Seth M. Wurzel, CGFM

Principal

Since 2005, Seth Wurzel has served as a financial consultant advising many cities, counties, and special districts on funding strategies for infrastructure improvements and services. Seth is an expert at developing and implementing financing plans that include impact fee programs and financing districts such as Mello-Roos Community Facilities Districts and Benefit Assessment Districts. Seth has also advised and represented land-use agencies in their negotiations with developers, developing key terms and provisions for funding, disposition and development agreements. Seth also has experience assisting local agencies with State and Federal funding program applications and administration.

Seth received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering with honors from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. Seth worked as a project manager and project engineer on multi-million dollar projects for 5 years before pursuing and receiving his Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Davis. Seth is a member of Floodplain Management Association (FMA), Association of Government Accountants (AGA) and the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO). Seth retired from the City of Woodland Planning Commission in 2015 after serving as member and chairman for 8 years.  Seth has earned the Certified Governmental Financial Manager (CGFM) designation from the AGA and is a Qualified Municipal Advisor Principal (FINRA Series 54).

Derek B. Larsen, PE, CFM

Principal

Since 2000, Derek Larsen has experience in water resource engineering and currently focuses on financial, program, and project management.  He assists local agencies with management of the scope, schedule and budget for multi-million dollar water resource infrastructure projects. Derek is an expert in developing and implementing financial plans, performing cash flow and bond analysis, directing flood risk reduction engineering, environmental compliance, and State and federal permitting for flood risk reduction projects. Derek provides local agencies with strategy support in developing project implementation plans to meet federal, State and local interests.    

Derek received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. Derek received his Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Davis.  Derek has worked as an engineer in the public sector for the State of California Department of Water Resources and the City of Santa Cruz.  Derek has worked in the private sector providing program and project management services. Derek is licensed Professional Civil Engineer and a Certified Floodplain Manager.   He is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and Floodplain Management Association (FMA).

Scott L. Brown, PE

Principal

Since 1998, Scott Brown has experience in water resources engineering and project management. He has been involved in the planning, design, permitting and implementation of comprehensive flood control, irrigation, and hydroelectric projects. His project experience includes storm drains, levees, floodwalls, pump stations, canals and pipelines, diversion facilities, fish screens, and fish ladders.  Scott also has significant design experience having designed concrete, masonry, steel and wood structures, including pump sumps, floodwalls, retaining walls, rock bin walls and control buildings.

Scott has worked with various flood control agencies, cities, counties and water purveyors to plan and implement projects including Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency, Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, Natomas Mutual Water Company, the City of Sacramento and Sacramento County.  Scott received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

ERIC E. NAGY, PE

PRINCIPAL

Since 1997, Eric Nagy has experience in the planning, design, and construction of water resource projects.  During this time, he served in both the public and private sectors with a focus on California’s Central Valley.  He has extensive experience leading multidisciplinary teams of technical professionals through the development and implementation of flood risk reduction and environmental restoration projects.  Eric’s experience includes 13 years of service with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in Sacramento.  In his last USACE assignment, he served for three years as the Chief of the Design Branch in Engineering Division.  The Design Branch is comprised of over 100 technical professionals including civil, structural, mechanical, electrical engineers, and architects responsible for the planning and design of both Civil Works and Military Projects.  He previously held positions at the USACE in Construction and Project Management.  

Eric’s work in the private sector includes providing strategic program management as well as leading the planning, design and implementation of multi-objective water resource projects. His experience with Federal and State water resource regulation and policy allows him to provide strategic advisory and engineering services for improved watershed management. Eric received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. He is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and Floodplain Management Association (FMA).

Adam A. Riley, PE

principal

Since 2006, Adam Riley has experience in the planning, design, and construction of civil site improvements and water resources projects within the public and private sectors.  He spent five of those years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in Sacramento, where he served as Sacramento District’s Program Manager for Major Modifications to Federal Projects under Section 408 and as a project manager for Dam Safety efforts.  Adam also spent four years managing data analytics and business operations projects focused on program development, process optimization, financial forecasting, and cost reduction.  He excels at managing large, complex projects and advises clients on a wide range of needs including process organization, program management, flood risk reduction project management, regulatory compliance and financial assessments.

Adam received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering with honors from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.  He is a Registered Professional Civil Engineer in the State of California.  Adam enjoys bringing a unique perspective to client work leveraging his diverse career experiences.

Mark E. Cowan

Supervising Project manager

Mark Cowan supports LWA’s clients by providing program and project management services on planning, design, and construction of water resource projects with a focus on California’s Central Valley.  He has extensive experience leading multidisciplinary teams of technical professionals through the development and implementation of multiple objective flood risk reduction and environmental restoration projects.  Mark’s experience in Federal water resource regulations and policies allows him to provide strategic advice and assistance for implementing improved integrated comprehensive watershed management projects.  

Prior to joining LWA, Mark served for 27 years at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in Sacramento and has extensive water resource experience in the USACE Civil Works Program.  In his last USACE assignments, he served for a combined 10 years as the Chief of the Water Resource Branch in Planning Division and then as the Deputy Chief in Planning Division.  The USACE Sacramento Planning Division is comprised of more than 80 technical professionals responsible for the plan formulation, economic justification and environmental compliance for planning and design of both Civil Works and Military Projects and the Flood Risk Management Program.  During this time, multidisciplinary study teams successfully completed a multitude of highly complex feasibility studies which have combined for over $5 billion in Federal authorizations.  Mark also served in various leadership positions while working at USACE, including temporary assignments as Chief of the Planning Division, Deputy District Engineer, Chief of the Civil Works Program and Lead Plan Formulator for the South Pacific Division.  

Madeline L. Baker, PE, CFM

associate Project manager ii

Madeline Baker joined the team after several years providing planning, modeling and design of water resources projects within the public and private sectors. She spent three years designing and leading stream and floodplain restoration efforts throughout California.  Madeline also spent time with the Natural Resources Conservation Agency providing support for cost-sharing programs in the Central Valley. 

Madeline received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Biological Sciences with an emphasis in Ecology and Conservation Biology from the University of California, Merced. She holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from San Jose State University.  She is a Registered Professional Civil Engineer in the State of California and Certified Floodplain Manager. Madeline is an active member of the Floodplain Management Association.  She enjoys combining her background in ecology and conservation with her experience in water resources engineering to support implementation of multi-benefit projects.

stacy samuelson

Project manager

Stacy Samuelson has over 21 years’ experience with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), including 10 years of experience in the planning, design, and construction of water resources projects. Stacy spent 6 of those years with the USACE in Sacramento, where he served as a lead planner for several Civil Works projects and Feasibility Studies. Additionally, Stacy spent 11 years with the USACE in Wilmington, NC, where he worked on Environmental Compliance and coordinated jurisdictional wetland delineations for military bases in North Carolina.

Stacy’s time in these roles primarily focused on managing large, diverse teams as a program and project manager, spanning dam safety projects, levee rehabilitation regulatory compliance, process engineering, and multi-million-dollar cost reduction analyses. His diverse project experience provides a unique perspective grounded in thorough knowledge of Federal regulations, a project’s technical complexities, and team leadership. Mr. Samuelson received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Natural Resource Management from Colorado State University and his Bachelor of Science Degree in Biological Studies from Mesa College. Additionally, he is a graduate of the USACE’s Planning Associates Program.

MelisSa Weymiller

project manager ii

Melissa Weymiller supports LWA’s clients by providing project management services on planning of water resource projects with a focus on the Central and San Joaquin Valleys in California. She has experience leading multidisciplinary teams of technical professionals through the development and implementation of multiple objective flood risk reduction and environmental restoration projects. Melissa’s experience in Federal water resource regulations and policies allows her to provide strategic advice and assistance for implementing improved integrated comprehensive watershed management projects.

Prior to joining LWA, Melissa served for 7 years at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in Sacramento and Los Angeles and has extensive water resource experience in the USACE Civil Works programs. She joined USACE as a water resources planner, but in 2018 joined the Flood Risk Management Program as a Project Manager and Program Manager where she oversaw multiple technical services and planning support programs. She played an active role in California, Nevada, and Utah Silver Jackets interagency teams, and was instrumental in developing the Navajo Nation Silver Jackets team, the first ever Tribal team. In her seven years, she worked on multiple flood risk reduction, ecosystem restoration, and watershed studies and mentored teams working on scoping new studies. Melissa also served on the long-term recovery cadre, deploying to support communities recovering from disasters like the Camp Fire and 2023 California flood events.

Melissa received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Conservation Biology from the University of Wisconsin and her Master of Sciences Degree in Conservation Social Science from the University of Idaho.

TOBY L. WONG, PE

ProjecT Engineer

Toby has over 35 years of experience with the planning, design, management, and construction of civil improvements and water resources projects in both the public and private sectors. Toby spent 27 of those years with the City of West Sacramento, with the last 7 years as the engineering lead on the West Sacramento Levee Improvement Program for the West Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, where he served as a project manager for several flood protection projects affecting Federal levees protecting the City of West Sacramento.

Toby is an experienced manager, responsible for coordinating with teams of consultant firms. He has delivered infrastructure and levee safety improvement projects from inception (Project Initiation), through planning (Project Approval and Environmental Document), final design (Plans, Specifications, and Estimate), and construction (Design Support and Construction Management).

His time in these roles primarily focused on managing large, diverse teams as the project manager, spanning flood protection projects, levee rehabilitation regulatory compliance, infrastructure improvements, process engineering, and multi-million-dollar cost reduction/value engineering analyses. Toby’s diverse project management experience provides a unique perspective grounded in thorough knowledge of Local, State and Federal regulations, a project’s technical complexities, and team leadership.

Additionally, at the beginning of his engineering career, Toby spent 7 years in the private sector with JTS Engineering, a Civil Engineering consulting firm in the City of Sacramento, working as a civil engineer on various commercial and private development projects.

Ken Leep, CFM

ProjecT Manager

Kenneth (Ken) Leep has 25 years of emergency management experience and retired in 2010 from the California the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) as a senior emergency services coordinator. He served in many different roles while at Cal OES, including working as a member of the Technical Assistance Programs (TAP) unit in the Recovery Division, as an Instructor for the California State Training Institute (CSTI), as a Grants Manager, and as a Project Coordinator.

As an official Cal OES Training Coordinator for CSTI, he has developed and taught courses in emergency management that includes, but is not limited to, the following specialties: recovery; hazard mitigation; benefit cost analysis (BCA); emergency response; emergency operations; FEMA's E‐grants process; the FEMA Pre‐disaster Mitigation (PDM) grant program; the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP); the FEMA Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program; the State Emergency Management  System  (SEMS);  the  Incident  Command  System  (ICS);  FEMA's  Local  Hazard  Mitigation  Planning  (LHMP)  requirements; public assistance (PA) project worksheet (PW) review; and PA special considerations review.

In the year prior to his retirement Ken coordinated the Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) for the Severe Storms in Southern California (2010) FEMA DR‐1884, and the Initial Damage Estimate (IDE) for the Baja EQ (2010) FEMA DR‐1911 in Imperial County. Since retiring, Ken has been called back by Cal OES as a retired annuitant to work in varying capacities on numerous additional disasters. He has also made numerous presentations related to various emergency management related topics throughout the state for local jurisdictions, state agencies, the Floodplain Management Association (FMA) conferences, the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) conferences, and other venues.

VICTORIA M. FOSTER

SENIOR ASSOCIATE ii

Victoria Foster supports LWA’s clients by developing and executing financial strategies designed to maximize the use of state and federal funding to deliver water resource projects.  These strategies leverage Victoria’s deep understanding of the federal budgeting process to optimize project cost-sharing and crediting while accounting for a dynamic federal appropriations environment.    

Victoria’s prior experience includes nine years of service with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District where she served her last four years as a Lead Budget Analyst for the Civil Program in the Programs and Project Management Division (PPMD). Victoria developed her expertise through continuous involvement in the planning, programming, budgeting and execution of an annual Civil Works budget of approximately $200M. She led the annual budget development process and provided support to both analysts and project managers with regards to budgeting and execution strategies. She also served as a liaison between PPMD and the South Pacific Division’s Civil Works Integration Division. Victoria’s experience as a lead analyst also included cost sharing, crediting, fiscal project closeout, and coordination of the District’s annual Congressional Visit.

Prior to becoming a lead analyst, Victoria served as a financial manager for several large Civil Works Projects in both the General Investigations (GI) and Construction General (CG) Programs, including projects with the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, and Truckee River Flood Management Authority.  She was a valuable member of the Project Delivery Teams, ensuring that funding was obligated and expended timely and appropriately in accordance with Federal regulations and policies.

Victoria received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from the University of California, Davis.

SEAN MYERS

Associate ii

Sean Myers provides analytical support consisting of market research, data analysis and financial modeling, research using propriety and public information sources, drafting sections of reports and formulating presentations, assistance with expenditure reports and audit compliance, forensic accounting, and political analysis.  Prior to joining the firm in 2013, Sean served 6 years as an Independent Research Consultant statistically measuring the effectiveness of various policy issues as well as social and public programs for nonprofit groups.  In addition, Sean has been honored for his past work as a Senior Field Representative for the California State Assembly from 2007 to 2008, as well as for his leadership heading a campaign office for Governor Schwarzenegger in Woodland in 2006. Sean received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of California, Davis. Sean also holds an MA in Political Science from University of California, Davis, with a concentration in quantitative methodological research. Sean is also a U.S. Navy veteran.

David lee

associate ii

David Lee provides data analysis, data collection, market research, forecasting, and reporting development. Prior to joining the team in 2017, David worked for more than 5 years as Environmental Consultant preparing environmental impact reports in compliance with NEPA and CEQA and developing housing market studies for affordable housing grant programs. In addition, David worked for 3 years as an Product Manager/Data Analyst, developing reports and dashboards to monitor business financials. David received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, San Diego and a Master of Business Administration, from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.

Elisabet (Liz) G. Abdissa

associate

Elisabet Abdissa provides analytical support through data collection and analysis, financial modeling, and report development. Prior to joining the team in 2019, Elisabet worked as a Security Analyst preparing valuation models, financial reports, and security sector guidebooks for stock pitch purposes while also supporting her team through data analytics and market research. In addition, Elisabet worked as a Global Client Services Specialist, focusing primarily on international hedge and active strategies for institutional investors. In her role, Elisabet provided support through the development of client customized performance and statistical reports, market data and trend analysis, multi-class fund management, and expense budgeting. Elisabet attended California State University, Sacramento where she earned both a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications and a Master of Business Administration Degree with a concentration in Finance.

WINSON C. PHOONG

senior ANALYST

Winson provides support to the LWA team through data analysis, financial modeling and reporting, budgeting, and forecasting, and grant administration. Prior to joining the team, Winson worked as Corporate Finance Lead for Sunday Ins., Inc., a rising insurance technology startup in Bangkok, Thailand, where he played the role of the head of the finance and accounting department. Prior to this, he served two years as a board member of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, where he provided free preparation of taxes to low-income families, returning over half a million dollars back to the community each year. He also served as a Finance Intern for Morgan Stanley, where he provided support in market research and fundamental and technical analysis of securities. Winson received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Davis and a Master of Science in Applied Economics and Finance from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

PATRICK H. SOPER

senior ANALYST

Patrick Soper completes data analysis, financial analysis and financial modeling for various projects. Before joining the LWA team in February 2020, he earned his Master of Science degree in Quantitative Economics from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he also earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, concentrating in Quantitative Analysis. He has experience completing data analysis and statistical analysis for an offshore wind energy grant along the Central California Coast, and a background in the wealth management industry as well.

Joseph nguyen

Analyst ii

Joseph provides data analysis, grant administration, and financial modelling support to many ongoing projects at LWA. He works with local districts and agencies assisting grant administration and assisting with annual assessment updates. Before joining the team in March 2023, Joseph worked for three years as a loan analyst in the residential and commercial property markets. Joseph earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, San Diego.

YADIRA R. SMITH

office manager

Yadira Smith provides essential support in accounting and office management at LWA. She handles all accounts receivable and payable. She assists in data entry and analysis for various projects. Prior to joining the team in 2018, Yadira worked for more than 5 years at a successful start-up company, providing leadership in office management, accounting, overseas production, local warehouse management, brick and mortar store operations, and logistics for worldwide distribution. She earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Chicano Studies from the University of California, Davis, with an extensive background in Microbiology and Gender Studies.  In addition, Yadira holds a black belt in Kenpo Karate and taught young students for 5 years.

adrienne bugglin

billing assistant

Adrienne Bugglin provides essential support in accounting and office management at LWA. She handles all accounts receivable and payable. She assists in data entry and analysis for various projects. Prior to joining the team in 2024, Adrienne worked as a Billing Analyst in the insurance industry, preparing consolidated billing statements, coordinating with insurance carriers and assisting with benefits administration and accounts payable. She earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology, Therapeutic Studies from California State University, East Bay.