Leadership

Board of Directors

Gibson Hartwell Board Member

Gibson is a Senior Project Manager and leader of the DJ&A Environmental Group, a talented team of wildlife biologists, botanists, geologists, planners, and rangeland, wetland, aquatic resource, vegetation, and NEPA specialists. Gibson brings more than 30 years of experience in natural resource studies and management. He is an expert in natural resource law compliance including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and other cornerstone environmental laws.

Gibson specializes in coordinating large multi-disciplinary and cross-agency teams and has been involved with consulting for private, nonprofit, corporate, federal, state, tribal, and local municipality clients for the last 25 years. He was a longtime project manager of Ecosystem Research Group prior to that company’s merging with DJ&A. Gibson holds a B.S. degree in Natural Resource Sciences from Washington State University and spent his early career working for the U.S. Forest Service in forest management and forest fire research roles. At DJ&A, he has a penchant for fully engaging employees and helping them create a work environment where they can flourish and provide exceptional client services.

Gibson is a proud spouse and father, and an accomplished musician for whom music is still an important part of his life. An avid cyclist, he rides thousands of miles every year and believes cycling is the best and most engrossing way to travel and experience the world.

Emily Snitker Board Member

Emily joined DJ&A in 2017 and quickly earned a reputation for her impeccable integrity and uncompromising dedication to quality. Within just a few years, she advanced from the role of Proposal Coordinator to Proposal Manager to then to Marketing Manager. In 2022, she became a shareholder of DJ&A. In 2023, her fellow shareholders elected Emily to serve on the Board of Directors. She brings a critical perspective to the board as someone who is squarely focused on the operations side of our business.

Emily has played a key role in helping evolve DJ&A’s visual identity and brand as the company has grown. She has been an integral part of DJ&A’s strategic development efforts and initiatives in support of the company’s core values and “People Matter Most” mindset. In her day-to-day work, one of her favorite tasks is translating complicated or technical concepts and making them approachable for non-engineers.

Prior to joining DJ&A, Emily worked in marketing and communications for an education-focused nonprofit. During her time there, the organization experienced rapid growth similar to what DJ&A has experienced, quadrupling in size during her six-year tenure.

Emily holds a B.A. degree in communications from Seattle Pacific University. She is a member of the Colorado Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services. When she’s not working on projects around her 100-year-old home, you can find Emily exploring the mountains of Colorado with her partner, Adam, and their dog, Mogli.

Anthony D. Daus III, PG, BCES Advisory Board Member

Over the last 35 years, Anthony (Tony) has held various positions in firm management and governance within both private and public consulting engineering firms and brings expertise in risk management, human resources, ownership transition, business development, and recruiting to the DJ&A Board.

His involvement in firm management started in 1988 when he joined Geomatrix Consultants, Inc. in California. After successfully expanding the firm’s footprint in Southern California, Tony was elected to serve on the Board of Directors and as President where the company continued to experience tremendous growth until it was acquired by AMEC PLC, a large, publicly traded London-based engineering firm in 2008. Tony then served as an Executive Vice President overseeing the Western Region operations for AMEC’s Earth and Environmental division, which consisted of offices in the Western U.S. (Rocky Mountains west) and 1,500 employees.

Today, Tony serves as the Principal Geologist at GSI Environmental, an environmental consultant firm based in Texas. Tony started the firm’s California operations, which has organically grown to 50 people over the past six years with offices in Irvine, Oakland, and Sacramento. Tony served on GSI’s Board of Directors, Compensation Committee, and Executive Management Committee for 5 years. He has a B.S. degree in Geology from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a M.S. degree in Earth Sciences from the University of Waterloo. He is a licensed Professional Geologist.

Chris Anderson, PE President & Chairman of the Board

Chris began his career at DJ&A in the field as a survey technician and worked his way up through various surveying and engineering positions within the company before assuming the role of President and Chairman of the Board in 2013. As Chairman, Chris ensures that clear strategy and direction is established for DJ&A, which over the last five years has focused on the strategic growth for the company. Over the past ten years, he has grown the firm from 25 employees and revenues of less than $4M, to a 100+ person company with offices across the West and revenues of more than $25M in 2022. The key to growth has been creating a great place to work where we can hire and retain talent.

In addition to his role at DJ&A, Chris is a strong advocate for advancing the interests of the engineering industry locally and nationally. He has been an active member of ACEC Montana since 2008 serving as ACEC-Montana’s President in 2019 and currently serving as its National Director. In 2020, Chris was selected to serve on the Board of Trustees for the ACEC Retirement Trust where he provides fiduciary oversight for over $2B in assets. He also serves as Chairman of the Small-Business Sub-Committee for ACEC National’s Federal Agencies Procurement Advisory Committee (FAPA). Chris holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Brigham Young University and is a professional engineer in 13 states.

Chris is not all business. He has four children, a cherished wife and is active in his church community. He loves fishing and is always looking for an excuse for a business outing on the river. He is also an avid water skier and wishes projects were won by virtue of water-skiing competitions rather than proposals.

Jon Pederson, PE Board Member

Jon is a Senior Project Manager and leads DJ&A’s Civil Engineering & Design Group, where he is responsible for leading a team of 20+ civil and hydraulic engineers, landscape architects, and technical specialists. Jon has more than 18 years of progressive civil, transportation, and geotechnical engineering experience, with additional involvement in environmental assessment, permitting, and compliance efforts.

Prior to joining DJ&A in 2019, Jon worked for several environmental, geotechnical, and multidisciplinary consulting firms across Montana and California and has expanded our firm’s ability to provide geotechnical and environmental expertise in-house.

Jon holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Montana State University-Bozeman and a M.S. in Civil Engineering from University of California-Berkeley. He is a Professional Engineer in Montana and California.

Prior to launching his engineering career, Jon worked for several summers guiding outdoor trips in Glacier National Park. He is delighted to now help deliver projects across the country for the National Park Service. He recently flew to the top of Mt. Rainier in a helicopter, allegedly to participate in a site visit for a project.

Peter Walker-Keleher, PE, AICP, VMA Board Member

Peter leads DJ&A’s Business Development and Special Operations Group, overseeing our firm’s efforts to build relationships and procure fulfilling and engaging work for DJ&A’s employees. Peter introduced the “Special Ops” term to DJ&A because he found it was the best way to describe his role at the company where he took on one-of a kind projects such as: an alternative transportation study for the Bozeman area; a facilities master planning effort for the local transit agency, Mountain Line; and the development of Maple Street Commons, a 6.5-acre development that is the site of DJ&A’s new Missoula office.

His varied background provides some insight regarding his affinity for Special Ops: after graduating with an engineering degree from Swarthmore College, he spent the first 10 years of his career in education including a Masters degree from Harvard University. He later earned professional licenses as both a civil and a mechanical engineer and, after joining DJ&A, earned his professional planning credential (AICP), became a value analysis facilitator, and a right-of-way negotiator. This multi-dimensional background serves Peter well as a systems thinker where he continually works to make DJ&A a great place to work for its employees, a great source of service for its clients, and a strong force for good in our community.

Peter is active in the Missoula community having served previously on the City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board and currently serving on the City’s Impact Fee Advisory Committee and as a board member for the Missoula Parking Commission. He enjoys playing an active role in making Missoula a great place to live and work. He can be spotted pushing his human-powered scooter around town.