Our Board of Directors: Service Through Leadership

Keith Lochmueller

Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer

Keith Lochmueller, co-founder of BLA, continues to take an active role in providing leadership and guidance to BLA board members and staff. A born teacher and mentor, Keith enjoys sharing his knowledge gained over the past 40 years with employees at all levels throughout the firm.

As a planner, Keith appreciates that whatever the task or role, BLA employees must always understand and consider the long-term goals of our clients in order to best serve them. He constantly keeps abreast of new information in planning via communication with authorities in the field and participating in courses from FHWA, UMTA, and universities in environmental analysis, traffic modeling, highway and transit planning, and traffic. An area of particular interest is Pavement Asset Management and the development of processes to aid communities in managing this critical investment.

A graduate of Purdue University, prior to founding BLA, Keith spent 6 years as the Executive Director of the Evansville Urban Transportation Study where he was recognized by FHWA as an innovator in the Transportation System Management area. He also spent 14 years with the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Area Plan Commission and the Southwestern Indiana Regional Council of Governments.

Mike Hinton

President & Chief Operating Officer

Mike was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of BLA in 2006. His background in strategic planning and business analysis along with his exceptional management skills play a key role in moving the company toward its goals. His expertise includes strategy development, revenue growth, cost reduction, acquisitions and integration, market and brand development, and product design.

Mike began his career in local planning and economics, spending 5 years as a Planner for the Evansville Urban Transportation Study under the direction of BLA’s founders: Keith Lochmueller and Vince Bernardin. From there he moved into banking and finance, becoming the youngest president of Old National Bank in 1993. In 2005 he was appointed Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the bank as well as Sr. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of its parent company, Old National Bancorp (ONB). Under his leadership ONB grew to one the largest financial institutions in the state.

Mike remains active in the community in variety of leadership roles including on the Board of Trustees for the University of Evansville.

Dean Boerste

Chief Marketing Officer

Dean joined BLA in 1986 as a Project Coordinator acting as a client liaison on projects, assisting local public agencies in acquiring funding for projects, and assisting private and government clients in working with government agencies.  His success in these endeavors led to his promotion to Director of Marketing and ultimately Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). He serves on the Board of Directors as Treasurer of the firm.  As CMO, Dean’s responsibilities include sales, promotion, and client relations. He oversees all marketing, graphics, and business development staff for the company, as well as BLA’s Information Technology staff.

Dean has held key leadership positions in a variety of industry and community organizations. Prior to joining BLA, Dean served as a Transportation Funding Consultant and as Highway Supervisor for Perry County, Indiana.

James R. Gulick, PE, SE

Chief Engineer

After 18 years with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), Jim joined BLA in 1988 as Chief of Engineering. In December 2000, Jim was appointed to the Board of Directors. As Chief Engineer, he calls upon his more than 30 years of experience to oversee all activities performed by the firm’s engineering departments, professional development of the engineering staff, and maintenance of quality standards on all projects.

While at INDOT, Jim held the position of Chief Location Engineer in the Division of Location and Environmental for 7 years and as Bridge Design Engineer for 11 years. He earned both masters and bachelors degrees in Structural Engineering from Purdue University.

Matthew E. Wannemuehler, PLS

Chief Administrative Officer

An employee of BLA since 1984, Matt was named to the position of Administrator of Engineering and Surveying in 2001 and was appointed to the Board of Directors a year later. Today his duties as Chief Administrative Officer include monitoring project and departmental performance and making recommendations for improving performance in all corporate divisions.

Matt is a Past President of the Southwest Chapter of the Indiana Society of Professional Land Surveyors and is active in several community organizations. He received his engineering degree from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green.

Rebecca Zimmer

Director of Corporate Administrative Services

Rebecca joined BLA in September, 1984 as secretary/bookkeeper.  In the years since, she has played an integral role in the company's growth and success. 

Rebecca now serves on the board of directors and as Director of Corporate Administrative Services including accounting, human resources, and administrative services.  She is also assistant secretary to the board of directors.  Rebecca is a former recipient of BLA's Corinthian Award in honor of her service to others.  A member of the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers, Rebecca attended Indiana University – Purdue University in Indianapolis and the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville.

Daryoosh "Dan" Farvardin, PE

Director of Construction Services

Dan joined BLA as a Construction Inspector in 1989, after graduating from the University of Evansville with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.  Over the years, he worked in several roles within various departments, including transportation planning and design positions, as well as serving as a Resident Engineer on major construction projects. This diverse background gave him a true appreciation of how field conditions impact design and how design considerations impact construction.

In 1999, Dan was promoted to the head of BLA's Construction Department.  In this role, he not only manages the overall department, but provides insights to designers based on his experience in overseeing construction for a wide variety of projects.  Under Dan's direction, BLA has enjoyed substantial growth in this area resulting in his appointment to the Board of Directors.

Thomas Cervone, PhD

Director of Environmental Studies

Tom’s 30 years of experience in environmental biology includes more than 20 years with BLA.  “Dr. Tom” enjoys an outstanding reputation with numerous federal and state environmental review agencies. In fact in 2005, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Standing Committee on the Environment cited the I-69 Tier 1 Final EIS compiled under Tom’s guidance as one of the top 10 examples of best practice nationwide. For the past several years, he has served as an Instructor for NEPA workshops on Section 7 Consultation and Secondary and Cumulative Impacts, and was featured in the video entitled Wetland Permitting in Indiana. 

Tom’s wide-ranging environmental knowledge includes expertise in ecology, herpetology, ichthyology, wetlands, and botany. He holds a doctorate in Biology from St. Bonaventure University and a bachelor of science in Biology from Lock Haven State University. Prior to coming to BLA, Tom taught at St. Bonaventure University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Southern Indiana, Northeastern University, and University of Kentucky.

Dave Isley

Director of Planning

Dave is responsible for all land use and transportation planning activities for BLA, as well as all traffic and transportation modeling efforts. He began with the firm when it was established in 1980 as Director of Environmental Studies.

Prior to joining BLA, he worked for 4 years as Planner-in-Charge of the Evansville Urban Transportation Study (EUTS). He holds a masters degree in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and a bachelors degree in Mathematics & Computer Science  with an emphasis on Computer Modeling & Programming from Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois. 

Brian Litherland, PE

Chief of Highway Design

Brian is responsible for a wide variety of tasks associated with the development of transportation design projects. His duties include developing scopes for potential projects, assisting clients with funding issues, and overseeing the development of preliminary engineering reports. A particular area of interest for Brian is the application of innovative technology and delivery methods to enhance the design of road and bridge projects. Past projects completed under Brian’s management and oversight include the $80 million reconstruction of I-465/56th Interchange on the northeast side of Indianapolis.

Brian joined BLA in 1991, after he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

Jason Watters, PE

Regional Manager of Strategic Initiatives, Illinois, Missouri

Jason serves as BLA’s Manager for Strategic Initiatives for the Illinois/Missouri Region. His more than 20 years of experience spans a broad range of transportation engineering including highway planning and design, traffic projections and analysis, safety studies, hydraulic analysis and design, intersection design, and public involvement. As Regional Manager his duties involve planning and executing geographic office expansions and spearheading regional or national efforts to market key niche services to new clients outside existing geographic markets.

Previously Jason worked as an employee of the Illinois Department of Transportation for  8 years, where he served as a Hydraulic Engineer and District Geometric Engineer. He holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois.