PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION

The Association of Geohazard Professionals (AGHP) was created in 2013 to support the development of standards, specifications, and best practices concerning the design and implementation of geohazard-related technologies and products; and to support and provide education to the geohazard community and those it serves.

MISSION OF THE ORGANIZATION

The AGHP supports geohazard professionals in improving public safety and preservation of infrastructure by sharing best practices, providing education and advancing the industry.

GOALS OF THE ORGANIZATION

The Association aims to create a stable of resources that will support the purpose of the organization and the promotion of best practices in the geohazards field. The Association leadership is formulating high-altitude goals based on the needs of both the geohazard community and the communities influenced by and benefiting from geohazard technologies.

Current goals and related deliverables include:

- Standardization & Certification
- Resources Test Method
- Development Generic
- Specifications Design Guidelines
- Certification Programs for Companies Certification
- Programs for Technicians
- Resource Development Webinars
- Speakers Bureau
- Online Presentations

- Conference Papers
- Other Publications
- Outreach
- Short Courses at Conferences
- Workshops
- Communication with Agencies and Academia
- Graduate Program Speakers
- Integration of Geohazard Information into Non-Geohazard-Specific Events

GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE

Because many of the Association’s goals are related to supplementing and promoting standardization, certification and specification of geohazard technologies and solutions, the initial focus of the association will be North American.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

The structure of the Board of Directors is designed to:

Ensure that each type of member has a voice with regard to the direction of the Association
Engage as many relevant perspectives as possible
Facilitate efficient interaction with the Executive Director / Management Company

Officers, Member Representatives, Directing Members and Advisors make up the Association’s Board of Directors.

Officers are elected from the Directing and Corporate Membership and may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms in any one position. Corporate Member Representatives are elected from the Corporate Membership.

There are 6 Membership Categories in the AGHP:

Directing Members
Corporate Members
Agency Members

Individual Members
Student Members
Emeritus Members

Become a Member

History of the Board of Directors

DIRECTORS

Ahren Bichler is a Quaternary geologist with an MSc. in Earth and Ocean Sciences that focused on landslides in post glacial sediments and the application of geophysics to geohazard investigation. He has been working with geohazards since 2000 in North America and Europe. In 2006 he became the General Manager of Trumer Schutzbauten Canada Ltd. and has brought the Austrian’s rockfall, debris flow, avalanche and slope stabilization solutions to the North American market. In addition, Ahren oversees Trumer's operations in New Zealand and Australia.

a.bichler@trumer.cc

Colby has served the Association of Geohazard Professionals as a directing member since 2015 and co-chairs the association’s Rope Access Committee. After studying Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley and Oxford University on an NROTC scholarship, Colby served as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps. Colby has worked in the geohazard industry for over 15 years, managing projects throughout the continental United States, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, and Jamaica. He is an active geotechnical researcher in soil nailing and confined soils, holds several patents in the field, serves as a member of the Deep Foundations Institute Landslide/Slope Stabilization Committee, and was a national “Top 20 Under 40” honoree by Engineering News Record in 2018.

Joe serves as a principal geologist in the Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, office of Gannett Fleming, a full-service, global infrastructure planning and engineering consulting firm. With more than 20 years of geotechnical engineering and engineering geology experience, Joe specializes in the design and remediation of geologic hazards including landslides, rockfalls, and debris flows; and mitigation of cavities and sinkholes associated with karst environments. Joe has been involved in the investigation and design of various multimillion-dollar transit and rail, department of transportation, commercial, municipal, and vital infrastructure projects. He has authored a variety of papers related to the investigation, design, and remediation of sites with problematic geology. Joe is a registered professional geologist in Pennsylvania, New York, and North Carolina and holds a Bachelor of Science in applied physics with a concentration in geosciences from Indian University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Arts degree in geology at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. In addition to the AGHP, he is a member of the Association of Engineering Geologists (AEG), the Pennsylvania Council of Professional Geologists (PCPG), and Delaware Valley Geo-Institute. Joe lives in West Chester Pennsylvania with his wife, Jessica and his two dogs, Buddy and Clyde. In his free time Joe enjoys traveling, fishing, mineral collecting, and working in the yard.

jkrupansky@GFNET.com

Mike Koutsourais, PE is a professional geotechnical engineer with over 25 years of experience in geotechnicaldesign and construction, business and operations management, product, business and strategy development, and technical sales and marketing of geotechnical construction products. Mike’s primary experience has been working in the field of mechanically stabilized earth, soil and rock slope stabilization, retaining walls, geosynthetics and erosion control. He is responsible for the technical and marketing activities in the North American markets for the rockfall business of Maccaferri USA. He has an M.S. in Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a major in geotechnical engineering and is a member of the ASTM International Committee for the Geohazard Protection Systems.

Pierce is currently the President and General Manager of Geobrugg North America. With over 20 years’experience as a licensed, Professional Engineer (PE), Pierce is a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC). Pierce currently serves on the AGHP Board as Treasurer and Education Committee liaison. He is a member of ASCE and AEG and serve on the Geohazard subcommittee at ASTM as well as the Board of Directors for the Sandoval Economic Alliance, a local economic development agency. Pierce will continue to bring a wide range of experience and industry knowledge to the AGHP.

pierce.runnels@geobrugg.com

Wayne Ingram is currently the Western Canada representative for Williams Form Hardware and Rock Bolt Canada. Wayne grew up in South Western Ontario and graduated from the Sir Sandford Fleming Drilling program in 1998. From there Wayne was introduced to the anchoring, shoring and high scaling business by taking a job with Yenter Companies based out of Arvada CO and spent the next 13 years mostly working with Yenter Companies, but also worked with Janod out of Quebec, HC Matcon out of Toronto and Geo-Vert out of New Zealand. With these companies Wayne gained experience installing and running installation teams for wide range of anchor systems form simple rock bolts to mutli strand anchor and rock fall systems.

After a considerable amount of time travelling from project to project Wayne settled in Vernon BC with his Wife and daughter and enjoys the life style and recreation opportunities of the north Okanagan region of BC

Jake Davidson is a geologist with IDS GeoRadar. He has over eight years of experience using ground-based InSAR and other technologies to provide safety critical monitoring for slope hazards. Jake’s primary experience has been in the mining industry, where he has worked on projects through the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. He has also facilitated the installation and operation of ground-based InSAR systems in remote locations outside of mines. In his time at IDS GeoRadar he has been in charge of customer support team. Currently he is responsible for technical sales in the non-mining sector in North America.

Jake has a B.S. in Geology from Dickinson College and lives in Golden, CO with is wife and their cat.

john.davidson@idsgeoradar.com

Randy is a geological engineer with B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Arizona. He has over 20 years of experience in geotechnical consulting, primarily for surface transportation and mining projects. He has spent the past 11 years at Golder, getting back to his geological engineering roots and getting increasingly involved in geohazard assessment and mitigation. One of his passions is applying new technologies and techniques to solve clients’ geotechnical and geohazard problems. Randy is also the president and founder of GeoPrac.net, a news blog and community site for geoprofessionals. He lives in Tucson, Arizona with his wife and 4 kids.

randy_post@golder.com

Wes is a geotechnical engineer with twelve years of combined consulting and post-graduate experience with a focus on rock mechanics and natural hazards. He has an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a master’s in geological engineering from the University of British Columbia.

Wes started his career in California working with Arup as a civil engineer in training in San Francisco. Most of his work focused on water resources and urban infrastructure. After battling the masses in and out of San Francisco to get to the Sierra Nevada, Wes decided it was time to move somewhere closer to the mountains and made his way to Canada. He completed a master’s degree at UBC studying under Olrich Hungr, and was exposed to the world of natural hazards and rock mechanics. He completed a thesis on dimensioning flexible barriers for debris flow mitigation.

Following studies Wes has worked for Golder Associates focusing on natural hazard assessment and mitigation, and rock slope design. He moved to Westrek Geotechnical Services and started the Squamish office in 2019 to focus more on landslide mitigation. He continues to work on an array of natural hazard projects throughout the province while enjoying all the benefits living in Squamish has to offer.

Jill DeKoekkoek is a Certified Engineering Geologist (OR) at the Oregon Department of Transportation in Region 3 (Southwestern Oregon). She has been in the industry since 2006 and specializes in geologic hazard mitigation, geotechnical investigations, and quarry management (aggregate). At ODOT, she leads a group in conjunction with the geotechnical engineering team to provide creative, effective, and economical solutions for transportation related geo-issues.