January 30, 2017 – Anitra Schulte, Strategy.Ink –
Further bolstering its reputation as a leading Midwestern engineering employer, Chicago rail and transit firm Quandel Consultants announces it is expanding ownership in the company from three principal partners to seven.
Four employees – James Jennings, Daniel Schulte, Melanie Johnson and Charles Hoppesch – have been elevated from associate to principal. Jennings, Schulte and Hoppesch work in Quandel Consultants’ Chicago office, and Johnson leads Quandel Consultants’ office in Cleveland, Ohio.
Quandel Consultants, LLC, provides engineering solutions for the railroad and rail transit industry, including program management, engineering, planning, operations analysis, and construction management. The firm has completed work for departments of transportation in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Colorado.
“Quandel Consultants is proud to announce the elevation of four exceptional employees into company leadership,” said Charlie Quandel, CEO of Quandel Consultants. “Quandel is committed to developing the careers of its employees. Each of the four new partners possesses the skills necessary to continue the growth of the firm into the decades to come. They have invested time and talent in our collective success, and today we reward their service with company ownership.”
The New Partners
James Jennings, P.E.
Principal James Jennings has more than 15 years of experience in the planning, design and construction of transportation facilities. Jennings specializes in business and program management, and most recently served as the program management consultant engineering task lead for the multi-year Illinois Department of Transportation Chicago-St. Louis $1.6 billion high-speed passenger rail program. As Quandel Consultant’s Director of Business Operations, Jennings also oversees the day-to-day financial management of the firm. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Daniel Schulte, P.E.
A Quandel Consultants Principal and Senior Project Manager, Daniel Schulte offers 14 years of experience in civil and structural engineering for transportation applications. Schulte coordinates with team members from all disciplines to implement projects, from concept to construction. With Quandel, Schulte has become an expert in implementing department of transportation intercity rail projects funded with FRA grants. He presently serves as the project manager assisting the Michigan Department of Transportation in implementing a series of capital construction projects with the goal of rehabilitating 135 miles of mainline railroad between Dearborn and Kalamazoo, Mich. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri–Rolla.
Melanie Johnson, P.E.
Melanie Johnson is a Principal and Senior Project Manager at Quandel Consultants. Johnson has 13 years of experience in the planning and design of transportation infrastructure, with a focus on managing the planning and development of new passenger rail corridors and passenger rail service in the Midwest. Johnson’s project experience includes management of passenger rail feasibility studies, alternatives analyses, environmental analyses, rail corridor planning studies, conceptual and preliminary track designs, and program management. Johnson is the project manager leading the preparation of an Environmental Assessment and Service Development Plan for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for a proposed increase in frequency on Amtrak’s Hiawatha Service between Chicago and Milwaukee. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Purdue University.
Charles Hoppesch, P.E.
Principal and Rail Operations Manager Charles Hoppesch specializes in the design and development of transportation facilities, including railroad corridors. Hoppesch is proficient in the use of CAD applications and software to develop track alignments and engineering design plans, and in the use Rail Traffic Controller (RTC) software to develop models that support railroad operations analysis and corridor planning.
He served as project engineer on the Program Management Oversight team during the preliminary engineering phase for Northern Lights Express, a project that will implement new passenger rail service between Minneapolis and Duluth, Minn. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan Technological University.
About Quandel Consultants, LLC
Quandel Consultants, LLC, has provided engineering solutions for the railroad and rail transit industry for four decades. Services provided by Quandel Consultants include program management, engineering, planning, operations analysis and construction management. Quandel Consultants has completed work for Departments of Transportation across the U.S., including Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Colorado. Chicago-based Quandel Consultants has offices in Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo, Mich., St. Paul, Minn., and Cleveland, Ohio.