Meet Our Core Team

 

Our team of Construction Industry Consultants and support staff are ready to work with you on your business! 

Adam Cooper

President

Jeff Robertson

Principal | Senior Consultant

Greg Gorman

Senior Consultant

Katherine Tuttle

Marketing Director

Kevin Juliano

Consultant & Procore Specialist

Gary Johnson

Consultant

Stephen Crawford

Junior Consultant

Carolyn Bahr

Project Coordinator

Aimee Collier

Project Coordinator

Zach Hickman

Project Coordinator

Nazia Hasnain

Project Coordinator

Ashley Bryant

Accounting Coordinator

Bridgit Lawhead

Marketing Project Manager

Ray Weishan

Marketing Coordinator

Hakeem Slaughter

Marketing Coordinator

Jack Austin

Marketing Coordinator

Kellie Barber

Office Manager

Read About Our Story & Purpose

Our Story & Purpose
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400 Interstate North Pkwy
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Atlanta, GA 30339
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Adam Cooper

President

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Adam started out as an electrical apprentice while in college pursuing an engineering degree. He decided to stay in the trades and worked his way up through the ranks of several large electrical contractors, eventually landing in Senior Project Management and Operational roles with several of the top Electrical Contractors in the United States. Additionally, he has worked for several specialty and general contractors and has owned three electrical contracting companies. He currently holds a Class II Unrestricted Electrical Contractors License in the State of Georgia.

With over two decades of experience in engineering, business, construction management, and operations, Adam made the decision to step away from contracting. He started Ascent Consulting as a way to give back to the construction & contracting community and now offers his knowledge and experience to organizations looking for ways to grow and improve.

  • Adam is an industry Xpert at EC&M Magazine and a contributing writer. You can check out his profile here.

Greg Gorman

Senior Consultant

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Greg has 20+ years of financial, operational, and leadership experience in various professional sectors with a focus in construction, development, and construction management. Prior to joining Ascent Consulting, Greg was a Senior Consultant at 8020 Consulting in Los Angeles where he focused on construction, development, infrastructure, and real estate clients across the West and Midwest. Prior to this, Greg spent ten years as CFO of SSD Contracting in Atlanta where he guided the company from start-up through rapid growth and oversaw financial matters, strategic growth, and back-office functions. 

He served as CFO of the GreenTech Master Fund, a long/short equity hedge fund in New York City, and as Assistant Managing Director for the Cisneros Group of Companies focusing on emerging business opportunities across North America and Latin America.

Greg received his undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University and his Master of Business Administration degree from New York University’s Stern School of Business holding specializations in Financial Management, Leadership, Entrepreneurship.

 

Katherine Tuttle

Marketing Director

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Katherine is a digital media marketing strategist with over 10 years of experience. Before joining Ascent she owned her own boutique PR & Digital Marketing Agency. Prior to that she was the Marketing Director for a B2B construction software sales organization. Katherine specializes in driving brand and revenue growth through strategic marketing campaigns and building strong visual brand identities. 

Kevin Juliano

Procore Consultant

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Kevin Juliano entered the construction industry as a laborer. Capitalizing on a degree in Communications, he was asked to move to project management and estimating after eighteen months in the field. Since then, he has served as a senior PM, senior estimator, manager of preconstruction, regional operations manager, and executive, all primarily in heavy civil and electrical construction. Kevin has also worked for Procore Technologies as a Senior Strategic Product Consultant. Kevin has earned a BA from Wheaton College, an MA from Northwest Nazarene University, an MBA from Colorado State University, and is currently working on his Doctorate in Business from St. Leo University.

Gary Johnson

Consultant

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Gary grew up working summers from 7th grade through graduating college for a large plumbing and process piping contractor in Mobile, AL. After graduating from Auburn University with a BS in Computer Engineering, Gary spent the next 16 years working in the industrial automation industry with The Foxboro Company and the ERP software solutions space with JD Edwards.  

The 7 years with JD Edwards were primarily focused on the construction business, providing ERP software solutions to both large general contractors and large homebuilders. In 2003 Gary acquired a small residential plumbing contracting business in Pace, FL.  Over the next 17 years, Gary grew this business to three physical locations and more than 130 employees, performing commercial and residential plumbing projects in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. 

In 2020, Gary sold the business and continued to work for the company on a consulting basis for 2 more years. The unusual background, including providing construction industry ERP software solutions as well as nearly 20 years acquiring, growing, operating and ultimately selling a large subcontracting business, gives Gary a unique perspective on the operations of a construction company. Gary holds master plumbing and gas fitter licenses in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.

Stephen Crawford

Junior Consultant

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Stephen possesses nearly a decade of extensive financial, operational, and leadership expertise spanning diverse professional sectors, primarily centered on construction, development, and construction management. Before joining Ascent Consulting, he spent five years as a CPA at Ernst & Young. He then made significant contributions to an electrical construction company in an internal consulting capacity. Subsequently, he pursued multiple freelance roles, including a pivotal position as a Fractional Chief Transformation Officer (CTO).

Throughout his career, Stephen adeptly guided companies through various rapid growth phases, overseeing crucial financial matters, driving strategic growth initiatives, and managing back-office functions. He holds a BBA in Accounting and a Master of Accountancy from The University of Georgia.

Carolyn Bahr

Project Coordinator

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Carolyn brings 15+ years of project management, organizational design and leadership development experience from the non-profit and for-profit sectors. She began her career in the construction industry as a Store Opening Coordinator for a major retail chain in the Midwest. She now enjoys applying her knowledge, skills, and talents to serve the Ascent team and our clientele.

Aimee Collier

Project Coordinator

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Aimee joins Ascent as a Project Coordinator supporting our Senior and Procore Consultants. With construction industry experience both in-field and back-of-house (ranging from project site coordination to contract management to software administration), she brings a holistic perspective of the day-to-day challenges faced by our clients. Her varied professional roles include software implementation and training, technical content creation and design, and coordinating across teams to bring projects to successful completion. She is excited to direct her passion for people and processes toward our customers. 

Zachary Hickman

Project Coordinator

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Zachary brings 10+ years of project management experience as an owners representative for clients and from the developer side of the business.

He began his career as an assistant project manager with a masonry subcontractor in Florida, before moving to Atlanta.

Nazia Hasnain

Project Coordinator

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Nazia joined Ascent in the role of a project coordinator. Before joining Ascent, she served as a Web Project Coordinator.

With a rich background of 5 years of experience in the digital realm, she has been at the forefront of coordinating and managing web projects from concept to launch. With a blend of technical expertise and project management skills, she is dedicated to contributing to the success of diverse projects to ensure that projects not only meet but exceed expectations.

Ashely Bryant

Accounting Coordinator

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Ashley Bryant has more than 9 years of experience as an accounting and payroll professional, specializing in residential construction and trades, industrial construction, and structural steel. She received her fundamental payroll certification through the American Payroll Association, and she is well-versed in handling financials for multiple entities simultaneously, for both small and mid-sized companies.  

Ashley is passionate about helping companies grow through providing timely, accurate, and meaningful financial data. One of her greatest strengths is bridging the divide between the back office and the operations and field teams. 

Ashley has an undergraduate degree from Kennesaw State University. She volunteers her time and skills with various non-profit groups and holds leadership positions within many of those groups. She joins Ascent Consulting to provide an avenue for clients looking to outsource accounting duties and looks forward to using her experience to provide accurate financial and job cost data for clients in the construction sector. 

Bridgit Lawhead

Marketing Project Manager

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Bridgit is a Marketing Project Manager, bringing a proven track record of managing accounts and marketing for diverse industries. Prior to joining Ascent Consulting, she was a Marketing Strategist for a small marketing agency that focused on transforming financial advisors’ businesses. Working with Marketing, Sales, and Upper Management to ensure strategic performance and management of tasks to appropriate team members, Bridgit helps manage the planning, development, design, execution, monitoring, and completion of all of our client marketing projects. 
 
Bridgit holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Communication, with an emphasis in Public Relations from Valdosta State University. 

Ray Weishan

Marketing Coordinator

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Ray joins the Ascent team as a Marketing Coordinator, bringing a general wealth of expertise to the marketing department. After starting his career in marketing & communications for higher education, Ray joined Ascent to provide a “jack-of-all-trades” skillset and flexibility that benefits clients with vastly different needs.

Originally a Wisconsinite, Ray spent the better part of the last decade in Minneapolis getting his undergraduate degree and working for the University of Minnesota. Now a full-time Georgian, he looks forward to helping Ascent and its clients in any possible way.

Hakeem Slaughter

Marketing Coordinator

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Hakeem is a brand designer with over 10 years of experience. He has been a freelancer for about 9 years working with many different clients and industries under the following subjects: brand design, graphic design, web design, and social media marketing.

 

During that time freelancing, he also worked at many companies as a graphic and web designer. As well as taught disciplines of Art and Design to students varying from middle school age to college. As mentioned, he has a “jack of all trades” range but is quite proficient at WordPress and uses that knowledge to design cutting edge websites!

 

Hakeem specializes in branding, design, and creativity and is bringing his talents, skills, and passion to take Ascent Consulting to a new level!

Jack Austin

Marketing Coordinator

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Jack is a marketing and communications professional who joins Ascent following a three-year stint in the healthcare staffing industry. 

 

Working as a member of the Ascent marketing team, Jack performs internal marketing automation tasks, analyzes web and marketing metrics, and creates multimedia content to highlight recent success stories with Ascent clients.

 

Born and raised in the Metro Atlanta area, Jack graduated from the University of Georgia in 2019 with a B.A. in Journalism and a certificate in Sports Media. He then went on to earn an M.B.A. from Georgia State University in December 2022, concentrating in the areas of marketing and business analytics.

Kellie Barber

Office Manager

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With a career spanning over 25 years in both the public and private sectors, Kellie stands as a seasoned professional and a valuable asset to our Ascent team. A dedicated, results-driven individual, Kellie brings a wealth of experience to the organization.

She is no stranger to the world of construction and has a comprehensive understanding from both the project management and engineering perspective.  Kellie has a keen eye for detail and a commitment to delivering excellence.

Kodili Okechukwu

Marketing Specialist

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Kodili is the Marketing Specialist at Ascent Consulting. Previously, she served as the Marketing & Volunteer Relations Coordinator at an Atlanta Non-Profit Organization. Raised in New Orleans, she moved to Atlanta to pursue a profession in marketing. Kodili received a Bachelor’s of Science from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. While there, she majored in Marketing & Communications Studies. With several internships and positions in the marketing field under her belt, Kodili uses her skills and experience to make a powerful impact on the success of Ascent Consulting.

Jeff Robertson

Principal | Senior Consultant

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With over 30 years of experience in commercial construction, Jeff has seen the industry from many angles: the business end of a shovel as a field laborer, Project Management of projects ranging from $3M to $100M, and Operations Manager leading a Business Unit responsible for total revenue in excess of $100M annually.

Jeff has worked all over the Southeast and built in a variety of market sectors including Retail, Senior Living, Multi-Family and Healthcare. He has also spent time on the Owners’ side of the business as a Development Manager.

His varied experience over the course of his career have earned him in-depth knowledge of the construction industry, including the complete lifecycle of construction projects, construction company operations, and what it takes to make the project(s) and company successful.

Jeff enjoys working with our clients to build their construction businesses and give back to an industry that has taught him so much.

Rhonda Hudson

Construction Accountant

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Rhonda has three decades of diverse Controller experience that spans various aspects of construction, including manufacturing, mechanical, electrical, flooring, and residential building contracting. Rhonda has an Associate’s Degree in Accounting and has consistently demonstrated expertise in optimizing operational efficiencies, tracking financial performance, conducting annual audits, and building a process around the monthly close process.

In addition to her accounting work, Rhonda has a broad proficiency in a wide range of accounting software platforms and has a knack for adapting to new technologies swiftly. She has facilitated smooth transitions during software migrations and provided system training to numerous companies.

Daphene Koch

Consultant

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Daphene’s construction experience began working in her family’s mechanical construction company.

Next, she worked for a large EPC firm on projects in Texas and Malaysia. With over 15 years of construction industry experience on commercial and industrial projects. Her roles have included project manager, safety manager, construction services leader, and pipefitters helper.

While a professor at Purdue University in the School of Construction Management, she worked as a consultant to help construction companies improve processes, project management, workforce development to name a few. She has a BS, MS, and PhD from Purdue University and resides in Indiana.