Aspect recently welcomed Katie Sultani-Wright and Scott Mortensen to our Seattle office. Here are Five Questions we asked to get to know them better…
Katie Sultani-Wright, Practice Coordinator
First camping trip with the five of us at Birch Bay, near Bellingham
Where are you from? If you’re not from the Pacific Northwest, what brought you here?
I was born in Washington, DC, and have been making my way west ever since. I’ve lived in DC, Maryland, Colorado, Michigan, Alaska, and Washington State. I came to Seattle for a job after college. Graduating as a naval architect/ocean engineer, being near water was, well, a requirement. I currently live in West Seattle.
What inspired you to pursue project management? What made you curious about it?
I don’t know that I pursued project management, I think it’s more like project management pursued me! Being a consulting engineer, effective project management is a critical skill and a huge part of good client service. For me, Operations is a natural extension of project management — there are even more moving pieces and the work is never done. I like that I get to work hard and there is always something to learn.
What do you like best about your area of expertise? What excites you and keeps you motivated?
I like the fact that I get to support others! I love being a part of systems and processes that enable my colleagues to do their best work. I am motivated by continuous improvement. How can we challenge ourselves to do better? Let’s do it!
What do you like to do when you aren’t working?
I like to spend time with my spouse (Jon) and our three children. I like to read books — business, sci-fi, fantasy, survival/disaster. I like puzzles, especially crosswords and jigsaw. I like to be outside. My kids and I have fun playing Nintendo games together. Music is what brought Jon and I together, so we enjoy going to shows on the off chance that we find someone willing to take care of our kids for an evening.
What five people would be your dream dinner party guests?
ABBA! And I suppose I’d invite Jon, too.
Scott Mortensen, Staff GIS Analyst
Hiking in California
Where are you from? If you’re not from the Pacific Northwest, what brought you here?
I am from the PNW but a little more NW than Seattle; I’m from Anchorage, AK. After more than a decade of moving around as a young adult, I suppose I felt drawn to reconnect with my PNW roots and be closer to family.
What inspired you to pursue GIS? What made you curious about it?
GIS was something I was first exposed to while surveying gravity-fed aqueduct systems as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Panama. I was drawn to the technical skill and the practical application of data management, manipulation, and visualization as a tool for decision-making and communication.
What do you like best about your area of expertise? What excites you and keeps you motivated?
I like the combination of fieldwork + office work and the balance of the analytical left brain + creative right brain. GIS seems to always be evolving so there’s never a dearth of things to learn.
What do you like to do when you aren’t working?
Relationships are the most important thing to me and I highly value having an active lifestyle, so I spend a good deal of my free time combining those things: spending time with friends and family backpacking, cycling, working on house projects, and cooking. I like to read and am learning to play the harmonica.
If you were given $50,000 to donate to any cause what cause would you choose?
Increasing access to high-quality education is the cause that I would most like to dedicate resources towards.