Welcome 2024 WTS Iowa Board Members!
2024 Board of Directors
President: Allison Sambol
Felsburg Holt & Ullevig
I have been in environmental consulting for nearly 20 years. Projects I work on are located throughout NE, IA, SD, KS, and CO. I thrive in environments of constant learning and seeing new places so as a Geographer by education, so I find being a NEPA specialist to be the perfect trade niche for me!
Professionally, I have been with Felsburg Holt & Ullevig (FHU) for the past 15 years and the Great Plains Region’s Environmental Group Manager since 2020. I enjoy being our Environmental group’s “team captain” and helping people be successful in their own careers. I have been a member of WTS since 2015 and joined the Iowa chapter in 2019. Over the years I have been an active member and committee volunteer, attended the WTS Mid-Career Signature Leadership training in Washington D.C. in 2019, and the Chapter Leadership Development training in 2023. In 2023, I served WTS Iowa as Vice President, and am excited to serve as chapter President in 2024. I can't say enough good things about WTS.
At home, I enjoy spending time with my family. Husband, Jeremy Sambol is a director of corporate strategy for Mutual of Omaha. Daughters Lauren (14) and Emelyn (11) enjoy school, hanging out with friends, and playing with our dog, Copper. We enjoy being in the outdoors, attending all kinds of events (performing arts, concerts, and sporting), and movie night. The kids have settled into basketball and soccer and anything social with friends. My SUV sees a constant rotation between bleacher chairs, lawn chairs and coolers, but also the first aid kit and extra water and Kleenex because “mom will have it”.
Vice President: Jacqui DiGiacinto
Iowa DOT
Jacqui DiGiacinto, a Chicago native kicked off her career working as a fundraiser and event planner for several political campaigns in Illinois. After working on the 2000 Presidential race, including a free trip to Florida for the recount, Jacqui started working for an advocacy organization in the Washington, D.C. area. A Midwest girl at heart, she was offered an opportunity to move to Des Moines, IA in the spring of 2001 to work as a Finance Director for one of our U.S. Senators. Knowing very little about Des Moines and even less about the Senator she would work for, she took a chance and packed up the necessities and headed west-ish. Jacqui worked on several political campaigns in Iowa but her real driver for her career in politics was her love for public policy. As a young lobbyist for a regional economic development organization and then a University, she learned the backbone of any thriving community is economic prosperity of its citizens and the infrastructure they reside in. The first position Jacqui held with the State of Iowa was as the Economic Recovery Specialist and the Assistant Inter-governmental Affairs Director for the Rebuild Iowa Office (2008). Eventually, Jacqui landed at the Iowa DOT, where she has held positions as Duty Officer for the State Emergency Operations Center, the External Civil Rights Director, the department’s Consultant Coordinator and most recently, as a Vendor Manager in the Motor Vehicle Division, managing IT contracts which includes drivers license issuance and the mobile ID.
Jacqui received a Bachelor of Art in Political Science from Western Illinois University, a Master of Science in Adult Learning and Organizational Performance and a Master of Public Administration with emphasis in resource management both from Drake University. Jacqui resides in Ankeny, IA with her son, Frank (11) and daughter, Elizabeth “Iggy” (9). In her spare time, she is active on the board of the Parent Teacher Organization for Iggy’s school and enjoys being in the kitchen with her kids, baking breads and teaching them to love cooking.
Secretary: Madeline Schmitt
City of Des Moines
Madeline Schmitt is the Sustainability Program Specialist for the City of Des Moines where she helps to manage the Energy and Water Use Benchmarking Program, the Food Security Task Force, and the implementation of the City’s first Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, ADAPT DSM. Prior to coming to the City, she served as a NEPA Project Manager for the Iowa Department of Transportation as well as the Chair of the Iowa DOT Sustainability Working Group.
Madeline has been a member of WTS since 2019. Over the years, she has been an active member, served on the Events Committee, and served on the Book Club Ad-hoc Committee. She served as WTS Iowa Chapter Vice President and Central Region Council Representative in 2020 and 2021, as WTS Iowa Chapter President in 2022, and WTS Iowa Chapter Immediate Past President in 2023. Starting in 2024, Madeline serves as Secretary for the WTS Iowa Chapter.
At home, she enjoys spending time with her family. Her husband, Jacob, is an actuary at Principal Financial Group, and her son, Roman, turned six months old in December of 2023. Together, they like to check out farmers markets, disc golf, visit coffee shops, and attend all the cultural events that Des Moines has to offer.
Treasurer: Ashley Pasakarnis
Braun Intertec
I have been in geotechnical and environmental consulting for 19 years. I have been lucky to be part of organizations on both the east and west coasts but am quite happy to be currently settled in the Midwest. I am a recent member of WTS joining in 2023 and diving headfirst when the Treasurer position was left vacant last year. I am currently serving a second full term as WTS Iowa Chapter Treasurer (2024-2025). I have a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue University and a Master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from University of Iowa.
Professionally, I have been with Braun Intertec (Braun) since 2010 and the Urbandale/Des Moines Business Unit Manager since 2022. Much of my time is spent managing transportation related projects with my incredible Braun team of engineers, scientists, drillers and field technicians. I was originally part of Braun’s Cedar Rapids office from 2010 to 2018 and have been in the Des Moines Braun office since 2021.
I enjoy spending time with my family and planning old home renovations. Husband, Tim is a Water Resource Analyst for the Barnstable County, Cape Cod Commission. Son Jackson (13) and Elise (10) enjoy reading, swimming, hanging out with friends, and playing with our dog Shadow. We enjoy working on our old house (1885), gardening, and traveling.
At Large Board of Directors
Cari Pauli
City of Cedar Rapids
I been employed in the traffic engineering discipline by the City of Cedar Rapids for 15 years and currently serve as the City Traffic Engineer. My main emphasis of work as a traffic engineer has been on traffic signal timing and design as well as street lighting design and pedestrian safety, including school routes. My current responsibilities include management of all traffic engineering aspects including design, signing and striping, and traffic signals. I have a passion for improving the quality of life for all humans. I has been a member of WTS Iowa since 2020 and have served on the Events Committee since becoming a member serving as the co-chair from 2020-2021.
I received my undergraduate degree from Wartburg College in engineering science and a Master of Science Degree from Iowa State University in civil engineering with a transportation emphasis. I have been married to my husband, Casey, for 15 years and together we have five children: Caden (12), Chloe (11), Camryn (8), Cage (4), and Cruz (4). They are the joy of our lives and keep us very busy with numerous activities including softball, baseball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and cheerleading. In our free time, Casey and I both enjoy coaching youth softball/baseball and teaching valuable life lessons and the importance of teamwork through sport. We also co-own a baseball/softball instruction facility called D-BAT Marion. We are very busy and we love it that way!
Jennifer McCoy
Bolton & Menk
Jennifer is a Traffic Engineer with 23+ years of experience. I am passionate about introducing girls to engineering, volunteering with the Iowa Society of Women Engineers for girl scout engineering outreach events and mentoring elementary school students with fellow female traffic engineers. I am also passionate about supporting women in their engineering careers. When I started my career there were not a lot of female role models in higher positions within the organizations that I worked for. It’s my desire to mentor younger female engineers and help and encourage them along their career path through all parts of their lives. Organizations like WTS which line up with my personal goals and desires are near and dear to my heart.
Angie Poole
Iowa DOT
Angie is the director of the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Location and Environment bureau. She has been with the Iowa DOT for a little over 16 years. Angie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and a Master of Science degree in civil engineering from Iowa State University. She has been involved with the WTS Iowa chapter since its inception and served as the chapter’s first president. Angie currently lives in Ames with her husband and three of her children. She enjoys taking time to appreciate the important people in her life and she strives to make sure they know they are cherished.
Blake Walter
Felsburg Holt & Ullevig
Blake Walter is an Environmental Scientist at Felsburg Holt & Ullevig where he helps clients navigate the complexities of NEPA and other environmental regulations. Blake has been a part of WTS Iowa since 2021 and in 2023 joined the Sponsorship Committee. Growing up in Kansas, Blake is an avid Kansas State fan and tunes in whenever possible to root them on. Blake spends a majority of the time with his wife, Nicholle, two-year old son, Ezekiel, and newborn Cameron, going on walks, enjoying the surrounding parks, and playing fetch with their dogs.
Committee Chairs
Awards and Recognition: Renee White
Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC)
Renee has been the Program Chair for the Civil Engineering Technology program at Des Moines Area Community College since 2000. As part of this role she also administers DMACC’s contract with the Iowa Department of Transportation to educate technicians in the Technical Training and Certification program. Over 1500 people are certified or recertify every year in this federally mandated training program. Prior to coming to DMACC Renee worked for the Asphalt Paving Association of Iowa (1995-2000) as their Technical Field Engineer. She also has experience working for general contractors as a project manager/estimator in her early career.
Renee has a Bachelor’s degree in Construction Engineering and a Master’s degree in Education and Leadership Studies, both earned at Iowa State University. Renee resides in Adel, IA with her husband Patrick and 3 agility dogs (Border Collie “Scorch”, Border Collie “Scram” and Chocolate Lab “Bubba”). In her spare time she runs her own dog agility business, competes nationally and internationally, and teaches classes for the Puppy Jake Foundation, a non-profit that trains and raises Service Dogs for Veterans.
Communications: Kristina Kuehling
Images, Inc.
Kristina Kuehling is Manager of Innovation at Images, Inc., a strategic communications firm specializing in the transportation industry. Kristina is passionate about connecting people with transportation and infrastructure projects. With over 15 years of experience in public relations, marketing, and outreach, Kristina helps clients build authentic rapport with communities. She has managed communications on a variety of roadway, bridge, multimodal, transit, and rail projects from planning and design to construction. Kristina is currently leading stakeholder outreach on two of the largest transportation projects under construction in Illinois — reconstruction of I-80 in Joliet, and Illinois Tollway’s Elgin-O’Hare Western Access project. Previously, she led strategic communications, public outreach, social media, and media relations on Iowa’s largest transportation project in history, the award-winning I-74 Mississippi River Bridge in the Quad Cities.
Kristina lives in Naperville, Illinois and frequently travels to Iowa for projects, often with her dog, Ozzie, in tow. She graduated from DePauw University in Indiana and started her career at the state museum in Ohio, where she led workshops on public outreach, media relations, and fundraising as well as gave remarks at historical marker dedication events across the state.
Events: Wasama Abdullah
Iowa State University
Wasama is a Traffic Engineer and a Data Analyst with a combination of data science skills and Traffic Engineering background. She has comprehensive knowledge of Traffic Operations and Forecasting, Traffic Signals Design, Transportation Safety, Big Data Analyses, Statistical data analyses, Data visualization as well as Geographic Information spatial and temporal analyses.
Membership: Renee Jerman
Iowa DOT
Renee is the State and Federal Relations Compliance Officer in the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Government and Community Relations group. She has been with the DOT for over 22 years. Renee holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Iowa State University. She has been involved with WTS Iowa chapter since the chapter formed, having served as the Board Chair for Awards and now the Board Membership Chair. She has also been involved with the WTS Central Region Conference Planning Committee. Currently, she is a member of the ABI Leadership Iowa Class learning about issues around the state. Renee lives in Ames with her husband, two dogs and one cat, and is a recent empty nester with two children in college and one college graduate. She enjoys spending time with her family and grandkids, being involved in the community and looking forward to golf season!
Sponsorship: Ashley Cook
Ashley is an experienced bridge engineer with a history of working both in highway and rail bridge design.