T.J. Cross is proud of the 145 person staff we have available to service our clients' needs. A summary description of our leadership team is as follows:
 
Management
 
Lisa Wong, P.E., President and Principal. Lisa is the President and majority stockholder of T.J. Cross Engineers, Inc. Lisa has 26 years of experience in project engineering and natural gas consulting.  Prior to working for T.J. Cross, Lisa was a manager at Chevron Corporation and coordinated their Western natural gas control and contracts. Lisa has a Mechanical Engineering degree from UC Berkeley and is a licensed Professional Engineer in California.
 
Jim Ross, P.E.,  Co-Founder, Principal Electrical Engineer. Jim is a co-founder of T.J. Cross Engineers and a Principal Engineer in the Electrical Power group.  Jim has 30+ years of high, medium and low voltage power substation, distribution, and transmission experience for oilfield, cogeneration, and various other heavy industrial applications.  Prior to co-founding T.J. Cross Engineers, Inc.,  Jim started up the Bakersfield branch office for YEI Engineers, worked internationally for Bechtel Corporation, and taught Electrical Engineering courses at Cal State Fresno and Bakersfield.  Jim has an Electrical Engineering degree from Fresno State University, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in both California and Nevada.

Tim Couch, P.E., Co-Founder, Principal and Managing Partner. Tim is a co-founder of the company and plays a critical role in developing Alliance relationships with our key clients. Tim worked as a Project Engineer for YEI Engineers and Chevron’s Western Region Production Department prior to the creation of T.J.  Cross Engineers, Inc.   Tim has a Mechanical Engineering degree from University of Wisconsin, Madison, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in California.

Stuart Heisler, P.E., Principal, Chief Process/Controls Engineer, and Engineering Manager. Stuart manages the T.J. Cross Engineering groups, as well as the Process, Controls, Statistical Process Improvement (Six Sigma, Lean, and Constraint Theory) and Chemicals/Corrosion Consulting. Stuart's 26 years of experience in downhole production engineering, mechanical design, and oil, gas and water processing experience has enabled him to bring innovative real-world solutions to our oilfield, heavy industrial, and gas processing clients.  Stuart has developed many cost-saving processing techniques for our clients, including a trade-marked gas sweetening process which was awarded the "Pacific Region - Best Field Improvement" by the National Petroleum Technology Office in 1995.  Prior to joining T.J. Cross Engineers, Stuart worked at both Chevron and Shell.   Stuart received a Chemical Engineering degree from Wayne State University, and is a licensed Professional Engineer (Mechanical) in California.

Kent Halley, Principal and Business Resource Manager. Kent manages our Business Resource and Development Group. Kent has developed strong business relationships with key clients throughout our marketing region to fully align the growth of our company to the strategic direction of our clients. Kent's vision and 25 years of experience has been instrumental in the success of the company.  Prior to working for T.J. Cross, Kent worked in business development and sales for Micromotion Measurement and Automation Division (Emerson Electric), Ashland Oil, and Atlantic Richfield.   Kent is one of the founders of a successful local restaurant and is our resident expert on client-satisfaction fundamentals.  Kent received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Math and an Associates Degree in Business from Rio Grande University, Ohio.

Chuck Soderstrom, P.E., Principal and Chief Electrical Engineer. Chuck has over 19 years experience in the design and maintenance of industrial and utility power systems, and manages the T.J. Cross Power group.  Qualifications include power system studies and relay coordination; substation design, operations, testing and commissioning; design, construction and operation of industrial power installations; permitting and regulatory compliance; power generation.  Chuck joined T.J. Cross with an exceptional record of experience from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and the Equilon (now Big West) Bakersfield Refining Company.  Chuck received a degree in Electrical Engineering from Fresno State University.

Joseph Stroud, P.E., Chief Civil Engineer (Structural Design). Joe provides over thirty years of civil engineering and structural design experience for our firm. Joe specializes in concrete, masonry, steel, equipment and support structures, building structural analysis, seismic considerations, and traditional foundation/footing design. Joe has a degree in Civil Engineering from Cal State Pomona, and is a Registered Civil Engineer in California and Kansas.

Dave Jackson, P.E., Chief Mechanical Engineer. Dave heads up the T.J. Cross Mechanical Engineering Group and coordinates our piping design group. Due largely to Dave's efforts, our mechanical engineering group has earned a reputation as one of the industry's foremost authorities in oilfield design. Dave brings 27 years of both offshore and onshore oilfield experience to T.J. Cross and can handle anything from grass-roots design to trouble-shooting operations.  Dave received a Mechanical Engineering degree from California State University, Long Beach, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in California.

Jack Collins, P.E., Chief Civil Engineer (Civil Design). Jack has more than 16 years of Geotechnical engineering experience throughout the States of California and Nevada.   His design work has included shallow and deep foundation design; slope stability analysis; holding basins, reservoirs, wastewater embankment design; septic systems; seismic hazards investigations using probabilistic and deterministic methods, and liquefaction analysis; pavement design using AASHTO and CalTrans methods; and the placement of engineered fills.  Projects have included commercial and residential structures, towers, and bridges. wastewater treatment plants and their associated trunk lines, wetlands. Jack has a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from California State University, Fresno and is licensed in California as a Professional Engineer in the field of Civil Engineering.

Myrna Buenviaje, PE, Project Management Group Manager and Chief Engineer. Myrna is an outstanding "front end" Process Engineer / Project Manager and seasoned professional in oil, water, and gas processing in oilfield and geothermal applications.  Prior to joining T.J. Cross, Myrna managed the Process Engineering group at the Philippine National Oil Energy Company.  Myrna has a Chemical Engineering degree from Divine Word University, Philippines  is a licensed Professional (Mechanical) Engineer in California.

Christine Halley, P.E., Water & Utilities Consultant. Christine has dedicated her 26 year career to public works management, particularly in water resource engineering.  She managed a staff of 32 people for County of San Luis Obispo and since 1991, has provided engineering support and project management for the $190 million Nacimiento Water Project. Primary author of more than 25 utility system master plans and developed capital improvement programs for more than 20 utilities.  Supervised field operations staff for 5-1/2 years. Developed short- and long-term work plans, assessed safety needs, and maintained inventory for operations of a half-dozen medium sized utilities. Christine received her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Pennsylvania State University and is a registered civil engineer in California.

Matthew Pearson, PE, M.B.A., Project Manager. Matt has over 10 years of experience working on mechanical design projects for various types of oilfield surface facilities. Project experience includes production gathering systems, steam and water injection distribution systems, produced water processing facilities, gas plants, field compression, and DOT regulated pipeline systems.  In addition to the engineering expertise that Matt provides to our firm, he employs his business knowledge to help our clients better understand project economics, the relatively new arena of Lean Manufacturing, and other advanced business processes. Matt also heads up our Ventura, CA office. Matt has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from UC Santa Barbara and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from CSU Bakersfield, and is a liscensed Professional Engineer in California.

Ellen Kovarik, Business Development / Senior Engineer. Ellen Kovarik has over 18 years experience in Business Development and Project Management in oil and gas facilities, refineries, pipelines, food processing facilities, cogeneration, chemical plants, cement plants, manufacturing plants, material handling facilities, pharmaceuticals, and the medical device industry. Her responsibilities include business development, project identification and scoping, project management, and resource assistance. Ms. Kovarik has a degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in Industrial Technology, Management Concentration, and a Minor in Plastics and Packaging Engineering.