager

Caitlin Gilleran

Senior Project Manager

Keri Hill

Senior Project Manager

Stephanie Klock

Senior Project Manager

Lynell sutter

Senior Project Manager

Garett Peterson

Project Manager

kelsey patterson

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST

rachel durben

SENIOR BIOLOGIST/PLANNER

Image of Regina Ochoa

regina ochoa

SENIOR PLANNER/PROJECT MANAGER

Jennifer Kidson

Senior Planner/Project Manager

Geoff hornek

Air Quality and Noise Specialist

Christina Kossa

Visual Resource Specialist

Corey Fong

GIS Manager

Caitlin Jensen

GIS Manager

Elizabeth McCullough

Environmental Planner

Charlotte Hummer

Environmental Planner

Catherine Medlock

Environmental Planner

Sara Sloan

Environmental Planner

TANIA TREIS

PRINCIPAL
Tania is the Founding Principal of Panorama Environmental, Inc., and specializes in CEQA, NEPA, and permitting compliance. Tania has held a passion for science and the environment her whole life and takes a pragmatic, yet proactive approach to her work. After a few false career starts in finance and pharmaceuticals, she settled into environmental consulting in 2002 and never looked back. Over the last 20+ years, Tania has moved through the field from an analyst, to a scientist and planner, to a manager, and in 2011, the co-founder, and owner of Panorama Environmental, Inc. Tania currently leads Panorama’s services in solar energy, fire and fuels, and water utility sectors. Tania is recognized for her strategic insight and creativity in finding solutions for complex projects and programs. Tania’s vision for Panorama has been to create a company that serves clients with a highly focused and intelligent team of professionals who care deeply about their work and bring success to every project, while also being a great place to work. Tania is recognized as a leader in the industry, and is called upon to provide training and lead workshops for industry groups such as the Association of Environmental Planners and the San Francisco Bar Association. Tania is also a member of the Association of A/E Business Leaders. Tania received her Bachelor degree in Mathematical Biology and Master’s degrees in the fields of Geology and Biology. As an owner of Panorama, she oversees the company’s overall business strategy, finances, and information technology.

Susanne Heim

PRINCIPAL

Susanne is a Principal and co-owner of Panorama with 20 years of project and program management experience in the environmental field. Susanne has led CEQA, NEPA, and permitting efforts for electric utility, solar, geothermal, water utility, and watershed restoration projects throughout California, Nevada, and internationally. Susanne is recognized for her team leadership and ability to motivate teams to achieve project and program goals. Susanne currently leads Panorama’s services in the geothermal, electric utility, and water resource sectors.

Susanne was awarded the Environmental Improvement Program award from the Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee in 2009 for her contributions to Lake Tahoe Basin restoration. She received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of California San Diego and her M.A. in Public Policy from the University of Nevada Reno. Susanne’s role as an owner includes leading company operations and staff development.

Megan Peterson

DIRECTOR

Megan has 25 years of professional experience in environmental program management for energy and infrastructure programs and projects, including electric transmission, natural gas, and water pipeline and treatment facilities; solar installations and interconnections; and civil construction and development projects.

She has versatile capabilities ranging from siting, routing, constructability, and constraints reviews to preconstruction planning, permitting, and regulatory strategy to compliance management, environmental inspection, and restoration/revegetation. Megan is knowledgeable of federal, state, and local regulatory processes and has secured discretionary environmental permits in California, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

Megan has managed, authored, and contributed to a wide range of environmental documents, including PEAs in compliance with the California Public Utilities Commission’s General Order 131-D; environmental documents in compliance with NEPA and CEQA; biological, hydrological, and archaeological technical reports; and construction implementation and restoration plans. She has also successfully managed the environmental compliance programs for numerous, complex, linear projects across a diverse range of sensitive habitats, with specific expertise in water quality protection, stream and wetland restoration, and erosion and sediment control.

Megan has functioned in a management and leadership role for over 10 years and provides staff guidance, mentorship, and training and ensures consistency, accuracy, and quality of staff deliverables.

Angie Alexander

Angie Alexander

DIRECTOR
Angie has nearly 20 years of technical experience in environmental planning, permitting, and compliance. She has acted as project manager and project director on a multitude of energy and water infrastructure and development projects throughout California, with an emphasis in the San Francisco Bay Area. She excels at directing large cross-functional teams, including design and engineering, construction and operations, and environmental subject matter expert staff. Her targeted qualifications include hands-on development of comprehensive planning and permitting strategies, management of multidisciplinary technical studies and teams, and oversight of environmental compliance management programs large utility infrastructure projects. Angie is particularly skilled at establishing excellent working relationships with clients; federal, state, and local resource agencies; and municipal planning agencies to ensure successful collaboration across all stakeholders. She manages on-call contracts with large subconsultant teams valued at $7MM.

Jessica Koteen

SENIOR MANAGER

Jessica Koteen has more than 20 years of experience as an environmental compliance and regulatory permitting specialist. She has worked with both the private and public sectors on a wide range of projects, including tribal land development, utilities, recreation and community master planning, forest planning, new school construction, and wind energy development. As Project Manager, she is skilled in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) compliance; interagency coordination; regulatory permitting; and the facilitation of community outreach efforts. Ms. Koteen has recently managed numerous projects with NEPA components for a variety of federally recognized tribes, as well as contributing to the development of US Forest Service (USFS) Environmental Assessments (EAs) throughout Montana and Idaho.

Emily Capello

SENIOR MANAGER

Emily is a Senior Manager with experience directing large diverse teams, including engineering, construction and operations, and environmental subject matter expert staff. She has acted as project manager, program manager, and principal on infrastructure projects. She has overseen the preparation of over a dozen California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental documents specific to infrastructure projects and federal planning documents and has extensive experience working with public-sector agencies, including United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), California Energy Commission (CEC), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and various Counties (Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, and Inyo).

Emily received her B.A. in English and History from Tufts University and her M.P.A. in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University.

Rita Wilke

SENIOR MANAGER

Rita is a skilled CEQA and NEPA project manager with more than a decade of experience leading environmental impact analyses for transportation, electric transmission, water resource, renewable energy, and public works projects. Rita has a strong understanding of permitting processes and has prepared permit applications for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Regional Water Quality Control Boards. Rita has also managed the preparation of Biological Assessments to support U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. She has experience coordinating with state and federal agencies throughout project definition, environmental documentation, and construction compliance phases. Panorama’s clients routinely recognize Rita for her dedication and ability to respond quickly to address project needs.

Rita has received her A.A. in Humanities from Los Rios Community College, her B.A. in German and M.S. in Ecology from San Francisco State University.

Aaron Lui

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER

Aaron is a CEQA and NEPA senior project manager with expertise in defining projects to minimize impacts and avoid constraints, coordinating with agencies and stakeholders, and developing appropriate and feasible mitigation measures. Aaron has over 12 years of experience managing compliance monitoring, developing mitigation compliance programs and reporting systems, coordinating between agency staff and construction teams, and resolving compliance issues. Aaron also has extensive experience working with GIS, and preparing maps and graphics that communicate complex topics effectively. Aaron has advanced experience as a photographer and uses composition techniques in visual impact analyses, cartography, and graphic design.

Aaron received an A.A. in Liberal Arts and an A.A. in Humanities from Sierra College, and a B.A. in Geography from the University of California, Berkeley. Aaron received the annual Cartography Award and Matthew M. Lyon Prize in Photography from the University of California, Berkeley.

Whitney Broeker

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER

Whitney is a senior project manager with 12 years of experience, providing management, research, technical, permitting, coordination, and writing support services for energy utility, urban development, and water infrastructure projects. Whitney is responsible for managing the preparation of environmental documents for projects subject to compliance with CEQA and NEPA, including Environmental Impact Reports, Mitigated Negative Declarations, and Environmental Assessments and is experienced in managing multidisciplinary technical studies and teams.

Caitlin Gilleran

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER
Caitlin has 11 years of environmental planner and technical analysis experience. Caitlin leads projects through the CEQA and NEPA process with technical expertise in addition to a keen understanding of environmental regulations and resources. She has prepared or managed numerous environmental documents and supporting technical reports, ranging from small addendums to large programmatic EIRs and EISs. Caitlin has managed several projects that involved review of the designs for environmental constraints, refinement of project details, coordination of multiple technical studies and deliverables, preparation of the CEQA and NEPA documents, direct coordination with the client and agencies, and performance of all administrative tasks associated with managing the schedule and budget. In her work, Caitlin has analyzed the effects of a wide array of development, resource management, transportation, wetland mitigation, and infrastructure projects. Caitlin is especially effective at coordination with and assisting a client to define the technical project elements required for a robust environmental analysis.

Caitlin received her B.S. in Environmental Management and Protection, Emphasis in Science and City and Regional Planning from the California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo.

Keri Hill

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER
Keri is an experienced project manager, specializing in National Environmental Policy Act compliance for multiple entities and agencies. Most recently, Keri has managed complex project teams through feasibility and environmental analysis of watershed related projects such as dam raises and decommissioning for both the United States Bureau of Reclamation and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Keri has led Biological Assessments, Environmental Assessments, and Environmental Impact Statements with a robust understanding of the National Environmental Policy Act and agency processes.

Stephanie Klock

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER

Stephanie is a skilled project manager for projects requiring environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental Policy Act. Stephanie is an expert in leading multidisciplinary teams for a wide variety of public and private infrastructure projects including utilities, renewable energy development, community, transportation, and technology sectors. Stephanie has developed an expertise for working on infrastructure projects throughout her career. She has a wealth of experience managing the environmental permitting and regulatory processes. Stephanie is a skilled consultant who has successfully managed many projects from design to completion.

Stephanie received her B.A. in Biology & Spanish from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Lynell Sutter

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER
Lynell is a Senior Project Manager with over 15 years of experience preparing NEPA documentation including Environmental Assessments (EAs), Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), and EIS/Resource Management Plans (RMPs), as well as other regulatory documents such as Biological Assessments (BAs). Her experience includes private, state, and federal natural resource and land use planning, environmental impact analysis, NEPA, environmental permitting and compliance, data collection and analysis, rangeland monitoring and assessment, and GIS. For over a decade, Lynell has provided technical expertise for various disciplines including vegetation (uplands and riparian), rangelands, forests, special status and threatened/endangered species, and livestock grazing. She has served as a technical specialist, resource lead, interdisciplinary team lead, assistant project manager, and project manager on small-to-large scale, multijurisdictional projects including site-specific NEPA projects, resource management/land use plans, and strategic conservation plans. Lynell has completed specialized project management training for contract, risk, financial, time, team, communication, and quality management. Her leadership style is focused on effective communication, proactive problem solving, and she strives to guide individuals and teams to their highest level of collaboration, innovation, and effectiveness.

Garett Peterson

PROJECT MANAGER

Garett is a project manager and environmental planner with 7 years of environmental compliance experience, providing management, research, technical, permitting, coordination, and writing support services for energy, urban development, and transportation industries. Garett is responsible for research, coordination, and management in the preparation of environmental documents for projects subject to compliance with CEQA and NEPA, including Environmental Impact Reports, Mitigated Negative Declarations, and Environmental Assessments. Garett is experienced in supporting clientele with the procurement of regulatory permits and authorizations from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California Department of Fish and Wildlife , Regional Water Quality Control Board, and Federal Aviation Administration. Garett also has city planning experience conducting comprehensive development code updates, general plan analysis, entitlement coordination, and public outreach. Garett leads coordination between technical personnel, clients, project managers and other staff.

Kelsey Patterson

Environmental Scientist
Kelsey is an environmental scientist with diverse experience in natural resource management, ecological restoration, and environmental compliance. She is primarily a field scientist with an extensive background in ecology and watershed health, and has led a wide range of biological and water-related field projects throughout the western US. Kelsey has also served as a specialist for National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements, Biological Assessments and Endangered Species Act Section 7 compliance. She is also certified in wetland delineations, and has experience with Clean Water Act Sections 401/404 compliance and permitting.

Rachel Durben

Senior Biologist/Planner
Rachel is a senior biologist and environmental planner with over 12 years of experience in interdisciplinary natural resources management and a background in ecology and watershed sciences. Her experience includes project management, leading professional trainings, watershed and wetland restoration and monitoring, ecological research, and environmental education. Rachel has coordinated and managed numerous watershed restoration projects throughout the Sierra Nevada, from project planning and fundraising through crew supervision, project implementation, data management and reporting. She conducts fieldwork, manages projects, and acts as the point person for coordination between technical personnel, clients, project managers and other staff. Rachel has overseen the development of various environmental documents in compliance with the NEPA, including Environmental Assessments and Categorical Exclusions, and has served as Lead Biologist on projects requiring environmental review under the CEQA. Rachel also has extensive agency experience and has served as a liaison with the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, California State Parks, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Regional Water Quality Control Boards, and non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations throughout California and Nevada.
Image of Regina Ochoa

Regina Ochoa

Senior Planner/Project Manager
Regina has over eight years of experience in environmental planning. She specializes in managing complex projects, collaboratively working with stakeholders and agencies, overseeing multidisciplinary teams, and preparing and presenting staff reports that can be easily understood by people of diverse backgrounds to decision-makers and community groups. She has managed the CEQA review process for renewable energy, industrial, commercial, and residential projects. Regina is particularly adept at reviewing plans for ordinance compliance, public engagement and community outreach, and preparing and managing CEQA documents.

Jennifer Kidson

Senior Planner/Project Manager
Jennifer is an environmental planner and project manager with seven years of experience, providing management, research, technical, coordination, and writing support services for water and wastewater infrastructure projects. Jennifer is responsible for preparing environmental documents for projects subject to compliance with CEQA, including Environmental Impact Reports and Mitigated Negative Declarations. Jennifer has experience with all CEQA topics and has a background in water resources planning, California and federal funding and financing programs, and GIS analysis.

Geoff Hornek

Air Quality and Noise Specialist
Geoffrey Hornek is an environmental scientist and engineer with more than 20 years of experience in environmental and occupational air quality and noise analysis. He has prepared many technical reports for a wide variety of industrial, commercial, transportation and urban development projects, and is well-versed in the federal, state and local regulatory framework that guides development. Geoffrey’s technical capabilities include measuring ambient air pollutant and noise levels, performing computer-based air dispersion and noise attenuation modeling, conducting air toxic health risk assessments, and designing environmentally superior alternatives to mitigate air pollutant and noise problems and their related health impacts.

Christina Kossa

VISUAL RESOURCE SPECIALIST
Christina Kossa has over 15 years of professional experience working on urban and environmental planning projects, and over 30 years of professional experience working in design, engineering, architecture, and visual analysis fields. Christina has extensive experience working with AutoCAD and developing photorealistic visual simulations depicting proposed conditions for a range of projects, including transmission lines and substations, energy generation facilities, commercial and residential developments, water infrastructure, and transportation infrastructure. Christina has successfully completed visual impact assessments for project applicants from start to finish, which included developing methodolgy, identifing key observations points, taking techincal photos, preparing visual simulations, analyzing visual change and potential aesthetic impacts, and identifying suitable mitigation. Christina’s visual assessments have been used as the basis for analyzing visual impacts for numerous projects evaluated under the California Environmental Qualitly Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Corey Fong

GIS Manager

Corey is a GIS Specialist with expertise in cartographic design, environmental science, and analysis using GIS models and programs. He has experience in conducting GIS work at multiple stages during the life of a project, from project definition to environmental review to mitigation monitoring. His maps have been used for analysis and for inclusion in environmental review and permitting documents. Corey has experience with an array of project types, and he has significant experience with energy and energy infrastructure projects. Corey has used ArcMap, ArcInfo, and ArcEditor from Esri to create and maintain GIS data and geodatabases and has experience with the Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst extensions.

Corey received his Certificate in Geographic Information Science from West Valley College and his B.S. in Environmental Studies – Restoration Ecology from San Jose State University.

Caitlin Jensen

GIS Manager
Caitlin is a GIS Specialist with a Master of Science degree in GIS and a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. Her combination of education and professional experience has provided her with a skill set based in geospatial analysis, conservation planning, database management, field data collection using GIS mobile apps, and cartographic design. Caitlin has technical skills in Python and SQL and has developed expertise in using R to expedite data management tasks and optimize GIS data processing.

Elizabeth Mccullough

ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNER

Elizabeth has a strong understanding of forestry, vegetation management, arboriculture, road construction and construction compliance monitoring. Elizabeth has over 7 years of experience in Timber Harvest Plan preparation and layout. She has completed a variety of field surveys to support preparation of Timber Harvest Plans, including timber cruising, water course classification, archeological surveys, all involved flagging and buffers, timber marking, stocking surveys, roads assessment, spotted owl surveys and endangered amphibian habitat surveys. As an environmental planner, she has worked her expertise to write and design vegetation treatment areas for fuel reduction projects. Elizabeth is also an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certified arborist.

Charlotte Hummber

Environmental Planner

Charlotte is an Environmental Planner with experience in research, permitting, project coordination, and technical writing services for projects subject to environmental review under the CEQA and NEPA, as well as other environmental permitting requirements. Charlotte’s project experience spans the energy utility, water infrastructure, urban development, and transportation industries. Charlotte has experience collecting field data and providing biological support including conducting rare plant surveys, post fire erosional monitoring, eagle mortality surveys, and mapping wetland delineations.

Charlotte is a certified Qualified Stormwater Practitioner (Certificate #27635) and has experience writing Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP), implementing appropriate best management practices, and inspecting SWPPP for compliance with the State Water Resources Control Board regulations.

Catherine Medlock

Environmental Planner
Catherine is an environmental planner with experience preparing environmental documents subject to CEQA review for wildfire prevention, utility, planning, and renewable energy projects. Catherine frequently provides research, writing, and administrative support to Project Managers and other senior staff. Catherine also has extensive GIS and cartographic experience, and uses programs such as ArcMap, ArcGIS Pro, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop.

Sara Sloan

ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYST

Sara Sloan is an Environmental Analyst with experience preparing environmental documents such as Categorical Exemptions, Environmental Assessments, Initial Studies, Mitigated Negative Declarations, and Environmental Impact Reports subject to compliance with CEQA and NEPA. She also has experience in organizing public comment responses, Section 508/AB 434 compliance conversion, coordinating with subconsultants, and preparing permit applications. While at Panorama, she has gained extensive experience in conducting  site inspections where she records and documents site conditions in support of project mitigation monitoring efforts.

Sara graduated from the University of Southern California with a  B.A. and M.A. in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Coastal Ecology and Coastal Sustainability and Planning. She has prior and current experience using arcGIS, R, Python, Pycharm, and Excel. She is also a certified AAUS scientific diver and has served as a diver/researcher on multiple experiments during her time at USC.