Derrill Whitten
began his engineering career initially in the oil industry. He attended the
University
of Texas
at Austin and graduated
with a Bachelors Degree in Petroleum Engineering in 1985. In
1990, Derrill left the oil business and took a position as a draftsman with
Cornerstone Engineering, Inc.. By 1993, he had obtained his
Civil Engineering License and was managing a variety of civil engineering
work in Kern County.
Projects of note included: Flying J Travel Center in
Lebec,
California; Green Waste Facility for the City
of Bakersfield; and Spill Prevention and
Countermeasure Plans for Chevron Pipeline facilities throughout the state of California.
In 1995, Derrill
left Cornerstone to further broaden his engineering experience with Roberts/Schornick
and Associates of Norman Okla. RSA, now a part of the Benham
Group of Oklahoma City,
was a leading environmental consulting firm in the
Midwest.
As a Senior Civil Engineer, he prepared and implemented major RCRA cleanup
projects in Kansas
and Oklahoma.
Derrill’s last three years with RSA were spent on a $25,000,000 smelter site
cleanup for the Zinc Corporation of America.
The site, in Bartlesville Oklahoma, was
contaminated with nearly a centuries worth of smelter residue.
He was responsible for the closure design documents as well as the
construction inspection during implementation. While in Oklahoma Derrill
obtained his license as a professional land surveyor.
In 2000, Derrill
moved back to Bakersfield,
California
to take a position with the City of Bakersfield. This
provided invaluable experience with the inner workings of city government.
He served from 2000 to 2002 as a Civil Engineer in the Capital Projects
Group. From 2002-2005, Derrill served as the City of Bakersfield
Wastewater Manager. As
Wastewater Manager, Derrill managed the day to day operations of the
Wastewater Division of Public Works, including staffing, long-term capital
planning, annual budgeting,
permitting, and regulatory compliance.
He acted as representative for the City of Bakersfield in matters
pertaining to wastewater and water issues.
Derrill also presided over several plant upgrade projects and the
initial planning for the expansion of Treatment Plant 3 during his tenure
and was licensed as Grade Five Waste Water Treatment Plant Operator. After 5
years, in October of 2005, Derrill left the City of Bakersfield to rejoin the staff at Cornerstone
Engineering, Inc. Cornerstone had grown a lot since he left in 1995.
CEI now has a branch office in Oceanside,
California and is doing projects all over the
state of California
and beyond.
Derrill has been married to his wife, Barri, for 21 years and they have
three sons. Derrill enjoys biking, racquetball, competitive sailing and
playing bass and acoustic guitar for his church worship services.
