Leadership Team

Jim is the founder and CEO of JRMA and an industry-leading authority on the design of solid waste processing facilities. He has been the technical lead for more than 100 solid waste facility projects, including transfer stations, materials recovery facilities (MRF’s) and food and green waste processing plants. In addition to his technical expertise, Jim provides strategic advisory services to a wide range of facility developers and operators. Jim is a Distinguished Member Award of the California Society of Professional Engineers, a Fellow of the National Society of Professional Engineers, a recipient of the Civil Engineering Career Achievement Award from the University of Kentucky, a member of the Structural Engineers Association of California, a member of the Solid Waste Association of North America, a guest lecturer on solid waste management topics at UCLA, and a frequent speaker at industry conferences.

As a Principal Architect and President of JRMA Dan provides leadership, focus and direction for the firm.  Dan also directs the aviation market sector with a specialty in all aspects of general aviation and is an advocate for the industry through professional organizations including NATA, NBAA, and AAAE.  With over 30 years of experience with JRMA, Dan has provided innovative, sustainable, value-based and operationally efficient designs for all aspects of JRMA’s core work including aviation facilities, solid waste and recycling operations, manufacturing, food processing, technology production facilities, rail assembly and operations, energy, and general commercial.  As a LEED AP with a specialty in building design and construction, Dan ensures that the firm’s work adheres to its ongoing efforts in sustainable design and is at the forefront of the industry. 

April Wang joined JRMA in February 2024. She oversees the accounting, financial reporting, cash management and HR functions for the firm.  

April has over 15 years of experience in real estate and has been involved in various development projects including residential, retail, office, and senior living.  

April is a certified public accountant and received an MBA degree with an emphasis in finance from the University of La Verne.  

As the Director of Architecture at JRMA, Richard provides a depth of knowledge of the firm’s culture and operations at all levels. Joining the firm in 2001, Richard has spent the majority of his career with JRMA, progressing from project manager to associate during his tenure.  As a member of the aviation market sector team, he has specialized knowledge in design of all aspects of general aviation facilities. Throughout his career, Richard has also been involved in the design of solid waste facilities, food production facilities, metal buildings and concrete tilt-ups. He manages the development of construction document packages for constructability and architectural quality, preparation of project schedules and budgets, and as a LEED AP he provides coordination of sustainable design projects including LEED and Cal Green.

Bryan Vanderzee is a Principal Structural Engineer with over 18 years at JRMA.  He holds a master’s degree in Structural Engineering from the University of California San Diego and a Structural Engineering license in California.

Bryan has successfully delivered, from concept to completion, a wide range of projects for the Industrial, Food Processing, Manufacturing, Aerospace and Solid Waste industries.  These projects include new and existing construction using all types of building materials.

Bryan brings creative, cost-effective solutions to the design of all projects, integrating a realistic understanding of structural performance with process needs and project objectives. His experience includes seismic analysis and design of building structures, heavy equipment supports and foundations, metal building systems, and a wide variety of concrete structures.

As a Principal / Solid Waste at JRMA, Kevin is responsible for recycling and solid waste facility programming and master planning, conceptual design, and financial feasibility studies. He also leads solid waste planning efforts including assisting cities and counties with contracting options and negotiations. Kevin directs the company’s solid waste market sector providing overall direction of business development and marketing efforts.

Kevin has been in the solid waste and recycling industry for 30 years based in the San Francisco Bay area and working locally, regionally, and nationally. He was the first Executive Director of the South Bayside Waste Management Authority (aka Rethink Waste), a 12-member solid waste authority in San Carlos, California. He served for nine years in a transformative role leading efforts bidding out franchise collection services, and facility operations and spearheading $46 million in capital improvements to the Shoreway Environmental Center.

Prior to SBWMA, Kevin held various positions over a 13-year period working for Waste Management including Vice President of Government Affairs for Recycling, Director of Electronics Recycling Services, and Regional Recycling Manager overseeing 17 facilities in Northern and Central California.

Ms. Li has more than 30 years of experience as a design manager and project manager, in solid waste market sector, industrial market Sector, and facility condition assessment and retrofit projects. Ms. Li has a strong foundation in solid waste and Industrial projects, including feasibility studies, site selections, site layout, retrofits, planning, designing and construction. Ms. Li has worked on over 50 solid waste facilities and conducted over 40 condition assessments.  She is a member of the SWANA Evergreen Chapter and the Beaver Chapter.  For the past 4 plus years, Krystal serves as the Regional Manager for JRMA’s Pacific Northwest Regional office.  In this role, she expanded the office from a one-person to a seven-person self-sustaining office.  She provides leadership and directions to the local office, as well as provides status updates to the Headquarter.  As a project manager, she spends time with her clients to determine effective solutions to design, workflow, and cost savings, resulting in the development of long-term client relationships. The success of her projects provides proof of her strong technical and business skills.

As team leader for JRMA’s architectural department, Clark takes a companywide proactive role with innovative value-driven design as well as JRMA’s commitment project quality. Dedicated to the success of our clients, his responsibilities include direct involvement with architectural programming, design, sustainability, as well as effectively coordinating staff resources as department executive for maintaining project schedules. His career as a licensed professional for over 37 years encompasses virtually all project types but highlights manufacturing, solid waste, food & beverage processing as well as institutional and general commercial facilities. Clark is actively involved with many projects as Principal-In-Charge and is licensed in many states including an NCARB registration.

As Principal Structural Engineer at JRMA, Wil leads the firm's structural engineering department and is responsible for overseeing firm-wide structural projects.  As the structural lead, his main objective is to collaborate with both architect and owner to broaden design possibilities and provide cost effective solutions for the transition from project concept to execution.  With over 44 years of experience including 15 years at JRMA, Wil's broad range of projects include solid waste, recycling and waste-to-energy facilities, aviation facilities, high-rise commercial office buildings, historic building preservation, performing arts centers, and Triple-A and college baseball stadiums.  Wil is an active member of SEAOSC, AISC, and ACI.

Brett Wolfe is JRMA’s Director of Operations and a Senior Facility Advisor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University and an MBA from the University of Nebraska, Omaha.

With years of experience in planning, designing, and overseeing the construction of waste and industrial facilities, Brett plays a crucial role in supporting our project teams. His expertise includes conceptual layouts, detailed design management, senior QA/QC, and project/client management. Brett is dedicated to providing clear and concise communication with clients and leverages his mechanical engineering background to assist in the selection and integration of material handling and processing equipment into building designs. As the Director of Operations, Brett utilizes his extensive operational experience to support JRMA’s business and clients through standardized processes, workload management, project manager training, and operational oversight.

As a Principal Architectat JRMA James provides project management, leadership, and technical support for staff on many projects.  James also contributes to business development efforts in the Houston office with a focus on Commercial, Industrial and Manufacturing.  With over 19 years of experience with JRMA, James has provided Client management, design guidance  and mentoring for the JRMA design staff for all aspects of JRMA’s core work including solid waste and recycling operations, anaerobic digestion, manufacturing, and general commercial.  As a LEED AP and a member of the American Institute of Architects, James endeavors to provide ongoing efforts to deliver a project that is successful for all stakeholders.  

As Principal Structural Engineer at JRMA Aric brings over 12 years of experience as a structural engineer and project manager.  From hospitals to solid waste, anaerobic digestion, and aviation facilities, Aric has vast experience and expertise in the design of steel, reinforced concrete, masonry, and timber structures.  Aric is responsible for the preparation of design concepts, analysis of structural systems, and preparation of construction documents, as well as project management for various commercial, industrial, and solid waste projects.  Over the course of his 9 years at JRMA, Aric has built strong relationships with clients by providing technical guidance and solutions to complex designs. Aric holds affiliations with ACI and AIS, keeping him up-to-date on the latest methods of structural design as he continues to push JRMA as an industry leader.

Starting in the industry as a Pre-Engineered Metal Building detailer and then moving into structural steel detailing, Matthew started with JRMA as a structural drafter and has worked up to an associate production manager. With 25 years in the industry his background in steel and metal buildings translates directly to our market sectors of solid waste, commercial, industrial, and manufacturing facilities.

Serving as the office manager and local representative in the Houston area, he has been instrumental in JRMA's growth and increase in market share.  Being with JRMA for 20 years, he is known for providing our clients with high quality architectural and structural drawings that reflect local codes and trends.  Furthermore, Matthew reviews and coordinates the Structural and Architectural drawings prior to issuing for Client review at all milestone submittals as well as prior to Agency and plan check submittals.

Howard’s passion started in second half of the eighties with an architectural education and he has since contributed over thirty years of architectural design experience.  As Senior Project Architect, he is responsible for the design and management of select complex projects. He has worked on a wide range of project types including substations, vehicle maintenance/testing/design centers, hangars, fixed base operators (FBO's), customs facilities, museums, food processing, chemical production plants, natural gas fueling stations, photovoltaic installations, educational facilities, as well as administrative and office buildings. As a LEED AP, he has successfully managed the first LEED Platinum Certified private hangar at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California.  Additionally, he has served as design and project manager lead at a multi-building development at the San Bernardino International Airport as part of the airfield's conversion of the existing Air Force Base to a commercial and general aviation campus.

Mr. Rausch is a Senior Project Manager with over 24 years of experience managing a diverse number of commercial, industrial, and solid waste projects including conversion technologies. He has worked with JRMA for 13 years where he specializes in solid waste projects including retrofit/renovation, planning, design, new technology implementation, and site analysis. Kyle's knowledge on facility and operational requirements brings a depth of experience that complements JRMA’s solid waste sector clients. He is continually broadening solutions in the design, planning and project management of Solid Waste facilities. Additionally, he provides clients with long-term cost-effective alternatives. He currently has accreditations with the Construction Specification Institute (CSI) as a Construction Document Technician (CDT), is also a member of U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and is currently pursuing accreditations for his Architecture Licensure in California and LEED^® AP status.

Nick serves as a lead Project Manager within the Solid Waste market sector. With a civil engineering background and professional license for over 17 years, he brings strong design knowledge and technical expertise into every project. Prior to joining JRMA, Nick worked for an environmental engineering consulting firm in Orange County that specialized in state regulatory compliance requirements for solid waste facilities and industrial manufacturing clientele. From this, he gained a broad understanding of the solid waste industry and the many complexities of dealing with waste handling operations. During this previous tenure, Nick developed into a facility permitting expert and was responsible for overseeing the engineering design, environmental compliance and improvements needed to bring facilities up to current regulatory standards.

Since starting at JRMA in November 2016, Nick has focused on organics processing. This involvement has included visiting multiple organics processing facilities in Europe and the U.S., with the focus on recovery of green and food waste by processing of various anaerobic digestion technologies. Nick has managed several projects in the different stages of conceptual design, engineering and construction of organics handling, processing, and infrastructure for solid waste clients throughout California.

Nick is a member of SWANA and the Southern California Waste Management Forum and has given presentations on organics processing for the SWANA Sierra Chapter for the Central Valley Region.

James is the Lead Structural Engineer in the Houston office and holds degrees in Civil Engineering and Environmental Design from Texas A&M University. With a passion for structural engineering and architecture, he expertly manages and designs projects from concept through construction.

James excels in planning, design, and coordination of multi-disciplinary teams. He has successfully delivered various projects across various sectors, including solid waste, organics processing, aviation, industrial, petrochemical, refinery, commercial, medical, hospitality, and educational facilities. His portfolio includes new construction and renovations, utilizing a wide range of building materials and construction types. James is an active member of the ASCE and is a licensed engineer in multiple states.