The Forster Staff

Charles Forster has a formidable background in providing professional design services to electric and water utilities in Wisconsin and neighboring states, and in providing consulting services to industrial and commercial clients throughout the United States. Mr. Forster still serves as a consultant to the staff and clients of Forster Electrical Engineering, and through his company Phasor Labs specializes in forensic engineering, and conducts workshops and seminars in conjunction with the Department of Engineering Professional Development at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as described in the Forster Service Center.

Jerry Tordoff recently joined Forster Electrical Engineering, with the merger of APEX Power Line Design into the Forster family. Jerry earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, and is a registered Professional Engineer. Jerry has over 35-years experience in work order inspection services, NESC compliance, GPS field inventory services, sag and tension specifications, the full range of line design services (overhead and underground) for all distribution voltages, line surveying and staking, construction specifications, cost estimation and material selection, as-built staking sheets, and mapping.

Bruce Beth joined Forster Electrical Engineering in 1987 after receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Bruce’s expertise includes existing electrical system analysis and planning, available fault current and fuse and relay coordination, power factor studies with harmonic analysis, electrical distribution and transmission line design, electrical substation design, and electrical service design for industrial facilities. Bruce became President of Forster Electrical Engineering in 2000.

Dennis Shaw recently joined Forster Electrical Engineering, with the merger of APEX Power Line Design into the Forster family. Dennis earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Management, worked with Waunakee Utilities as a Journeyman Lineman with for fourteen years, then spent thirteen years as the Manager of Operations for Mount Horeb Utilities. He has worked as a consultant and line designer since that time, working with Rural Electric Cooperatives, Investor Owned Utilities and Municipal Electric Utilites where his services include: obtaining easements, permitting acquisitions for Rights-Of-Ways and tree trimming, line design services (overhead and underground) for all distribution voltages, line surveying and staking, construction specifications, cost estimation and material selection, as-built staking sheets, and mapping.

Ken Casper joined Forster Electrical Engineering in 2007 after a 17-year career with Capitol Engineering where his clients included municipal electric utilities, investor owned utilities, the State of Wisconsin, architects, and civil/mechanical engineering firms. Ken received his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and his broad expertise includes project management, system studies, electrical substations, wind farm collector stations, fuse and relay coordination, commercial and industrial facilities, and power generation.

Matt Jones joined Forster Electrical Engineering in 2008.  He has 19 years of experience in the utility, aluminum and petrochemical industries.  Matt received hi Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla.  His utility experience includes protection and control design for high voltage substations and transmission lines, as well as design and project management of utility generation station power and control projects.  Matt's heavy industrial experience includes experience in the petrochemical and aluminum industries, where he worked in a variety of capacities.  His primary experience in these industries was in low and medium voltage power system design, large motor protection, control system design and electrical equipment reliability. 

Lisa Dahl joined Forster Electrical Engineering in 2001 after receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lisa is experienced in substation design and distribution system planning. She has completed SPCC plans for over 50 electrical substations.

Pete Johnson joined Forster Electrical Engineering in 2006 after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s engineering program with a specialty in Electrical Engineering. He has experience in conducting a full system analysis consisting of load flow calculations, expansion of generation and the consequential upgrades to a grid, as well as electrical substation design.

Michael Haas joined Forster Electrical Engineering in 2006 after receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. His experience to date covers new and failed cable testing, the design of electrical substations, as well as voltage drop, over-current protection, power factor, and overall system studies.

Jamie Sieren joined Forster Electrical Engineering in 1993 with training in electrical drafting and technical design. Jamie works on substation projects with voltages ranging from 138 kV to 4.16 kV and his experience includes computer-aided drafting, the design of electrical substations and distribution systems, and system mapping.

Steve Hall joined Forster Electrical Engineering in 1977 as an electrical designer. Steve’s experience includes the design of electrical distribution and transmission systems, surveying and line staking, substation design, and indoor/outdoor lighting design.

DuWayne Shaw recently joined Forster Electrical Engineering, with the merger of APEX Power Line Design into the Forster family. DuWayne works on our line design and staking crews, and his experience includes surveying and field staking of both overhead and underground electric lines, inspection of existing distribution lines, as-built staking sheets, and mapping.

Patrick Taddy has worked in the electrical power field since 1984. Pat’s experience includes designing distribution extensions, outdoor lighting design, computer-aided drafting and system modeling, industrial and institutional electrical design, system fault current and coordination studies, and power cable investigations.

Shawn Powell joined Forster Electrical Engineering in 1997 as a CAD Technician. His responsibilities include compiling staking sheets, preparing plans and details for power lines and substations, and entry of construction units into client's labor and material management software. Shawn works with our engineers and designers to design and detail electrical substations and distribution systems, and to provide system mapping for electric utility distribution systems.

Frank Westphal joined Forster Electrical Engineering in 2002 as a CAD Technician. His responsibilities include preparing plans and details for power lines and substations, and working with our engineers and designers to design and detail electrical substations and distribution systems, and to provide system mapping for electric utility distribution systems.

Carla Zuengler joined Forster Electrical Engineering in 2008 as a CAD Technician. Carla has over 8 years of experience in AutoCAD and MicroStation working with contractors, architects, engineers and designers to insure documentation accuracy of a variety of project proposals by meeting AucotCAD internal requirements and standards. Carla maintains CAD layering and plotting guidelines, uniform drawing systems, and other electronically generated documentation into a comprehensive managed filing system. She prepares plans and details for substations, and schematics and wiring diagrams for protection and control systems.

Ken Shaw joined Forster Electrical Engineering in 2008. Ken works on our line design and staking crews, and as a CAD Technician. He works effectively with the team leaders to identify and resolve issues related to project design and the layout of facilites. His responsibilities include staking, entering field data, and preparing plans and details for power lines.