Our Team
Terry Cowan, P.E.
President & CEO
Mr. Cowan founded Coldwater Engineering in 2016 and has more than 25 years in water resources as a designer, project manager, and program manager. His work covers H&H studies, bridge and culvert replacements, channel work, floodplain analysis and permitting, storm sewer and irrigation, watershed plans, and dam design, along with environmental permitting and emergency response. He specializes in railroad H&H. Work for Union Pacific and BNSF alone runs to nearly 1,000 projects in 23 states.
Licensed in MT and NE
Phone: 406.459.4256
Email: tcowan@coldwaterengineering.com
Alexandra McDonald, P.E.
Senior Project Manager / Permitting Lead
Ms. McDonald has nearly 15 years of experience in water resource engineering and environmental permitting. Her career has evolved from completing H&H studies for bridge and culvert replacements, which she continues to do, to becoming the environmental permitting lead for Coldwater Engineering. In her role as the environmental permitting lead, she oversees all projects with permitting needs, manages permitting staff, maintains frequent communication with clients, and stays up-to-date on environmental permitting laws and regulations.
Licensed in MT, CO, KS, MO, OR, WA, WI, WY
Phone: 406.531.4251
Email: amcdonald@coldwaterengineering.com
Tom Askin, P.E.
Senior Project Manager / H&H Lead
Mr. Askin has over 13 years of experience in water resources — hydrology and hydraulics, survey, environmental permitting, construction oversight, and project management. He joined Coldwater in 2016 and his railroad work now spans that full period: H&H and survey for Union Pacific, BNSF, CPKC, Norfolk Southern, Watco, and other short lines. His H&H skills include culvert & bridge hydraulics, 1-D and 2-D modeling, scour, floodplain mapping, sediment transport, and stormwater management.
Licensed in MT, AL, AR, ID, MS, NV, TX
Phone: 406.459.9597
Email: taskin@coldwaterengineering.com
Tyler Phelps, P.E., CFM
Senior Project Manager / H&H Lead
Mr. Phelps has over 13 years of experience in engineering, surveying, and construction. His experience includes contamination sampling, operating and sampling pilot water treatment stations, construction representation for the Clark Fork River Remedial Action project, and H&H projects for Class I / Class II railroads and the Montana and Texas Departments of Transportation. He specializes in H&H design, remedial action construction representation, and engineering survey. He has supervised and conducted numerous hydraulic surveys and designs for railroad and highway bridge replacements and flood repair projects.
Licensed in MT, ID, LA, OK, TX
Phone: 406.431.2171
Email: tphelps@coldwaterengineering.com
Parker Stenersen, P.E.
Project Manager
Mr. Stenersen has 6 years of experience in engineering, surveying, and construction oversight. His experience includes H&H and survey for Union Pacific, BNSF, CPKC, Norfolk Southern, Watco, and other short lines, Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP) replacements, and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Site Improvement surveying and design.
Licensed in MT
Sienna Swannack, E.I.
Project Manager
Ms. Swannack has over 3 years of experience in hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) analysis and design, drainage design, hydraulic and structural survey and field work, construction oversight, floodplain analysis, environmental permitting, irrigation assessment, emergency response, and project management. She has worked with a variety of clients including railroad, state highway departments, state government agencies, and private clients. Her H&H work has primarily been focused on hydraulic infrastructure replacement studies with experience in fourteen states.