April 6, 2022,

MSPE Members,

The MSPE Nominating and Tellers Committee, chaired by Immediate Past President John Riediger, P.E, with Past President Michael Purol, P.E. (Northeast), Past President Ron Black (St. Louis) and Charles Loughman, P.E. (Western), have selected the President-Elect and Vice President nominees that will join the current officers to lead MSPE in 2022-2023.

The slate of nominees are:

Rachel Goeke, P.E.- President

Kelsie Clark, P.E.- President-Elect

Anika Careaga, P.E.- Vice President

Michael Buechter, P.E., Treasurer (Second year of a two-year term)

Mitch Krysa, P.E.- Immediate Past President

In accordance with MSPE’s Bylaws, the President-Elect automatically assumes the position of President. MSPE’s current Vice President’s applied to continue as an officer to President-Elect. This the left the Vice President position open for new candidates, for which two members applied.  

The election of the Slate of Officers presented by the Nominating and Tellers Committee will take place on Wednesday, June 8, 2022 during MSPE’s Annual Convention in Branson.  

In accordance with MSPE’s Bylaws Article VII, Section 4: Election of Officers (B) additional nominations for the respective offices may be made by written petitions containing the signatures of at least thirty (30) members eligible to vote provided that not more than ten of those signing any one nomination petition shall be members of the same local chapter, and provide further that such nominating petition shall reach the Society’s secretary (Executive Director Travis Lowe) not later than 35 days prior to date of the annual election.

Kelsie D. Clark, P.E. 

Kelsie holds degrees in Agriculture and Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri.

He began his career at Burns & McDonnell in 1986 working as a construction inspector at the reconstruction of the I-35/I-635 interchange in Johnson County, KS while finishing a Civil Engineering degree. After earning the engineering degree, Kelsie remained at Burns & McDonnell until 1998 where he worked as a site design engineer and construction manager on various transportation, power plant and conservation projects. He continued his career at Archer Engineers as a project engineer/project manager for residential, commercial and industrial site development projects and later at TranSystems Corporation as a project engineer/manager for freight rail projects.

Kelsie is currently as a Senior Project Manager for Olin Winchester, operators of the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Missouri. In this role he manages capital projects to repair, improve and upgrade the numerous facilities and infrastructure at the plant. Projects at Lake City have included bridge replacements, road repair and replacement, structural upgrades to manufacturing buildings, and water supply systems improvements including new water wells, water tower rehabilitation and new water mains.

Kelsie has been a member of MSPE and NSPE since 1998. Kelsie is a member of Western Chapter and is currently serving as 2021-22 Vice President for MSPE. He previously served for two years (2016-17 and 2017-18) on the MSPE Executive Committee as a Board of Directors Representative and completed a two year term (2019-21) as Treasurer for both MSPE and the MSPE Education Foundation. He also served on the Investment Committee of the Education Foundation. As a member of Western Chapter, he has served as a Chapter Director, Secretary, Treasurer, President-Elect, and President. He has served on several MSPE State Convention Planning Committees, Fall PDH Days task force and most recently served as Chair the 2021 Fall PDH Days. He also is a past member of MSPE’s Kimel committee where he helped encourage licensure of engineering professors and teaching faculty at our state’s engineering schools.

Kelsie has been actively involved in the Boy Scouts of America for over 50 years. He earned the Eagle Scout rank in 1975. He has served in numerous leadership roles as an adult volunteer including Order of the Arrow Lodge Advisor, Tribe of Mic O Say Tribal Council, District Training Committee Chair, District Camping Committee Chair, and District Commissioner. He is currently serving as Assistant Council Commissioner in the Heart of America Council and as an Order of the Arrow Associate Adviser for Section C5B of the Gateway Region, BSA.

Kelsie is a life-long member of the Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church where he has served in several leadership roles including member and Chair of the Board of Trustees, Building Committee, Administrative Board member, Finance Committee member, and chair of men’s ministries.

Anika Careaga, P.E., CPESC, CPSWQ

Ms. Anika Careaga graduated with honors from the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR, now MO S&T) in 1998 with a B.S. is Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Environmental and has been a registered professional engineer in MO since 2005. She is a registered PE in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. She also attained the status of a Certified Professional of Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) and a Certified Professional of Storm Water Quality (CPSWQ) from EnviroCert International, Inc.

Ms. Careaga is currently on the MSPE Executive Committee as at At-Large Director and Chair of the MSPE Government Relations Committee. She was previously on the Board of Directors as the State Director for the Jefferson City Chapter. She is also currently a Chapter Director on the Jefferson City Chapter Board of Directors. She was on the planning committee for the 2018 and 2019 Fall PDH Days.

Since joining Midwest Environmental Consultants (MEC) in 2002, Ms. Careaga has worked primarily in solid waste and stormwater design. She serves as a senior project manager for MEC providing engineering design services related to landfill design, stormwater management including Low Impact Development (LID), stream bank stabilization, land reclamation and related projects for municipal and private-sector clients. Prior to joining MEC, she worked for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). While employed at MoDOT, she evaluated erosion control products to create new erosion control specifications that are currently used statewide by MoDOT.

Ms. Careaga and her husband Jacob, who is also 1998 UMR graduate, live in Jefferson City, MO. Jacob Careaga is the Chief Engineer for the Missouri Department of Conservation. In addition to their busy careers, Jacob and Anika are raising a large family with very active children and work hard every day to help them appreciate the value of spreadsheets.