Meet the Team
Aaron Albertson, P.E.
Principal
Aaron Albertson, P.E., is the founding principal at Commercial Development Resources (CDR). Aaron has been working in Southern California for almost 25 years. He started in environmental engineering and quickly transitioning into Land Development during early 2000’s, jumping on the beginnings of the meteoric rise of the real estate and land development boom.
Working at a national multi-unit roll out architecture firm up to 2005, Aaron led the civil engineering efforts for Southern California. He was responsible for design and obtaining permits for retail and restaurant projects, not only in California, but all over the United States. Most Notably, being a part of the development team which took BJ’s Pizza from a local Huntington Beach hang out to a Nationally recognized brand and completing more than 25 Rite Aid’s in Southern California. After gaining exposure to the land development process all over the United States, In 2005, Aaron moved to a boutique Newport Beach land development company. As a Development Manager working directly for the equity partners his major role was within the Rite Aid preferred development program to represent ownership to steward the consultants in obtaining permits, construction management, and Certificate of Occupancy.
Aaron founded CDR in 2007, as a response to the real estate downturn and developers outsourcing development program management. Over the past 17 years, CDR has transformed from a Development Management consulting firm to a leader in civil engineering focusing on private land development in the commercial sector. In 2020, CDR introduce Dry Utility Services to compliment their existing services. Aaron has led CDR’s efforts, which has solidified a core group of repeat clients, based on timely and bottom line driven results and engineering solutions.
Aaron played football at the United States Air Force Academy and received his civil engineering degree at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. Aaron resides in Newport Beach, California, with his wife and three boys. He loves coaching flag football, fishing for anything anywhere, snow skiing, and hang’n out at the beach.
Mario Lomeli
Director of Civil Engineering
Mario has been a land development civil engineer since 2003, priding himself on seeing a project through from initial conception to construction completion. Mario’s multi-faceted experience comes from managing and designing a wide-range of projects including: retail/commercial centers, master planned residential communities, worship centers, auto dealerships, fast food restaurants, industrial facilities, and sub lot subdivisions. Some of his abilities include rough and precise grading, storm water, sanitary sewer design, water pressure systems, site plan analysis and design, and erosion control.
The combination of Mario’s design and coordination expertise, along with his innate ability to coordinate across multiple disciplines allows him to meet project deadlines with the utmost quality in design.
In 2009, Mario was the recipient of the esteemed Young Engineer of the Year award from the American Society of Civil Engineers Orange County. Mario is a native of Orange County and received his civil engineering degree from Cal State Fullerton.
Eddie Pablos
Director of Dry Utility Services
Eddie Pablos is a true expert in his field, boasting over two decades of experience in managing public dry utility projects with developers, cities, civil engineers, and more.
A graduate of Alliant International University, Eddie has earned his Bachelor of Science in International Business and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Redlands. Prior to joining CDR, Eddie served as Senior Project Manager at a large utility design firm, Butsko Utility Design, Inc., an NV5 company. From large master-planned communities and major commercial and logistics centers to municipal improvement projects, Eddie has a vast wealth of knowledge and experience.
Royce Eklund, P.E.
Regional Engineering Manager
With professional engineering licenses in nine states – including California, Washington, Arizona, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina, Royce is the perfect candidate to launch CDR’s east coast office and spearhead growth outside of California.
Royce is a California Polytechnic State University of San Luis Obispo graduate with a degree in Civil Engineering. He spent the first 5 years of his career at CDR working alongside Principal Aaron Albertson and Director of Civil Engineering Mario Lomeli before moving to the east coast where he worked for a North Carolina-based civil engineering company before returning to CDR.
Royce has years of experience working on a variety of projects on both the east and west coast including multi-family affordable housing, mixed-use residential, residential single family, townhomes, dry utility duct banks, ground-up commercial and reuse, regional/large-scale stormwater BMP design, and greenways.
Meghan Meek
Corporate Operations Manager
Meghan serves as the Operations Manager. She was born in Orange County and has a B.S. in Accounting.
“I enjoy how focused CDR is on creating a hardworking and positive team environment. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to work and grow with this wonderful company and great group of people.”
Before coming to CDR, she worked in both Office and Operations Management. In her personal time, she enjoys cooking, being outdoors in nature, and spending time with her family and friends.
Leanna Thrane
Senior Project Manager
Leanna Thrane is an excellent resource, and extremely knowledgeable, having served as Project Manager for a large utility design firm, Butsko Utility Design Inc., an NV5 company, for nearly 18 years.
She is highly skilled in communication and prides herself on bridging the gap between clients, contractors, and utility personnel to ensure each project is completed on schedule and according to the specifications desired. Her drive to ensure client satisfaction and high-quality results is a valued asset to the Project Management Team.
Hannah Lancaster-Yale, P.E.
Project Manager
Hannah joined CDR upon earning a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. With coursework focusing on groundwater hydraulics/hydrology, water resource engineering, surveying, and construction management, Hannah brings great knowledge and enthusiasm to CDR.
Prior to her current role, Lancaster was focused on creating precise grading and site improvement plans and coordinating plan check reviews with various cities and counties. Now that she has narrowed in on Stormwater Management, she works on most of the projects at CDR as it is required for almost all land development projects (car dealerships, fast-food restaurants, custom homes, commercial shopping centers, theme parks, etc.)
Stormwater management can be a small requirement to check off for a permit or a driving force in the project’s site design. Hannah has worked on projects in over 45 cities and 10 different counties throughout California.
AJ Calabrese, E.I.T.
Project Manager
Born and raised in Long Island, New York, AJ moved west to California after graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Civil Engineering Technology. His coursework focused on Soils, Project Management and Stormwater Management.
While obtaining his degree, AJ captained the R.I.T Commercial Build Construction Management champion team in the AGC Construction Management Competition as well as participated in the ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition.
Prior to graduating, AJ held multiple internships in both Rochester, NY and New York City working with design engineers in the office as well as on-site with construction professionals.
Jordan Moy
Dry Utility project manager
Jordan is a Santa Barbara City College alumni with experience in land development construction and dry utilities. Jordan worked as a Dry Utility Project Manager for the last three years, where she specialized in LADWP, SCE, SDGE, SoCal Gas, AT&T, Charter, etc. Prior to this, she worked for a General Contractor firm she mastered reading construction documents and delivering successful projects.
Outside of work, Jordan enjoys hiking, trying out different workout classes, and spending time with friends, family, and her husky mix named Capri. As a Newport Beach native, Jordan is excited to join the CDR team, especially the growing dry utility team, and work with experienced colleagues such as Eddie and Leanna.
Luke Russell, P.E.
Water Resource & Design Engineer
Hailing from Laguna Hills, CA, Luke is no stranger to Southern California. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Marquette University in Milwaukee WI, and went on to get his Masters degree in Environmental Engineering from San Diego State University. Prior to joining CDR, Luke spent three years working as a consultant for an environmental engineering agency.
Luke enjoys playing basketball, going to the beach, hiking, playing guitar, cooking and playing video games, but he is always up for trying something new! Fun fact: he is working toward becoming a certified scuba diver!
Luke is thrilled to have the opportunity to work together with and learn from the cooperative and team-oriented group of engineers that work at CDR.
Arelly Ocampo, E.I.T.
Design Engineer
Arelly graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a B.S in Civil Engineering. Her coursework focused on transportation, city planning, and construction management. While at Cal Poly, Arelly spearheaded campus-wide programming with the Multicultural Center.
Prior to joining CDR, she coordinated the implementation and maintenance of high-quality accounting for small to medium enterprises at a business services firm.
Born and raised in Costa Mesa, California, Arelly is excited to contribute to the ever-growing land development in California.
Will Alday E.I.T.
Design Engineer
Will Alday proudly holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from California State University Chico, graduating in 2020. For the past 2.5 years, he has been making significant contributions at a prominent land development engineering firm in Northern California. In this role, Will gained invaluable experience working on a wide array of private sector projects, both large and small, spanning residential and commercial domains. With a keen passion for stormwater management, Will is thrilled to apply his expertise at CDR. He is eager to join an environment rich in experience and filled with opportunities to advance his civil engineering career.
Andrew Martinez, E.I.T.
Associate Engineer
Andrew Martinez, E.I.T, obtained a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from California State University, Fullerton. Before joining the CDR team, he gained valuable experience working as a lab technician at Orange County Public Works Materials Laboratory. He performed standardized soil and aggregate testing for quality insurance for county projects, as well as tested preliminary soil samples and completed soil reports for geotechnical engineers.
Andrew is looking forward to learning and developing new skills while working with CDR’s amazing crew. When he isn’t working, Andrew enjoys working out at the gym, going off-roading, and spending time with friends.
Nick Brown, E.I.T.
Associate Engineer
Nick Brown was born and raised in Dana Point, California. He graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, where his coursework centered on hydraulics, land development, and surveying. Before joining CDR, he gained valuable experience through multiple internships in the construction, land development, and land surveying sectors in Southern California. Having recently passed the Civil PE exam, he is enthusiastic about his professional growth alongside the team of engineers at CDR.
Outside of work, Nick enjoys activities such as mountain biking, surfing, and camping with friends and family.
Brad Sheelor
Associate Engineer
Born and raised in Southern California, Brad graduated from Texas A&M University at Galveston with a B.S. in Offshore and Coastal Systems Engineering before returning back to the West Coast. One of Brad’s favorite projects he worked on while in school was his Senior Design Capstone project, where he and his team designed and modeled an offshore desalination barge intended for hurricane relief purposes. This barge had the capability of converting sea water into drinking water and was powered by the sun with onboard solar panels.
Before joining CDR, Brad worked as a Superintendent for SSA Marine and a Field Engineer for Innovative Consultants, bringing a wide variety of engineering tools and resources to our team. Outside of work, he enjoys going to the beach, longboarding, playing volleyball, hiking local trails, weightlifting, and exercising. He has a very competitive mindset and tries to stay active every single day.
Guillermo Sanchez
Associate Engineer
Guillermo, born and raised in Cartagena, Colombia, was exposed to engineering from a young age in his family of engineers. He pursued his passion for civil engineering and recently graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science degree in the field. Throughout his academic journey, Guillermo completed three internships, which equipped him with hands-on experience in construction, general contracting, and solar energy.
When he’s not immersed in work, Guillermo enjoys staying active by playing and watching sports. He also loves exploring new places and spending quality time with his loved ones. Joining CDR, Guillermo is excited to take his first steps into the professional world, eager to learn and grow alongside a supportive team.
Iris Barreto Ordonez
Associate Engineer
Iris is a civil engineer graduated from the National University of Colombia, where she focused on Water Management as well as Project Evaluation and Management. She has worked with Colombia’s National Hydrocarbon Agency on water management projects. At the moment, Iris is pursuing her master’s degree in engineering management at Westcliff University.
In her free time, Iris enjoys yoga and working out, as well as cooking and learning about world history. She is excited to dive into California’s development, as it is known to be one of the most rapidly developing places in the world!
Jaime Ulloa
Associate Engineer
With a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Cal State Fullerton, Jamie brings a solid academic foundation and a wealth of leadership experience. As a distinguished board member of the American Society of Civil Engineers as well as co-captain of their environmental and timber competitions, Jamie demonstrates exceptional teamwork and problem-solving abilities. Eager to transition from academia to the professional world, Jamie is actively working towards her Engineer-in-Training (E.I.T.) certification.
Beyond her passion for engineering, she enjoys going to the beach, hiking, and working out, and she cherishes time spent with her friends and family.
Reece Lacour
Associate Engineer
Reece Lacour is an honorary alumnus of Howard University, having earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil & Environmental Engineering. With a strong academic background, Reece developed expertise in water resources, on-site research, and engineering applications.
Reece‘s professional experience includes serving as a Research Associate at DC Water, the world’s largest wastewater plant, where he played a pivotal role in managing the functionality of a secondary pilot system. He also interned at the University of Louisiana Lafayette, conducting laboratory work for a Ph.D. student. Actively pursuing his E.I.T. certification, Reece is dedicated to continuous professional growth.
As Reece joins the CDR team, he looks forward to learning new engineering formalities from his colleagues and actively engaging in on-site visits. Outside of work, Reece‘s interests include collecting vinyl records, building intricate Lego creations, and maintaining an active lifestyle.
Alena Kriachko
Planning & Permitting Expeditor
Alena is a permitting expeditor who has had an impressive and diverse career path. Originally from Ukraine, she has two Master’s Degrees in Social Sciences and Public Administration and over 20 years of experience working in various sectors, including the Public Sector, City Council, Private Companies, National University, and running her own business. She was recently selected as CEO of a US charitable organization that provides humanitarian assistance to the residents of the Kharkiv Region, Ukraine.
Alena has two children that she adores, and her hobbies include yoga, horse riding, reading, traveling, and surfing. Joining the CDR team is a new chapter in her life, and she is excited to grow professionally to support her family and help those in need.
Monique Riggs
Corporate Operations Administrator
Monique Riggs is a proud alumnus of California State University, Fullerton, with a degree in Psychology. Her years of retail and wholesale management experience have honed her organizational and team-oriented skills.
What excites Monique the most about joining the CDR team is the opportunity to immerse herself in the civil engineering world, assist the operations team, and collaborate with an engaging and diverse group of colleagues at CDR.
As a devoted mother of two girls, Monique cherishes quality time with her family. In her free time, she enjoys reading, exploring new restaurants, and traveling!
