Before a project is designed, permitted, or built, teams in survey, environmental, right-of-way, and GIS are already in motion—mapping the land, identifying constraints, navigating regulations, and working directly with landowners and communities.
These functions sit at the front line of execution, where real-world conditions, stakeholder dynamics, and regulatory complexity shape what is possible long before design and construction begins.
In order to help clients succeed, leadership needs to be capable of earning trust, aligning interdisciplinary teams, and charting a clear path through complex processes when the pressure is highest.
As Senior Director of Business Operations and Field Services at Ulteig, Jen Turnbow brings a firsthand understanding of how cultural, environmental, GIS, right-of-way, and survey disciplines function together, and exactly why these elements matter to the entire project lifecycle.
When a project is executed with all disciplines working hand-in-hand, the environmental process frequently drives downstream engineering decisions.
Her reputation in the survey and environmental markets is built on credibility, accountability, and a proven ability to connect high-level strategy to real-world execution.
In a landscape where upfront planning can dictate the trajectory of a multi-year build, Turnbow’s approach reveals how integrated field leadership directly shapes client outcomes.
Seeing Field Services Beyond the Surface
“Many people believe they understand field services, at least at a surface level,” Turnbow explains. “But these disciplines play a crucial role in determining project outcomes, and this fact is sometimes overlooked.”
For Jen, the best way to understand the value of strong survey and environmental services is by evaluating the relationship between them and the full scope of work on a given project.
Rather than treating these disciplines as preliminary steps before engineering begins, Ulteig integrates them fully into the lifecycle of the build.
By deploying cohesive, interdisciplinary teams from day one, the organization eliminates fragmented handoffs and ensures that these critical upfront planning and information-gathering processes seamlessly inform the rest of the project.
“We are balancing progress with avoidance, minimization, and mitigation while looking at the whole of a project to find smarter, more efficient ways to move it forward,” Jen says.
“Environmental planning fundamentally drives project development. What elevates projects and teams is having an integrated, interdisciplinary team that operates cohesively from the very start.”
This perspective positions field services to move projects through complex processes while identifying and reducing risks before they impact cost, schedule, or execution.
This perspective enables field services to guide projects through regulatory, environmental, and land-related complexities—minimizing risk and protecting outcomes long before construction begins.
Field Services Credibility Is Earned, Not Claimed
In field services, trust is built through consistency, transparency, and performance, especially when conditions change.
“Trust is the foundation of every client and team relationship,” Jen says. “Clients need to know you are not only technically strong but that you can guide them through the full complexity of a project—from real-time data collection to accurate boundaries, landowner communication, regulatory compliance, and mitigation execution.”
Jen is clear about what credibility looks like in practice.
“Do the small things well and the big things well,” she says. “Communicate clearly, especially when challenges arise. No project is perfect. What builds lasting trust is transparency, consistency, and a steady hand when navigating the bumps.”
Navigating Complex Project Pressures
Environmental services often sit at the intersection of complex project demands. Rather than viewing schedule, and performance as competing elements where one must be sacrificed for another, effective leadership looks for ways to optimize all three through interdisciplinary collaboration.
“Safety is always non-negotiable,” Jen says. “From that baseline, we continuously strive to meet budget, schedule, and quality expectations. When project complexities mount, that is where collaborative leadership truly shows up.”
The key, she explains, is bringing the right experts to the table to help clients understand their options and chart the best path forward.
“When unexpected challenges arise, we rely on our integrated teams to analyze the situation from every angle—whether that involves environmental constraints, survey data, or engineering design,” she says. “By working through those variables together with the client, we can make informed, strategic choices that keep the project on track.”
Those decisions should not happen in isolation.
“When you have trust and a strong relationship, you work through those project realities together,” Jen explains. “That alignment creates better, safer outcomes for everyone.”
How Ulteig Supports Real-World Leadership
Ulteig’s structure reinforces the kind of leadership Jen describes, particularly in complex, ever-changing environments where decisions must be made quickly and responsibly.
“Ulteig empowers leaders at every level,” Jen says. “Project conditions are constantly evolving, and smart decisions require both autonomy and trust.”
That trust is paired with support.
“We operate as one integrated team, and we stand behind our people’s decisions,” she explains. “Not every decision will be perfect, and that is okay. Often, being mostly right creates an opportunity for mentoring and growth.”
It is a culture that reflects reality: learning through experience, holding each other accountable, and continuously improving together.
“We are human. We are accountable. And we are committed to learning and improving together.”
The Cost of Ignoring Operational Leadership
Companies that underinvest in operational leadership do not fail overnight. The risks compound quietly over time.
“When this happens, it creates an organizational disconnect between strategy and execution,” Jen says. “Without that bridge, a high-level vision does not translate consistently into field performance. Ultimately, it causes safety, quality, and client trust to erode.”
The second risk is just as serious.
“This oversight is an easy way to lose your people,” Jen explains. “When frontline teams do not feel supported, empowered, or developed, employee engagement declines. Strong operational leadership is about building confidence, capability, and long-term sustainability.”
For clients, that leadership shows up in safer projects, clearer communication, and interdisciplinary teams that can be trusted when conditions are complex and stakes are high.
Leadership Clients Can Rely On
Jen Turnbow’s impact is measured by project outcomes. With Jen at the helm, projects move forward. Teams operate with confidence. Clients know they have a proven partner who understands the work far beyond a basic plan set.
That is why her leadership matters—not just to Ulteig, but to the survey and environmental markets as a whole.
We Listen. We Solve.
Ulteig supports infrastructure clients with integrated field services and operational leadership built for real-world conditions. By empowering experienced leaders and trusted teams, we help clients navigate complexity, protect safety and deliver outcomes they can stand behind.
Ulteig brings the operational leadership and field services expertise to help you move forward with clarity, safety and confidence. Connect with Ulteig to learn how our collaborative approach can support your goals and keep your projects moving forward.
