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Criterion

Criterion

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A unique blend of planners and specialists

A unique blend of planners and specialists

Suzanne Kowarsch
Owner/Principal

Suzanne Kowarsch

Owner/Principal
Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Media Studies – University of California, Los Angeles
Suzanne joined Criterion in 2005 and transitioned to her role as Owner/Principal five years later. With a strong background in Fortune 500 Account Management and an ongoing focus on business leadership, she harnesses these strengths for the continued growth and overall success of Criterion. Suzanne’s primary responsibilities include strategic visioning, business development, client satisfaction, leader recruitment and development, scope and proposal development and championing Criterion’s charitable giving and service projects. Suzanne continually strives to usher technology and service innovations that empower clients and team members while leveraging the company’s diverse skill sets, keeping Criterion on the frontline in the ever-evolving field of medical equipment planning.
Affiliations: The Association of AE Business Leaders (AEBL); American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE); San Clemente Chamber of Commerce; C12 Member – Irvine Chapter
Nancy Heung, RA, EDAC
Principal, Senior Medical Equipment Planner

Nancy Heung, RA, EDAC

Principal, Senior Medical Equipment Planner
Bachelor of Architecture – University of Southern California,
Cum Laude
Registered Architect – License No. C32862
In her role as Principal, Nancy oversees all of Criterion’s Southern California projects. She is credited with the implementation and evolution of Criterion’s BIM and Revit services, which have grown exponentially in both scale and demand since she joined the firm in 2015. With a robust architectural background and over 15 years’ industry experience, Nancy offers the tenacity and know-how needed to tackle even the most challenging of projects. In her role, she regularly communicates with owner representatives and clinical professionals to ensure end-user satisfaction. She also stays up-to-date on code and OSHPD compliance changes to safeguard against delays in the permitting process. Recognizing that growth and improvement are ongoing facets of any successful enterprise, Nancy continually couples lessons learned from past projects with current planning innovations to deliver exceptional quality service.
Affiliation: Toastmasters Advanced Communicator Bronze/Competent Leader
Selena Peirson
Principal, Senior Medical Equipment Planner

Selena Peirson

Principal, Senior Medical Equipment Planner
Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies – Saint Mary’s College
Associate of Arts, Liberal Arts in General Education – Ohlone College
As the Principal of Criterion’s Northern California planning services, Selena oversees projects that land anywhere between Central California and the Pacific Northwest. Prior to joining Criterion in 2017, her professional background included 13 years’ experience working directly for significant leaders in the healthcare industry, including Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health’s California Pacific Medical Center. This direct, personal experience from the owner side affords Selena a unique perspective that proves highly beneficial to Criterion’s clients. Her hands-on project approach translates to active involvement throughout all phases of a project, and often garners praise for keeping projects on track.
Affiliation: Paralegal Certificate, Saint Mary’s College
Heather Porto
Principal, Senior Medical Equipment Planner – Laboratory Specialist

Heather Porto

Principal, Senior Medical Equipment Planner – Laboratory Specialist
Bachelor of Science in Biology – University of California, San Diego
Often lauded as Criterion’s renowned laboratory expert, Heather is truly an unsung hero in the world of laboratory and medical equipment planning. Having completed upwards of 200 laboratory projects in her 18-year career, including facilitating the largest lab move project in the nation, her experience spans the full gamut of laboratory types and represents projects in the medical, academic, research and biomedical fields both nationally and internationally. Not one to be pigeonholed, Heather is equally talented with medical equipment planning and offers experience spanning all sizes and types of medical facilities. She maintains heavy involvement with users during the design phases of a project and seamlessly switches to a procurement facilitation role when those services are requested. Highly skilled in both Revit and Attainia, Heather’s sophisticated blend of expertise, experience and technical skills equates to continued delivery of highly successful projects.
Joseph Boyd
Finance and Operations Manager

Joseph Boyd

Finance and Operations Manager
Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting – California State University, Fullerton
Joseph brings over 15 years’ experience in finance and operations. He is responsible for all of Criterion’s accounting, payroll, contract review, human resource compliance, and insurance forms. He assists with operations management including purchasing and managing vendors and professional services.  
Kari Seekatz
Senior Marketing Manager

Kari Seekatz

Senior Marketing Manager
Bachelor of Arts in Applied Arts and Sciences, Public Administration – San Diego State University
Kari joined the AEC industry in 2002 as a project assistant and transitioned to professional services marketing in 2005. She has since dedicated the last 14 years to working with nationally renowned architecture firms, contractors and engineers, enabling her to successfully assist with project pursuit strategy. In her role at Criterion, she is responsible for developing and implementing overall marketing strategies, responding to proposal requests, developing both written and visual content, social media updates, client relations and general marketing communications. Additionally, Kari manages proposal, qualifications and presentations timelines and performs updates to the sales forecast to ensure accurate workload predictions and resource allocation.
Affiliation: Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS)
Mindy Nickerson
Senior Marketing Manager

Mindy Nickerson

Senior Marketing Manager
Bachelor of Science in Communication – San Diego State University
Mindy is a tenured services marketing professional with over 15 years’ experience in AEC industry marketing. Her primary responsibilities include marketing strategy, proposal writing, development of qualifications packages, copywriting, communications, client interface and special projects. Prior to joining Criterion in 2016, Mindy’s professional background included over a decade with architecture and engineering firms where she was responsible for assembling proposal responses, submitting projects for awards, website content development/maintenance, and public relations, including securing feature editorials as well as writing and distributing press releases.
Jim Ouye
Senior Medical Equipment Planner – Imaging Specialist

Jim Ouye

Senior Medical Equipment Planner – Imaging Specialist
Bachelor of Business Management – University of Phoenix
As Criterion’s in-house imaging expert, Jim offers in-depth knowledge of complex imaging modalities stemming from his 25-year tenure with GE Healthcare. His proven success in project, program and operations leadership includes in-depth experience with site planning, installation project management, field service, quality control and OSHPD compliance. Jim’s intricate knowledge of imaging systems represents a multitude of modalities including the following: MRI, CT, PET, Nuclear Medicine, Rad-Fluoro and Cardio-Vascular equipment. He is also Six Sigma Green Belt and PMP certified.
Affiliations: Six Sigma Green Belt; PMP Certified
Brent DeWitt
Senior Medical Equipment Planner

Brent DeWitt

Senior Medical Equipment Planner
Brent joined Criterion in 2012 and has extensive experience in medical equipment planning coupled with an Attainia certification, making him a “product expert” who offers the knowledge and ability to ensure the best possible equipment planning outcomes. Brent offers extensive experience in a multitude of medical settings, including operating suites, intensive care units, laboratories, sterile processing departments, cancer centers, imaging modalities, pediatrics, endoscopy suites, pharmacies and nuclear medicine. He is also highly knowledgeable of OSHPD requirements and is regularly praised by clients for proposing creative solutions that meet the needs of all members of a stakeholder team.
Tom Angus, LVN
Senior Medical Equipment Planner – Logistics Lead

Tom Angus, LVN

Senior Medical Equipment Planner – Logistics Lead
Licensed Vocational Nurse, California
Tom offers a multi-faceted approach to medical equipment planning that comes from experience as both a logistics lead and as a clinical nurse. This unique end-user perspective translates into exceptional client relationships through his ability to set and manage expectations and interface effectively with all project team members. Tom has several years of experience with infection control and primary care nursing coupled with several more years working directly for major healthcare systems. He plays a significant role during the CA phase including RFI responses, equipment backing review, updates to the medical equipment list and budget, pre-drywall field walks to verify backing and utilities, participation in on-site installation meetings with vendors and contractors, equipment punch walks and casework shop drawing review.
Affiliation: Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC)
Jennifer Holub
Senior Medical Equipment Planner – Procurement Lead

Jennifer Holub

Senior Medical Equipment Planner – Procurement Lead
Master of Business Administration – University of Dallas
Jennifer brings over 14 years of experience in sales and procurement for healthcare systems, medical equipment distributors and pharmaceutical companies. Her comprehensive understanding of the procurement lifecycle represents owners’, distributors’ and planning teams’ perspectives and lends a distinctly competitive edge to Criterion’s procurement projects through regularly taking advantage of GPO agreements and applying key strategies to keep projects within their target budget. Jennifer’s strong organizational skills translate to successful scheduling of detailed, complex projects, ensuring equipment is purchased, delivered and installed in accordance with the overall project schedule.
Andre Lumsey
Senior Medical Equipment Planner

Andre Lumsey

Senior Medical Equipment Planner
Master of Business Administration – Indiana University
David Lin
Senior Technical Lead

David Lin

Senior Technical Lead
Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design – Columbia University
Bachelor of Architecture – Tamkang University, Taiwan
David brings over 20 years’ experience in healthcare planning and design, where his career has been marked by an acute focus on medical equipment, imaging modalities and OSHPD review projects. He is especially skilled with MEP/S and ADA coordination for OSHPD projects and enjoys developing creative solutions in response to project challenges. Having spent over two decades working directly for prominent healthcare architecture firms, David blends his architectural perspective with the consultant role to provide optimal service that greatly benefits both the owner and design team.
Amaya Elu
Senior Medical Equipment Planner

Amaya Elu

Senior Medical Equipment Planner
Bachelor of Science in Physical Education – San Francisco State University
Amaya offers over 26 years of experience in healthcare and medical equipment planning, infrastructure coordination and project, program, transition and clinical operations management. Prior to joining Criterion, she worked directly for Sutter Health in medical equipment and facility planning and for Stanford Health Care as a design and construction project manager. Well versed in both Attainia and Attainia PLAN, Amaya is adept at supporting numerous stakeholders simultaneously and has a proven track record of leading diverse teams to a successful project completion. Additionally, she is highly familiar with OSHPD requirements and JCAHO standards.
Alex Cannas
Medical Equipment Planner

Alex Cannas

Medical Equipment Planner
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology – California State University, Fullerton
Alex joined the Criterion team in 2016 as a recent graduate of California State University, Fullerton and quickly became immersed in the many aspects of the medical equipment planning arena. Directly supporting Criterion’s senior equipment planning team, Alex’s responsibilities include submittal preparation and documentation, researching equipment and alternatives, tracking project schedules, attending design team and user group meetings, performing existing equipment inventories and leading significant logistics efforts.
Jasmine Bunning
Project Assistant

Jasmine Bunning

Project Assistant
As a procurement specialist, Jasmine spent five years performing purchasing and procurement for engineering, housing development and patient-monitoring medical equipment prior to joining Criterion in 2016. In her role, she solicits bids from vendors, tracks purchasing and delivery schedules, inputs requisitions and purchase orders, and provides delivery and logistics oversight during the move-in phase. She also participates in existing equipment inventories and meeting coordination.
Katie Weber
Procurement and Logistics Lead

Katie Weber

Procurement and Logistics Lead
Bachelor of Arts – California State University, Fullerton
Lara Nguyen
Project Assistant

Lara Nguyen

Project Assistant
Bachelor of Arts in Public Health Policy and International Studies – University of California, Irvine
Laura Parkins
Procurement and Logistics Lead

Laura Parkins

Procurement and Logistics Lead
Laura is a seasoned procurement specialist with over 14 years of experience in medical equipment planning and procurement. Laura plays an integral role in the implementation and transition process. Her typical duties include soliciting vendor quotes, developing bid packages, reviewing procurement packages, assisting in equipment evaluation review and selection, communicating with project team members, researching equipment alternatives, reviewing submitted drawings, coordinating approval, performing on-site punch lists and providing oversight for installation and logistics teams.
Maria Ceja
Revit Coordinator

Maria Ceja

Revit Coordinator
Bachelor of Architecture – University of Southern California
Maria joined Criterion upon earning her Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Southern California’s School of Architecture and quickly became an integral member of Criterion’s Revit team. She regularly works with the architecture team’s Revit leads and is responsible for creating Revit families, developing equipment placement drawings and performing quality control procedures.
Meisha Harris
Assistant Medical Equipment Planner

Meisha Harris

Assistant Medical Equipment Planner
Bachelor of Science in Interior Design – Baylor University
Meisha joined Criterion in 2017 after receiving her Council for Interior Design Accredited Bachelor of Science from Texas’ Baylor University where she studied interior design. She provides support for both planning and Revit consulting services and is a regular face at user group meetings, design team coordination meetings and on project sites. Meisha’s regular responsibilities include assistance with equipment list development and modifications, equipment research, performing existing equipment inventories and Revit equipment placement drawings.
 
Natalie Werner
Assistant Medical Equipment Planner

Natalie Werner

Assistant Medical Equipment Planner
Natalie provides dual support to Criterion’s internal operations and project teams. Internally, she assists with recruiting, human resources, finances, vendor lunch and learn coordination, and special events. On projects, she participates in existing equipment inventories, procurement assistance activities, meeting preparation and attendance, vendor coordination and decommissioning.
Nicole Blaes
Operations Lead

Nicole Blaes

Operations Lead
In her role with Criterion, Nicole is responsible for ensuring the continuity of the company’s daily operations, from recruiting exceptional candidates to assisting with human resources, operations and finances. She also manages lunch and learn presentations, internal team member development, and conference and workshop attendance. With a sincere passion for serving others, Nicole champions Criterion’s numerous volunteering engagements and interfaces directly with representatives from a multitude of non-profit organizations, including Kids Around the World, Better Together Ministries, Boys & Girls Clubs, United States Marine Corps and Family Assistance Ministries.
Rene Zarate
Revit Coordinator

Rene Zarate

Revit Coordinator
Bachelor of Architecture – University of Southern California
Rene’s professional experience includes technical coordination spanning all phases of design and construction for healthcare and mixed-use projects. His primary responsibilities consist of Revit technical coordination, development of Revit families, understanding architects’ Revit model requirements, MEP discipline drawing coordination and performing quality control. Also included among his responsibilities is the researching and testing of new technologies prior to introducing them firm-wide, such as virtual reality platforms like Fuzor, Enscape and Iris VR. Rene’s experience represents a wide variety of project sizes and types, ranging from minor tenant improvements to major, ground-up facilities.
Savannah Burke
Assistant Medical Equipment Planner

Savannah Burke

Assistant Medical Equipment Planner
Savannah brings over eight years’ experience with patient care and healthcare administrative support. As an Army Veteran who served as an E-5/Sergeant Airborne Combat Medic in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Savannah embraces challenges and enjoys helping clients find successful solutions to complicated issues. She works in support of Criterion’s senior equipment planners and is a regular participant in user group and design team meetings. Prior to joining Criterion, Savannah’s career focus was on patient administration and support for both private practices and the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.
Taylor Wheeler
Logistics Specialist

Taylor Wheeler

Logistics Specialist
Bachelor’s degree in Logistical Management – California State University, East Bay
Licensed on 5 MHE platforms
Taylor has over seven years of experience in logistics and warehousing including performing inventories/audits, receiving, distributing, scheduling and training. He holds a bachelor’s degree in logistical management from California State University, East Bay and is currently licensed on five separate MHE platforms. Taylor provides both behind-the-scenes and on-site logistics support, including organizing and adhering to move schedules along with move-in coordination and oversight.
Vince Edson
Medical Equipment Planner

Vince Edson

Medical Equipment Planner
Bachelor of Science in Industrial Studies – San Jose State University
Vince has over eleven years of experience in materials management and healthcare operations. He regularly serves as the key point of contact for projects and offers the skills and experience to oversee a project from inception through move-in. His professional strengths include medical equipment planning, Revit modeling, asset management, budget and cost analysis, and negotiating supplier contracts and purchase agreements. Having served in various roles on both the planning and internal/clinical side of projects, Vince brings a unique perspective to every project.
Julia Lee
Revit Coordinator

Julia Lee

Revit Coordinator
Bachelor of Science in Interior Design - Jefferson University

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Southern California

(949) 488-3456

34700 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 206

Capistrano Beach, California 92624

Northern California

(530) 878-6689

11601 Blocker Drive, Suite 220

Auburn, California 95603

Bay Area

(925) 918-9041

2400 Camino Ramon, Suite 136

San Ramon, California 94583

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