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Survey Manager – Colorado
Scott Bass manages all Colorado survey crews at Ascent. He began at Ascent in 2019, and has a variety of skills, including GPS and Conventional field survey locations, AutoCAD Drafting, Revit drafting, Bid Package Preparations, Directing Operations, Business Development, Project Budgeting, and Deed Research/Analysis.
Vice President of Survey
Greg Shoults’ 39 years in the surveying profession began as a rod/chainman on a pipeline survey crew in 1980. Over the next 3+ decades he has surveyed thousands of well locations and miles of pipelines, thousands of wind turbines, and everything from highway and refinery construction layout, preliminary and as-built pipeline and electric line routes, oil, gas and injection well locations, as well as lease boundaries, title company surveys, ALTA / ACSM and small to large complex boundary surveys.Greg became a licensed surveyor in Texas (1999), Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas and Arizona passing the NCEES National Fundamentals of Land Surveying and Principle and Practice of Land Surveying exams, the Arizona, Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas State-specific exams and both the Analytical (4hr.) and Legal (4hr.) portions of the Texas exams. Over the past 20 years, Greg has held leadership positions including Midland Survey Manager for Westwood Professional Services, Director of Surveying at Watson Professional Group and Midland Survey Manager for Basin Surveys. In Greg’s earlier years, he worked with John West Engineering, Topographic Land Surveyors, and a few surveying/construction companies in Texas and New Mexico.Greg is experienced working with a wide variety of instruments and data collectors including current technologies; Trimble R10 GPS with TBO software, and AutoCAD 2018 Civil 3d.Upstream Program Manager
Nick has over 9 years of experience in the energy sector specializing in Upstream and Midstream Oil and Gas Project Management, as well as mining. His experience in various roles has provided him expertise in wellsite geology, geosteering, drill rig oversight, water sampling analysis, and mining pre-feasibility studies. Nick has specific experience working on Oil and Gas Permitting projects in North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Texas providing innovative solutions for surveying and permitting locations from initial concept through as-built.
In his current role as Upstream Program Manager, Nick manages all facets of Upstream clients at Ascent to ensure complete client satisfaction and continued company growth throughout the Rocky Mountain Region. His areas of expertise include Colorado, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Texas Upstream oil and gas operations pertaining to survey, drafting, permitting, and construction of oil and gas assets. Some key projects Nick has managed at Ascent include the Noble Energy CPD, and large scale aerial mapping and Oil and Gas development projects. Prior to joining the Ascent team, he worked as the Assistant Manager of Geosteering Operations for Selman & Associates, and a Geologist/Hydrologist for Whetstone Associates. Nick holds a Bachelor of Science in Geology from Radford University.
Midstream Program Manager
Michael Welker joined Ascent in July 2013 and is currently the Program Manager of Midstream for Ascent Geomatics Solutions. Michael is responsible for leading project teams, project management and technical expertise for utility, grading and water resource projects. He is a civil engineer with 19 years of experience managing land surveying, engineering, permitting, and floodplain projects, and 9 years of Midstream-specific experience. He has extensive engineering experience in residential, industrial and oil and gas projects along the Front Range. Project experiences include hundreds of miles of transmission lines and well connects in Colorado, Texas, Wyoming, New Mexico, and North Dakota, surveys for topography, utilities, transportation, drainage, floodplains, construction and as-builds. Key projects include The Meadows, Red Hawk, Terrain, Vestas Blades (Windsor) and Vestas Tower (Pueblo). He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Wyoming, an MBA from the University of Colorado and is a CFM and LEED AP.
Chief People Officer
Jen joined Ascent in September 2017 and oversees the Human Resources department as the Chief People Officer. Jen brings experience in leadership development, mergers and acquisitions, career development, change management and benefits administration. Prior to working at Ascent, Jen worked for DaVita in many different roles and brings a great perspective from growing her career at such a large company.
Jen holds a degree in Sociology from the University of Northern Colorado and an MBA from Capella University. Jen is also a Society of Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).
Chief Financial Officer
Ramsey joined the Ascent team in November of 2017 and is CFO, as well as overseeing the Accounting, Finance, IT and Operations functions of Ascent. Ramsey brings more than a decade of finance experience across multiple disciplines including budgeting, FP&A, M&A, controllership, pricing and contract negotiations and treasury management.
Ramsey is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and holds a Bachelors of Science in Corporate Finance and an MBA from the University of Nebraska Omaha and is a CFA Chartherholder.
Founder
Driven by his entrepreneurial spirit and obsession for innovation, Steve constantly seeks ways to provide solutions to our clients that are above the rest. Steve’s organizational leadership is focused on creating an employee focused organization that values the creation of strong partnerships with our clients. Steve is passionate about the embodiment of what we call our “RATOW” culture; Relentlessly Accountable, Team Oriented, love to Win.
Until 2019, Steve held the role of CEO at Ascent, when he passed it onto Keith Hulen. Ascent Geomatics Solutions was created with the vision of becoming a broad-based service provider for Rocky Mountain exploration companies. Superior service, advanced technology and efficient operations allowed Ascent to take dominant market share in their service area and afforded Steve the opportunity to expand services, and add talented staff to grow the firm to where it is today. Ascent employs about 100 talented professionals that provide services in many states with large offices in Colorado and Texas.
Steve holds a Master’s degree in Global Energy Management, and serves on the board of Tennyson Center for Children and Families. Steve and his family reside in Arvada, Colorado and as a private pilot he is often flying to meet clients and work with his talented team across the country.
Chief Executive Officer
Keith joined Ascent in August 2016 and is Ascent’s Chief Executive Officer, and also currently manages all Business Development and Client Solution efforts. Keith has been working in Business Development for over 15 years in the Hardware, Software and Services industries. He has worked both as an individual sales contributor and sales leader on multiple occasions. Keith has experience selling and managing accounts ranging from small-medium sized businesses to Fortune 100 companies, including international organizations. He also built a world class sales training program for one of his previous employers.
Keith’s current responsibilities, in addition to being CEO, include managing all sales and marketing functions for Ascent, as well as overseeing all project and program management. Keith holds a BS in Business Administration and a Minor in History from the University of Northern Colorado.
Regulatory Manager
With a BA from Syracuse University and 39 years in the oil and gas industry, Ann Feldman joined Ascent in March 2013 as Regulatory Manager. Ann brings experience in a wide range of areas, from well operations and regulatory compliance, to financial and project management, contract negotiation and investor relations. She has extensive experience permitting wells in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, California, Texas and Louisiana. Ann believes that everything she has accomplished in her career to this point has led her to this junction, a position with a company in which she can build her career and thrive in years to come.
At Ascent, Ann works to ensure that the client and associated wells, locations, and facilities are in proper compliance with all safety regulations, permit conditions, and agency requirements. This position provides overall leadership for federal, state and local regulatory permitting in support of oil and gas activities. Since joining Ascent, Ann has successfully permitted thousands of oil and gas locations in Colorado and Wyoming. Projects include oil and gas well pads and facilities, pipelines, and compressor stations, with some key ones including permitting vertical/directional/horizontal oil and gas projects in San Juan Basin CBM (coalbed methane), TX/LA Gulf Coast, Sacramento Basin, Uintah Basin, Denver-Julesburg Basin (Niobrara shale).
Regulatory compliance is an ongoing process that allows our clients to commence, continue, and modify their projects. The Regulatory Department coordinates with all other Ascent departments and clients to secure the information required for regulatory filings. Additionally, Ann’s department tracks the regulatory process from the time permit applications are submitted to the time they are approved and issued. Ann’s primary duty as Regulatory Manager involves making sure all permits are submitted, approved and issued by all regulatory agencies, so our clients are confident they are in full compliance with all codes, permit conditions of approval, and agency regulations in order to conduct their oil and gas operations.
Director of Innovation
Owen joined the Ascent team in July of 2010. He functioned as a Survey Field Lead, organizing field crews and projects, along with collecting field data throughout the Rocky Mountain region for boundary, topographic, construction, and ROW surveys. Since then, Owen has developed a role in project management, managing the field work, drafting of exhibits, project timelines, and budgets, and is now leading innovation and product line development. He has also helped develop and implement Ascent’s remote sensing program, utilizing terrestrial LiDar and UAV based Photogrammetry. He has helped train other employees in UAV field collection, along with traditional survey field methods, to ensure processes and procedures are followed on every project. Owen has experience as a municipal surveyor, having completed boundary, construction, and control surveys. Through that work he has experience drafting, updating GIS databases/control networks, and had interactions with public and private entities to plan and complete publicly funded projects. Owen holds BA’s in both Physical Geography and Archaeology from the University of Denver, along with a certificate in GIS.
Chief Operating Officer
As COO, he splits his time evenly between Denver, CO and Midland, TX in order to stay hands on with operations and grow the business. He manages 7 departments, including 130+ employees, across 5 states. Through disciplined management, cross training of personnel, and resource sharing, he has increased team utilization and profitability.
He has successfully managed multi-million dollar upstream and midstream projects in over 4 different Oil & Gas Basins (Bakken, Powder River, DJ, & the Permian). The projects generally involved multiple service lines including Land Surveying, Remote Sensing, GIS Analysis, Drafting, Engineering, Permitting, and Environmental services.
Since joining Ascent in July 2008 as Survey Field Tech, he’s worked as a GIS Analyst, GIS Manager, Project Manager, Sr. Project Manager, Director of Projects and Regulatory, and currently is the Chief Operating Officer. The variety of roles have allowed Bill to gain a rounded perspective on both Ascent and the oil & gas industry.
Bill holds Bachelor of Science from the University of Colorado where he studied Geography, Geology, and GIS
Project Surveyor
Jerry has more than 30 years of technical and project management experience in the field of land surveying. As a retired Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) employee of 30 years, he brings his knowledge of CDOT procedure and techniques to the team. He is involved in the day to day process, procedures, and workflows of the infrastructure related projects, project phase and tasks, and verifying the delivery of survey data for the infrastructure projects. Primary functions include the QA/QC of daily and final survey deliverables, project management, researching Right of Way records, ensuring Federal, State, County, and Local requirements are met, and the signing and sealing of survey related documents for recording. Jerry has been a licensed Professional Land Surveyor in Colorado since 1994.
Jerry has managed a wide variety of survey projects working for CDOT Regions 2 and 4 including: Preliminary Survey of I 25 North Corridor, Reconstruction of US Highway (US) 287 and State Highway (SH) 392 Intersection, Park and Ride on both SH 52 in Ft. Lupton and US 85 in Evans, and the Survey / ROW Representative for the 2013 Flood Assessment. This work included network control, preliminary surveying, and Right of Way research, recovery and monumentation.
Program Manager
Chris Pearson joined the Ascent team in 2007 with a robust background in operations management and contract negotiation. Chris is in charge of the development, communication, and implementation of effective growth strategies and other company-wide initiatives. He has over 20 years’ experience managing capital development projects, with hands-on participation in ROW routing and construction planning, land surveying/engineering, and regulatory compliance in project execution. Chris provides oversight of projects in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Montana, and North Dakota, and lends extensive experience in these regions to the Ascent team.
Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Design from California Polytechnic State University and a Masters in Business Administration.
Texas/New Mexico Survey Manager
Tim Pappas is a registered professional land surveyor in Texas, California, Colorado, and New Mexico. He has over 25 years’ experience in the surveying and mapping business, and has been involved with or managed projects ranging from large scale geodetic networks to subdivision design and platting to TXDOT highway right-of-way acquisition to oil and gas pipeline easement creation. Currently he is responsible for managing crews and survey projects in Texas and New Mexico, including boundary resolution and production of mapping deliverables.
Tim earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Technology – Surveying and Mapping from the University of Houston and did post-graduate work in Geospatial Surveying Engineering at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi.
Project Surveyor
Bob has more than 40 years of experience in the surveying and mapping professions. He has worked in the capacity of owner, survey manager, office manager, and project manager for surveying, construction and engineering firms. As a Professional Land Surveyor, he has experience working on survey projects involving Primary control layout, construction, boundary, mining, oil-gas, topographic, and design. He has provided these services to a variety of clients including CDOT, Arapahoe County, Jefferson County, Clear Creek County, City and County of Denver, private engineering firms including CH2M Hill, Carter Burgess, J.F. Sato, Merrick & Co, Washington Group, Nolte Associate, and construction companies including Johnson Brothers Construction, Ames Construction Co., Sema Construction Co., KiewitWestern Construction, Kelly Construction and Lawrence Construction Co. Bob has been a Licensed Professional Land Surveyor since 1983, and holds an Associate Degree in Surveying from Red Rocks Community College.
Bob has managed surveying for CDOT construction projects since 1985, including the I-25 and I-70 interchange, the US 36 and I-25 interchange, the 6th Avenue and I-25 interchange, I-76 and Pecos Blvd, Highway 9, I-70 and Pena Blvd, Highway 285 phases 2-5 in Jefferson County, I-70 and Hidden Valley in Clear Creek County, C470 at Yosemite In Douglas County, and 12 miles of I-70 in Green River, Utah. In addition, Bob has also worked in PLSS boundary retracements, open pit mining projects and subdivision layout, including construction, boundary and final platting.
Productions Manager
George has over 20 years of experience in the energy sector, specializing in Midstream Oil & Gas and Land Development. His experience in various roles has provided him expertise in GIS Data Management, IT Management, Database Administration, Consulting, Construction Support, Pipeline Integrity Management, and Business Development. George also has specific experience working with many software products including: ESRI/ArcGIS, AutoCAD and other CAD products, BlueSky, DASH, and other various mapping programs. Prior to working at Ascent, George worked at ENGlobal and CH2M Hill. George holds an Bachelor Degree in MIS from Colorado Technical University, an AAS Engineering Technology from Denver Technical College, and attended The University of Colorado in Civil Engineering. George is also Level 1 BlueSky Skyline Certified.
Engineering Manager
Michael Pool joined Ascent in June 2012 and is currently the Engineering Manager. Michael leads the Data Management group which consists of surveyors, engineers, drafters, GIS and regulatory. He is a professional civil engineer and land surveyor with over 20 years of experience with land development and oil & gas projects. He holds a Bachelor of Science from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo where he studied Civil Engineering.
GIS Manager
Magdaléna brings over 14 years of work experience in GIS, natural resource and asset management. She is experienced in data management, geodatabase building, relational databases, spatial analysis, spatial statistics and cartographic presentations. Magdaléna worked on a wide range of projects pertaining to the oil & gas industry, basin-wide hydrogeological studies, resource and hydrologic modeling, regulatory and permitting support as well as civil engineering projects, storm water and erosion control programs and transportation studies. She has been working with data in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Texas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania as well as international projects in Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Cameroon, Australia and other regions.
Additionally, Magdaléna has field experience in ground and surface water sampling and in GPS collection of natural resource data. In her honors thesis she evaluated a multi-variable predictive model developed for the Forest Service and utilized aerial photographic interpretation among other photogrammetry and remote sensing analysis techniques.
Magdaléna is experienced in providing technical support and training in GIS/GPS and spatial software. Her work also included database maintenance and database administration of spatially-enabled SQL multiuser databases, as well as servicing the needs of the web-based mapping application integrating desktop, internet and Transact-SQL platforms.
In her role at Ascent, Magdaléna is responsible for the stewardship of spatial data, administering centralized data storage and supporting web-enabled mapping application for asset management. She has been guiding project teams to streamline data flow and integrity from field data collection dispatch to final client deliverables. She has been developing custom tools to provide automated and efficient data conversion, quality control and data dissemination.
Magdaléna holds a BA in Environmental Studies with concentration in Spatial Analysis from Mount Holyoke College and MS in GIS from University of Denver.
Senior Field Coordinator/Crew Chief
Todd Bakeberg joined Ascent in 2012 and for the past 4 years has been coordinating survey field operations and leading project execution of surveying services on major projects. Todd has worked in the field on upstream and midstream projects in multiple regions, ranging from North Dakota to Texas. Survey work included from boundary surveys, topographic surveys (Including drainage surveys & floodplain cross sections), construction surveys, as well as horizontal and vertical control networks.
Prior to joining Ascent, Todd worked in Land Development for 16 years. Todd was the lead surveyor on multiple construction, topographic, highway, and boundary projects, as well as recent environmental and gas pipeline survey projects. Experienced in handling the research needed for new projects, doing calculations for field staking, and handling multiple contractor requests to get the job done efficiently and on time. He also has experience as an equipment operator, laborer, and stake jumper for a construction company, which allows him to understand just what contractors need to be productive and efficient.
Major Survey Project Experience:
Colorado
Brian Ritz joined the Ascent team in May 2011. Beginning as a Field Technician, Brian led a field research crew on projects throughout the Rocky Mountain region. His experience with many boundary projects in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota taught Brian valuable lessons in retracing and deciphering the PLSS used in those states. He subsequently passed the Colorado PLS exam in February 2015.
Brian’s primary responsibilities at this firm focus on facility construction, boundary surveys, pipeline routing and staking, as-built surveys, and right of way creation. The team relies on Brian for data processing, field coordination, data management, CAD drafting, and Survey Department leadership.
Data Processing Specialist
Data Processing Specialist with extensive experience with processing of massive amounts of geospatial information coupled with 19 years of varied and progressively responsible experience in land surveying and 3D laser scanning and modeling for both static and mobile LIDAR provides variable support for numerous transportation projects. His understanding and experience in processing LiDAR data with several different processing software: RiSCAN PRO, Terrascan/Terramodel/Terramatch. TopoDOT, Orbit GIS -LiDAR classification, GPS, Cyclone 3, Polyworks, Phidias, Land desk Top 2007, Microstation V8I, and Leica Geomatics Office, Pix4D, is a valuable asset to accurate data processing across many platforms. He has acquired hands on experience with a variety of tools including the Sokkia total stations and SDR data collectors; Geodometer Robotic Total station with Trimble data collectors (Trimble 4600, 4700, 4800, 5700, 5800 GPS systems); Lieca 700, 1100 total stations and robotics. Lieca 500, 1200 GPS systems; Cyra/Lieca Cyrax 2500 Laser Scanner; 3Dguru Laser Scanner; Z+F Laser Scanner; IQvalutionLaser Scanner; Riegl’s z390; z420 Laser Scanner; and the Streetmapper 360 and StreetMapper Portable Mobile Mapping systems.
Controller
Rick joined the Ascent Geomatics Solutions team in March of 2015 as Controller. Rick’s background includes over 20 years of experience in business management, accounting and information systems management for professional services firms in the Investment/Insurance, Manufacturing and Engineering Services industries. He also has over 12 years of experience ERP Systems Training and Implementation Consulting to these same professional services business sectors. After growing up in Colorado, Rick graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration with concentrations in Finance, Accounting and Economics.
Upstream oil & gas operators have one simple goal: find and drill hydrocarbons. To do this, operators must navigate the regulatory gauntlet to receive their necessary permits. Without the proper expertise and experience, operators can lose valuable time and possibly even lose the location itself to another operator.
By having the right process, team of experts, and understanding the most efficient ways to navigate federal, state and local municipalities and government regulators, ASCENT has proven that it can permit 33% faster on average than permits that ASCENT was not involved with.
Extended Text for Popup: The ability to manage all your assets is critical to running an efficient organization. Having the ability to view floodplain, wildlife and/or utility lines can help operators better plan their sites for Surface Use Agreements (SUA).
The risk of not knowing valuable surface information around your assets or new potential assets can be very costly and ultimately delay project timelines. Learn how ASCENT can help you manage your assets so your projects stay on-budget and on-time.
Viewing up-to-date aerial imagery can help save companies thousands of dollars by avoiding previously unforeseen challenges at the site location.
Viewing up-to-date aerial imagery on potential sites has not historically been economical. However, now with the emergence of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), the ability to evaluate the best location for well pads and facilities is now possible.
Contact ASCENT to understand how unmanned aerial vehicles can give you valuable intelligence so you can pick and plan the best site the first time.
Most oil & gas operators will create as-built drawings for their well pads, pipelines, facilities and any other construction related projects. ASCENT has completed thousands of as-built surveys and drawings for our clients. Our extensive experience has taught us the most efficient and cost effective ways to create these as-built deliverables.
In addition, companies are now leveraging ASCENT’s experience in LiDAR to complete as-builts because they provide engineering-grade data should that operator decide to expand or modify that site in the future.
When companies are looking to design, or modify a facility, there is no reason not to use LiDAR technology. LiDAR provides design-grade accuracy with 3D modeling to see how the facility will look after construction.
The challenge is finding a company that knows how to properly collect, analyze and deliver LiDAR data while ensuring all the data is geospatially accurate. ASCENT is a leading expert in providing LiDAR data for facilities.
Pipeline projects can cost millions of dollars. Missing the project timelines can cost midstream operators even more money. That is why planning on the front-end of the project is so important.
With up-to-date aerial imagery, videos and photogrammetry, midstream operators can see exactly what the route looks like with their own eyes. This type of intelligence allows them to plan the best possible pipeline route and avoid unforeseen obstacles or barriers that may delay the timeline of the project.
Longer pipeline corridors can take a significant amount of time to create topographic surveys with traditional methods. With aerial LiDAR, ASCENT can significantly reduce the time it takes to create these topographic surveys while providing a tremendous amount of useful data. This highly accurate pre-construction LiDAR data can then be married with highly accurate after-built LiDAR data to determine the precision of the planned and constructed pipeline.
Less time surveying on the front-end of the project helps to ensure the pipeline stays on-time and on-budget.
Don’t be surprised on your pipeline projects. Collect the intelligence you need to make data-driven business decisions throughout the entire pipeline project lifecycle.