Leadership

We have the privilege to construct native habitat for our clients’ projects that may have spent years in the permitting, design, and funding stages, and we specialize in navigating the regulatory agency compliance process while building successful projects.

Our projects take us from saltwater marshes and coastal dunes to Sierra intermountain streams to desert dunes and habitats. Being a part of a team of expert tradesmen, engineers, biologists, architects and regulatory experts that can utilize our large fleet of specialized low-ground pressure equipment allows us to successfully construct diverse native habitat in California and the Western United States.

We are driven by our mission statement: “Redefining mitigation to better serve our clients and nature”. Our focus is on establishing long-term collaborative relationships with our clients while successfully achieving cost-effective regulatory agency sign-off criteria. Helping our clients be successful is directly linked with HRS’ success in being a zero-debt, employee-owned, design-build general engineering construction firm.

Kevin DiSabatino is a senior construction project manager and HRS’ president with 24 years’ experience specializing in general engineering and habitat construction projects, as well as equipment operation and installation and maintenance of habitat restoration projects throughout California. Mr. DiSabatino is also a licensed A General Engineering Contractor, a Class A driver, and a qualified pest control applicator. As an equipment operator, he is experienced in working within sensitive native habitats, as well as clearing, hauling, and removing large amounts of brush.

In addition, Mr. DiSabatino has experience with soil preparation and soil removal, mowing and tree and shrub removal, grading on steep slopes, operating a wide variety of Caterpillars, and watering with a 2,500-gallon water truck. He has managed the habitat construction and installation of several large-scale projects throughout California including over $9 million in Design–Build projects along with multiple river restoration projects.

Kyle Matthews is a biologist and habitat restoration specialist with 8 years’ experience working as an environmental specialist on a variety of public and private projects. Mr. Matthews has extensive experience with habitat restoration projects involving sensitive resources, including rare plant species, wetlands habitats, and habitats for endangered wildlife. His experience includes biological monitoring and data collection for a variety of projects, which has involved writing habitat restoration plans, and biological monitoring reports.

Mr. Matthews also has extensive field experience throughout Southern California conducting vegetation mapping of exotic non-native species. Additionally, he has conducted biological monitoring of construction and maintenance projects in environmentally sensitive areas. Mr. Matthews’ responsibilities include providing logistical support to both clients and HRS staff and he currently manages over $8.0 million in habitat restoration and biological resource projects. He meets with clients regularly to discuss project progress and he closely monitors project schedules and budgets.

Cindy Thompson is the marketing and office operations director with more than 18 years’ experience in the environmental construction and engineering industry. Her background is in marketing, safety, project coordination and compliance. She collaborates with the senior management staff on all aspects of business development and marketing tasks. As a corporate officer, Ms. Thompson is a part of the decision-making team for the current and future business decisions for HRS.

Additionally, Ms. Thompson develops and implements office processes and procedures and oversees office staff. Her historical knowledge of HRS provides a strong platform to guide and mentor office staff.

Pete Trotta is a senior project supervisor with 22 years’ experience, specializing in project management, field supervision and coordination of native habitat restoration installation and maintenance projects. Mr. Trotta is a licensed C-27 Landscape Contractor, a qualified stormwater pollution prevention plan developer/practitioner (QSD/QSP), a qualified pest control applicator, and a Class A driver. He has completed OSHA 30 Hour Construction Safety, HAZWOPER 40 Hour Safety, and Recycled Water Site Supervisor training.

Mr. Trotta has worked on upland, riparian, wetland, Coastal Sage Scrub (CSS) and streambed restoration projects that included: plant installation, soil amendments, grow/kill cycles for weeds, temporary irrigation installation, weed management (through use of mechanical, manual and herbicide treatments), hydroseeding and multiple stakeholder coordination. He is an expert with California native and non-native species identification.

Mr. Trotta is highly knowledgeable in the mitigation requirements of federal, state, and local agencies and works closely with the project biologist to ensure all permit requirements are met. As a certified QSD/QSP, Mr. Trotta provides stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) services including field reporting and on-site training.