Kier + Wright Hires Kelly Johnson, PLS
Kier + Wright is excited to announce that Kelly Johnson, PLS, has joined the firm as Lead Land Surveyor and Associate based in Santa Clara, California. This strategic hire will apply Kelly’s strengths in operations and mentoring to K+W’s expanding body of work.
“Kelly brings an additional operational strength needed to support the present growth of our Survey Department,” says Chief Executive Officer Chuck McCallum, PE, “and to prepare for the future growth that is happening geographically throughout the West Coast.”
A second-generation land surveyor with 22 years of experience, Kelly has managed work on Levi’s Stadium and several iconic Silicon Valley campuses. Chuck added, “Kelly has shown an ability to manage a high volume of work in his previous experience. He’s also well respected in the development and survey community. We expect to help him further his career and grow with us; our firm is always focused on the mutual respect between our surveyors and our engineering group, and I am confident he will be a great asset.”
Kelly describes his interest in K+W as coming from positive interactions in the field and other contexts, having worked with one of his new leadership colleagues at a prior firm. “I have known of K+W for years,” he explains, “as I continued to see K+W grow and accomplish great things, I became curious about what they were doing differently. I’ve learned that the leadership and vision within K+W are truly impressive and I am excited to be part of the team.”
Ryan Amaya, PLS, Vice President and Principal, sensed that Kelly was a fit for the team the first time the two talked. “I already knew that he was a great surveyor because our surveying community is so small. He brings lots of strengths, but I really like how he mentors and encourages staff. He brings a sense of harmony that is always needed in a challenging business.”
Kelly stresses the importance of relationships and seeking others’ viewpoints. This attitude resonates with Vice President Mark Knudsen, PE, QSD, who will be one of Kelly’s main counterparts on the engineering side of the firm. “He is a team player. He asks, ‘what do you need from me?’ He’s committed to continuous improvement and he wants to learn how K+W works.”
Technical advances and continued learning are also important to Kelly, and he devotes significant time to staying abreast of changes in the field and sharing his knowledge with others. He notes, “The principles of survey remain the same, but the tools continue to advance rapidly.”
Vice President and Principal, Joe Thompson, PLS, recognizes the technical skills that Kelly adds. “He has strengths in staking and design mapping, He’s well-rounded in the survey environment. And he’s going to bring knowledge and experience with technology, especially 3D laser scanning.”
K+W looks forward to tapping into Kelly’s mentoring experience and utilizing his operational expertise as we expand our land surveying and construction staking services. Please join us in congratulating Kelly on this exciting new adventure at K+W.