Welcoming Jeff Kreshel to West Yost: Expanding Quality & Enhancing Connections in the Pacific Northwest

By: Corie Moolenkamp, Infrastructure Sector Lead, Nick Belmont, Pacific Northwest Area Market Lead & Jeff Kreshel, Engineering Manager

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West Yost is excited to welcome Jeff Kreshel, a highly respected water engineer with over 35 years of experience across the Pacific Northwest. Based in
Cle Elum, Washington, and focused on the Puget Sound region, Jeff brings significant water project experience, a vast network of industry clients and professionals, a client-first mindset, and a passion for mentoring the next generation of engineers.

Jeff’s arrival marks a meaningful step forward in expanding our regional reach and strengthening relationships with public agencies throughout Washington. His experience in delivering high-quality infrastructure solutions and developing trusted partnerships aligns with our firm’s commitment to long-term community impact, exceptional service, and intentional growth.

To help introduce Jeff to the broader team, Corie Moolenkamp and Nick Belmont asked him a few questions about his career, what drives him, and what he sees on the horizon for our work in the Pacific Northwest:

“I continue to be inspired working in the water industry, given the people – colleagues and clients alike that I get to work with and knowing the impact, importance, and value of the work we do for our communities and the environment.“

Nick Belmont: What inspired you to pursue a career in water engineering—and what has kept you inspired over the years?
Jeff: I fell into it.  Several of my former professional mentors were involved with different facets of water engineering and through various project opportunities and a willingness to try new things, over time and with each new experience I began to gravitate more to the water side of our industry and ended up focusing on it almost exclusively after starting out with my general civil engineering degree from college.  I continue to be inspired working in the water industry, given the people – colleagues and clients alike that I get to work with and knowing the impact, importance, and value of the work we do for our communities and the environment.

Core Moolenkamp: What excites you most about joining the West Yost team?
Jeff: What excites me the most is the opportunity to work with like-minded colleagues with an emphasis and focus on water engineering and both the opportunity and challenge of helping West Yost expand its geographic footprint into the Puget Sound region.  I have spent all of my 35+ year career working in the Puget Sound and am excited to introduce a vast network of local agency clients to the services and capabilities that the West Yost team offers.  

Core Moolenkamp: What’s your approach to building meaningful, trust-based relationships with clients?
Jeff: It begins with being true to myself  – meaning don’t try to be someone I’m not, but rather lean on my own personality to initiate and develop genuine relationships with clients.  Clients are people too, that is they form, build, and value relationships in a similar fashion to others you might have.  When calling on a client, once you can get them to “open up” about themselves, a project or opportunity, and potentially even what “keeps them up at night”, one of the most important things is to be attentive and truly listen to them.  Once you have done that, synthesize the information properly and be responsive to what their needs may be.  I have found these basic things are what have allowed me to most successfully initiate, develop, and. stain strong, meaningful, trust-based relationships.

Nick Belmont: How do you see the opportunity for West Yost to grow in Washington, both in terms of clients and community partnerships?
Jeff: The Puget Sound region of Washington State (which is the largest market north of San Francisco), in particular, has benefitted from a growing population and a robust economy over the past decade.  The region has a substantial number of local agency clients that could benefit from the vast array of water-focused services that West Yost offers.  Like most densely populated areas, there are endless public infrastructure improvement needs. 

“I believe both the biggest opportunities and challenges facing water infrastructure in Washington over the next decade are related to the vast number of projects required and associated funding needed to properly upgrade and replace the existing aged and failing infrastructure“

Nick Belmont: What aspects of developing and mentoring a regional team motivate you the most?
Jeff: I’ve always enjoyed collaborating with colleagues and clients alike.  In terms of helping to develop and mentor younger colleagues and professionals, it is like coaching.  And coaching is something I have both an affinity toward and somewhat of a natural talent for.  I have often thought if I were not practicing as a professional in the water industry, my preferred choice for an alternate career would be to coach a baseball team, in the minor leagues somewhere.  To this point, I really enjoy working and collaborating with colleagues and particularly those where I feel like I can impart some wisdom and/or knowledge based on my over three decades of experience.  I enjoy involving junior staff in client visits regarding either project meetings or marketing pursuits, as well as opportunities to engage with the clients, building their confidence, and helping them to begin to develop some professional relationships and the associated experiences and skill development that comes with those opportunities.  

“I really enjoy working and collaborating with colleagues and particularly those where I feel like I can impart some wisdom and/or knowledge based on my over three decades of experience.“

Core Moolenkamp: As you look ahead to your first year at West Yost, what impact are you most excited to make—for our clients, our team, or the communities we serve?
Jeff: I’m most excited about the opportunity to get to know my West Yost colleagues, share information about our team’s services and capabilities with our clients, the opportunity to help establish a physical presence in the Puget Sound region, as well as the opportunity to potentially recruit other like-minded professionals passionate about the water industry and eager to contribute to the ever-expanding and evolving West Yost team and culture.

Looking Forward

As West Yost continues to expand in new regions, we are proud to do so with team members like Jeff—leaders who bring technical expertise, care deeply about client service, and are eager to help others grow. We are thrilled to have him on board and cannot wait to see the impact he will make in Washington and beyond. Welcome, Jeff!