Travis has always had a desire to fix things and make them better. At only seven years old, he spent the summer watching the construction of his family’s home and enjoyed helping out wherever he could. Years later, in college, he took a side job framing houses, and, after graduating, he worked for SuperValu where he helped design the first Super Target grocery stores in the country.

Travis’ work has varied wildly over the years, including the design of schools, libraries, jails, courthouses, camp cabins, residential and office buildings, and hazardous chemical storage and handling facilities. Since joining VAA, Travis has worked on the design of food and feed manufacturing facilities, grain storage facilities, chicken manure fertilizer factories, and even pig pens in Uganda.

These days Travis manages the Architecture Department at VAA; he is currently licensed in half of the states across the country. He oversees all of the company’s projects in the US that require in-house architecture, and he also collaborates on all Canadian architectural projects. Travis is VAA’s go-to guy for building codes, life safety codes, design and constructability expertise, material and assembly interactions, and he also provides construction support.

Originally hired for three separate short-term temporary roles, Travis completed his third assignment as a contractor and never left VAA. He leads by example and loves teaching, and he feels every manager could benefit from being a Scout leader. Travis has been participating with his sons in scouting for over a decade. He says if you can spend six days in the BWCA with a crew of 13-year-old Scouts, an average workweek seems pretty easy.