Higher Ground Group of Companies
With a focused area of expertise, HGC delivers best-in-class geotechnical, civil, water resource and environmental solutions. Tailoring our offering to suite the needs of our clients, we provide turnkey project management from initial feasibility through to construction management and quality assurance.
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Ron Kitagawa brings over 37 years of engineering experience in consulting and construction. Mr. Kitagawa’s experience encompasses river diversions; flood risk and debris-flood mitigation; riverbank erosion protection; dam rehabilitation; hydraulic structures; underground services for industrial and commercial facilities; treated water storage and wastewater retention facilities; and municipal and agricultural water supply systems.
Additionally, Ron has over 12 years of experience with dam safety reviews and annual performance reviews for provincial and municipal governments and industrial clients. Ron is the Lead Civil Engineer and a mentor for the civil group.
Grant is a seasoned railway engineer with 18 years of experience specializing in freight rail and civil engineering. Grounded in core values of trust and quality, Grant’s collaborations with industry leaders such as CN Rail and CPKC underscore his expertise and the valuable relationships he has built.
His focus on innovation and strategic thinking has consistently led to successful project outcomes for his clients.
Cameron Johnston has been in consulting since 2008, concentrating on collaborative projects across various environmental disciplines, including water, wetlands, and vegetation. His approach involves connecting with clients and stakeholders to understand their goals and ensure those outcomes are achieved.
Cameron works closely with clients, companies, and communities to facilitate responsible development and environmental sustainability.
Kevin has over 19 years of experience as a Civil Designer with a focus in earthworks design and survey including road and well pad design, petrochemical plant site design, site planning, layout and grading.
He is an experienced Lead Designer for deep underground utilities and has led a team of designers in large scale earthworks projects.
Matt is a Geotechnical Engineer that has more than 12 years of experience in exploration geology and geotechnical investigation with extensive work done across Alberta and northern British Columbia.
His experience has included geotechnical and geological borehole logging, sampling and characterization of hard rock and soils, site supervision and field program settlement analysis, slope stability, thermal modelling and general site interpretation and recommendations.
Sherry has over a decade of progressive experience in financial management. She started her career as a self-taught bookkeeper for home-based businesses and has worked towards managing financial systems of increasing complexity, culminating with the financial department at Higher Ground Consulting.
Sherry has mastered multiple accounting software platforms and is currently the resident expert for all aspects of our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform.
Jake brings over 10 years of engineering, project management and strategic business development experience to Higher Ground Consulting. Blending years of field experience and corporate development, Jake has managed over $150 million in capital projects throughout that span.
He has spent the majority of his career focused on water infrastructure planning and construction throughout Western Canada and the US.
Shawn is a Civil Engineer trained at Lakehead University in Ontario with over ten years of experience in earthworks construction and inspection.
Shawn’s professional experience has focused on earthen and geosynthetic containment structures in the areas of earthworks construction, geotechnical and environmental analysis, surveying, Civil 3D modelling, construction QA/QC, and technical reporting.
Scott holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering from the University of New Brunswick. Mr. Wark has more than 12 years of professional experience with a strong background in project management and technical design for earthen and geosynthetic containment facilities (solid and liquid waste).
His expertise includes evaluation and development of solid waste management facilities during the full project life-cycle.
Lee is a Geotechnical Engineer with more than 15 years of experience in the design and construction of civil and marine works throughout North and South America.
He has been involved in the design and construction of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities, ports and marine terminals, highways, airports and rail facilities, dams and tailings facilities, oil and gas installations, plants and pipelines, as well as large commercial buildings, municipal facilities, and residential subdivisions.
Wes has significant experience working as a construction manager, engineer and project manager in the oil and gas industry. Mr. Ferris holds university degrees in Civil Engineering and Sociology and is a member of the Project Management Institute.
His diverse background and experience bring a greater understanding of all project components and the leadership and coordination required for success. Mr. Ferris is the founder of Higher Ground Consulting.
Gary has 28 years of experience in the environmental and energy services industry. Mr. Perras has a university degree in Regional Environmental Systems as well as a Masters of Business Administration.
His executive expertise includes operations, project planning and execution, corporate HS&E compliance and business development. Gary’s passion is to be a leader and mentor for dynamic and growth-oriented companies.
