Chris M. Gray
Partner / Vice President

At eight years old, Chris Gray knew he wanted to design and build amusement rides, and he focused on that dream ever since. Chris found himself studying rides as a child and trying to figure out how they worked and how he could make them better. Growing up in rural Kentucky, his family didn't have the financial means to send him to college so he went about it on his own. He started in 1994 by joining the US Navy, and upon his honorable discharge in 1998, attended Spencerian College in Lexington, Kentucky.

While in the Navy, Chris was continually networking his way into this amazing industry, working sometimes as a Ride Operator in Gulf

Shores, Alabama and attending the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) annual Trade Show. Upon earning his degree from Spencerian College in Technical Drawing and Drafting in 2001, Chris landed exactly where he wanted to be as the technical manager for roller coaster train assembly at Great Coasters International.

From there he worked his way up into as many positions as he could, and he became an integral part of Great Coasters from marketing to safety training, design to assembly, and, eventually, became one of the primary faces of the company and perhaps even the roller coaster industry. During his 12 year tenure at Great Coasters, Chris was responsible for $137 million of product purchases and deliveries, and supervised the precision assembly of 42 roller coaster trains. Chris saw the product through to delivery, eventually training all park maintenance and

operational personnel in the proper upkeep of GCII products.

While at Great Coasters, Chris also served on two committees for IAAPA: the Manufacturers and Suppliers Committee from 2010 to 2012 and the Trade Show Space Allocation Committee from 2014 to 2016. Chris has also been a member of the Orlando Convention and Trade Advisory Council, and he was invited by the Amusement Industry Manufacturers and Suppliers (AIMS) to teach a wooden roller coaster maintenance class and safety seminar.

As one of the founding members of Skyline Attractions, Chris will be adding his knowledge of this industry and the relationships he has built with park owners around the world. Chris is Skyline's man with a huge imagination and the know-how to build those ideas into actual machines that entertain millions.

Jeff Pike
Partner / President

Like so many in the amusement industry, Jeff has dedicated himself to rides and parks for as long as he can remember. From elementary school to the present day, he has been focused on roller coasters, amusement rides, and all around fun!

Through his years at the University of Louisville studying Mechanical Engineering, Jeff was in constant contact with industry leaders seeking guidance and advice. As a ride operator for both Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, KY and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, CA, Jeff learned the basics of ride operations and closely followed the maintenance crews during their morning checks to learn more about the inner workings of the rides.

It was this curiosity and perseverance that helped Jeff land his first job on the design side of the industry: a drafting internship with D.H. Morgan Manufacturing. At Morgan, Jeff worked side-by-side with some of the most ambitious

designers as they dreamed up plans for record-breaking rides such as Wild Thing at Valleyfair, Steel Force at Dorney Park, and Mamba at Worlds of Fun. These internships provided Jeff with valuable insight into the painstaking detail and precision that goes into every state-of-the art amusement attraction.

Through Morgan, Jeff met Michael Boodley, arguably the best wooden coaster designer of the era. Upon graduation from UofL in 1998 with his BS in Mechanical Engineering and passing the FE exam, Mr. Boodley offered Jeff a position in the Design department of Great Coasters International.

In 2001, upon Mr. Boodley's retirement, Jeff became Vice President of Sales and Design at GCII and took over the primary duties of roller coaster design and engineering coordination. During his time as Vice President, Jeff designed 15 roller coasters that span from the California coast to the Orient. His rides dot the European landscape, and he led the GCII team as they introduced exciting innovations such as the durable and elegant steel superstructure of the White Lightning coaster at Fun Spot America in

Orlando, and the pint-sized Mini-llennium Flyer wood coaster vehicles which offer the little ones a chance to safely and comfortably experience their first wooden coaster thrill.

With Jeff's leadership, GCII became the market leader in wood coasters in all of Europe, guiding GCII through the design of six wood coasters from Finland to Germany. He successfully navigated the bureaucracy in China to become one of only two certified wood coaster suppliers in the People's Republic, and he has designed the two largest wood coasters in all of China. Jeff has negotiated more than $100 million in wood coaster design and support contracts, had design input into more than 25% of all wood coasters in the world, provided guidance for several young engineers who have gone on to success in the industry, and grew the Great Coasters brand into the most recognizable name for the design and construction of safe and reliable thrills.

Today, Jeff looks skyward as he turns his attention to the promise of a new generation of fun and thrills with Skyline Attractions, LLC. With his skills and experience, the sky is quite literally the limit!

Evan Souliere, PE
Partner / Treasurer

Evan has been interested in engineering since an early age, and, more specifically, fascinated by the engineering of amusement attractions since before his teenage years. He spent his summers during high school working at Six Flags New England, working his way into a seasonal management position, in which he became responsible for the overall operation of seven major amusement rides and roller coasters.

In 2004, Evan started in a five-year cooperative education program in the Civil Engineering

department at Northeastern University. His first co-op was spent in 2006 at Simpson, Gumpertz, and Heger, Inc, an internationally-renowned consulting engineering firm. In 2007, Evan began a co-op with Great Coasters International, Inc., one of just a handful of designers and manufacturers of wooden roller coasters in the world. For the next two years, Evan alternated between working for Great Coasters and taking classes at Northeastern.

His role at Great Coasters consisted of aiding the two full-time engineers with any and every task needed to design and create drawings for new roller coaster installations and improvements to existing wooden roller coasters. This included work on foundations, structures, buildings, ride dynamics, and mechanical systems.

Upon graduation from Northeastern in 2009, Evan was hired full-time by Great Coasters, where his role was similar to that during his co-op, although his responsibilities and ability to make decisions increased. Over the next several years, the workforce in the engineering office increased, and Evan began to take on a supervisory role. He moved into a senior engineer position in 2013, which is the same year he applied for, qualified, and passed an exam to be certified as a Professional Engineer.

In 2014, Evan transitioned out of his role at Great Coasters and joined three colleagues to form Skyline Attractions, LLC. He brings with him his engineering skills, organization, familiarity with networks and computer systems, and competence in decision making.

Bill Wydra
Partner

In addition to his partnership in Skyline Attractions and Skyline Design, Bill Wydra, Jr. is the President and Owner of Ashland Technologies, Inc. (Ash/Tec, Inc.) and Wydra International Properties, LLC. He is a member of an international joint venture, Amecosse, LLC, as well as a partner in Honolulu Hot Dog Company, Inc.

Wydra's first company, Ashland Technologies, Inc. has been ranked on the INC 500/5000 fastest growing US companies list for five consecutive years (2009-2013) and is expected to repeat this ranking in 2014. In 2009, Ashland Technologies, Inc. was the #1 Fastest Growing Manufacturer in the state of Pennsylvania and ranked #55 in the US. Ashland was also honored as one of the Top 10 machine shops in the country by American Machinist Magazine. You can also find them

frequently featured on a PCN Tours television show which highlights many of their cool products and capabilities. Most recently, Ash/Tec received its second nomination for the annual Governor's Impact Award in the field of exporting.

Mr. Wydra founded the company 18 years ago with the vision of becoming the "First International Chain of Machine Shops" and is currently opening its newest location in Central Florida. Although they can make just about anything, Ashland Technologies focuses on any market where they can "Turn Metal into Thrills"; as such, their target markets are amusement/roller coaster, food service, and energy segments worldwide.

Mr. Wydra is an executive member of several boards of non-profit organizations including the Manufacturing Resource Center at Lehigh University (Former Chairman), Schuylkill Economic Development Corporation (Treasurer), Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce (Past President) and Valencia College Manufacturing Advisory Board (Quality Curriculum Committee

Member). He serves on the board of a for-profit company, Dynalene, Inc., for which he holds the position of Director of International Sales. Mr. Wydra has been honored numerous times for his outstanding contributions to business and community; recent awards include Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce Business Man of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year awards, Manufacturing Excellence award, and Business Journal Top 20 under 40. He most recently was a regional finalist for the Earnst & Young 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year award.

A graduate of George Mason University with degrees in Marketing, Economics and Finance, Mr. Wydra's philosophy on business is to empower all his employees and business partners to break the mold of convention and mediocrity and make the "impossible" possible.

A native of Pennsylvania, he currently resides in Celebration, Florida with his wife Angela and their seven-year-old twin boys and five-year-old daughter, all of whom share Bill's passion for thrills, adventure, and travel even at a young age.

Brian Biller, PE
Design Engineer

Originally from the greater Cincinnati area, Brian graduated from the Ohio State University in 2011 with a degree in mechanical engineering. His fascination for roller coasters began before he can remember; one of his earliest memories is riding Tornado at Stricker's

Grove. He has always known that he wanted to pursue a career in the amusement industry.

In 2008, Brian joined the OSU Theme Park Engineering Group, one of the first student organizations of its kind. He also volunteered as a show ambassador at the 2010 IAAPA Expo in Orlando. Due to fierce competition and a rough economy, he was unsuccessful in obtaining an internship and was unable to find a full-time

position within the industry after graduation. Instead, he accepted a position designing passenger elevators at Fujitec America in 2012.

In early 2018, Brian applied and was offered a position as a mechanical Design Engineer and, soon after, relocated to Orlando. Since then, he has been involved in the development of Skywarp Horizon and is thrilled to be a member of Skyline's team of talented engineers.

Matthew Calabrese
Design Engineer

Matt grew up next to roller coasters. Living 10 minutes from Canada's Wonderland meant that the park was a central part of his life growing up.

Matt studied Mechanical Engineering at Ryerson University in Toronto, during which time he completed multiple

internships in Automotive Foam Manufacturing. Working in the corporate engineering department, he provided engineering assistance to multiple R&D projects.

Also during his time at Ryerson, Matt was introduced to the Ryerson Thrill Club by a friend, and, by attending ASTM F24 meetings and IAAPA, he found an industry that is exciting, willing to try new ideas, and literally engineers fun! He continued with the Thrill Club, helping to organize the first Ryerson Thrill Competition, and later became the President of the organization.

Matt worked a season at Canada's Wonderland as a Rides Maintenance Technician, soaking up as much as he could about how roller coasters are operated and maintained. Upon graduation in 2016, he worked as an intern with Skyline at IAAPA and, at the end of that year, signed on with Skyline Attractions full time as a Design Engineer. He proudly works with our mechanical team in designing Skywarp and working on other projects, and he continues to represent Skyline at ASTM.

Jessie Karp
Ride Systems & Assembly Engineer

Jessie has always been a fan of the amusement industry and chose to major in Civil Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park because of that passion.

During her sophomore year, she started an internship with Siemens, balancing work and school full time. Through this internship, which continued until graduation, she gained experience in engineering design and principles as well as design

software. After graduation, she moved into the materials engineering industry where she performed mechanical testing and gained first-hand experience and knowledge about material properties.

In 2014, Jessie joined Great Coasters International, Inc. as a Design Engineer. She was able to aid in structural engineering design for both repair jobs and new ride construction. In 2015, she spent several months in Nanchang, China providing engineering support for the construction of the wooden roller coaster "The Viper."

Between 2016 and 2017, Jessie spent her time providing site-based engineering solutions and project management for the construction of the wooden roller coasters "Desert Rally" in Chengdu, China and "Jungle Dragon" in Chongqing, China.

In 2017, Jessie joined the Skyline team. She is involved in the structural and design aspects of both existing and new products, as well as on-site involvement. Her background in the design of wooden roller coasters and her on-site experience are key assets to the Skyline team.

Tyler Mullins
Design Engineer

Tyler grew-up in Cincinnati, OH, placing him right down the road from Kings Island amusement park. Having season passes to the park, and annual family trips to Florida and its collection of theme parks, Tyler became hooked on the themed entertainment industry from a young age. He spent his free time sketching-up new ride ideas, reading about roller coasters at the library and online, and creating his own parks in Roller Coaster Tycoon. At 15-years-old, he got his first job at Kings Island and continued to work there through college, supervising crews at a diverse collection of rides like Adventure Express, Drop Tower, and Woodstock Express.

Tyler attended The Ohio State University, where he studied Civil Engineering and became an active member of Theme Park Engineering Group. He attended construction tours at Cedar Point, participated in group design projects, and attended the ASTM F24 subcommittee conference in San Diego, CA. It was here he began to professionally network with companies in the industry and work toward securing a career doing what he loved.

In fall 2016, Tyler interned at Great Coasters International, helping to bring Kings Island's Mystic Timbers and Busch Gardens Williamsburg's InvadR to life. Tyler became more familiar with AutoCAD and Inventor in the process, and he documented his experience on the Great Coasters Interns blog.

After graduating from Ohio State in December 2017, Tyler joined Skyline Attractions as an Engineering Intern. He assisted in the assembly of the train for Harley Quinn Crazy Coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, during which time he got a hands-on experience with the ride and learned more about the mechanical components of a roller coaster. In March, Tyler joined Skyline full-time as a Design Engineer. Since then, he has played a critical role in documenting the first Skywarp's construction and drafting many of the technical documents required for its successful maintenance and operation.

Tyler has most-recently had the opportunity to assist with several future attractions, working to streamline and unify many of the processes and better familiarize himself with technical standards from around the globe.

John Paez
Technical Shop Manager

Mesmerized by the sheer power of jet engines during plane takeoff, John was inspired at a young age to pursue a career in aircraft maintenance while visiting an airport in his native country, the Dominican Republic. Shortly thereafter, John and his family relocated to New York, where he attended and graduated with merit from Aviation High School with an FAA Airframe and Powerplant Certification.

John spent the next 15 years holding positions such as Aircraft Technician, Aerospace Welder, Quality Assurance Inspector, Jet Engine Overhaul Technician, and Aircraft F.B.O. Production Manager.

In 1993, John relocated his family to Orlando, Florida where, he joined Universal Studios. During his 24-year tenure, he worked in various roles and was part of the opening teams for Islands of Adventure in 2001 and Volcano Bay in 2017.

In February 2018, John joined Skyline Attractions, where he currently utilizes his past theme park experience to enhance and maintain shop quality control and assembly processes for all shop projects. John is thrilled to be part of Skyline's talented team.

In his leisure time, John enjoys Florida's outdoor activities, such as camping and fishing, with his family.

Scott Parrish
Design Engineer

After fearing amusement rides for most of his childhood, a fateful day at Opryland USA changed Scott's views and he developed a deep passion for the industry. By the time he was a teen, he harbored a dream of one day designing thrill rides. He researched rides through every source that he could find, traveled to as many parks as possible, and worked as a ride host at Cedar Point.

However, his career eventually went down a business path, and he earned a degree in finance from the University of Alabama in 2010. Following graduation, Scott went to work for ECS Federal,

Inc., a federal contractor, as a budget analyst for the Department of Defense, and later as a finance analyst for Frito Lay North America.

Unable to give up his dream of designing amusement rides, Scott ultimately left his business career in order to return to school and pursue a degree in civil engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. While studying engineering, Scott attended as many industry networking events as possible, including Skyline's young professionals event SKYnext, as well as the IAAPA Attractions Expo and ASTM F24 conferences. His persistence led to an internship with Skyline during the IAAPA Expo, where he helped to set up the company booth and operate Crazy Couch and Strike-U-Up on the tradeshow floor, among other things.

Following his graduation from UAB, Scott interned with Great Coasters International, Inc., where he edited and reviewed drawings, tracked inventory, and was in charge of organizing hardware shipments to project sites. Aferward, Scott was hired full-time by Skyline as a design engineer where he now plays an integral role in the structural design of our innovative attractions. He carries with him a wide range of knowledge, including ride operations, business strategy, marketing, and structural analysis.

Scott's knowledge and passion not only benefit Skyline, but also the industry as whole. He represents Skyline within ASTM F24, where he helps to develop amusement safety standards alongside industry professionals from all over the world.

Dustin Sloane
Director of Creative Processes

Dustin's interest in the amusement industry has driven him from a young age. Growing up in Richmond, Virginia, only a short trip away from Busch Gardens, he gained a passion for amusement parks. Throughout his education, whatever the subject matter, Dustin found some way to apply it to amusement rides. His grade school education gave many opportunities to engage in this passion; whether it be drawing in art class in elementary school, programming class, or CAD in high school. Anything that could be adapted for designing,

describing, and visualizing rides and roller coasters was used to do so.

Throughout high school, his passion for 3D modeling and programming continued to grow outside of the classroom, and it became an even more useful asset towards the goal of designing rides. It was around this time that he first began developing methods and software used to design full custom rides, layout roller coasters, and even simulate the physics of rides.

Dustin entered as a Mechanical Engineer at Pennsylvania State University, set to graduate in 2018. It wasn't until his second year at Pennsylvania State University that this began to pay off, with his first sale to a European rides

engineering firm of software that would be used for custom animations and visualizations of roller coasters. Throughout his spare time at university, he continued to develop software that could be used to design centerlines. With the help of classes in SolidWorks and other CAD suites, he was able to build a portfolio in mechanical design, including a full custom roller coaster train assembly.

During sophomore year in 2016, Dustin attended our SKYnext event for young professionals, after which he received an offer for an internship position with us. In this role, Dustin helps us to develop projects from concept to reality, including the development of the earliest designs, animations, and visualizations for Skywarp.

Anya Tyler
Design Engineer

Anya began her fascination with roller coasters after riding "The Beast" at Kings Island in Ohio, when she was finally tall enough to ride. She knew early on that her fascination went beyond just riding coasters; Anya wanted to be involved with the design and building of roller coasters.

Anya set her college goals with this in mind and attended the Colorado School of Mines, an engineering college, where she graduated in 2011 with a degree in mechanical engineering. She spent her first couple of years in the working world with a master planning company where she assisted in the overall design of both amusement and water parks. Additionally, she was in charge of the design and fabrication of water play

structures. She then went to work for Great Coasters International, Inc. for several years and we are now glad to have her as part of the team at Skyline Attractions.

In addition to having strong math and science capabilities, Anya also brings to her work an eye for creativity, vision, and design.

Adam Yerdon
Design Engineer

As far back as he can remember, Adam has always had a fascination with anything with rails. Growing up in Omaha, NE, he didn't have a lot of opportunity to ride roller coasters outside of a small local park that closed in 1993 and making the yearly four-hour drive to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, MO with his family. Still, this was enough to hook him, and he quickly became obsessed with the thrilling twisted piles of wood and steel. It wasn't until seventh grade that he was given some advice from his instructors - that he should focus on math and science - that set him on a trajectory to roller coaster design.

In his free time, Adam often played Roller Coaster Tycoon and NoLimits Coaster Simulator as a creative outlet for his coaster passion. Combined with his love of model making, he built realistic and detailed computer models that portrayed either a real-ride recreation or a fantasy coaster. Through publishing build-progress photos on the internet, he was found by Evan, who asked if he would be willing to help build some digital models for Great Coasters to be used as part of the proposal process when selling a ride. He did this as a side project for the next three years until he was offered a full-time position with GCII as part of their engineering team in 2013.

As part of his duties at Great Coasters, Adam designed and detailed the structure and structural components of new installations, as well as

renovations of aging rides, while also assisting with some of the mechanical components from time to time. In addition to supporting the structure, he also headed up the experimentation and development of several brackets and new materials for extending the life of wooden roller coasters. Before joining the Skyline Team in 2017, Adam had the opportunity to work on 13 brand-new wooden roller coasters and 23 renovation and restoration projects around the world in addition to countless proposals and consultations.

With new opportunities at Skyline Attractions, Adam now gets to be involved with more than just wooden roller coasters, assisting in the design and development of prototype roller coasters and flat rides, while still maintaining his role in wooden roller coaster design.