Being an engineer and entrepreneur aligns perfectly with who Kimberly is. Growing up, her business owner father instilled in her his unwillingness to accept failure and entrepreneurial spirit. Sadly, he passed away when she was just 12, leaving behind Kimberly, her mother and her two sisters. Driven by her mother’s strength in the face of adversity, Kimberly stepped up to help care for her siblings, building the traits of leadership, self-confidence and resilience that characterize her today.
Kimberly got her first job at age 15 and put herself through college at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering. It’s at UMKC that Kimberly discovered engineering—and met Trent.
After six years in the engineering industry, Kimberly recognized a need for more quality diverse businesses in Kansas City’s engineering community. With a simple plan to deliver quality work, on schedule and under budget, she and Trent founded TREKK in 2002.
Characterized by her mother’s resolve and her father’s fearlessness, it’s no surprise Kimberly became an entrepreneur. She has built TREKK’s culture around her personal purpose of IMPROVING LIVES through service to the community. From the basement of their house to now 11 offices and more than 230 employees, Kimberly and Trent have been blessed to find people who share their vision and passion to help TREKK serve others and make the world a better place.
TREKK has grown and evolved, but as the firm’s CEO and Managing Partner, Kimberly has remained the constant beacon that sets the company’s course. She oversees the company’s overall operations and strategic direction. Her compassion, wisdom and kindness resonate throughout TREKK and is what makes us different.
Kimberly and Trent have been blessed with three daughters. She enjoys sharing new travel experiences with them, reading, and solving complex puzzles, like conquering every escape room she’s entered. All three girls share her competitive spirit and emotional intelligence. Kimberly gives back through mentoring young engineers and aspiring entrepreneurs and playing an active role in civic and industry organizations and her church. She is a Kansas City Business Journal 2016 Women of Influence honoree, and has been recognized for her leadership by organizations like the Central Exchange, WTS Greater Kansas City Chapter and COMTO.
Ever the quiet leader, Kimberly has a special ability to bring out the best in everyone. Her relentless work ethic inspires those around her to make a difference in TREKK’s clients’ lives and communities.
Trent knew he wanted to be an engineer from a young age. He grew up working in his father’s construction business where he learned the rewards of hard work, building things to last, doing the right thing for your customer, and applying common sense to solve problems.
Trent leveraged a college golf scholarship to earn his degree in civil engineering from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. While at UMKC, he met his Managing Life Partner, Kimberly. After working separately for six years, Kimberly suggested they start their own civil engineering firm in 2002. The rest is history.
As TREKK has grown and evolved, so has Trent’s role within the company. Today, he serves as TREKK’s President, responsible for project delivery and TREKK’s business development functions. He works directly with staff to help them deliver quality solutions to TREKK clients across all markets. A visionary thinker, Trent also oversees TREKK’s Innovation team, charged with developing forward-thinking tools and technologies that help our staff and clients work smarter, not harder.
Ever the optimist, Trent enjoys coaching and mentoring staff to find ways to make a difference in their communities. This gives him the opportunity to share with staff the company purpose and vision of IMPROVING LIVES taught to him by Kimberly.
When he’s not at the office, you’ll usually find Trent on the golf course, cheering on his three daughters, or traveling around the world. He is active at his church and in numerous civic and industry organizations.
Since the day she walked into TREKK, Tawn has fit right in. She embodies our mission of IMPROVING LIVES, both at TREKK and in her personal life. And it doesn’t hurt that she likes to work hard and have fun doing it.
Tawn grew up helping her father build things, figuring out how to make them work. She initially thought a career in architecture was her calling, but quickly learned that civil engineering was her true passion. After graduating from Iowa State University, Tawn’s path led her to Kansas City where she met Kimberly and Trent.
Tawn and Trent have been solving problems together since the early years of their careers. As founding members of a local users group in the late 1990s, they helped develop a platform for civil engineers to come together and share their ideas. This early relationship was just the start of decades of partnering, leading to today, where Tawn is an Associate Partner overseeing our Transportation team.
The word teamwork epitomizes Tawn’s approach to her work. She believes problem solving is more fun with a group, especially when that group includes clients she’s proud to call friends. You can see her natural ability to unite and inspire her team on every project and during regular team-building events.
Tawn is dedicated to developing and coaching those around her. She can turn even the most basic task into a learning opportunity. This mentorship extends to the community, where she volunteers her time to spread the love of engineering to our younger generation, particularly young women. Tawn is active in numerous civic and industry organizations and has been recognized for her leadership.
Tawn’s energy, drive and passion for her work and her people are contagious. We’re glad she’s sharing it with us.
Lucas grew up taking old things, like equipment and pieces of furniture, and giving them new life. His work today isn’t much different than what he did growing up, transforming and improving things all around him. As Associate Partner overseeing TREKK’s Water Systems and Power services, Lucas’ team works to identify and prioritize failing infrastructure and deliver creative and common-sense solutions to fix them.
After graduating from Kansas State University, Lucas began his career with a focus on helping communities manage and reduce inflow and infiltration by renewing and rehabilitating their wastewater collection system infrastructure. Success in the wastewater arena soon led clients to ask Lucas’ team to deliver inspection and assessment solutions for all types of infrastructure including water, stormwater and electrical power. Through the years, his team has innovated and developed industry changing inspection tools, data management systems and analytical processes to grade and prioritize infrastructure.
Lucas is driven by the team of people around him. He strives to treat people with respect and help those around him to succeed. This approach is evident in the people who are part of TREKK’s Water Systems and Power teams and the many communities they have impacted. Lucas understands that every client is unique, and he is passionate about helping them develop solutions that work for their specific situation.
When Lucas is not working, you can find him busy with his family, coaching his boys in sports, and sneaking in some golf or hunting along the way.
Brock has never shied away from a challenge. At 16, he started his first job teaching martial arts to students twice his age. A few years later, he served as co-captain of his collegiate football team while also excelling in academics. These early opportunities instilled in him the importance of hard work, adaptability and trust in others that guide him today.
Brock’s interest in math and science, coupled with a desire to make a difference in his community, is what led him to engineering. He started his career as a civil designer, but quickly recognized he preferred working in the field, getting his hands dirty and doing the work others often shied away from. It was this passion that led him to TREKK, where he is an Associate Partner overseeing our Cleaning and CCTV service line and Omaha operations. Brock has built a team of individuals who share his commitment to clean water, teamwork, doing the weird stuff, and safely delivering quality data to communities across Nebraska and Iowa.
When he’s not improving sewer infrastructure, Brock gives back to the community through outreach to aspiring engineers, watching his sons play sports, and cheering on his alma mater, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, with his family. He is also an entrepreneur, operating a successful tubing, kayaking and camping business all summer long.
Curiosity and a desire to learn have always driven Justin. As a child, he’d watch his grandfather move dirt as a heavy equipment operator in highway construction. When he was 16, Justin started his first job as a concrete laborer and spent his summers on job sites. By 21, he was managing a concrete crew. It was there that he discovered a passion for solving problems. He took his aptitude for math and science, passion for construction and a partially completed physics degree and decided to become a civil engineer.
Shortly after graduating from both Central Missouri State University and the University of Missouri – Rolla with dual degrees in physics and civil engineering, Justin joined TREKK in 2006 as the firm’s eighth employee. Since then, Justin has worn nearly every hat at TREKK, from field technician, to surveyor, to his current role as Associate Partner overseeing TREKK’s Civil team. Family values taught him that if you work hard and apply yourself, no matter what the role, all involved should have voice in any team endeavor. Justin strives to fill any gap that TREKK needs and is up for any challenge.
Justin admittedly thrives on the challenges of his projects and fulfilling client needs every day. But he always carves out time for his daughters, jamming on the guitar, and hunting.
