Title: Senior Environmental Scientist and Project Manager
Company: Soundview Consultants LLC, Trinity Consultants, Inc.
Location: Bellingham, Washington, United States
Joseph D. Leyda, senior environmental scientist and project manager at Soundview Consultants LLC, a part of Trinity Consultants, Inc., has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Scientists for dedication, achievements, and leadership in wetland science and hydrology.
Mr. Leyda has positioned himself as a leading voice in the field of wetland science throughout the last 25 years. He started his career as a biologist with Cantrell & Associates Inc. in 2000. After establishing himself there for five years, Mr. Leyda joined Jones Engineers as a structural drafter and head of the environmental department. He later contributed as the manager of the natural resource division at Alkai Consultants LLC, senior wetland scientist at PBS Engineering and Environmental, now doing business as Apex Companies LLC, and senior scientist at Parametrix.
Building on his first decade of experience, Mr. Leyda founded his own company, Leyda Consulting, Inc., in 2010, taking on the position of president and senior ecologist. With such clients as the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, the Sierra Club and Earthrise Law Center, formerly the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center, his efforts with Leyda Consulting led to approximately $4.5 million in environmental clean-up across four years. Mr. Leyda’s later roles included tenures as senior environmental scientist at ProSource Technologies LLC, president and senior wetland scientist at Delineation Professionals Inc., and civil project manager at Jones Engineers Inc. Since 2024, he has served as a senior environmental scientist and project manager at Soundview Consultants LLC, which was recently acquired by Trinity Consultants, Inc.
In his current work with Soundview Consultants, Mr. Leyda offers consulting services for various clients in the Puget Sound area, primarily focusing on wetland activities. He has demonstrated capabilities with assessment, organization, permitting, reporting and monitoring, including a deep understanding of Washington’s State Environmental Policy Act. Mr. Leyda emphasizes the fulfillment he feels from working on wetland creation and restoration projects, pointing to his multidisciplinary approach as a key factor in his success. Despite not being traditionally trained in some aspects of his work, such as engineering, he has cultivated a holistic knowledge base that allows him to see projects through from inception to completion.
My. Leyda’s performance in the field was born of his academic journey. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences from The University of New Orleans in 1994. Subsequently, Mr. Leyda earned a Master of Arts in biology from William & Mary in 1997. He has been certified as a professional wetland scientist through the Society of Wetland Scientists since 2008, and was given the additional distinction of senior professional wetland scientist certification in 2023.
Long dedicated to civic advocacy, Mr. Leyda has been deeply moved by his opportunities to give back to the community. Most notably, he volunteered with the Whatcom Hospice House, a life-changing program that saw him providing companionship to terminally ill patients. Though his limited free time does not allow him to volunteer in the same capacity right now, Mr. Leyda is eager to return to it in the future, given the chance. For now, he makes donations whenever possible.
In addition to his professional life, Mr. Leyda enjoys cooking, hiking, camping, writing, watching football and playing fantasy football. Acknowledging that love of writing, he hopes to focus more on publishing articles and books in the future. Mr. Leyda notes that while creating articles for scientific journals can feel prestigious, it limits the audience and long-term impact on the writing. As such, he intends to publish at least two books in the coming years, the first of which he has already written 12,000 words.
For more information, please visit:
Contact Mr. Leyda: