Chris Jaros: CTL’s 2025 Employee of the Year
CTL proudly honors Chris Jaros as our 2025 Employee of the Year! With over two decades of dedication, innovation, and leadership, Chris exemplifies the best of what CTL represents. Let’s get to know more about his journey, accomplishments, and contributions.
Background:
Chris has spent more than half of his life in Indianapolis, though his roots trace back to Chicagoland. As a student, he excelled in math and science, balanced with a spirited engagement in teenage shenanigans. His passion for learning was nurtured by his Benedictine high school physics teacher, and his WWII Marine father further inspired him to pursue engineering. This led Chris to Valparaiso University, where he earned a degree in Civil Engineering. During his studies, he completed a co-op program in water resources, which sparked a deep appreciation for environmental stewardship.
Chris expanded his hobbies to include playing guitar and piano, enjoying jazz and concerts, fishing, basketball, and indulging in malt beverages. He also began coaching and volunteering in social work. Most significantly, during this season, he encountered a life-saving grace and embarked on a spiritual journey with God through Jesus Christ.
Chris’s early career began as a staff engineer in environmental consulting, specializing in cleaning up leaking underground storage tanks at gas stations. Alongside this, he dedicated time to serving marginalized communities, working with the poor and youth in both Chicagoland and Indianapolis. In 1999, he married Sarah, his wife of 25 years, with whom he joyfully raises their three sons: Zion, Simeon, and Levi. As he shares, “Raising our boys is an honor and a humbling, joy-filled learning path.”
CTL History:
In June 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chris joined the Indianapolis office as a Service Line Senior Project Manager in the Environmental Department, bringing 24 years of consulting experience to the role. Over time, he expanded his credentials, earning an Ohio Professional Engineer (PE) license in 2022, in addition to his Indiana PE. By around 2023, he was promoted to Regional Environmental Manager, overseeing projects spanning a vast geographic range, from North Carolina to Washington State, though the focus remained on Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.
Under his leadership, the department has grown its scope to include large-scale brownfield redevelopment and remediation projects, with several exceeding $2 million in value. Chris has also prioritized team development, bringing on new staff to expand technical capabilities and strengthen the department’s capacity to deliver impactful environmental solutions.
Achievements:
Chris has played a pivotal role in driving progress within the Environmental Service Line. Over the past year, the department experienced its largest volume of work to date, including impactful projects in environmental remediation. A standout moment was the joint retreat in New Albany in August, which brought together members of the environmental service line and employees of Allied Environmental, a CTL Engineering subsidiary. This retreat blended learning and team-building to strengthen collaboration
Chris has also taken on a new chapter as Chair of the Engagement Committee, focusing on fostering a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and engaged.
Chris and Sarah have embraced opportunities to give back, including a meaningful trip to the Dominican Republic, where they brought clean water equipment with their sons to support community needs. As their children grow, the family celebrates milestones such as Zion completing his co-op experience in Chicago, and Simeon and Levi excelling in their first semesters at Purdue University and Heritage Christian School. Reaching 25 years of marriage has been a profound journey for Chris and Sarah, rooted in hard work, grace, forgiveness, and humility.
Overall Sentiments:
“I love CTL and who we are becoming. We have a lot of great things as a company. We are all in it together, like a family.” While acknowledging there is still work to be done, he finds fulfillment in the projects that contribute to the betterment of the world through the built environment. For Chris, CTL is a team sport, where collaboration, relationships, and collective effort are the pillars of success.
He’d like to give a shout-out to all the Environmental/Allied folks, the Indy Staff, the Admin staff, the C-Suite, and certainly our inaugural Engagement Committee, who have taken on this new endeavor. Much gratitude specifically goes to Kevin Reichert, Steve Chastain, Anthony Mason, Kamy Bahala, Becky Schrefler, and Samir Ramin, who have been personal champions and co-laborers in our spheres of impact and growth.
“Most especially honor goes to my wife, Sarah, and my boys, who put up with some of the demands and out-of-town trips, and legitimately Jesus Christ, who I hope is reflected well in my efforts to serve our clients and CTL team members with care, integrity, excellence, respect, and ultimately love. We have a lot to be thankful for and a bright road ahead of us for our CTL family and the clients we serve.”
OTHER AWARDS PRESENTED:
LENGTH OF SERVICE AWARDS
5 Years: Brenda Han, James Gardner, Matthew Brown, Kennedy Pressler, Tamara Ponder, Aubrey Voss, Chris Jaros, Dustin Knippen, Adam Storey, Brian White, Tim Blick, Robert Kane, Steve Rebillot, Matthew Watson
10 Years: Matthew Moore, Mark Schneider, David LaRue, Matthew Slusser, Todd Lauck
15 Years: Jessica Hawkins, Paul Stierwalt
20 Years: Gary Bair, Tricia Miner, Hillary Cale, Steven Sadler
25 Years: Karen Sexton, Mike David, Joe Stanley
30 Years: Mike Grimmett
45 Years: Ali Jamshidi
Retirements: Foxie Clemens (7 years), Phillip Green (14 Years), Steven Sadler (20 years), Kevin Reichert (39 years)
100% ESOP VESTED: Matthew Brown, James Gardner, Brenda Hahn, Dave Ley, Shahedur Rahman, Tamara Ponder, Craig Hemmelgarn, Chloe Veit, Todd Stepp, Chris Jaros, Hari Aamidala, Brian White, Joe Knies, Christopher Salter, Matthew Watson
EMPLOYEE REFERRAL PROGRAM: Trent Stuckey, for referring Cole Dardio
WOW POINTS: Ahmad Husain from our Geotechnical department in the Indiana Office.
Annual toys for tots drive
Over the holiday season CTL participated in the annual Toys for Tots drive, whose mission is to collect new unwrapped toys and distribute those toys to economically disadvantaged children at Christmas. We thank our employees for their generosity and helping deliver the magic of Christmas to so many throughout our community!
