Ryan Uebinger’s true passion lies in working with team members to ensure Clients’ visions come to life and projects reach their fullest potential.
Ryan is a well-established professional and a Principal at Farnsworth Group with over 20 years of experience in transportation engineering, with wide ranging design and construction experience on urban roads and streets, interstate highways, rural highways, and bike trail projects. His experience includes project management for utility-scale wind energy projects, working with renewable energy companies and local road authorities, and providing civil and transportation design solutions.
Outside of the professional sphere, Ryan and his family enjoy spending time together outdoors whether it’s vacationing, hiking, hunting, or spending time on the family farm.
Growing up in a family of engineers, Ryan Riess always has known the complex world of math and science. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology in 2006.
Outside of work, Ryan enjoys spending time with his wife and three boys. Ryan’s children found a love for baseball and roller-hockey, and he and his wife are always cheering them on at their games. The boys also are roller coaster fanatics, putting the Riesses constantly on the hunt for new amusement parks. Some of their recent favorites include Disney World, Dollywood, and Six Flags St. Louis.
Ryan previously worked for a large corporation and says he appreciates the family atmosphere at Farnsworth Group. He also points to our culture of teamwork, demonstrated during a recent dock-line replacement project consisting of a series of above-ground pipe racks spanning roads, railroads, and an Army Corps of Engineers levee. The project required more than 4 years of team effort and gave Ryan valuable insight into managing complex, multi-disciplinary projects.
Ted Barela is a Civil Engineer with over 30 years of experience in land development, design, and construction. He helped start Farnsworth Group’s Fort Collins office in 2007 and currently serves as the office’s Center Manager, while also overseeing the company’s Colorado Land Assembly team. Ted has extensive experience working on both private- and public-sector projects throughout Colorado and Wyoming. He enjoys working on multi-discipline projects and seeing them come to fruition on the construction side.
Ted takes pride in providing responsive and quality service to his long-standing clients. This includes the United States Air Force Academy, a client he has served since 1993. He has designed hundreds of civil sitework, utility, and drainage projects for the Academy during his career. Unique projects have included airfields, dams, reservoirs, utility distribution, and stormwater management.
While not in the office completing projects, Ted can be found spending time with his wife and two daughters on road trips, summer boating, and watching his youngest daughter play soccer for the University of Wyoming!
Paul Wheeler joined Farnsworth Group in early 2020 with the acquisition of FWAI Architects, Inc., and manages architectural services for our Springfield, IL office. He has served as project manager and design architect on a multitude of projects in both the public and private sectors. His 30+ years of experience as a registered architect have honed his design sense and given him a wealth of experience to draw from for each new project he takes on.
His focus is on total client satisfaction, and the volume of repeat clients confirms the success of his approach. Numerous satisfied clients in the healthcare, higher education, commercial, and recreation sectors followed Paul and his team from FWAI to Farnsworth Group. As an architectural principal with Farnsworth Group, he continues to create solid relationships with all his clients, cultivating a firm sense of trustworthiness and dependability and assembling the best teams for all their needs.
Paul is active in his community with his local Catholic diocese, and in his free time he enjoys traveling, biking, kayaking, cooking, and spending time with his family.
Paige Hefner began her career with Farnsworth Group in 1996 – as a student intern! Throughout her career, Paige has progressively taken on responsibilities in engineering, project management, client management, and quality control.
Paige oversees Farnsworth Group’s Building Structural Engineering services, a nationwide team of nearly 20 professionals that assists clients with structural assessments, modifications, and design for a wide variety of project types. Paige enjoys working at Farnsworth Group because of the great people and the diverse projects.
During her spare time, Paige can be found spending time with family, at her son’s sporting events, traveling, or enjoying the great outdoors.
Jeff McCombs loves the thrill of a deadline. Harking back to his days in the newspaper business, the daily adrenaline rush of the story deadline still remains nearly 30 years later. While it may not be as prevalent as the 24-hour news cycle, deadlines in the A/E field still offer plenty of excitement for Jeff and his team.
Jeff has more than 25 years’ experience in the professional services marketing field and currently serves as Farnsworth Group’s Director of Marketing & Communications. Jeff leads the corporate marketing team which spearheads the Company’s proposal efforts, interview preparation, graphic design and marketing materials. He develops and implements internal and external communications and media strategies that deliver information and key messages; oversees the company’s digital media channels, and corporate brand standards.
One of Jeff’s career highlights was serving on the marketing and communications committee of the new Ronald McDonald House in Peoria, IL, a project designed by Farnsworth Group that offers families a place to stay free of charge while their child receives medical care at a local healthcare facility.
John Bishop’s internal Skype message states: Practitioner of Awesome. We couldn’t agree more.
John employs his more than 25 years of experience to lead multi-disciplined teams on some of the Company’s most complex projects. He leads Farnsworth Group’s Normal, IL, Architecture Section with a focus on project management and architectural design. John has been an active participate in the Central Illinois Chapter of the American Institute of Architect, previously serving as President as well as a number of Board positions.
John is active in his community and is a recognized Illinois High School Athletic Association and certified NCAA Swimming and Diving Referee.
Brandon is a Managing Principal of the firm and Professional Chemical Engineer with 30 years of experience designing and delivering advanced technology facilities, with a focus on complex process systems. He also recently received his professional architecture license. His work spans both design and construction, supporting clients on technically demanding projects across the country and internationally. Brandon is experienced in building and leading multidisciplinary teams of engineers and designers, bringing people together to solve challenges efficiently and collaboratively. Known for his strong communication and leadership skills, he helps bridge gaps between technical design, execution, and resource planning—ensuring projects move forward smoothly while meeting both client and organizational goals.
Eric brings 34 years of experience in transportation systems and bridge planning, design, and construction. As a Principal with Farnsworth Group’s Transportation practice, he has led projects through all phases of development—from early planning and studies through final design, construction, and close‑out—for municipalities, counties, and state Departments of Transportation.
Eric’s responsibilities regularly include coordination with clients, agencies, the public, and utility providers, as well as the development of reports, studies, and final plans, specifications, and cost estimates. His project experience spans rehabilitation, reconstruction, and maintenance of urban and rural intersections, streets, highways, and bridges. Known for his steady leadership and collaborative approach, Eric helps guide complex transportation projects to successful, well‑coordinated outcomes that meet both technical and community needs.
Bob is a Farnsworth Group Principal and leads Farnsworth Group’s Municipal and Environmental Services teams across the Illinois region, helping communities plan for growth and address a wide range of infrastructure needs. His work focuses on supporting communities as they navigate planning, water resources, and environmental challenges in a practical, forward‑thinking way. With 45 years of experience, Bob has worked closely with communities, industry, and individuals throughout Illinois on water resource and environmental projects. He stays actively engaged in monitoring environmental regulations that impact his clients and is known for helping them understand and respond to changing requirements with confidence and clarity.