Meet the team

Brian Pound

Partner | PE, Director of Civil Engineering

Mr. Pound served as Project Manager and/or design engineer on the majority of Patriot Design & Consulting, PLLC (PDC) contracts since joining the firm in 2003. He has been continually recognized for his talents in executing projects smoothly and efficiently. Water resource engineering has been a continuing professional focus of Brian’s in his work with PDC – he has studied water system design, water system modeling, pump system design, hydrology, storm water detention basin design, storm water modeling, and green infrastructure design. Brian’s experience and expertise in these disciplines is applied across all PDC projects, positioning the firm as a leading resource to municipalities and civil authorities in managing, maintaining, and upgrading their water and storm water systems.

Francine Schwartz-Wallace

AIA | Principal Architect

Ms. Schwartz-Wallace has over 20 years of experience as a project manager and architect. She works closely with the client through schematic, design development, and the construction document phases. Her responsibilities include space planning, programming, creating conceptual architectural sketches and converting this information into construction documents and detailing.

Lorinne Johnson

AIA | Director, Architecture

Ms. Johnson is a registered architect, licensed in New York and Pennsylvania. She has a broad range of experience on many types of projects, including educational, institutional, governmental, commercial and residential.
Ms. Johnson has built her career in the field of architecture providing architectural expertise and excellence in all projects from early programming stage, to existing conditions investigations and documentation, schematic design, design development, construction documents and construction administration. She joined the firm of Tolman Engineering, Architecture & Survey (dba Patriot Design & Consulting) to build the architecture team in 2013 where she has built a strong reputation for excellence in the arena of historical preservation, façade rehabilitation and through her work with agencies such as NYSED, SHPO, OGS and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

Andy Straub

PE | Principal Electrical Engineer

Mr. Straub has over 15 years of experience as an engineer. He works closely with clients through schematic, design development, and the construction document phases. His responsibilities include the design of power, lighting, communications, electronic safety and security systems and converting this information into construction documents, details, and specifications. He is a licensed Electrical Engineer in the states of NY and ME. 

Allicia Chudyk

Mechanical Engineer

Mrs. Chudyk joined the PDC team in 2019. She graduated from the University at Buffalo with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in May 2016. After graduating, Mrs. Chudyk worked for the General Motors Engine Plant as a Quality Engineer overseeing the production of Chevrolet engines. In 2017, Mrs. Chudyk joined the Design Build field at Popli Design Group. Over her time in the Design Build field, she has designed and modified HVAC, Plumbing, and Fire Protection systems for commercial and private facilities, such as Universities, Public Schools, Welcome Centers, Hospitals, and VA Campuses. In 2019, she joined PDC in hopes of gaining independence and responsibility of design projects. Mrs. Chudyk’s portfolio includes BIM modeling (CAD and Revit ), specification design, project design reports, onsite field investigation, and client and project coordination. Through networking and outreach programs, she hopes to encourage the young women of future generations to pursue the field of STEM with vigor.

Kevin Wendt

EIT | Mechanical Engineer

Mr. Wendt is experienced in HVAC, Plumbing, and Fire Protection Design for projects at the Buffalo VAMC, Upstate Medical University at Syracuse, and SUNY Buffalo. He is committed to developing professional, state-of-the-art engineering solutions for clients.

Nicholas Myers

EIT | Civil Engineer 

In his professional development with Patriot Design & Consulting, PLLC (PDC), Mr. Myers holds an Engineer in Training Certificate and serves as Civil Engineer on a multitude of current projects. After graduating in 2016 from the University at Buffalo with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, he joined the firm in January of 2017. Over the last four years, he has worked with local municipalities, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) and many privately held companies in designing improvements to facilities.  Mr. Myers experience ranges from stormwater management design, site grading and site utility design. He is a trusted and reliable source for critical asset management and inventory, construction inspection and MS4 inspections as well.

Mary Stephenson

Marketing Manager 

Ms. Stephenson joined the PDC team in 2020 after a year of missionary service in Ohio. She graduated from Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications in May 2019. Prior to her graduation, Ms. Stephenson completed numerous internships in the Public Relations and Marketing sectors ranging from experiences in nonprofit organizations to a leading agency specializing in analytics-driven, digital healthcare marketing and communications for pharmaceutical companies. Ms. Stephenson is motivated by the great people and work in the engineering and architectural industry and is passionate about bringing her experiences to this role while learning something new every day. At PDC, Ms. Stephenson helps the team establish and cultivate meaningful relationships with new and existing clients through teaming on various projects across a diverse scope of work in the architectural, engineering and land surveying sectors. She is responsible for all creation of marketing deliverables and organization of RFQs (Request for Qualifications) and RFPs (Request for Proposals). She is excited about furthering the development and growth of the company’s online presence through implementing, driving and assisting on all marketing initiatives. 

Erica Helmer-Allyn

Civil Designer 

Erica supports internal and external teams with more than 20 years’ experience working with architectural, civil, structural, and environmental engineering scopes. She has been selected to work with municipalities and public works agencies in both Pennsylvania and New York State, Department of Transportation, New York State Thruway Authority, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, numerous educational institutions, and private corporations.

Erica’s advanced program experiences includes the latest versions of AutoCAD, Civil 3D, and Micro Station. She works closely with diverse teams of engineers and clients, communicating clearly to deliver solutions as part of a sustainable planning process.