Anayeli Picasso is a Project Geologist with nearly 10 years of consulting experience. She has a strong track record of delivering environmental projects on schedule and within budget. In addition to planning, conducting, and managing numerous multi-disciplinary projects, she has installed countless monitoring wells and permanent soil-vapor probes throughout southern California and Arizona, utilizing air-rotary casing hammer (ARCH), mud-rotary, hollow-stem auger, ARCH-percussion, and sonic drilling technologies. She excels at coordinating multi-disciplinary teams, fostering effective communication with clients and regulators, and developing practical, cost-effective solutions to complex environmental challenges.
What do you find most rewarding about the work that you do?
As a Project Geologist, I enjoy collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams to solve complex environmental challenges. I enjoy seeing a project progress from initial site investigation through remediation and, ultimately, to site closure, knowing that our work helps protect human health and the environment while delivering meaningful results for our clients.
What are you currently working on?
Currently, I am managing remediation projects regulated by both the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Toxic Substances Control. One project involves overseeing a complex 1,000-acre site with multiple concurrent field activities, including the installation of deep monitoring wells (greater than 1,000 feet) and deep extraction wells (greater than 500 feet), and operation of an active groundwater pump-and-treat system extracting approximately 750 gallons per minute. On another site, I manage soil excavation activities, groundwater pump-and-treat operations, routine operations and maintenance, and the implementation of a site closure strategy that includes an environmental covenant.
How can our clients benefit from this service/particular innovation?
For complex environmental sites, clients benefit from having a project manager who can coordinate multiple disciplines, field activities, and regulatory requirements while keeping the project on schedule and within budget. My role is to align technical teams, contractors, and stakeholders around a common strategy, proactively manage risks, and create a clear path from investigation through remediation and ultimately to site closure.
What advice do you have for recent graduates?
My advice to recent graduates is to spend as much time in the field as possible early in your career. Field experience builds a strong technical foundation and provides context that will make you a better project manager and decision-maker later on. I also encourage new professionals to recognize that they have clients from day one—even if those clients are internal project managers and senior staff. Delivering quality work, communicating effectively, and being reliable are just as important with internal clients as they are with external ones. Finally, don’t be afraid to ask questions. There are no dumb questions when you’re learning, and asking questions is one of the fastest ways to develop your technical knowledge and confidence.
