Who We Are

Jean-Alix Peralte is the firm’s leader with 35 years of experience in the design, management, planning, and implementation of major capital projects, including highways and roadways, bridges, transit systems, storm sewer systems, and other infrastructure. In addition to his technical experience, Jean-Alix has led profit centers of small to large firms. Those roles have given him the experience and the know-how to succeed in his current role. The achievement of his career is the founding of Peralte-Clark. Job 1 for him is to create an environment where people rejoice in coming to work. Jean-Alix is active in various professional societies, is an Advisory Board Member for the Illinois Institute of Technology (his alma-mater), and a former Board Member and active contributor to Haiti Outreach.

Jean-Alix cherishes spending time with his family. His recreational interests include golf, pickleball, chess, cycling, and racquetball. He’s an avid soccer fan and cheers for his favorite soccer team, Manchester City.

John Clark oversees Peralte-Clark’s technical design team and has 27 years of diverse management and design experience, including highway, railroad, drainage, hydraulic waterway modeling, municipal utility and roadway, traffic engineering, surveying, site development, and land planning projects. John specializes in the development of engineering studies, plans, and specifications for multi-million-dollar transportation projects. John has spent most of his career working on highway projects for various local and state transportation agencies. John is active in professional societies and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the ACEC-IL  after serving on various committees.  He is also the  past Vice President of the APWA Chicago Metro Chapter – Lake Branch. John has also served on the University of Iowa College of Civil Engineering Advisory Board and volunteers on the Bike and Pedestrian Committee for the Village of Barrington.

John has wide-ranging interests including playing lead guitar in “Labor Shortage”, an all-civil engineer band, cycling, and spending time outdoors with his wife and three kids. He has recently taken on the burden of trying to improve his golf game but confesses that he hasn’t made much progress.

John Baczek, a graduate of Bradley University, brings more than 31 years of organizational leadership, strategic planning, project management, and supervisory experience to his role as Engineering Director at Peralte-Clark.

After graduation, John was hired by the Illinois Department of Transportation (District) and worked in a variety of positions in the Bureaus of Construction, Design, and Programming in District One.  He progressively took on more challenging leadership roles before taking the position of Engineer of Program Development in 2017. In this capacity, he provided overall direction of the District’s annual and multi-year programs and all activities associated with the preliminary engineering phase of projects including engineering and environmental planning documents, development of project reports and contract plans, specifications and estimates, agreements with governmental agencies, railroads, and utility companies, and the purchase of right-of-way.  John has worked on some of the most complex multi-modal transportation challenges in the Chicagoland area and has been privileged to collaborate with a variety of stakeholders to build consensus on creative solutions. His favorite aspect of the Phase I process is the opportunity to meet the public at informational meetings and discuss the alternatives brought forward for proposed improvements.

John has many varied interests including fishing, boating, snorkeling, hiking, cooking, and live music.  He has an adventurous spirit and recently tried  scuba diving in the Grand Caymans and promises more underwater adventures in the future.  John and his wife of 31 years, Tammy,  have 2 married sons, Evan (Alicia) and Alex (Angelica).

Joel Christell has 25 years of solid Phase I engineering experience focused on environmental and design studies, public engagement, and securing federal funding for clients. He has managed a wide variety of projects including intersection improvements, roadway and pedestrian bridge projects, pedestrian and bicycle projects, and corridor projects.  Joel has completed over 50 Federal-aid projects and has a strong working knowledge of the NEPA process and extensive experience with Federal-aid processes and procedures. Joel’s decision to pursue a career in civil engineering was due to his love of science and math as well as the feeling that civil engineering offered the greatest variety of disciplines for specialization.  Based on his years of experience in the civil/transportation field, Joel is gratified that by providing safe and efficient transportation systems he can make a positive impact on the lives of others.  He is also pleased to have the opportunity to be part of the process of communicating with the public so they can understand the benefits and impacts of the improvements.

Joel’s focus outside of work is spending time with his wife and three active young boys. He enjoys coaching youth baseball and playing with his kids.  Joel is a sports enthusiast and enjoys watching and playing any sport including baseball, basketball, golf, football.  He is a HUGE Cubs fan and has been to games at 20 different major league baseball parks with a goal of visiting every park.

Jennifer Morales is a highly experienced project manager for Phase I and Phase II infrastructure and transportation improvement projects with nearly 25 years of experience in the metropolitan Chicago area.

Jennifer’s expertise is focused on creating real and lasting change in the community. She has participated in public involvement activities and presentations for numerous projects and is versed in the Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) process and Technology of Participation (ToP) Facilitation Methods. Her experience includes detailed plan preparation for over a dozen streetscape projects in Chicago and project development reports for over 20 Phase I infrastructure improvement projects ranging from channelization and intersection improvements to major arterial and highway expansions.

Jennifer stays young at heart through mini-adventures with her two children ranging from cheering at little league tournaments to braving waterslides. Together, they care for their  furry companion, a golden retriever named Daisy Mae.  Jennifer‘s other interests include refinishing furniture, dabbling in acrylic canvas painting, and attending live music events.

Bruce Talbot is a seasoned project manager with 40 years of solid experience in design and management of traffic and transportation projects for state, county and local agencies. His specialties include geometric design of roadways and intersections, Phase I studies, highway drainage, capacity analysis, traffic studies and traffic signal design.

Bruce is a true outdoorsman and enjoys incorporating camping, hiking, and fishing into family vacations in Wisconsin and North Dakota.  Bruce’s outdoor pursuits also include golf which he plays regularly to maintain his superior skill level. Bruce is also a proud, new grandfather to an adorable grandson.

Andrea O’Brien has 33 years of experience in the engineering industry in municipal work and private consulting.  Her experience includes temporary traffic control and subsurface utility engineering, but Andrea’s focus is on hydraulics and hydrology. She has extensive project experience in storm water detention and release rates for stand‐alone detention, detention‐in‐series, and on-stream  detention.

Andrea’s personal pursuits include traveling with her husband and 2 college-age children, discovering new recipes, and  watching British crime shows. Her travels have taken her scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef and Cayman Islands. She  is also a Chicago Bears fan.

Chris Prosperi has nearly 25 years of civil engineering experience focused on project management, business development, Phase I reports, Phase II transportation PS&E design, subsurface utility engineering, utility coordination, and value engineering. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer in Illinois, as well as several other states, and is also a Certified Project Manager (CPM) and Value Methodology Associate (VMA). Chris has worked on high-profile transportation projects in support of IDOT, Illinois Tollway, CDOT, and other county, municipal, and commercial clients.

Outside of work, Chris enjoys spending time with his wife, Katie and 2 daughters. His recreational activities include softball, visiting baseball parks, and adventures in various national parks.

Gene Sherman has over 35 years of experience in civil engineering Phase I/II design and project management of transportation projects. He has prepared Phase I Studies and Phase II Design Plans, Specifications, and Estimates for numerous local and state agencies. Gene’s specialties include geometric design, GEOPAK Corridor Modeling and Site Modeling, construction staging/MOT design, Permit Application preparation (IEPA, MWRD), Interchange/Intersection Design Studies, Streetscape Design, Hydraulic, and hydrologic analyses, stormwater/sanitary improvements, IDOT Signal Coordination and Timing (SCAT) and traffic signal design.

Gene is a fitness enthusiast and has an extensive running regime to keep in shape.  He enjoys classic movies including old black and white and foreign language films.

Michael Janachione has 12 years of hands-on engineering experience providing design services to various clients including the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Illinois Tollway, and the City of Chicago.  As a Project Engineer, he has been responsible for the preparation of traffic signal, detour, and maintenance of traffic (MOT) plans for roadway improvement projects including roadway widening, intersection channelization, signal modernization, and improved bicyclist and pedestrian access. Mr. Janachione has a working knowledge of both computer systems and engineering field tools.

Mike has two young kids that take up a lot of his free time. A real travel enthusiast, Mike has had adventures in the Amazon rain forest and has gone scuba diving in the Caribbean and rock climbing in Thailand. In the future, Mike looks forward to traveling adventures with his kids as well as involving them in his hobbies which include basketball, soccer, board games, and woodworking. Mike is the current Peralte-Clark Ping Pong Tournament Champion.

Andrew Hein has 6  years of experience working on various roadway projects for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Kane County Division of Transportation (KDOT), Illinois Tollway, and municipal clients. Mr. Hein, a newly Licensed Illinois Professional Engineer, is knowledgeable of roadway geometric, drainage, and traffic signal design and has applied this knowledge to numerous roadway projects. He is well-versed in the use of CADD software including MicroStation, and 3D modeling utilizing OpenRoads SS4.

In his free time, Andrew likes to spend as much time as possible outdoors. He stays active with biking, golfing, and playing basketball. Though Andrew is originally from Iowa, he has fallen in love with the big city. He is an avid Liverpool FC fan and joins in the good-natured soccer rivalry with coworkers. Andrew hold the distinction of being a two-time Peralte-Clark Ping Pong Tournament Champion.

Lauren Busansky, a 2016 graduate of Rice University, brings 8 years of hands-on experience with complex transportation and roadway projects to Peralte-Clark. Her consulting engineering experience spans a diverse range of projects including Phase I and Phase II geometric designs for highways and interstates as well as local and municipal roadways.  Her specialties include horizontal and vertical geometry, 3D modeling, cross-sections, and maintenance of traffic. She has a proven track record in preparing comprehensive contract plans, specifications, and estimates and in delivering quality work for complex transportation projects.

As a transplant to Chicago, Lauren enjoys exploring new restaurants and coffee shops around the city. She is equally  adventurous in the culinary arena and enjoys experimenting with new recipes from New York Times Cooking. Lauren is also a sports enthusiast and every winter she can be found skiing down mountains with family and friends. In February, Lauren and family went on a skiing excursion to Zermatt, Switzerland, the first ever European ski trip. Lauren is also an avid soccer fan and passionately supports her favorite team, Arsenal.

Shrija Ayyarsamy has 5 years of transportation engineering experience.  While working toward her Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois, Shrija was an Engineering Intern for the Illinois Department of Transportation – District Nine. In this capacity, she reviewed plans and specifications of highway and local roads related design, construction, and maintenance projects. Since joining Peralte-Clark, Shrija is assisting in the preparation of Phase I traffic analysis and Phase II plans for various roadway improvements for IDOT, county transportation agencies, and municipalities.

Shrija relishes exploring the Chicago area and its varied cuisine and catching up on movies and TV series.

Adeyemi “Yemi” Adefarasin has 10 years of experience working on various roadway design and construction projects, including work for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Illinois Tollway, the Lake County Division of Transportation (LCDOT), and several municipalities within the Chicagoland Area. At Peralte-Clark, Yemi is responsible for the development of highway and roadway geometrics for contract documents, including plans, specifications, and construction cost estimates. Yemi has experience with maintenance of traffic (MOT), drainage design, ADA ramps, roadway reconstruction, and roadway corridor modeling using 3D modeling software.

Yemi is centered on his faith and family. He is an ardent soccer fan and spends most of his soccer time supporting FC Barcelona. Yemi appreciates various genres of music, ranging from classical to jazz, and engaging in scientific research/discussions, especially in the areas of the environment and astronomy.

Akshar Patel, a 2020 graduate of Bradley University,  joins Peralte-Clark after several years in consulting engineering  and two municipal internships. He has a variety of roadway  experience including compiling specifications and special provisions and developing summary of quantities for local roadway and Illinois Tollway projects. He is well-versed in the use of CADD software including MicroStation, Power GeoPak, and modeling utilizing AGI software.

Outside of work, Akshar maintains a workout regimen for a healthy lifestyle. His other interests include playing board games and watching sports.

Brandon Dengel, a 2020 graduate of the University of Illinois, brings solid  engineering experience to Peralte-Clark. His work profile includes construction engineering and inspection services on  I-74 bridges in Champaign as well as experience with TxDOT  as an engineering technician.  Brandon’s passion for engineering stems from  designing infrastructure which betters the lives of others. Being able to use his knowledge and experience to help people is very important to him, and he’s happy that this field that allows him to feel he is accomplishing that goal.

After moving up from Champaign, Brandon is settling into a new environment in Lakeview.  He also enjoys cooking, playing pool, watching sports, and spending time with family.  Brandon combines his engineering skill and volunteer spirit with opportunities to travel overseas to plan and construct bridge structures. In 2019, Brandon and a group of students constructed  a footbridge in Bolivia. In July, 2024, Brandon will mentor a student team from Cornell, Rutgers, and Hofstra and build a bridge in Eswatini.

Mike Thon  joined Peralte-Clark after graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in December 2021. Mike graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering degree and is a member of Tau Beta Pi. His academic focus was on transportation engineering. Mike brings practical experience from summer internships with the Village of Libertyville where he participated in their roadway resurfacing program.

Mike is excited to step out into the real world and expand his interests now that he is no longer consumed by studying.  He enjoys playing basketball and staying active and fit.  Mike was the first Peralte-Clark Ping Pong Tournament Champion.

Teddy Gerstein  joined Peralte-Clark after graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 2022 with a MS in Civil Engineering with a concentration in transportation. As a Graduate Research Assistant at UIUC RAILTEC in railroad safety, Teddy analyzed data and explored global trends for both passenger and freight rail. Teddy’s professional interests include expanding public transportation networks and constructing these networks in sustainable way that mitigates the carbon footprint.

Outside of work, Teddy enjoys playing baseball, working out, keeping a nano reef tank, DJing, and traveling.

Lester Ryan De Vera joined Peralte-Clark with 5 years of civil engineering experience gained while living in the Philippines. His focus was mainly in Phase III construction and he was responsible for obtaining building permits, managing project schedules and materials, and coordination with clients, local agencies and subcontractors. His interest in engineering was sparked by his fascination with buildings and how they were constructed. Lester is looking to expand his experience into Phase I/II transportation design.

In his free time, Lester  enjoys  working out in the gym, going to concerts, binging on TV series and movies, and traveling to new places with his wife. Lester is also an avid NBA fan.

Aagam Gandhi joined Peralte-Clark after graduating from the University of Ohio with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2023. His academic experience includes transportation engineering and analysis and highway location and  design courses.  Aagam was an intern for the Ohio Department of Transportation for 1.5 years  and participated in several roadway projects performing engineering analysis. He has always had a passion for math and physics and enjoys applying those skills to solve engineering problems.

In his leisure time, Aagam keeps busy working out and cooking.

Zak Spica joined Peralte-Clark after  graduating from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2022. His focus at UIC was on transportation and geotechnical engineering and his senior design project was the “Geotechnical Investigation on the Surfside Condo Collapse”.  Zak’s interest in engineering stems from his grandparents who were both aeronautical engineers. He is eager to dive into his engineering career and continue their legacy.

Zak  stays active by boxing and is an avid golfer. In quieter moments he likes to read history books.

Zaki Ansari joined Peralte-Clark after graduating from the University of University of Illinois at Chicago with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2022. His engineering experience includes Phase II design for overhead signs, water main alignments, pavement marking, and ADA improvements for various clients including CDOT, IDOT, Tollway, and municipalities.  He also has Phase III roadway construction experience assisting an IDOT Resident Engineer on an $8 million dollar milling & resurfacing project located in District 3.

Zaki attended an international high school in Saudi Arabia and was fortunate enough to make friends that came from many different ethnic/religious backgrounds. This experience motivated him to start traveling the world and inspired him to learn about other cultures. In 2017, Zaki volunteered with Habitat for Humanity to build houses from the ground up for financially unstable families in Romania. Besides traveling, Zaki plays basketball regularly and enjoys trying out new recipes.

Nick Lofdahl, a 2018 graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, comes to Peralte-Clark after a 5+ year career as a lab technician for a not-for-profit organization, and as a server systems engineer in information technology for a large hospital network. Nick is eager to apply the organizational and management skills gained in those endeavors to his engineering career.

Nick’s leisure pursuits include reading, playing board games, hiking, and yoga.

Sheriff Garba is a field engineer with a strong structural background, complemented by his experience in the civil construction and material testing industry over the past 7 years. He has an excellent grasp of engineering principles and construction standards, and he can combine creative thinking with logical ideas to effectively solve engineering problems. His field experience includes inspection and supervision of bridge and highway construction, earthwork, concrete flatwork, asphalt road construction, and sewer construction. Sheriff is also adept at construction material testing for quality assurance and quality control, such as concrete testing, nuclear gauge density testing, and aggregate sampling and testing.

Sheriff’s interests revolve around spending time with his family, watching movies, and playing games. Sheriff loves soccer – as a spectator as well as a player.

Jonathan Young has nearly 10 years of experience in Phase III construction engineering and has been involved in large-scale construction / reconstruction projects for IDOT, CDOT, and the Illinois Tollway. He is adept at conducting inspections of construction sites, preparing documentation of construction activities, and ensuring compliance with project specifications. He possesses a robust knowledge of industry construction practices, technologies, and requirements.

Jonathan’s leisure activities are wide-ranging from the cerebral to the athletic. He is a competitive participant in game nights with family and friends, a classical pianist, and a computer geek. Jonathan loves to play basketball and is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Donovan Batts, a civil engineering major at Northwestern University, joined Peralte-Clark as an Intern in the Summer of 2023 where he worked on a variety of Phase I and II roadway design projects. Donovan continued as an Intern during the academic school year on a part-time basis developing his design skills. For the Summer of 2024, Donovan worked at a roadway construction site on the Central Tri-State  learning about Phase III aspects of engineering. For the Fall, 2024, Donovan will continue  working in our Chicago office while completing his coursework for graduation in 2025. Donovan chose to major in civil engineering because of the versatility that the degree offers and the impact transportation engineering has on how people experience and navigate various cities across the country.

Outside of his academic pursuits, Donovan has a great interest and enthusiasm for music and sound design and has utilized FL studio to produce music and sound design for school plays.  He also enjoys runs and skateboarding on campus when the weather is nice.

Chimere Gather brings extensive accounting, finance, and human resources expertise to Peralte-Clark.  Her accounting skills include financial reporting, planning, and analysis, budget models, forecasts and KPIs. She is also extremely knowledgeable with Federal Acquisition Regulations.  On the HR side, Chimere manages payroll, employee benefits, onboarding, and OSHA compliance requirements.

Chimere has a passion for traveling the world and experiencing the uniqueness and culture of the places she visits.  She and her husband celebrate their wedding anniversary in a new destination each year.  Another passion is interior design bringing spaces to life with color and style. She enjoys family time with her husband and five children.

Kirsten Schroeder joins Peralte-Clark as Administrative Coordinator after a 4-year career as a high school math teacher.  Kirsten was part of the STEM program at NIU and is looking to put her management and organizational skills to use in another context.  Kirsten honed her communication skills teaching both in-person and virtually, and has held other administrative positions in the retail, insurance, and customer service  industries.  She is ready to dive in and wear whatever hat is needed on any particular day.

Kirsten hails from the Kankakee area and has grown to love Chicago’s urban feel, now residing in the Fulton Market area. She has a life long love of dance, mainly in ballet and musical theater and has stage performance experience as a dancer, ensemble member, and lead actor.  Kirsten also enjoys cooking and tests out a new recipe every weekend.  She has a 16-year old cat, Bean, that she adopted when he was  a two-week old kitten and they have been together ever since.

Dagmar Cameron is a talented marketing professional with proven experience in the  engineering industry. She is at her best when working on multiple assignments with various deadlines. Along with cranking out qualifications and proposals, she also handles Peralte-Clark’s social media posts. Dagmar considers it a good day if she has learned something new.

Dagmar delights in spending time with her family including her husband, Andy, three adult children and spouses, two adorable grandchildren, and 3 frisky grandpups. Her interests include puttering in the garden, reading mystery novels, refining her culinary skills by trying new recipes, and practicing yoga for stress relief and to work off excess calories.