Anne Anderson and Corina Muntean have known each other for more than 25 years. Ever since the day they met on school benches, the two have shared a passion for structural engineering. In 2016, the longtime friends decided to make their dream come to life when they started Green Mountain Structural Engineering in Camas.
“We always dreamt about having our own firm,” said Anderson. “We would sit down for coffee and discuss how we could make it happen and joke about how we would take over the world!”
Prior to launching Green Mountain, Anderson worked for a well-established company in Portland and, after moving to Vancouver, launched a successful structural engineering firm. Before long, that firm was giving Anderson more work than she could handle, so she turned to Muntean (who had started her own firm, Corina Muntean P.E. Inc.) to collaborate and tackle challenges together.
“I would bring Corina (Muntean) a pile of files while she was sitting at home with her newborn baby,” recalled Anderson.
The businesswomen soon realized that not only were they sharing the same vision for their own firms and engineering projects, they also had the client base and expertise to make their collaboration a little more permanent. With that, Green Mountain Structural Engineering was born.
Focused on engineering homes, Green Mountain offers a range of residential engineering services including lateral analysis for wind and seismic loads; gravity analysis for dead and live loads; foundation analysis for retaining, basement and cantilevered walls; and calculations and structural plans for permitting.
“We are both envisioning a firm that works with quality local home builders, with integrity, and we are very lucky to be located in Clark County because there are many experienced home builders in the area,” said Anderson.
With an aim to do more than just work hard and provide quality work, Anderson and Muntean also want to create a flexible working environment for themselves and their employees. At Green Mountain, part-time and teleworking is encouraged and supported whenever possible. In fact, one of their primary motivations for establishing their business in the area was having the ability to work hard while enjoying their surroundings and minimizing the commute.
“We want to do good work but we also want to expand on the quality of life,” Corina stated simply.
The two partners admitted that preserving their family-friendly culture may be more of a challenge as they grow and expand their team. With the additions of Lorraine Bazzi, Cassandra Gossman and Jeff Harris, the firm now has five employees – though one or two additional hires may be on the way to help keep up with the workload.
When asked about future plans, the two businesswomen said they would like to teach and share their knowledge with other people such as young engineers and other small local firms, as well as participate in the design of new policies for the industry.
Ultimately, they said they would love to reduce their working hours and, of course, enjoy the green mountains.
You can view some of Green Mountain Structural Engineering’s work at the next edition of the NW Natural Parade of Homes, taking place September 8-24th at The Meadows at Whipple Creek.
