Our Philosophy
Wi-Skies, LLC's philosophy is to deliver superior designs as efficiently as possible while providing exemplary customer satisfaction without compromising quality. We believe maintaining satisfied clients is our top priority and compliments from past or current references have helped us continue to expand our client base.
Our quality staff specializes in all DOT electrical applications, such as roadway lighting, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), tolling, traffic signal design, electric vehicle (EV), solar and wind applications, construction inspection, commissioning, maintenance and operation. We bring years of superior experience to any design team and enjoy taking on new challenges. In addition to DOT work, we have also done electrical design work for airports, water treatment plants, substation and distribution design as well as building construction and site development. In short, we are willing to take on any challenge to make sure the project is done completely and correctly. We take pride that our staff routinely exceeds the client's expectations in any design challenge or project demand.
While our knowledgeable staff always references and adheres to current design policies and recommendations, we do not settle on the status quo, often pushing the industry forward to ensure the most prudent and practical solution and design criteria are being considered. Our staff is heavily involved with several industry organizations, including the IES, ANSI and AASHTO. This experience enables us to bring all options to the table for the client to make a fully informed decision in the event of special circumstances. We understand that our clients' needs are unique and a project may present special design challenges which cannot always be addressed by general practice. We take pride in putting client first, even if the resulting decision is not necessarily in our own best interest.
Wi-Skies, LLC has held on-call lighting contracts with Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation, as well as several municipalities. In these roles, we have staff which serve as an extension of their organizations, assisting the Department in many of their daily activities, such as developing cost estimates, standards, modifying specifications, reviewing other designs, developing policy as well as addressing a host of problems and questions which arise. As we continue to grow, we are always looking for new clients to work with across the nation!
About Our Team
Joseph D. Marsh, P.E. - President
The President of Wi-Skies, LLC, Joe brings over nineteen years of diverse engineering experience, with a focus on roadway lighting. Mr. Marsh is heavily involved with the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), which sets the lighting design criteria most agencies adopt and is currently Chair of the Roadway Lighting Committee and is leading the international effort to change the existing policy regarding daytime lighting in tunnels. His strengths are in management, where he has consistently overseen many projects simultaneously while delivering superior quality work to the client. In addition to his robust lighting background, Joe has worked on several cutting-edge ITS projects, ranging from design to installation to integration, debugging and maintenance. Mr. Marsh has demonstrated his engineering diversity by his willingness to delve into new design areas, such as structural design, pavement marking, signage or traffic signals and is licensed in over twenty states.
Mark Seppelt, P.E. - Lead Lighting Engineer
The Lead Lighting Engineer of Wi-Skies, Mark is responsible for quality oversight and management of all lighting projects to the client. He is also heavily involved with other high-level activities for our various clients, such as the development and revisions of standard drawings and specifications. Prior to joining Wi-Skies LLC, Mark served as the Electrical and Mechanical Unit Chief in the Bureau of Design and Environment at the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) for 21 years. In this position, Mark oversaw the design of hundreds of lighting projects on state, federal, and local highway systems. His daily responsibilities included creating, updating, coordinating, interpreting and maintaining the Department's policy on roadway lighting. Mark was responsible for providing responses for the Secretary of Transportation's office on roadway lighting related questions from the general public. He also provided position statements for the Secretary's office on legislative bills passing through the state legislature impacting IDOT policies on lighting. He was responsible for the design and review of all roadway lighting projects in Illinois with exception of Chicago. His duties also included addressing all RFI's and approving shop drawings during construction and ultimately inspected all roadway lighting projects during final acceptance. A practical engineer, Mark ensured all factors were carefully considered, specifically hosting an annual meeting with all District operation personnel to discuss lighting operation and maintenance issues. He oversaw a design team consisting of multiple consulting firms and sub-consulting firms over the span of his tenure in addition to an internal staff of electrical engineers and lighting designers and was in charge of reviewing all consultant submissions requiring prequalification in roadway lighting for the Department.
Michael J. Jorgensen, PE - Lead Traffic Signal Engineer
Prior to joining Wi-Skies as Lead Traffic Signal Engineer, Mike served as a Traffic Engineer Specialist with the Iowa Department of Transportation (IADOT) in the Office of Traffic and Safety for 25 years. In this position, Mike oversaw the design of hundreds of roadway signing, lighting and traffic signal projects. His daily responsibilities included reviewing plans, and shop drawings as well as maintaining signage, traffic signal and lighting standards and specifications. He was responsible for coordinating field staff and outside consultants and was called upon to prepare and present on traffic related topics to management, staff and at industry conferences.
John V. Falcone - Lead Field Manager
Prior to joining Wi-Skies, John gained extensive experience in project management, installation, testing, commissioning and maintenance for tolling and ITS. John directed the activities of subcontractors and vendors to ensure the proper installation of Open Road Tolling, manual and I-Pass only lanes, and coin machines for the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA). He has comprehensive experience in staff management, workforce planning and employee performance management, as well as budget management, analysis, and forecasting. John is highly skilled in team leadership, project management, evaluation of technical and project requirements, process improvement, cost reduction and vendor management. John has expert knowledge and experience in the installation and maintenance of toll collection systems as well as extensive experience in construction and installation of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).
Rick W. Kauffman - Senior Lighting Designer
Rick brings over thirty years of high level experience in the lighting industry, where he serves on several of the most critical organizations in the lighting industry. He served as IES' Roadway Lighting Committee Chairman of Standard Practice IESNA, leading the effort in the development of RP-8-14, which is the document which is the authority on how roadway lighting calculations are performed and measured. Additionally, Rick is a chair or member of several other key IES committee and is a very respected voice within the organization. Mr. Kauffman is also a key member of ANSI C136, which develops many of the specifications for roadway and area fixtures. In that, he prepared the original draft of a number of the organization's standards such as SSL luminaires, vibration, glass lenses and is currently developing one for both luminaire cleaning as well as for polymeric lenses in luminaires. While an Executive Committee member with the US Department of Energy Municipal Solid-state Street Lighting Consortium, Rick prepared the initial draft of the Model LED Roadway Luminaire Specification. Many DOT's and municipalities look to this document when developing their own LED fixture specification. Rick formerly served as NEMA's Chairman of the Luminaire section for three years during the development of the Luminaire Efficacy Rating standards.
Larry M. Oliver, P.E. - Lead Structural Engineer
As a Civil-Structural-Coastal Engineer, Larry brings over thirty-nine years of diverse engineering experience, with a focus on bridge design in various environments. His strengths are in bridge design, where he has consistently excelled in designing and analyzing bridges in unusual environments. Mr. Oliver has demonstrated his diversity in designing both concrete and steel bridges, straight or curved, precast prestressed concrete or steel or boxed girders. He has designed bridges in various environments such as over swamps, deep gorges, high traffic, coastal, and seismic zones. Mr. Oliver is proficient with the following software: MDX, Descus I & II, Leap Conspan, RC-Pier, FB - Mulitplier and Virtus. He has performed design utilizing various state DOT requirements.
Scott M. Younghouse - Electrical Engineer
Scott currently works out of GDOT Headquarters as a consultant within the Office of Design Policy and Support in the Lighting Group. Responsibilities include reviewing photometric submittals, lighting plans, design layouts, etc along with design support, maintains GDOT lighting specifications including Chapter 14 of the Design Policy Manual and any of the lighting specifications related to Electrical/Lighting.
Floyd L. Potter - Project Manager
Project Manager of Wi-Skies, LLC, Floyd brings over 33 years of diverse engineering experience, with a focus on Georgia DOT roadway design and engineering. His strengths are hydrology and storm water engineering, horizontal and vertical profile design, erosion and sedimentation, signage and striping, utility plan and coordination, cost estimating and bid document preparation. Mr. Potter is extremely proficient with Microstation V8i and other various design software and has worked directly with Georgia DOT and Local Governments in designing Streetscape projects consisting of sidewalk design, decorative pavers/crosswalks, drainage design, curb & gutter design, landscaping, irrigation, decorative street lighting, and utility design. Floyd is very familiar with all aspects of Georgia DOT specification and standards as well as AASHTO's Green Book (Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets) for design and construction.
Aaron Keil, P.E., LC – Electrical Engineer
Aaron entered the electrical industry in 2012, beginning his career as an Assistant Project Manager with a prominent national electrical contracting firm. He subsequently advanced into the field of lighting design and sales, holding key roles with a national electrical distributor and a regional manufacturer’s representative. Throughout his career, Aaron has cultivated comprehensive expertise across a diverse range of lighting applications, including residential, commercial, industrial, educational, healthcare, sports, agricultural, utility, governmental, military, and roadway environments.
His professional responsibilities have encompassed a broad spectrum of project phases, such as initial site assessments, client scoping meetings, photometric analysis, product specification and submittals, return-on-investment reporting, utility rate case evaluations, sales, and project management. In addition to his industry roles, Aaron has served as an instructor for Lighting Analysts' AGi32 software since 2019 and is an active member of the IES Roadway Lighting Committee, reflecting his ongoing commitment to advancing lighting design education, standards, and best practices.
David Kane, LC - Lighting Designer
David brings 40 years of diverse lighting experience, ranging from designing PoE control systems for large commercial applications to creating streetscapes that enhance a commercial theme, David has been designing lighting and controls for his entire career and is an expert at design continuity, lighting roadways, highways, intersections, and everything in between. He also has designed lighting in commercial applications such as multi-story office towers and high-end multimillion dollar residential projects. In addition, David takes pride in his customer relations and is adept at project management and education.
Blaine Hatten, – CAD Technician
Blaine began his career developing 3D roadway and bridge models for the Texas Department of Transportation. Over time, he has expanded his expertise to include traditional 2D plan preparation. He has extensive experience preparing plan sets across Civil, Structural, and Electrical disciplines and is known for delivering high-quality work efficiently and accurately.
At Wi-Skies, Blaine applies his deep knowledge of Bentley products, including OpenRoads Designer, MicroStation, and ProjectWise. He is also skilled in backend configurations such as Workspaces, Worksets, Macros, Print Styles, and Pen Tables, helping ensure smooth project setup and execution. Known for streamlining workflows and solving complex project challenges, Blaine consistently delivers projects on time and to the highest standard.
Donna Gafford, LC, MIES, CM-BIM
In the lighting industry since 2006, Donna has brought a wealth of knowledge primarily gained from her time in the manufacturing sector. With nearly 14 years of experience working with a well-known luminaire manufacturer, she held roles in lighting application engineering, design resources, and specification marketing/education. In addition, Donna is an authorized instructor for Lighting Analysts AGi32, a lighting certified professional (LC) and holds a certificate of management in building information modeling (CM-BIM). Her latest exposure, prior to joining Wi-Skies, was as an independent consultant focusing on her roots in lighting applications by providing lighting calculation and AGi32 coaching services.
Emily Davis – Lighting Designer
Emily is a lighting designer at Wi-Skies, LLC, strengthening her knowledge and expertise in all DOT and public lighting applications. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering with a minor in Renewable Materials from Oregon State University in 2024. Emily began as an architectural lighting designer and pivoted to roadway lighting design briefly thereafter. She has participated in a wide range of lighting designs early in her career, including commercial, industrial, office, hospitality, entertainment, government, and roadway projects. Additionally, she is a voting member and Secretary for the Illuminating Engineering Society’s Security Lighting technical committee.
Malena Lattanaxay
Malena is highly proficient in MicroStation (V8i, Connect Edition, and 2023) and AutoCAD (2D, 3D, Electrical, Civil 3D, and Revit) software, with extensive experience supporting Department of Transportation (DOT) and Power & Delivery projects. She has worked with various state agencies, municipalities, and engineering firms to deliver roadway, lighting, traffic control, and power distribution design plans, as well as substation and utility layouts. Malena is skilled in developing construction drawings, permit sets, photometric analyses, and as-built documentation in accordance with GDOT, SCDOT, and FHWA standards.
Her background combines CAD production expertise and project management oversight, including coordination across multidisciplinary teams, workflow optimization, and adherence to project specifications and deadlines. Malena’s comprehensive understanding of design standards, coupled with her technical precision and proactive communication, ensures efficient and high-quality project delivery across transportation, electrical, and utility infrastructure sectors.
Tyler Brewer – Electrical Engineer
Tyler is a recent addition to Wi-Skies as a lighting designer after interning for two summers. A fast learner, Tyler has helped with many projects and is quick to catch on to any challenge presented. Mr. Brewer has developed proficient skills in programs such as Agi32, MicroStationV8i, and SketchUp during his time at Wi-Skies. This has led to involvement in the development of several projects within the lighting design role and production of construction plans and details. Outside of lighting design, Tyler has concentrated in digital and analog systems which includes embedded systems, programming, programmable logic controls, and many other courses throughout his education.
Will Chaney – CADD Technician
WIll is a CADD Technician at Wi-Skies, LLC, where he’s strengthening his knowledge and expertise in all DOT and public lighting applications. He has 28 years of CADD experience in various disciplines, including: Roadway design, stormwater/wastewater, floor plans, plot plans, elevation plans/design, HVAC, plumbing/piping. telecommunications, and mechanical/electrical design. He has had a major role in multiple roadway projects with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, multiple building projects with the University of Oklahoma and wastewater solution projects with U.S. based companies, state and local governments.
Catherine M. Marsh - Chief Financial Officer, Wi-Skies LLC
Catherine M. Marsh serves as Chief Financial Officer for Wi-Skies LLC, bringing decades of financial expertise and leadership to the company. She began her career in retail banking in 1996, where she built a strong foundation in financial management and customer service over 15 successful years in the banking industry.
Since joining Wi-Skies in 2014, Catherine has played a key role in guiding the company’s financial strategy and growth. Her dedication, attention to detail, and commitment to excellence have made her an invaluable part of the leadership team.
Deborah Mayer - Executive Assistant
Deborah has a deep and diverse background as an Executive assistant and Office Manager. With a background in the investment banking industry, she was the assistant to the Vice Chairman of Investment Banking, World-wide for one of the largest Investment banks world-wide, for several years until 2001. Interfacing with the CEOs and CFOs of the largest companies in the World, Deb’s position was very demanding, where she was expected to respond quickly to all inquiries, handling all travel arrangements, setting up meetings, parties, and managing the daily operations for the Vice Chairman.
Deb left the industry in 2001 when she was given an opportunity to become the Office Manager at a major engineering firm’s office in downtown Chicago. Her role as the Office Manager included overseeing the administrative staff. She worked directly with the Head of Engineering for the Chicago office, taking care of all his administrative needs. This included set up his internal staff meetings, and large meetings which included several ongoing meetings with outside subconsultants on an almost daily basis. The corporate office required that each office in all states, become ISO certified, which she was in-charge of for the Chicago office. When competed the ISO certification officer spent most of the day reviewing everything in the Chicago office. At the end of the review, the Chicago office was given exemplary status with everything perfect and was immediately ISO certified. Deborah also worked with the department heads of the various engineering departments. After several years there, she moved on to a start-up firm, where she handled all administrative aspects of the company including invoicing, meeting coordination, insurance renewals, managing state DOT registration and prequalification applications and renewals, managing engineer continual education hours and travel arrangements, among other tasks. After joining Wi-Skies in 2018, Deb continues most of these roles with a focus on maintaining and developing the firm’s ongoing growth.
Joanie Stewart - Administrative Assistant
The Administrative Assistant of Wi-Skies, LLC, Joanie brings years of diverse business experience from customer service to financial services. Having earned her MBA in 2021, her education and dedicated work experience has proven to be invaluable to the company. Joanie’s ability to learn new skills quickly has made her an excellent fit for the company. She assists the President of the company on his daily challenges including marketing activities, human resources, DOT pre-qualification paperwork and invoicing and can cover any administrative role should the need arise.
Misty Oehmke
Misty oversees several key administrative roles, including project invoicing and billing operations. With more than three decades of high-level administrative experience, she brings extensive expertise in procurement, marketing, and comprehensive operational support. Since 2018, Misty has continued to provide exceptional executive administrative assistance, recognized for her clear, direct communication and commitment to excellence.