Who We Are

Forrest Gilfoy

Mr. Gilfoy has four years of experience working as a staff geologist. He received a BS in Earth and Environmental Sciences from the University of Michigan in 2015, staying on to earn a MS in Mineral Physics from the University of Michigan in 2016, where his thesis focused on the melting behavior of iron-nickel-sulfur alloys. While completing his degrees, Mr. Gilfoy became proficient at MATLAB and GIS software programs. Prior to joining North Jackson, Mr. Gilfoy was employed by a consulting firm in downstate Michigan, initially concentrating on construction-related geotechnical work. In this capacity, Mr. Gilfoy conducted ASTM/AASHTO accredited testing in the lab and field, developing a working knowledge of soil properties. Mr. Gilfoy also participated in a number of landfill projects, where he gained experience in geosynthetic liner system design and installation, GPS-based surveying, and regulatory compliance with RCRA and the DoE. Mr. Gilfoy later transitioned to the environmental division, where his project experience evolved into plume delineation, groundwater and surface water sampling, aquifer testing, and subsurface profiling using magnetic susceptibility, conductivity, and gamma ray surveys. Recently, Mr. Gilfoy has worked on site assessments for PFAS/PFOS compounds, an emerging contaminant of concern in Michigan. He joined North Jackson in 2019.

Jeffrey Koch

Mr. Koch has worked in the environmental field for 10 years. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where he earned a BS in general natural resource management with a minor in conservation biology in 2001. He was employed by the USDA Forest Service from 2001 to 2011, where he served with increasing responsibility as a senior firefighter and supervisory engine operator. He also supported other resource disciplines with botanical and wildlife surveys, maintaining safe recreation areas, law enforcement, project planning and analysis, and travel management. Mr. Koch has extensive experience in installing, calibrating and maintaining environmental data collection equipment, including remote automated weather stations. He was the primary GIS editor for the Ottawa National Forest Fire Shop during his tenure there and developed proficiency with ESRI, Garmin and Trimble products. He has completed numerous safety, leadership and other job-related certification and training programs. Mr. Koch joined North Jackson Company in 2011.

Don Macalady

Dr. Macalady is an internationally recognized expert in geochemical processes in systems contaminated with acid rock drainage. He received his BS in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University and his PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. After completing his graduate studies, Dr. Macalady was awarded a one-year fellowship from the National Science Foundation to study chemical oceanography at the University of Miami and a two-year fellowship from the National Research Council to support studies at the Environmental Protection Agency Research Laboratory in Athens, Georgia. He was employed at Northern Michigan University in Marquette from 1970 to 1982, starting as an assistant professor and achieving full professorship in 1980. He has been employed as a chemistry professor at the Colorado School of Mines since 1982 where he currently holds emeritus status. Dr. Macalady was the Director of the Center for Environmental Risk Assessment at the CSM from 1997-2007 and the associate director of the Rocky Mountain Regional Hazardous Substances Research Center of the EPA from 2002-2006. Over the course of his distinguished academic career, Dr. Macalady has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and served on the editorial board of the Journal of Contaminant Hydrology from 1989 through 1999. He is a member of the American Chemical Society and the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. As a North Jackson Company employee, Dr. Macalady has leant his expertise to a number of projects involving molybdate geochemistry, acid mine drainage and geochemical analyses of surface waters.

Kari Paulson

During her fifteen years in the natural resources field, Ms. Paulson has focused her work on issues of hydrology and landscape processes, with particular emphasis on evaluating land use impacts on watershed processes in small and large-scale watersheds and the design and implementation of watershed restoration projects as they relate to salmonid habitat. She has worked closely with policy makers and scientists from all levels of government (city, county, state and federal), as well as those working with industry (logging, mining and power companies), Indian tribes and environmental groups. An example of this work includes her role as the lead geomorphologist on an interdisciplinary team of scientists who completed an Environmental Impact Statement for the Washington Department of Natural Resources that evaluated how proposed changes in forest practice rules might affect channel stability and fisheries habitat. Ms. Paulson is a licensed engineering geologist in the state of Washington, received her BA in geology from Carleton College and a MS in forest hydrology at the University of Washington.

Peter Sabee

Mr. Sabee has worked as an environmental scientist since 1985. His principle areas of expertise include environmental assessments, wetland science, baseline environmental studies and management of technical projects involving regulatory compliance. He has managed all aspects of contaminated site investigations and response actions and has conducted Phase I and II assessments throughout the United States. He has considerable experience helping clients with waste site liability management and cost containment, as well as assisting clients with achieving compliance with state and federal regulations. As President of North Jackson Company, Peter's duties also include contract management, supervising personnel, implementation of quality control protocols, and business and leadership development.

Curt Sheffield

Mr. Sheffield has over 10 years of experience in the environmental field. Prior to joining North Jackson Company, he worked on the sea lamprey control program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As a biological technician, he performed backpack electro-shocking assessments to determine larval sea lamprey densities in streams throughout the Great Lakes. Mr. Sheffield also led an effort to map bottom substrates at the mouth of large streams in the U.S. and Canada. In addition to his aquatic background, Mr. Sheffield also has diverse experience with wildlife. His experience includes leading Kirtland's warbler tours for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, nuisance black bear trapping and relocating with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and conducting frog and toad surveys. Mr. Sheffield also spent several years working for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and MacFarlane Pheasants Inc. rearing pheasants. Mr. Sheffield has a B.S. degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Management from Lake Superior State University. He joined North Jackson Company in 2008.

Kamran Syed, Ph.D., P.E.

Dr. Syed received his Ph.D. in Hydrology from the University of Arizona, following years of work as a civil engineer on large-scale agricultural irrigation projects in Pakistan. Since completion of his Ph.D. work, he has practiced as a surface water hydrologist for over 8 years in the field of watershed modeling, topological control of watersheds and ecosystem processes. He has expertise in physically based deterministic watershed modeling at various levels of detail, atmospheric water balance, and modeling of ecosystem-atmosphere interactions. Prior to joining North Jackson Company, Dr. Syed conducted studies at various levels of watershed scale and modeling complexity in a variety of experimental watersheds in the United States and Canada with differing modeling objectives. Much of his work has been multi-disciplinary in nature involving links to hydrologic and global water balance modeling, ecosystem physiology and use of global atmospheric remote-sensing data sets to study global climate change.

Daniel Wiitala, P.G.

Mr. Wiitala has been in the field of hydrogeological consulting since 1989. His principal areas of experience are hydrogeological assessments of wetlands, groundwater-surface water interaction in watersheds, and legacy mining remediation projects. Mr. Wiitala has additional expertise conducting evaluations of hydrologic issues associated with water supply systems, groundwater contaminant plume migration and remediation. Mr. Wiitala routinely manages all aspects of technical assessments of risks associated with groundwater contaminant plumes, designs site corrective actions and closures in consultation with regulatory agencies, and provides expert witness evaluation in environmental law case litigation. Mr. Wiitala received a BS in geology from the University of Michigan and a MS in geosciences from the University of Wisconsin and is a liscensed professional geologist. Mr. Wiitala is a cofounder of North Jackson Company and his duties also include business development and company financial oversight.

Yitu Xu

Mr. Xu has undergraduate degrees in both information engineering from China University of Geosciences and economics from Wuhan University. He received his MS in geography from the University of Tennessee in 2011, with a thesis titled Using Volunteer Tracking Information for Activity-Based Travel Demand Modeling and Finding Dynamic Interaction-based Joint-Activity Opportunities. After receiving his MS, Mr. Xu was employed for 2 years as a research associate at the Center for Transportation Analysis in the Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL). His responsibilities included coordinating a team charged with developing and upgrading a web GIS application for the ORNL emergency management funded by DOE and a scenario planning tool for D.C. non-motorized transportation funded by DOT. Prior to being employed as a research associate at the ORNL, he was research assistant at the UT Transportation Research Center and worked on web and mobile development for a few DOT sponsored pilot projects. Mr. Xu joined North Jackson Company in 2013.