Our People
Founder & President
Charles Hand, PE
President
Charles is the President and Founder of Ascentarix. He holds a Master's degree in Environmental Engineering and boasts over 14 years of experience as an environmental engineer. During his years of experience, he has served as a wastewater service line leader, team supervisor, design manager, project manager, project technical lead, commissioning manager, and client account manager specializing in industrial wastewater, mine water, and groundwater and geochemistry.
Charles’ industrial experience includes the mining, aerospace, pulp and paper, and commercial/manufacturing market sectors. His projects include industrial and mine water management and treatment system feasibility studies, overseeing bench scale and pilot plant testing of various water and wastewater treatment technologies for metals removal, multi-disciplinary detailed design, project management and technical leadership, construction, startup, commissioning, and leading plant operations and optimizations.
As the company's visionary leader, Charles oversees strategic decision-making and drives business growth through his industry connections and technical knowledge. His innovative approach to environmental challenges positions Ascentarix at the forefront of sustainable solutions.
Vice President of Operations
Hope Mariska
Vice President of Operations
With more than 13 years of consulting experience, Hope brings a wealth of knowledge in project management and client relations to the team. She leads our group of skilled professionals, ensuring the delivery of high-quality services to clients. Hope's role extends beyond operations management, as she plays a crucial part in shaping the company's strategic direction alongside Charles. Her expertise in streamlining processes and fostering team collaboration contributes significantly to Ascentarix's operational excellence.
Staff Engineer III
Jonathan Counts, EIT
Staff Engineer III
Jonathan has three years of experience in industrial wastewater engineering. He has experience in data
analysis and wastewater treatment system design and pilot testing. Jonathan’s industrial experience includes the mining, pulp and paper, and commercial/manufacturing market sectors. His projects include industrial and mine water management and treatment system feasibility studies, conducting bench scale and pilot plant testing of various water and wastewater treatment technologies for metals and PCBs removal, and multi-disciplinary design.
​Founder & President
Joe Mitzel, PE
Project Engineer III
Joseph is an industrial water engineer and project manager with Ascentarix. During his 12 years of experience, he has served as a project manager, technical lead, regulatory strategist, and expert witness, specializing in industrial wastewater treatement, NPDES permitting and compliance, water reuse, and dilution and mixing-zone modeling. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada.
Joseph's experience spans the data center, port, food processing, solid waste, and metal mining sectors. He carries projects from feasibility and bench-scale treatability testing through conceptual design, permitting, and construction-ready plans, specifications, and estimates. He regularly leads interdisciplinary teams and communicates complex technical analysis clearly to regulators, boards, tribal councils, and executive leadership, with a track record that includes programs successfully permitted and enforcement and litigation matters resolved.
Vice President of Operations
McBride Galt, PE
Senior Associate I Engineer
McBride is an Associate industrial wastewater process engineer and assistant project manager at Ascentarix. He has nearly eight years of experience supporting and leading industrial and mine water and wastewater projects, working directly with design managers, construction managers, commissioning managers, and client account managers throughout a project's life cycle.
His project experience covers mining, aerospace, pulp and paper, commercial and manufacturing, and municipal and industrial landfill sites. Work has included treatment system feasibility studies, bench-scale and pilot testing for complex waste streams from various industrial sources, multi-disciplinary detailed design, construction, startup, commissioning, and plant operations.
His work has spanned problem identification and evaluation, design, permitting, construction, commissioning, and operator training, often coordinating with multiple governmental and private agencies on land use and discharge requirements. He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from Carroll College and an MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington and is a licensed Professional Engineer (Environmental) in Washington.
Staff Engineer III
Lauryn Guerrissi, EIT
Staff Engineer III
Lauryn is an environmental engineer with 3.5 years of experience in industrial wastewater engineering, water reuse, and NPDES compliance. She has experience in data analysis, water balance and water quality modeling, wastewater treatment, and regulatory permitting support for industrial wastewater systems. She enjoys partnering with clients on complex challenges and finds satisfaction in engineering systems that keep facilities in compliance while supporting their operational goals.
Lauryn has worked across port, data center, manufacturing, and food processing market sectors. Her project work includes treatment and disposal alternatives analysis, water balance modeling, NPDES permitting, mixing zone analysis and dilution modeling, water reuse permitting, and litigation support.
​Founder & President
Allison Bailey
Project Operations Administrator
Allison has many years of project administration experience in environmental consulting, working on complex project schedules for multi-discipline teams and diverse clients in various sectors, such as local government, mining and smelting, aeronautics, fuels, lumber, and remediation and reclamation. Her background includes health and safety coordination, targeted marketing efforts, identifying and creating process efficiencies, and preparing quality deliverables.
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Allison’s experience operating a small startup, off-grid, eco-tourism venture in the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia instilled in her a love for natural resources and a commitment to preservation. Allison strives to create an environment within which the Ascentarix team can thrive and clients are satisfied.