TDA, incorporated in 1983, is a small environmental consulting and regulatory compliance firm located in San Bernardino.
The principal partners, Tom Dodson (President) and Kaitlyn Dodson-Hamilton (Vice President), are directly involved in day-to-day operation of the firm and are also involved in each project undertaken by TDA. This approach provides the company owners with direct knowledge and oversight for each project, thus ensuring that each project receives the firm’s high standard for product quality. Our expertise is in the preparation of reports that evaluate a given project in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and sometimes the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Our team and network of qualified subconsultants also work to obtain regulatory permits for projects that require them from the State Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Regional Water Quality Control Board and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
With over 45 years of collective experience in environmental problem-solving, TDA has been remarkably successful in meeting client and environmental objectives. In fact, the large majority of the jobs we take on are from repeat business, or referrals from clients and partners at public agencies. Our team has, in the approximately 40 years we have been in business, completed thousands of environmental compliance projects for a number of private and public entities. These types of projects range from—as an example—water facilities master plans or small well and pipeline installation projects for water agencies, to large scale logistics development, multi- and single-family residential projects, or cannabis growing facilities across Southern California, and more. TDA has focused on environmental compliance throughout mainly Southern California, but occasionally takes on work in Central and Northern California when it fits within our professional wheelhouse. Ultimately, TDA works with clients to meet schedules and identify reasonable and ethical environmental requirements. For every project, TDA has found there is a mutually acceptable balance between development goals and the need to protect the environment. We strive to define this balance for clients and regulators and present workable solutions that both parties can accept as the basis for implementation of projects.
Our Team
Principals
Tom Dodson, President
Tom Dodson has more than 40 years of experience in land use planning, and environmental and resource management, with special expertise in CEQA, NEPA, regulatory compliance, expert witness testimony and communication/facilitation for resolution of environmental issues. He personally prepares environmental documentation—including Categorical Exemptions, Initial Studies, and Environmental Impact Reports—for a broad variety of projects and acts as a resource person in working with clients, governmental agencies, and decision-makers in finding solutions to complex problems. Mr. Dodson acts as project manager for many of TDA’s projects, and acts as the ultimate editor for nearly all projects the TDA Team work on. Mr. Dodson has focused much of his career on CEQA compliance for water agencies, particularly those in the Inland Empire and throughout Southern California. However, he has ample experience working with developers for Residential, Commercial, and Industrial development, as well. Throughout the course of Tom’s career, he has prepared hundreds of CEQA and NEPA documents that have resulted in processed documentation enabling the ultimate development of the given project. Tom’s educational background is in Geography, he holds a Bachelor of the Arts and a Masters of the Arts in Geography from the University of California, Berkeley. Tom has been working in and around the CEQA and NEPA worlds since each was signed into law back in 1970.
In Tom’s free time, he enjoys reading every book under the sun, continuously learning about the world and the universe, and drinking and sharing good wine with family and friends.
Kaitlyn Dodson-Hamilton, Vice President
Kaitlyn Dodson-Hamilton is an Environmental Specialist for TDA. She began her career at Tom Dodson & Associates as a research and mapping assistant in the 2000s. Kaitlyn then shifted her focus to environmental consulting in late 2014, working in environmental and resource management, with special expertise in CEQA compliance. She personally prepares environmental documentation—including Categorical Exemptions, Initial Studies, and Environmental Impact Reports—for a broad variety of project for a broad variety of CEQA and NEPA projects, and assists with compiling the necessary data to obtain regulatory permits from the State Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Regional Water Quality Control Board and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Kaitlyn acts as project manager for many of TDA’s projects, and like Tom, she works directly with clients, governmental agencies, and decision-makers in both problem solving and working towards accomplishing standard tasks. Mrs. Dodson-Hamilton has focused much of her career on CEQA compliance for water agencies, particularly those in the Inland Empire and throughout Southern California, but also has extensive experience walking developers and public agencies through the CEQA process on other Infrastructure (roadways, storm drains, etc.), Industrial, Residential, and Commercial projects. Kaitlyn’s educational background is in English, she holds a Bachelor of the Arts in English with Honors from the University of California, Riverside.
Kaitlyn is a wine enthusiast with an education in wine by the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) with a Level 3 certification. She enjoys hiking with her husband, traveling to wine regions, walking her dog, and cooking, especially making pasta by hand, in her free time.