Our Team
Our professional services team is dedicated to providing cost-effective, responsive support while understanding the need for rapid and flexible solutions that keep projects on time and on budget. Our staff has extensive experience in the service areas that we provide and advertise.
Black Mountain was founded on the premise that if we treat our employees with compassion and respect, they will provide that same consideration to our clients, which is our primary goal.
Chanel Buehner
Historic Preservation Specialist
Chanel has four years of experience preparing Telecom reports in the environmental consulting field. In 2012 she received her B.F.A. from Savannah College of Art and Design with a focus in Historic Preservation. She has previous experience with historic building and materials through her employment at an architectural salvage company and continues to work closely with the real estate market as an interior designer. In her free time, Chanel enjoys the great outdoors and her dog, Margot.
John Estrem
Geologist
John has been providing consulting services in the Pacific NW for 25 years. His experience spans a wide range of environmental assessment, regulatory compliance and engineering projects, including over 15 years focused on the telecommunications and banking/finance industries. Given John's extensive telecom project experience covering many thousands of telecom sites, he has become the go-to person for problem solving on challenging sites. John also has over 30 years' experience owning and managing commercial real estate, which gives him a more specialized perspective when working with banking clients in assessing property for environmental issues. John has a BS in Geology from Pomona College and an MS in Environmental Management from the University of San Francisco.
Jeanne Fernandez-McShane
Geotechnical Engineer
Jeanne has been a consulting geotechnical engineer working in California and Oregon since 1984. She has been involved with a wide variety of geotechnical engineering projects, including large-scale commercial solar energy installations; cell tower foundation design and construction; large-scale wind power projects; landslide repair and mitigation, design of both deep and shallow foundations, soil nail wall design, and most other aspects of geotechnical exploration, analysis and design. Jeanne has a B.S. and a M.S., both in Civil Engineering/Geotech from University of California Berkeley. Jeanne provides our geotechnical services via our Portland office.
Robert Nystrom
Geologist | Environmental Scientist
Since moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1996 Robert has participated in the operation, maintenance, construction, and demolition of groundwater remediation systems and vapor extraction systems in Oregon and Washington. He subsequently became a Project Manager responsible for conducting Phase I and Phase 2 ESAs, geotechnical explorations, as well as obtaining certifications as a Lead-based Paint Inspector and Asbestos Inspector. Robert has conducted a variety of ESAs and explorations for the telecom and banking/financial industries throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, and Montana. Mr. Nystrom has received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Northern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geology from Indiana University.
Ron Preston
Project Manager, Design Services
Ron is a project manager with over 20 years of experience in his field. His professional accomplishments include developing the franchise designs of several internationally-recognized merchandise companies. He is a nationally certified sustainable building adviser.
Tammy Stempel
Project Development | Environmental
Tammy’s education is in chemistry, environmental studies, sustainable building and commissioning, construction/project management, watershed management and international business. She brings over 25 years of project management, project development and policy integration to the team. Her diverse background, institutional knowledge and regional connections helps her to find the right solutions for the complex issues facing our clients. Tammy has a passion for community connection, volunteering locally and regionally with groups that help drive economic development and environmental sustainability.
Nicholas "Skip" Sturdivant
Environmental Assessor, Registered Geologist
Skip has been working in the environmental consulting industry since 2001. His experience consists of extensive travel all over the United States for the purpose of conducting Phase I and Phase II ESAs of various facilities, including gas stations, hotels, restaurants, office buildings, apartment buildings, and numerous other commercial properties. Part of his career involved conducting Phase I’s of industrial manufacturing facilities along the US-Mexico border. In 2008, he moved to the Pacific Northwest, where he has enjoyed travelling through Oregon and Washington conducting Phase I’s, Phase II’s, and geotechnical investigations everywhere from mountaintops in state forests, to high-rise office buildings in Seattle. Skip has a B.A. in Geology from Vassar College.