LT Kayla DeVault Wendt, EI
Billings,MT
Summary
Engineer with extensive construction & research experience, looking to improve social determinants of health across tribal & underrepresented communities through projects, best practices, research, & policy.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
General Engineer
Indian Health Services / USPHS Commissioned Corps
Billings, MT
02.2020 - Current
- Manage 6+ Facilities Maintenance projects for 3 tribal nations at a time as COR Level 1
- Coordinate planning & design activities, including engineering specifications & CAD drawings
- Inspect work & oversee A/E compliance with contracts
- Process invoices for Area Office as UFMS Receiver
- Co-wrote grant for CARES Act funds for Service Units & organized over $0.5M of PPE supply during pandemic
- Assisting with set up of new Little Shell Service Unit
- Actively incorporate culturally-intelligent best practices
Student Researcher
Department Of Energy / Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ
09.2016 - 11.2017
- Interpreted & analyzed collected data for the campus Industrial Assessment Center under program
- Prepared reports to companies to improve energy efficiency of factories & industries across Arizona
- Traveled in teams to collect data for national database
Project Manager, Engineer
Navajo Division Of Transportation
Tse Bonito, NM
08.2015 - 09.2017
- Designed & managed grading & graveling projects from field inspection to close-out inspection
- Coordinated with Environmental/Archaeology team members on NEPA & tribal compliances
- Organized meetings with chapter houses, BIA, & county
- Obtained & launched Navajo Nation's first soils lab
- Designed culverts & low-water crossings on various Fort Defiance Agency projects & Monument Valley park
- Oversaw preventative & emergency 811 ticketing
Engineer I
Hull & Associates
Bedford, OH
08.2013 - 08.2015
- Designed explorative geotechnical plans & conducted in-field boring analyses for wellpads
- Conducted soils experiments with samples in-house
- Entered real data into geotechnical analysis & wrote reports on findings to various fracking companies
- Assisted in dredging project design along Lake Erie
- Emergency Response: bored for slickenside slope failures & collected VOC numbers for wellpad leaks; also responded firstline to various oil spill incidents
Intern
GRL Engineers, Inc.
Solon, OH
01.2012 - 08.2012
- Conducted novel bridge crack monitoring research, compiled data, & produced timely reports
- Analyzed soil strengths against SPT hammer drop data
- Oversaw calibrations of in-house accelerometers
- Assisted collecting data in pile-driving for Interstate project along the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland
- Nationally presented off-shore wind turbine research for Great Lakes tribes
CAD Technician
Exacta Surveyors
Cleveland, OH
08.2012 - 11.2012
- Part-time evening shift: Generated surveyed plats across U.S.
Co-Op Student
Palmer Engineering
Uniontown, OH
09.2011 - 12.2011
- Conducted bridge & culvert inspections, developing reports for over 300 sites
- Produced 3D artistic renderings for Canton bridge bids
- Provided inspections & reports on bridge load capacity for rural oil hauling routes in eastern Ohio
Student Researcher
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH
06.2010 - 08.2011
- Collected & analyzed oil drilling resource potential at University Farms' farm-to-fork program
- Assisted Dr. Aaron Jennings' published soils contamination research, comparing tribal standards to federal, state, & public health recommendations
Education
Master of Divinity - Chaplain
Grand Canyon University
Phoenix, AZ12.2022
Master of Public Health - Global Health/Epidemiology
George Washington University, The
Washington, DC08.2021
Master of Science - American Indian Studies
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ12.2020
Bachelor of Science - Civil (Geo-Env. Engineering, French Minor
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH08.2013
Skills
- Construction & Project management
- Tribal & Rural project experience
- Detail-Oriented
- Research, Policy, & Writing
- Analytical & Critical Thinking
- AutoCAD proficiency
Accomplishments
- Attendee to 2015 White House Tribal Youth Gathering
- 2015 U.S. Human Rights Network delegate to Geneva
- 2016 appointed EPA/NEJAC Youth Working Group on Climate; presented findings in Minneapolis; published report
- 2016 COP22 SustainUS youth delegate to Marrakesh
- 2016 American Indian Science & Engineering Society Sequoyah Fellow
- 2017 World Bank Annual Meetings SustainUS youth delegation co-leader
Affiliations
- American Indian Science & Engineering Society
- Society of American Military Engineers
- Student Honors Society, George Washington University
- Engineers Without Borders
- EPAC, AIANCOAC, PACE SGET, JOAG, COA
Certification
- Engineer Intern (Ohio)
- COR Level I
Volunteer
- We Must Go To Them - Cultural Advisor for grant-funded military STEM projects on reservations
- Billings Caledonian Bagpipe Band - piper, dancer, voting member, Scotland steering committee
- St. Nicholas Orthodox Church - administrative support
- Wildlife Refuge - animal caretaking & rehabilitation
Languages
French
Professional Working
Spanish
Limited Working
Arabic
Elementary
Irish
Elementary
Timeline
General Engineer
Indian Health Services / USPHS Commissioned Corps
02.2020 - Current
Student Researcher
Department Of Energy / Arizona State University
09.2016 - 11.2017
Project Manager, Engineer
Navajo Division Of Transportation
08.2015 - 09.2017
Engineer I
Hull & Associates
08.2013 - 08.2015
CAD Technician
Exacta Surveyors
08.2012 - 11.2012
Intern
GRL Engineers, Inc.
01.2012 - 08.2012
Co-Op Student
Palmer Engineering
09.2011 - 12.2011
Student Researcher
Case Western Reserve University
06.2010 - 08.2011
Master of Divinity - Chaplain
Grand Canyon University
Master of Public Health - Global Health/Epidemiology
George Washington University, The
Master of Science - American Indian Studies
Arizona State University
Bachelor of Science - Civil (Geo-Env. Engineering, French Minor
Case Western Reserve University