Kurt grew up in Montana and earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering — with a Bio-Resource option — from Montana State University. He joined Varela in 1998, bringing with him several years of construction management experience, and has been building on that ever since. Nearly three decades later, he's one of our principal engineers, with deep expertise across municipal water, wastewater, stormwater, and street projects — from planning and design through construction management.

Kurt is a creative thinker who doesn't let conventional solutions off the hook too easily. He pushes the engineers around him to think harder and dig deeper. Younger staff quickly learn to come prepared — Kurt will walk you through the "if, then, but" before you've had a chance to settle in, and a pop quiz from this former wrestling coach is never far off. He's a passionate mentor, and it shows.

Ask anyone at Varela who goes the extra mile, and Kurt's name comes up. He's been known to jump in his car at a moment's notice — when a sewer line breaks, when a Public Works Director suddenly walks out, when a longtime colleague needs someone in their corner. He values character above just about everything else and he holds our team to a high standard. Whatever Kurt is doing — work or otherwise — he's all in.

Kurt is especially proud of the work he did for the City of Rock Island circa 2010, designing the wastewater treatment plant upgrades. He also has a special place in his heart for the City of Tonasket, one of Varela’s longest-running relationships, and the Perfect Passage project, which he saw from concept in 2000 to Phase 1 construction in 2025.