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Our Services
How SRI Got Started
Our Focus
Our Philosophy
Meet Our Staff
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Simon Resources, Inc. (SRI) is a professional, woman-owned consulting firm that specializes in public involvement, agency coordination and consensus building for transportation planning and environmental projects. The company’s main focus is educating and informing the public in an effective, proactive and inclusive manner. We assist our clients by developing consensus-building communication strategies and by finding ways to engage members of the community who might not otherwise get involved. We also assist in “managing” the agencies that need to be involved in the project.
SRI teams with other civil engineering, water resources and planning firms on the following types of projects:
- Bridge Replacement
- Corridor/Feasibility Studies
- Environmental Assessments and Impact Statements
- Interchange Justifications
- Local Action Plans
- Long Range Transportation Plan Updates
- Major Investment Studies
- Project Development and Environmental Studies
- Traffic Calming/Parking Management
- Transportation Demand Management
- Water Resources Projects
- Other Specialty Projects
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With a background as a transportation planner (Greiner, Inc. (now URS Corporation), 1986 -1992) and a successful tenure as Director of Planning and Transportation Programs for the Tampa Downtown Partnership, Karen Simon decided to channel her expertise in public involvement and management to start her own consulting firm. In February 1996, Ms. Simon established Simon Resources, Inc. (SRI) in Tampa, Florida. The firm became certified as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) for the Florida Department of Transportation and other government agencies within the Tampa Bay Region. With its main focus on public involvement and agency coordination, SRI quickly became an essential part of several large rail and roadway improvement projects in Tampa and Pinellas County, FL.
After many successful years in the industry, Karen expanded her business in 2004 by opening an office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The firm is also a DBE-certified firm with NCDOT and other agencies within the State. Simon now enjoys traveling between offices while working on both large- and small-scale transportation planning, water resource and environmental projects.
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Public Involvement/Outreach
From the early stages of each project, our approach is to provide a proactive and open process when working with the public. A strong, well thought out public involvement plan is critical in successfully guiding the outreach efforts of any project. Our services are aligned with “how” each community prefers to be reached; therefore, a wide variety of both traditional and non-traditional public involvement activities are used in order to reach and engage all sements of the population within a project study area. We provide our clients with the essential service of overcoming linguistic, cultural, institutional, geographic, and other barriers to meaningful participation. Efforts are made to reach all affected groups including the underserved, minorit and Native American communities, elderly populations and residents with low literacy rates and limited English proficiency (LEP).
Some of the services and activities we provide include:
- Business presentations and information dissemination
- Charrettes and working sessions
- Citizen/stakeholder committees
- Development of database/contact list
- Development of interactive websites, videos, newsletters and other print materials.
- Piggybacking on scheduled events
- Public hearings,
- Speaker’s Bureau toolkit
- Utilization of Twitter, Facebook, web site blogs
- Visioning workshops and exercises
- Workshops, open houses and community forums
Agency Coordination/Consensus Building
Most planning projects, whether large or small, include some involvement with government agencies, Board members, elected officials and other organized interest groups. Coordination among the various entities is critical to the successful and timely completion of a project We assist our clients in understanding the diverse viewpoints of each entity and, most importantly, in finding ways to build consensus amongst these entities. Many opportunities are provided to encourage the sharing of perspectives. A variety of activities designed to encourage groups to arrive at a common solution are developed and facilitated. We also articulate and promote public policy objectives of our client by utilizing traditional and non-traditional tools and activities.
One of the most important services we can provide is to ensure effective, continuous and inclusive communication amongst the agencies involved in a project. Our goal is to ensure that all necessary agencies are actively involved and that they have a means to review documents and project data in a timely manner. We assist in establishing agency steering committees, technical working groups, and peer review groups that meet regularly and have specific tasks to accomplish at each meeting. Our motto is, “Never go backwards”. We want our clients to feel like, at the end of each day, they’ve moved one step closer to their goal.
Another successful technique we employ to generate productive outcomes and build consensus is to conduct regular working sessions, charettes, and visioning workshops, in which a product/vision is developed that helps to advance the project. Providing a setting where a work product or decision is the end result works best in dealing with agencies.
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“It is my belief that the public is genuinely concerned about their future investment in transportation, whether it’s roadway, transit, bicycle/pedestrian or other infrastructure improvements.
Our work in public involvement is focused on educating the public so that they can make intelligent and informed decisions. We try to find ways to involve all segments of the population. The large majority of the time, if the public is involved at the inception of a project, they are much more likely to take ownership and, ultimately, support the concept. We believe in a hands-on, open approach when working with the public. Much of our work is at a "grass roots” level and involves a large amount of community participation, information exchange and consensus building.” Our philosophy is “to seek rather than be sought”, meaning that we engage in proactive public outreach rather than wait for people to come to us. It is our belief that all voices should be heard, considered and responded to in a timely and respectful manner."
—Karen Simon, President SRI
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 Karen Simon
Karen Simon is President of SRI and founded the company in Tampa, Florida in 1996 after serving four years as the Director of Planning and Transportation Programs for the Tampa Downtown Partnership. Ms. Simon was also a Project Manager for Greiner, Inc. (now URS Corporation) from 1986 to 1992. Karen expanded her business in 2004 by opening an office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Karen has a total of 23 years of transportation planning and public involvement experience, including seven years with Greiner, Inc. During her years at Greiner, Karen worked in Hong Kong and Denver, Colorado on new airport master plans, as well as the historic Kennedy Drawbridge in downtown Tampa. Ms. Simon received her MBA at the University of Tampa in 1989 and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1984 at Youngstown State University in Ohio, graduating Cum Laude.
Karen has enjoyed success within her own company, while maintaining balance in her personal life. In addition to her professional career, Karen enjoys spending time with her partner and two children. She also finds time for her favorite outdoor activities, running, biking, swimming, skiing and hiking.
 Lisa Griffith
Lisa Griffith has been a member of SRI’s team for over 12 years and has over 20 years of transportation planning and consulting experience. She received her Master’s Degree in International Business from the University of South Carolina in 1983 and then began her career in Washington, D.C. with the Transportation Consulting Division of Booz, Allen & Hamilton. She eventually returned to her native Florida to work with Greiner, Inc. (now URS) and, since 1998, with Simon Resources. Her work has included economic impact analysis, financial analysis, forecasting, feasibility studies, public involvement, community outreach and overall project management.
Lisa is currently living in Safety Harbor, Florida with her husband and two teenage sons. In her free time, she serves as an active volunteer in various organizations throughout her community as well as with her church and the youth program.
Jim Hoster
Jim has thirty-eight years of professional planning experience. His major areas of expertise are in the urban transportation planning, land use regulations and capital improvements programming. He specializes in the management of complex transportation impact analyses for large scale commercial and residential projects, as well as public sector multi modal transportation studies and improvement projects. He is responsible for public and private site impact analyses, multi modal system planning and fiscal analyses.
Previous positions held by Mr. Hoster include the director of Transportation Planning for Florida Land Design & Engineering, principal planner with Dames & Moore, Deputy Director of the Hillsborough County Planning Commission and Executive Director for the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization. He is a graduate of Florida State University with a Master of Science in Urban Transportation Planning. Jim and his wife, Jane, enjoy traveling and spending time at their cabin in Georgia.
Amy Hubbard
Amy Hubbard is the newest SRI member operating in Winston-Salem, NC. She received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Marketing from High Point University in 1989. Amy enjoys the public outreach and community involvement aspect of transportation planning.
Her family and volunteer work for Meals on Wheels brings her great fulfillment. In her free time, she enjoys logging early morning runs while the rest of the city sleeps!
Tami Reina
Tami Reina is another new member of the SRI team. She completed 3 ½ years of coursework towards Bachelor of Science at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. Tami has over 20 years of project and change management experience. Most of her career experience has involved participating in key roles with large project groups within major financial industries such as Bank of America. She particularly enjoys projects that involve soliciting public input as Voice of the Customer and Voice of the Business.
Tami is currently living in Tampa, Florida and enjoys spending time with her family and friends. In her free time, she enjoys visiting the local beaches, golf, outdoor sports/activities, gardening, entertaining, traveling, and supporting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
 Blue Heron Media
For graphics, web development and design work, SRI's company of choice in Florida is Blue Heron Media. BHM is a reputable multi-media firm in Tampa and a premier designer of interactive websites, magazines, brochures and other print materials. Karen and Stacy Kovatch, owner and President of BHM, have built a solid relationship over the past 14 years and have developed a host of creative and successful, award-winning projects.
OLA Designworks
SRI is very fortunate to work with one of the most reputable and upstanding graphic design/multi-media firms in North Carolina, oladesignworks.com. Based in Winston-Salem, the two owners of the firm, Robin Bifelt and Geni O’Toole, are former R. J. Reynolds staff who have years of experience in graphic design. OLA has helped SRI create some very “unique” looks and resourceful materials for their projects. To the delight of SRI’s clients, OLA has provided some exciting features to projects that are typically simpler in design.
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