Oil Patch Bits: URS adds Desmond, Shepherd to its team

URS Corp. said Dec. 5 that it has hired Laura Desmond for the position of technical project assistant and Maria Shepherd for the position of senior biologist.

Laura Desmond joins the Anchorage URS office with 12 years of environmental consultant experience working with program directors, project managers, engineers, scientists, subcontractors, and suppliers. Her extensive background with federal and commercial project controls and management systems, proposal development and management, health and safety protocols and plan development, stakeholder engagement, and administrative record requirements, make her a real asset to the team.

Desmond is also highly experienced in organizing complex and voluminous data and document control.

Maria Shepherd joins URS as a senior biologist having recently worked with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. She has 23 years experience in environmental permitting and compliance and specializes in research, coordination, and preparation of biological assessments and National Environmental Policy Act documents. Shepherd has conducted dozens of biological field studies such as breeding bird surveys, spawning surveys, and small mammal trapping to evaluate the impact of a variety of natural resource projects. She earned her BA in Zoology from UC Santa Barbara.