Engineering Georgia March/April 2023

100 INFLUENTIAL WOMEN IN GEORGIA ENGINEERING

JANNINE

Publisher: Michael “Sully” Sullivan

Editor-in-Chief: Brett Hillesheim

Creative Director | Designer:

Sabrina Tongren

www.in8-design.com

Contributing Editors:

Jennifer Head

Contributing Writers: David Caraviello

Christy Tarallo

Accounting Services Manager:

Melisa Beauchamp

Advertising Sales Manager:

Jennifer Head

ACEC Georgia

229 Peachtree Street NE Suite 1800

Atlanta, GA 30303

jennifer.head@acecga.org

(404) 665-3539

Send change of address to: ACEC Georgia

229 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 1800 Atlanta, GA 30303 or email editor@engineeringGA.com

EDITORIAL BOARD

ANITA ATKINSON PE, Patterson & Dewar Engineers / ASCE Georgia / GEF CANDANCE SCALE / SAME

CHAD BECKER Kimley-Horn

STACEY CHAPMAN CIT, Croft Architecture and Engineering

STEPHANIE DAMMEN-MORRELL Hussey Gay Bell

MICHELLE ERSTE CPSM, iParametrics / SMPS Atlanta

LIGIA FLORIM Cobb County DOT / WTS Atlanta

PHILLIP HATCHER PE, SE, Uzun + Case / SEAOG

JENNY C. JENKINS PE, VHB / ASHE Georgia

CATHERINE JOHNSON AECOM / NSBE

BETTY JEAN JORDAN PE, GSPE

KELLY PATRICK PE, PTOE, Cobb County DOT / ITE Georgia

JOHN PIERSON PE, Georgia Tech Research Institute / ASCE Georgia

RANDAL RIEBEL PE, Delta Air Lines / GSPE

THOMAS TRUE PE, LS, Maser Consulting

SASHA UGI Croy Engineering

BILL WELLS ITS Georgia

Facebook.com/EngineeringGA @Engineering_GA www.EngineeringGA.com

Engineering Georgia 2022 is published bi-monthly by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia (ACEC Georgia) and its partner associations ASCE, ASHE, GEF, GSPE, ITE, ITS, SAME, SEAOG, SMPS and WTS. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited.

In8 Design, ACEC Georgia, and its partner associations ASCE, ASHE, GEF, GSPE, ITE, ITS, SAME, SEAOG, SMPS and WTS, as well as their representatives, employees and agents, are held harmless from any claim, demand, liability or action on account of, or in any way arising out of, the client’s advertising, products and services, or its participation in Engineering Georgia.

II say it every year and I’ll say it again because it continues to be true - we work hard on every issue of Engineering Georgia, but there is no issue we work harder on than the one in which we annually honor the 100 Most Influential Women in Engineering. But all that hard work is worth it to be able to highlight the achievements of the power players from engineering, architecture, and construction firms and from the public agencies and private companies who are creating Georgia’s built environment.

We received so many deserving nominations this year and Brett and I definitely appreciate the powerful women on the Selection Committee for helping us narrow it down to 100, which is very, very difficult.

And this year we gave them a new task – selecting our first “35 Under 35” list of up-and-coming female leaders in the A/E/C space. Also a very difficult task, but also one that is worth doing to celebrate these young women who are already making their mark in engineering.

It is also an honor to feature Jannine Miller in this issue. Jannine has four different, very important and very interrelated jobs – Director of Planning at the Georgia Department of Transportation, and Executive Director of the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA), Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) and Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority (ATL). I’ve had the privilege of knowing and working with Jannine for nearly two decades and look forward to continuing to work with her in all of these new roles.

The best part of these annual lists is knowing that in honoring these women we are also providing other women who may just be starting in their careers with role models of achievement to which they can aspire. That's important because sometimes it's difficult to imagine achieving something if you've never seen someone who looks like you in a similar position. Many of the women in this issue had to blaze their own trails and were among the first to break through the glass ceiling. It’s really gratifying to know that the women on these lists are provide young women who are starting out in the engineering industry with ample evidence that there is no limit to what they can achieve in their futures.

As always, we love to hear from our readers about what you would like to see in Engineering Georgia magazine. So, drop me a line at sully@acecga.org and let me know.

Michael L. "Sully" Sullivan President / CEO, ACEC Georgia Publisher, Engineering Georgia

CARROLL DANIEL CONSTRUCTION ACQUIRES STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING FIRM, WMD ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS

Nationally recognized construction services firm, Carroll Daniel Construction Company, has acquired structural engineering firm WMD Engineering Consultants of Bethlehem, Georgia.

The acquisition was effective March 8, 2023, at which point WMD Engineering Consultants transitioned to operating under the name WMD Engineering, a Division of Carroll Daniel Construction. The structural design firm will remain committed to actively serving its current clients and projects while growing its portfolio under its new ownership, Carroll Daniel Construction.

WMD Engineering Consultants specializes in the design and analysis of concrete and steel structures and has been providing structural solutions to clients for over 20 years. With expertise in the automotive, industrial, distribution, and movie studio markets, the firm is licensed in 25 states across the U.S. and serves a client base of industry leaders, including FedEx, Saia, Frito-Lay, Pilgrim’s Pride, Versacold, Johnson Controls, Cinelease Studios, and others. WMD Engineering Consultants’ industrial experience includes large distribution warehouses, refrigerated storage facilities, and light and heavy manufacturing buildings.

NEEL-SCHAFFER ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF CALVERT-SPRADLING ENGINEERS

Neel-Schaffer, Inc., is pleased to announce the acquisition of CalvertSpradling Engineers, Inc., a civil engineering firm based in West Point, Mississippi. The acquisition, which was finalized on February 10, 2023, will allow the firms to meaningfully advance client offerings and provide deeper resources in the Golden Triangle area of northeast Mississippi and throughout the Neel-Schaffer footprint. CalvertSpradling, founded by Bob Calvert, PE, and Stanley Spradling, PE, more than 40 years ago, provides civil engineering and surveying services for municipalities, counties, state agencies, utilities, and institutions. Neel-Schaffer now operates 38 offices across nine states, all focused on being a community-oriented company at heart.

KIMLEY-HORN PRESENTS SCIENCE ATL WITH $50,000 DONATION

Thomas Glueckert (pictured left) and Sean Coleman presented Science ATL, a nonprofit organization promoting equitable access to science in the Atlanta area, with a check for $50,000 from the Kimley-Horn Foundation. Thomas, a traffic engineer in Kimley-Horn’s Peachtree Corners, GA office, came in third place in a Kimley-Horn-wide Rock Paper Scissors competition. From early October to December, nearly 6,000 Kimley-Horn employees competed against one another for charity. At the conclusion of the competition, the final eight regional champions flew to St. Petersburg, FL, for an in-person showdown. In all, the Kimley-Horn Foundation awarded $322,000 to the charities selected by the top 64 finalists.

GHD FOUNDATION PARTNERS WITH BERRY COLLEGE IN ROME GA ON DIVERSITY INITIATIVES

Berry College students, faculty and staff joined with employees from global professional services company GHD on February 1 in a powerful workshop dedicated to challenging biases.

The “Bias Challenge” led by cultural consultant Vonnetta West is the first of several events this year developed by the Berry Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The GHD Foundation is partnering with Berry to focus on diversity initiatives and internship/employment development that also includes future events with The King Center.

Established by GHD in 2020 and constituted as separate charitable companies, the GHD Foundation works to help build resilient communities globally by tackling the foundational issue of access to education for all. It funds impactful, outcome-driven Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education and employment programs to widen participation to those who are underrepresented in these vital fields.

The “Bias Challenge” called on the Berry community to identify biases they carry, investigate their origins, and amend their thinking accordingly. West explained that the bias is grounded in the belief that others are “less than” and shared her personal experiences of being both a victim and a perpetrator of intolerance. Anyone is capable of having bias, West shared, and it is vital to counteract the grouping of people as the same, based on experiences with individuals. N

CROY’S CEO BEGINS TERM AS 2023 COBB CHAMBER CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Gregory D. Teague, PE, CEO of Georgia-based, full-service consulting firm Croy, has officially accepted the role of 2023 Chairman of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. Teague’s predecessor, Britt Fleck of Georgia Power, passed the torch during the Chamber’s 81st Annual Dinner on Saturday, January 28 at the Cobb Galleria Centre.

Teague joined Croy in 2007 as Director of Engineering and Surveying Services and transitioned to President in 2015. In his current role as CEO, Teague works with the firm’s executive leadership team — including Adam Langley, CFO, and Eddie Wade, PE, COO — to drive the strategic direction of the company. Before joining Croy, Teague held positions with the City of Marietta and Traton Homes. Since graduating from Kennesaw State University’s Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering, Teague has spent his entire professional career in Cobb County and has had the privilege of working on numerous public and private projects.

ENGINEERING LAB EXPANDS LEARNING AND LABORATORY SPACE AT KENNESAW STATE'S MARIETTA CAMPUS

The new building will house research and lab space, classrooms, Student Success Services, 3D Print Farm, the Collaborative Learning Undergraduate Environment (CLUE) Center, a Ph.D. program in interdisciplinary engineering, and a Master’s program in intelligent robotic systems.

“At Kennesaw State, we are committed to providing our students with the support they need to thrive, which includes increasing their ability to collaborate and to engage in learning opportunities outside the classroom, such as research,” said KSU President Kathy Schwaig. “This building will serve our current students and is a promise to future students that KSU is a place that invests in their success.”

BURNS & MCDONNELL’S CEO ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

Burns & McDonnell’s CEO, Ray Kowalik announced his retirement on Friday, March 10th. “This is bittersweet as I prepare to leave the Burns & Mac family, our clients and our community partners, but I know it is healthy for our firm to have new thoughts and vision for the future.” After 37 years with Burns & McDonnell, Kowalik is retiring at the end of 2023. He took the helm in 2017, becoming the seventh CEO in the firm’s 125-year history.

During Kowalik’s tenure, the firm experienced rapid growth and job creation, growing more than 110%, from 6,300 employees to 13,500. In addition, Kowalik has driven a strong focus on STEM education, investing time, resources, and money into K-12 outreach efforts to build the pipeline for future interest in STEM careers.

GEORGIA SOUTHERN ANNOUNCES NEW DEAN OF THE ALLEN E. PAULSON COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND COMPUTING

Craig M. Harvey, Ph.D., has been selected to serve as the new Dean of the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing at Georgia Southern University beginning July 1.

Kennesaw State University officials celebrated the opening of the newly renovated Engineering Laboratory Building at the Marietta Campus during a special event on Monday, Jan. 30. The nearly 35,000-square-foot Engineering Lab Building, originally constructed in 1962, has been expanded and updated to provide enhanced student collaboration and learning.

Harvey comes to Georgia Southern from Louisiana State University, where he serves as the associate dean for academic affairs of the College of Engineering, Professor of Industrial Engineering and is the holder of the Donald W. Clayton University Professorship. He brings a wealth of knowledge in leadership, student growth and expansion, and advanced engineering studies to Georgia Southern.

STUDENTS AWARDED GEF SCHOLARSHIPS

The Georgia Engineering Foundation (GEF) presented scholarships to 22 students in the University of Georgia College of Engineering during the organization’s annual scholarship celebration hosted virtually on March 2. The GEF scholarship program supports college students in Georgia who are preparing for a career in engineering or engineering technology. The competitive scholarships are awarded based on students’ demonstrated competence in academics, interest in developing a career in engineering, financial need, and school and community involvement. GEF scholarship awards typically range from $1,000 to $5,000. The program attracted more than 1,000 applications this year. The University of Georgia recipients accounted for 43% of all GEF scholarships awarded this year (a total of $41,500), the highest representation from a single institution, including Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University, Mercer University, and Savannah State University.

VOGTLE UNIT 3 REACHES INITIAL CRITICALITY

Georgia Power’s Vogtle Unit 3 has safely reached initial criticality. Initial criticality is a key step during the startup testing sequence and demonstrates that -- for the first time -- operators have safely started the nuclear reaction inside the reactor. This means atoms are being split and nuclear heat is being made, which will be used to produce steam. A reactor achieves criticality when the nuclear fission reaction becomes self-sustaining. Achieving initial criticality is necessary to continue the startup of the Unit in order to generate sufficient heat for the production of electricity. Vogtle Unit 3 continues with startup testing which demonstrates the integrated operation of the primary coolant system and steam supply system at design temperature and pressure with fuel inside the reactor. Now that the Unit 3 reactor has reached criticality, operators will continue to raise power to support synchronizing the generator to the electric grid and begin producing electricity. Then, operators will continue increasing power through multiple steps, ultimately raising power to 100 percent. These tests are designed to ensure all systems are operating together and to validate operating procedures prior to the declaration of Commercial Operation. The in-service date for Unit 3 is projected during May or June 2023.

The new Vogtle units are an essential part of Georgia Power's commitment to delivering clean, safe, reliable, and affordable energy to its 2.7 million customers. Once operating, the two new units, which will be clean energy sources that produce zero air pollution, are expected to power more than 500,000 homes and businesses. Southern Nuclear will operate the new units on behalf of the co-owners: Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power,’ and Dalton Utilities. A

ATKINS welcomed Kelly M. Thompson, PE as a Senior Project Director in its Atlanta office. Thompson has over 40 years of experience in contract and program management with extensive expertise in transportation infrastructure planning, design, construction and operations management, traffic engineering, and analyses, and is skilled in delivering ITS services with an emphasis in traffic safety, control, and management systems, electronic enforcement and surveillance, communications, and traffic center management. She has delivered numerous projects with federal, state, local, and private funding throughout New York, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania and is skilled in contract development, negotiation, and management. In her role at Atkins, Thompson will focus on delivery of transportation infrastructure services with complex technologies.

CARROLL DANIEL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

is pleased to announce that Chris Berryman has joined its team as a Senior Business Developer.

As Senior Business Developer, Berryman’s role at Carroll Daniel will focus on broadening the reach and deepening the level of services the company provides to clients in the Automotive Mobility Technologies (EV), Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial market sectors. He will be representing Carroll Daniel in the U.S. Mid-South Region and will play a pivotal role in the sustainable growth of the business, diversifying the company’s portfolio and accommodating the construction needs the region is experiencing due to economic growth.

CHA CONSULTING

announced Keith Ziobron, PE, has rejoined the firm as Associate Vice President and Brownfields Program Manager. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Ziobron will lead CHA’s growing brownfield remediation and redevelopment program. He previously worked for CHA in environmental leadership roles from 1991 to 2012.

Ziobron has over 30 years of environmental engineering experience and is well-recognized as a national brownfield expert. His goal is to work with communities, regulators, and private developers to determine the highest and best use for brownfields and to identify innovative funding and use-based cleanup strategies to turn persistent environmental liabilities into community assets.

EBERLY & ASSOCIATES

announced the promotion of Lauren Leyrer, PE to a Civil Engineering Group Leader. Since joining the firm, Leyrer has been a leader and mentor inside the office doors and beyond. She is a driving force of the firms’ use of new technologies to keep operations and design methods up to current standards and running as efficiently as possible to best serve their clients. Outside of the office, she serves as Chair of the Women’s Leadership Initiative for ULI Atlanta and is in the current Center for Leadership Class.

Eberly & Associates also announced the promotion of Cody Lanman to Project Manager. Lanman has been a vital member of the Eberly & Associates team, leading and designing a variety of projects with a focus on the K12 sector. He is also active with ACEC Georgia and is in the current Future Leaders Class.

EMC ENGINEERING

SERVICES announced the promotion of Christopher E. Brazell, PE, PLS to Chief Operations Officer. He has been with EMC for 21 years and is a licensed Professional Engineer in 33 states, as well as a Professional Land Surveyor in Georgia.

Brazell is a volunteer baseball coach, as well as a member of Middle Georgia State University Board of Trustees, Georgia Institute of Technology’s Council of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni, North Columbus Rotary Club, American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia, Surveying & Mapping Society of Georgia, Society of Military Engineers, and Columbus Roadrunners.

EMC also announced the promotion of Alec B. Metzger, PE to Senior Vice President. Metzger has been with EMC for 23 years and currently serves as the Branch Manager for the Savannah and Rincon office. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in South Carolina and Georgia and is also certified from the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission as a Level II Certified Design Professional.

Additionally, EMC promoted Joel Womack, PE to Principal. Womack joined EMC in 2007 as a Jr. Design Engineer. Currently, he serves as the Columbus Branch Manager. He became an Associate Owner of the firm in 2018. Womack holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering Technology from Southern Polytechnic State University and holds Professional Engineer licensure in Georgia, Montana, and Texas.

Kelly M. Thompson

Chris Berryman

Keith Ziobron

Lauren Leyrer

Christopher E. Brazell

Cody Lanman

Alec B. Metzger

Joel Womack

GOODWYN MILLS

CAWOOD (GMC) welcomed Matt Mitchell, PLA, LEED AP and Kalanos Johnson to the firm. Mitchell joins as Vice President of Landscape Architecture in GMC’s Atlanta office and Johnson as Senior Planner in the firm’s Augusta office.

With more than 15 years of professional experience, Mitchell brings a thorough understanding of project management, design and problemsolving experience to the firm. He has worked on various multifaceted projects, including mixed-use and retail, parks and recreation, education, and more. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Kentucky. He is a registered landscape architect in Georgia and Kentucky as well as a LEED accredited professional. Mitchell is also a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) and Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP).

Kalanos Johnson brings more than 25 years of experience in public and private sector planning and community development and has managed a wide variety of planning projects from conception to construction. Johnson has a thorough knowledge of the requirements, programs, and procedures for land use and transportation planning processes, including comprehensive planning, long-range transportation needs, roadway improvements, bike/pedestrian studies, and transit processes. He earned his Master of Planning from the University of Akron, in addition to an MBA from Strayer University. He is a Leadership Clayton graduate and has been a board member and volunteer for many community organizations including Development of Clayton County and Arts Clayton.

KECK & WOOD welcomes three new members to its Georgia office. Daniel R. Sabia, III, PE joined the firm as Roadway Market Leader. He joins the team with six years of experience as a Transportation Engineer for GDOT and ten years of Southeast transportation experience.

"We are excited to have Daniel join K&W to lead our Roadway Market. His knowledge and relationships will be essential to providing more in-depth services to clients across the Southeast,” said Rob Jacquette, PE, PTOE, and VP of Operations.

The firm also welcomed Corinne Valentine, PE as the Georgia Water/ Wastewater Market Leader. Valentine brings 17 years of experience in water-related problem-solving for municipalities and governments across the southeast. Her attention to detail and passion for superior client service aligns with the Keck & Wood culture.

“I am excited about what Corinne brings to our water/wastewater practice. Her ideas and leadership, combined with our team of experienced engineers will enable our utilities practice to serve clients even better.” Said Keith Costley, PE, President & CEO.

Dillon Davis joined the Keck & Wood Transportation practice as a Staff Professional in the Traffic Engineering Market. After graduating from UGA in 2017, Davis worked as a transportation engineer in two other firms prior to joining Keck & Wood.

LUSTER NATIONAL announced Tom Hruby, PE joined the firm as Vice President, Georgia Department of Transportation Client Sector Leader. He will have the primary responsibility to manage and build Georgia Department of Transportation contracts, personnel, and initiatives. Luster is currently involved in multiple GDOT programs and projects throughout the State of Georgia that include the Statewide TIA Program, Major Mobility Investment Program (MMIP), several GECs, and multiple GDOT Districts.

STANTEC welcomed Ron Davis as Senior Principal, Water Delivery Leader. Davis brings 29 years of engineering experience with strengths in construction management, water/wastewater operations, and tunneling tasks. He is assigned to the firm’s Water Program Management group and will be based in Atlanta serving local clients and Stantec Water Programs across North America.

Caitlin Pristupa, EIT joined Stantec's Atlanta office as a Water Resources Engineer in Training. She is a University of Georgia Environmental Engineering Magma Cum Laude graduate and brings two years of prior consulting experience in water and natural resources engineering. Pristupa is looking forward to expanding her capabilities in the areas of dams, floodplain management, and H&H analysis.

Khalil Keyton, EIT also joined Stantec’s Atlanta office as an Environmental Design Engineer in Training. He is a Georgia Tech Environmental Engineering Magna Cum Laude graduate where he worked in sustainable construction materials and water quality research labs. Keyton currently works on projects focusing on environmental remediation and water/wastewater treatment. N

Ron Davis

Daniel R. Sabia

Caitlin Pristupa

Corinne Valentine

Khalil Keyton

Dillon Davis

Tom Hruby

Matt Mitchell Kalanos Johnson

THOMAS & HUTTON is pleased to announce its newest Professional Engineer (PE) in Georgia, Michael Lerque. Lerque is a Civil Designer and joined Thomas & Hutton in 2015 as a CAD Technician, shortly after obtaining his degree in physics at Armstrong State University (Georgia Southern University). As a Designer, he is responsible for preparing site development construction drawings; engineering design considerations for water, sewer, and storm drainage infrastructure; preliminary cost estimates; and permit applications for residential and commercial projects.

Thomas & Hutton is also excited to announce the following new hires in its Savannah, Brunswick, and Atlanta offices. McKenzie Cavender joined the Brunswick office as a Civil Designer. Cavender obtained her degree in civil engineering from Georgia Southern University in 2022. As a student, she volunteered in her hometown of Gray, Georgia in several STEM initiatives and is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). As a Designer, she handles permit applications and prepares site development construction drawings for water, sewer, and drainage infrastructure designs associated with residential, commercial, and industrial projects along the Georgia coast, including DR Horton in St. Mary’s and Savannah Gardens.

Liz Luitwieler joined Thomas & Hutton’s Atlanta office as an Environmental Designer. She is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, and MAES: Latinos in Science and Engineering, serving as the Director of Marketing for MAES early in her career. Luitweiler’s professional experience includes working as a project engineer at a civil and environmental engineering firm in California, focusing on water, wastewater, and recycled water. In her role as Environmental Designer, she will assist with preparing construction plans, specifications, reports, studies, supporting documentation, cost estimates, and permit applications for projects across Georgia.

The firm also welcomed Creighton Dukes to the Savannah office as a Field Representative in the Civil Department. Creighton brings 18 years of experience in implementing construction projects for commercial, residential, and roadway clients along the Georgia coast. In his role as a Field Representative, Dukes will perform routine construction observation for land development projects while serving as a liaison between the owner, Thomas & Hutton, and the contractor. He will assist Thomas & Hutton project managers in effectively administering construction contracts by visiting project sites and reviewing conditions, participating in meetings, and keeping up with all project plans and specifications.

Kamryn Owens also joined the Savannah office as a Project Administrator. She received her human resource management specialist certificate from Savannah Technical College and is a credentialed Microsoft Office Specialist. With vast administrative support experience in private and public sectors, Owens will work across Thomas & Hutton as Project Administrator on business processes, communication practice, accounting, and project management procedures.

VHB named Roberta Fennessy as Southeast Region Planning & Design Service Lead, serving public and private clients in the Orlando, Atlanta, and Gulf Coast offices. She is a multi-faceted architect and urban planner with in-depth knowledge of land use laws, transit-oriented design, and zoning regulations. A

Michael Lerque

McKenzie Cavender

Liz Luitwieler

Creighton Dukes

Kamryn Owens

Roberta Fennessy

TOP FIVE 5

Five Leadership Books for Engineers

Top Five is a regular feature in THE PULSE! Top Five explores recommendations for podcasts, books, activities, and more. For this issue, Engineering Georgia is exploring books every engineering leader or aspiring leader should read. These books will help you grow and keep you hooked until the end.

SURROUNDED BY IDIOTS

by Thomas Erikson

An international phenomenon, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide. It offers a simple yet ground-breaking method for assessing the personalities of people we communicate with, in and out of the office, based on four personality types (Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow) and provides insights into how we can adjust the way we speak and share information.

THE CONNECTOR MANAGER: WHY SOME LEADERS BUILD EXCEPTIONAL TALENT - AND OTHERS DON'T by

Jaime Roca

Drawing on their groundbreaking data-driven research, as well as in-depth case studies and extensive interviews with managers and employees at companies like IBM, Accenture, and eBay, the authors show what behaviors define a Connector manager and why they are able to build powerhouse teams. They also show why other types of managers fail to be equally effective and how they can incorporate behaviors of Connector managers in order to be more effective at building teams.

LEADING FROM THE MIDDLE: A PLAYBOOK FOR MANAGERS TO INFLUENCE UP, DOWN, AND ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION

by Scott Mautz

An insightful and practical guide for the backbone of an organization: those who have a boss and are a boss and must lead from the messy middle. Accomplished author and former P&G executive Scott Mautz walks readers through the unique challenges facing these managers and the mindset and skillset necessary for managing up and down and influencing what happens across the organization.

WHAT GOT YOU HERE WON'T GET YOU THERE: HOW SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE BECOME EVEN MORE SUCCESSFUL PAPERBACK

by Marshall Goldsmith

What is the solution? The Harvard Business Review asked Goldsmith, “What is the most common problem faced by the executives that you coach?”

Inside, he answers this question by discussing not only the key beliefs of successful leaders but also the behaviors that hold them back. He addresses the fundamental problems that often come with success–and offers ways to attack these problems. Goldsmith outlines twenty habits commonly found in the corporate environment and provides a systematic approach to helping you achieve a positive change in behavior.

FROM EXPERT TO

EXECUTIVE: MASTERING THE SOPS OF LEADING

by Edward E. Tyson & Michael Ashley

From Expert to Executive illustrates the importance and power of demystifying, deconstructing, and rebuilding our notions of leadership in a bid to overcome the most pressing crisis facing modern organizations: not enough leaders are leading. Through a matrix of interconnected stories of personal and professional struggle, a solution is posed to the characters and readers –LeadershipSOPs – a compact leadership model linked to an elegant framework for understanding the purpose and domains of leading, as well as a strait forward methodology for taking consistent action across those domains.

POLITICAL PULSE

The 157th session of the Georgia General Assembly

TThe 157th session of the Georgia General Assembly has drawn to a close, and while the Governor’s signing period has not yet concluded, it’s clear with the Georgia legislature that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

What once began with conviviality between the Georgia House of Representatives and the Senate, devolved into late session conflicts between the two chambers, rekindling the traditional inter-chamber enmity and initiatives like the budget, mental healthcare, and school choice became negotiating tools.

Another thing that will never change with the legislature is the constitutional requirement to pass a balanced budget. As is always the case, lawmakers passed two budgets this session. The first of which is referred to as the amended budget, which adjusts the spending plan for the final months of the fiscal year ending June 30th to reflect the actual revenue collection and expenditures over the current fiscal year. The full budget sets the entire fiscal year’s spending plan and is primarily based on estimates for what the coming year’s revenue collection and expenditures may be.

CHRISTY TARALLO

The amended budget enjoyed a $6.6 billion surplus, roughly $2 billion of which went back to taxpayers in the form of income and property tax rebates. However, the full fiscal year 2024 budget contained across the board cuts. In a brief late night address to the Senate, Governor Kemp expressed concern for the upcoming fiscal year’s economic outlook and the various expenditure reductions that came as a result of the projected “storm clouds on our nation’s economic horizon”, stating “there are significant holes in this year’s final budget that my office will need to work closely with you all, the House, and the office of planning and budget to address over the coming months […] I believe there remains work to be done”.

The budget was also ACEC Georgia’s #1 legislative priority this past session – more specifically, obtaining funding for the newly independent Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (PELS) licensing board. Last year’s House Bill 476 removed the PELS Board from under the Professional Licensing Board Division of the Secretary of State’s (SOS) Office, making it an administratively attached agency that can operate autonomously to improve licensure and compliant investigations for engineers and surveyors. HB 476 acted as enabling legislation, granting the board legal authority, while the funding from the budget gives the board the ability to operate.

The amended budget allocated $300,000 in funding to the PELS Board for new licensure software and start-up costs. And despite the state’s overall reduction in most spending categories, appropriators recommended $1,032,895 in funding for the full 2024 fiscal year, which will allow the board to begin to hire staff, lease office space, and purchase equipment. ACEC Georgia remains at the disposal of the PELS Board for any assistance they may need as they begin the process of becoming fully operational and navigating the next year and additional funding opportunities in 2024.

Despite a near 40% turnover in the legislature over the past four years—which continued with multiple vacancies and special elections throughout the 2023 session—and a leadership change in both chambers, the age-old struggle between trial lawyers and businesses resulted in another major blow to tort reform. Reforming the state’s tort system was one of the business community’s #1 priorities, since it affects almost every kind of business. This year’s proposals included premises liability and seat-belt nonuse admissibility, among others.

Senate Bill 186 (SB 186) by Senator Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming), dubbed the “Georgia Landowners Protection Act,” would have revised Georgia’s premises liability statute by clarifying when a landowner is liable for criminal actions which have taken place on his/her property. Currently, landowners are often found liable for over 50% of damages for criminal actions that they had absolutely nothing to do with and no prior knowledge of simply because the action occurred on their

property. SB 186 would have ensured that landowners would be treated appropriately and only held responsible only for the percentage of damages that they could reasonably be assigned. Unfortunately, the Senate never voted on this measure.

Another major legal reform initiative, Senate Bill 196 by Senator Ben Watson (R-Savannah), aimed to address the state’s seatbelt gag law by allowing a defendant to introduce evidence of a plaintiff’s seatbelt nonuse to a jury in car wreck cases when determining fault and damages. Currently under Georgia law, passengers are required to wear a seatbelt in a moving vehicle; however, if a car occupant is not wearing a seatbelt and is involved in a crash, the jury awarding damages is legally barred from knowing whether or not a seatbelt was worn. This often results in oversized settlements where defendants are held responsible for damages that could have been prevented by seatbelt use.

One of the most egregious abuses of the seatbelt gage rule was the $1.7 billion punitive damages verdict charged to Ford Motor Company in August of last year. Ford was found guilty for a faulty roof on truck in a rollover accident; however, Ford was barred from stating their product operated as it ought to if the passengers had worn seatbelts. Further, the company could not properly defend the vehicle’s protection system without addressing the safety mechanism’s relationship between seatbelts and airbags. While the constitutionality of the seatbelt gag rule was questioned in this case the legislature failed to address this problematic statute in Georgia’s law.

While it seems as though the business community may have lost this year’s tort reform fight, hope springs eternal as we look to our neighbors to the South who passed comprehensive legal reform that aims to lower insurance rates for Floridians.

Despite this session’s feuds, a welcome reprieve from the status quo came from this session’s particularly impressive freshmen class. New legislators in both chambers and both parties shined and passed numerous bills. In fact, of the nearly 60 freshmen, 22 sponsored successful legislation that the Governor will consider, while dozens more passed legislation out of at least one chamber.

With the 2023 session over and barring an unexpected special legislative session, lawmakers will not reconvene until January of 2024. To fill the holes in the hearts of your political advocacy team, please feel free to contact us about any local, state, or federal initiatives you think we should be working on until the legislature reconvenes next year. Just as it’s true that the more things change, the more they stay the same, you can always count on your ACEC Georgia advocates to continue to fight for the business of engineering. A

APPROPRIATORS RECOMMENDED

$1,032,895 IN FUNDING FOR THE FULL 2024 FISCAL YEAR, WHICH WILL ALLOW THE BOARD TO BEGIN TO HIRE STAFF, LEASE OFFICE SPACE, AND PURCHASE EQUIPMENT.

OUT & ABOUT the pulse

ACEC’s Junior Board hosts quarterly Young Professionals Off The Clock networking events for engineering professionals 35 and under.

Small groups at Session 7 of the 2022-23 Future Leaders Program. – (facing the camera – Lalo Mercado, CROY and Cody Lanman, Eberly & Associates.)

Kevin Skinner, CHA Consulting and Lisa Thomas, HNTB – speakers for Session 7 of the Future Leaders Program

Thomas and Hutton represented well at the February Young Professionals Off The Clock Event! (From left: Liz Luitweiler. Kyle Rowe, Shayla Bradshaw, Catherine Soto, And Nataly Figueroa)

State Representative Brad Thomas, District 21 speaking to the 2022-23 Future Leaders Class at Session 6.

Kenneth Fluker, CERM, Josh Sofsky, VHB, and Sydney Thompson, Pond, talk at the Dekalb County Thirsty Third Thursday.

Chuck Deeb, CDM Smith, Tommy Crochet, VHB, and other guests at ACEC’s Cobb Thirsty Third Thursday network.

Engineers At The Capitol Day 2023. From Left, Romika Surani, Raymond, State Representative Inga Willis, District 55, and Marci Early, Keck & Wood.

State Representative Brad Thomas, District 21 speaking to the 2022-23 Future Leaders Class.

Engineers At The Capitol Day 2023. From left, State Representative Brad Thomas, District 21, Mayor (City of Smyrna) Derek Norton, and Michael Sullivan.

Guests at ACEC’s Dekalb Thirsty Third Thursday enjoy the relaxed networking environment.

GEORGIA NUMBERS by the

SUSIE BAKER

KING TAYLOR, a formerly enslaved woman, becomes the first federally funded teacher in the state of Georgia and one of the first African American nurses in the U.S. to administer battlefield care to soldiers.

1912

GRACE TOWNS

HAMILTON was the first African American woman elected to the Georgia General Assembly.

JULIETTE GORDON

LOW founds the Girl Scouts, to create “a movement where all girls could come together and embrace their unique strengths and passions.” What began as one troop of 18 girls, inspired by the Boy Scouts, is now the largest leadership organization in the world for girls.

HELEN DOUGLAS

MANKIN, a lawyer, legislator, and politician born in Atlanta, was the first woman elected to Congress from Georgia.

GEORGIA TECH admits its first two full-time female students.

LEAH WARD SEARS is appointed by Gov. Zell Miller, Supreme Court’s first woman and youngest-ever justice. She would later become the first Black woman state supreme court chief justice in the country.

MEG PIRKLE becomes GDOT’s first female Chief Engineer.

MOST

A

According to the Society of Women Engineers' most recent Science and Engineering Indicators report, only 16.1% of professional Engineers and Architects are women. As slim as that percentage may be, it is up 39% versus just twenty years ago. The engineering industry continues to be a male-dominated field, but every year, more and more young women enroll in STEM-based degree programs, slowly turning those numbers in a different direction. The next generation of women engineers is being inspired by the talent, leadership, and innovation of today’s women in the engineering industry. Women like those that appear on this year’s 100 Influential Women in Georgia Engineering list.

Selected by ACEC Georgia’s 100 Influential Women in Engineering Committee

COMPILED & EDITED

BY BRETT HILLESHEIM

Engineers are obviously an integral part of the collaborative process of creating the built environment, but it also takes many other professions, such as architects, contractors, surveyors, attorneys, urban planners, and government leaders, to bring an idea from a dream to reality. Nominated and selected by their peers, the women who appear on Engineering Georgia's sixth annual list of Influential Women are making Georgia a better place to live, work, and play through their notable achievements. These women are leaders in male-dominated fields who have had to create their own paths to success and stand as an inspiration for the next generation of engineering leaders. In fact, many of these women lead or volunteer in STEM-related programs to influence and help the next generation of women engineers create their own paths.

MARSHA ANDERSON BOMAR, AICP, ENV SP, F.ASCE, F.ITE PRESIDENT & FOUNDER, MENTOR SMARTS

Anderson Bomar was the Assistant General Manager of MARTA for Capital Program Delivery. Previously she served as the Executive Director of the Gateway85 and was the Founder and President of Street Smarts, Inc and Data Smarts. She was the first woman International Past President of the ITE. Anderson Bomar was on the ASCE Board and President of the Transportation and Development Institute. She has a Master of Civil Engineering from Princeton University and is currently pursuing her PhD at UGA.

ANITA ATKINSON, PE DEPARTMENT HEAD - CIVIL ENGINEERING

PATTERSON & DEWAR ENGINEERS

Atkinson leads a talented group of engineers and technical personnel primarily serving the electric utility market in site development, environmental, structural line design, and surveying. Atkinson formerly served as the President of the Georgia Engineering Foundation and enjoys identifying and support ing the next generation of engineers.

MALORY ATKINSON, CPSM, LEED GA, MBA

CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER,SHEAR STRUCTURAL

Atkinson is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Georgia’s first women-owned structural engineering firm, Shear Structural. She holds a degree in Building Construction from Georgia Tech and an MBA in Marketing from GSU. Atkinson currently sits on the Board of Advisors for Georgia Tech’s School of Building Construction and the Advisory Board of Urban Land Institute Atlanta. She was named ‘Small Business Person of the Year’ by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, one of GSU’s 40 under 40, one of Georgia Tech’s 40 under 40, and a Rising Star by CE News.

DELOIS BABIKER CEO & MANAGING PARTNER, INTELLECTUAL CONCEPTS

Babiker has successfully provided senior leadership in technology, public health, and management for the federal and private sectors. She has a Master of Science in Management Information Systems and a Bachelor of Science in Decision Science from George Ma son University. Before founding IC, Babiker served as Chief Information Officer at Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (NRC), where she successfully led the corporation’s launch into emerging technologies to improve internal operations at HQ and 12 offices.

LYNETTE C. BAKER DIRECTOR OF RESOURCE PLANNING

JACOBS ENGINEERING GROUP

Baker leads the sustained growth and development of their leaders of the future. She is passionate about people development and works to advance diversity and inclusion, strategic technical talent, longterm career development, and a sense of belonging in a global company. Her successes at Jacobs spans almost 23 years, with a background in transportation, city administration, and environmental planning and conservation.

JENNIFER BALL

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, CENTRAL ATLANTA PROGRESS (CAP) / ATLANTA DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (ADID)

Ball’s role with Central Atlanta Progress affords her the opportunity to impact many facets of the people-centered growth of a thriving and economically viable Downtown Atlanta. Recent initiatives under her direction include the Atlanta Arts & Entertainment District; stew ardship of the Stitch vision; the Sweet Au burn Technical Assistance and Redevelopment Grant Program; the Downtown Atlanta Master Plan; and the ongoing implementation of over $40 million worth of public space improvements.

NAKEETA BATSON

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER, GRESHAM SMITH

For more than a decade, Baston has devoted her career to improving safety and mobility for drivers and pedestrians. She leads a team of project managers responsible for scope, schedule, and budget decisions on transportation projects related to safety and traffic operations for GDOT. She is actively involved in The Power of Girls, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering young girls to develop into confident global leaders. She serves as Chair of IMAGE (Inclusive Multiculturalism for Advancement, Growth, and Equity) Employee Resource Network.

BRIDGETTE BEATO

FOUNDER & CEO, LUMENOR CONSULTING GROUP

Beato provides management consulting, environmental, project controls, geospatial, planning, and technology services to the transportation industry. Active in both civic and leadership roles, she serves on the WTS International Board of Directors, Treasurer of the WTS Foundation Board, Co-Chair of the IAM Atlanta Branch, Vice Chair of the APTA Systems Engineering Com mittee and IBTTA Women in Tolling. N

SARAH BEESON

VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS, OASIS CONSULTING SERVICES

In 2022, Beeson became the first Iranian-American and youngest woman elected to City Council in Roswell, Georgia's ninth-largest city. She previously served on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Association of Environmental Professionals, transit nonprofit Advance Atlanta, and economic development organization Roswell Inc.

CLAUDIA M. BILOTTO, AICP

SENIOR

VICE PRESIDENT, WSP USA

Bilotto is responsible for leading the advisory, property and buildings, energy, transportation, and water businesses in a seven-state area, including the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. She has built her 23year career delivering public sector infrastructure projects for a variety of clients and establishing a proven track record of building high-performing teams.

SARAH

BLACKBURN, PE

OWNER & GEORGIA ROADWAY DESIGN DEPARTMENT LEADER, GRESHAM SMITH

Blackburn has over 15 years of experience connecting people and places across Georgia. She is pushing boundaries toward multi-modal, technology-driven transportation solutions with a focus on safety and efficiency and expertise in GDOT’s design policies and design software. Blackburn is well respected in the engineering community and an active member of the ASHE Georgia Chapter, where she has received numerous awards and currently serves as the section President. Additionally, Blackburn serves on Gresham Smith’s company-wide Workforce Development Committee and is leading the firmwide formalization of a mentorship program.

STACY BLAKLEY, PE

CEO &

FOUNDER / BOARD MEMBER,

DOUGLAS CONSULTING GROUP / MARTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Blakley's firm provides civil engineering expertise in aviation civil design, commercial development, storm water resources, and private site development. Blakley was recently presented with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award on be half of President Biden. She serves on the Board of Directors for MARTA, ChairElect of The Atlanta Airport Chamber of Commerce, and The Aerotropolis Alliance Board of Directors.

DAPHNE BONDGODFREY

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, URBAN LAND INSTITUTE (ULI) ATLANTA

In Atlanta, she has been a key part of the Atlanta Community Schoolyards project in partnership with the Trust for Public Land and Park Pride and serves on several Atlanta Regional Commission organizing committees, including the Metro Atlanta Housing Taskforce. She obtained a B.A. in International Affairs from Shorter College in Rome, GA, and an M.A. in Government Affairs from Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC.

RHONDA BRIGGINS, JD

VICE PRESIDENT, CLIENT ACCOUNT MANAGER OF TRANSIT SERVICES, JACOBS

Briggins oversees the strategic growth and development of Jacobs’ transit, aviation, ports, and freight/rail business. She joined Jacobs after retiring at age 45 from MARTA, where she served as the Senior Director of External Affairs for MARTA for over 15 years. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Society from Georgia State University and a Doc tor of Law Degree from Jones School of Law.

MIKITA K. BROWNING COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF WATERSHED MANAGEMENT, CITY OF ATLANTA

Browning is an engineering leadership professional with over 20 years of experience in municipal and consulting within the civil and environmental engineering industry. She is a recipient of the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management/Clean Water Atlanta Program Management Team Award for Employee Excellence and the American Public Works Association Excellence in Service Award.

BRITTNEY BULFINCH

CONSTRUCTION DIVISION DIRECTOR, GWINNETT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

In 2014, Gwinnett County Department of Transportation hired Bulfinch as the construction manager. Bulfinch was later promoted to program coordinator for the Capital Program Delivery Preconstruction Division in 2016. She continued to demonstrate excellent communication skills with her peers, directors, stakeholders, and the public while leading multiple construction projects and was named construction division director of Capital Program Delivery in 2019.

BONNIE BYNUM

VICE PRESIDENT AND NEPA & NATURAL RESOURCES

DEPARTMENT MANAGER, ARCADIS U.S.

Bynum continues a successful career leading the delivery of numerous projects that have contributed to more sustainable, safe, and prosperous Georgia communities. As a trusted advisor to her clients, Bynum remains humble but diligent in her service to the industry and keeping Georgia the best place to live and do business.

STACEY H. CHAPMAN PRINCIPAL & SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CROFT

Chapman works to build engaged, high-performing teams to position the firm for business opportunities nationally. Additionally, she serves as Principal-in-Charge for the local government and higher education studios. Chapman stays ac tive in the community and the indus try, holding several board positions, and is often found volunteering at various events. She was recently selected as an honoree for Tribute’s Women of Achievement and inducted into the Academy of Women Leaders.

NORMA CLICK, C.M. DIRECTOR OF AIRSIDE/LANDSIDE FOR PLANNING AND

DEVELOPMENT, HARTSFIELD-JACKSON

ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Click serves as Senior Project Manager for major capital projects. Click is well-versed in airport industry processes involved in the planning, design, and construction of airfield pavements. She has managed over $450M in airside and landside projects during her time at ATL. Her most notable project accomplishments include the replacement of the airport’s busiest arrival runway in less than 30 days and, most recently, the construction of ATL’s second end-around taxiway.

DEBBIE COTTRELL, PE DIRECTOR OF ROADWAY OPERATIONS, BENESCH

Cottrell has over 25 years of experience in the design and management of transportation and private sector projects in the southeast. In addition to managing a variety of transportation projects, she is also the Program Manager for GDOT’s Railroad Safety Program On-Call Contract for at-grade crossing improvements with Norfolk Southern Railroad. She is an active member of ACEC Georgia and is the current co-chair of the GPTQ Training Subcommittee.

LISA N. CUPID COBB COUNTY CHAIRWOMAN,COBB COUNTY

Cupid is the first black and first female Commission Chair of Cobb County. She has served on the Cobb Board of Commissioners since 2013. Cupid is known as a strong advocate for the fair treatment of all Cobb’s residents and stakeholders regardless of geographic, demographic, or economic standing. She is an attorney and former mediator, policy analyst, and manufacturing process engineer.

ALYSSA DAVIS, AICP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SUGARLOAF COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (CID)

Davis leads projects to ensure the Sugarloaf CID is connected, safe, and attractive for many years to come. Since taking the helm as Executive Director in 2017, Davis has expanded the CID to more than five times its initial annual revenue and has leveraged millions in funding to ensure the long-term success of Gwinnett’s premier business and entertainment district.

FAYE DIMASSIMO, FAICP

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO,CHATHAM AREA TRANSIT (CAT)

DiMassimo’s 40 years of experience includes federal, regional, and local public entities as well as the private sector in the development, management, and delivery of multimodal transportation programs. Prior to CAT she served as the Senior Advisor, Transportation and Infrastructure to Mayor John Cooper, Interim Director of the Metro Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure (NDOT), the City of Atlanta Renew Atlanta/TSPLOST General Manager, and the Director of the Cobb County Department of Transportation.

EMILY DUNN

BOARD MEMBER, 9TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, GDOT

As well as serving on GDOT's board, Dunn is CEO of Tom's Amusement Company, Inc., a traditional street operator headquartered in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Dunn is no stranger to civic involvement and has served on numerous boards over the past two decades. She currently serves on the board of the Amusement and Music Operators Association (AMOA) board and is a recent past president. She served as chair of AMOA's Government Relations Committee and was pivotal in directing AMOA's battling Operation Choke Point activities. N

HEATHER COLSTON EDWARDS, AICP

SR. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGER, EDWARDSPITMAN ENVIRONMENTAL

Edwards is an Atlanta native, graduate of three Georgia universities, and certified planner with over two decades of experience in environmental consulting and management. Her broad expertise across multiple disciplines and commitment to community and client service has led to her focus on roles including technical public involvement mentorship, developing detailed plans for outreach in environmental justice populations, and development of intensive project mitigation plans.

LINDA EDWARDS VICE PRESIDENT, EDWARDSPITMAN ENVIRONMENTAL

With over 35 years of experience, Edwards has grown the firm to over 80 employees with offices in Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. During her distinguished career, her firm received multiple project excellence awards from the Georgia Partnership for Transportation Quality. As a founding member of the WTS Atlanta Chapter, Edwards has received the Employer of the Year award. She belongs to the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce, the ATL Airport Chamber of Commerce, and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

TERESA EPPLE, PE, PTOE PRESIDENT, SOUTHEASTERN ENGINEERING

Epple’s aspirations to become a successful businesswoman, all while embracing the traditional family lifestyle, have been achieved. With the love and support of her husband of 30 years, their four children, and two grandchildren, Teresa established a forward-thinking, multi-disciplined civil engineering firm. Focusing on civil, transportation engineering, and surveying leveraging, Teresa specializes in traffic engineering. Southeastern Engineering was established in 1996 and has been trailblazing the engineering industry.

JENNIFER AULICK ETHERIDGE, PE PRESIDENT, AULICK ENGINEERING

Etheridge is the founder and president of Aulick Engineering, a business that provides engineering design and construction management services for transportation projects. She has over 20 years of experience focused primarily on hydraulics and hydrology for road way and airport projects in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

CAROLINE EVANS, AICP FOUNDING PRINCIPAL/COMMUNITY PLANNER, BLUE CYPRESS CONSULTING

Evans believes passionately in building community both within her company and in the more traditional sense as an Urban Planner. The firm provides Community Planning and Utility Management Services throughout the U.S. and, under Evans’ leadership, has grown to 30+ employees in three locations over the past 9 years.

ANGELA L. FANNÉY, PE, LEED AP

VICE PRESIDENT & REGIONAL LEADER, KIMLEY-HORN

With a foundation in leading interdisciplinary teams for an array of project types—from pro fessional sports facilities to adaptive reuse, residential, and several in between—Fannéy embodies key characteristics of leadership and technical acumen in a competitive site development industry. As the South Regional Leader, she oversees the firm's growth and overall performance across multiple offices in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Her responsibilities in this role include employee experience, client relations, pro fessional ethics, growth, and business practices.

LIGIA C. FLORIM, PE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES ENGINEER, COBB COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Florim is a registered Professional Engineer with over 23 years of experience in the design and management of transportation systems at the Local, State, and Federal level. She is a Director at Large on the Board of WTS Atlanta and represents WTS on the Editorial Board of ACEC Georgia’s Engineering Georgia Magazine. She is involved in her community, volunteering in multiple organizations, including Girl Scouts, Parent Teacher Associations, Toastmasters, and the St. Ann’s Launch Program.

ANDREA FOARD, AICP, LEED AP BD+C SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER, CINCAR CONSULTING GROUP

Foard is experienced in the successful delivery of major transportation & development projects. Foard received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from UAB, a Master's Degree in City & Regional Planning from Georgia Tech, and a Master of Professional Studies in Real Estate from George town University.

BIANCA FRAILS MARKETING & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER, CERM

Frails currently serves as Corporate Environmental Risk Management's Marketing and Community Engagement Manager where she guides the firm's branding and social media and directs STEM and Workforce Development initiatives. She has brought the mission of developing young leaders and providing opportunities to the A/E/C industry through her diligent work to close the workforce gap by bringing new and diverse young people into the engineering and environmental services industry.

RHANDI GALLEGOS, PE, LEED AP PRINCIPAL, AMERICAN ENGINEERS, INC.

Gallegos has 25+ years of civil engineering and project management expertise combined with 5 years of experience in risk management in the construction and engineering industries. She is drawn to the challenge of analyzing and deter mining the financial, safety, and se curity risk to the company, while her unique perspective allows her to envision a strategy for growth and diversification.

ANNIE GILLESPIE, PE DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING, STATE ROAD AND TOLLWAY AUTHORITY (SRTA)

Gillespie manages all the engineering needs of SRTA, including maintaining oversight of the design and implementation of the Authority’s toll collection systems. She oversees rate management and analysis, design and construction of transit-related facilities, and agency-to-agency coordination. In addition, Gillespie has extensive experience in aviation engineering, environmental planning, and roadway design. She holds a Master of Environmental Engineering Degree from Georgia Tech.

LISA GORDON CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, CITY OF ATLANTA

Gordon is passionate about trans formational redevelopment efforts for quality affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization. During her tenure as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Atlanta BeltLine Inc., the organization opened four parks, developed 11.9 miles of hiking and permanent trails, completed the de sign of more than 50 percent of the BeltLine corridor, and created a multiyear strategic plan.

REGAN HAMMOND, AICP TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM DIRECTOR, VHB

Hammond has been a recognized leader in the Georgia transportation and planning landscape for over 20 years, using her experience and passion for helping shape places where all people can access opportunities and thrive. Hammond has played key roles in many significant initiatives, including ARC's Regional Safety Strategy, Gwinnett Transit Development Plan, and the Renew Atlanta & TSPLOST Infrastructure Program. She is also active in WTS, working to attract, mentor, advance, and sustain women in the transportation industry.

ANN HANLON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PERIMETER COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS (CIDS)

Hanlon is in charge of the organization’s daily operations, as well as its investments in transportation infrastructure; the CIDs have an annual operating budget of $10 million. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Government and Computer Science from the University of Notre Dame, and a Master of Public Admin istration Degree in Management and Finance from Georgia State University.

CARLOTTA HARRELL CHAIRPERSON, HENRY COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

Harrell was elected countywide in 2020 as Chairwoman of the Henry County Board of Commissioners. She attended Brenau University, and had a successful career in law enforcement for more than 20 years before retiring. In 2012, she was appointed to the Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) Board of Directors.

Harrell is the Managing Partner of The Harrell Group, a multi-functional women-owned small business consulting firm with a combined 30 years of experience.

KRYSTAL HARRIS

PROGRAM DIRECTOR, ATL AIRPORT COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS (CIDS)

Harris currently manages the ATL Airport CIDs capital program and has a deep understanding of projects from conception to construction, with the ability to grasp content data quickly and easily. Harris has nearly 20 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, with her last 12 years spent at the Georgia Department of Transportation in various roles in Planning and Asset Management. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. N

NICOLE LOVE HENDRICKSON

CHAIRWOMAN, GWINNETT COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, GWINNETT COUNTY

Hendrickson leads the state’s most diverse and second-most populous County. Since her election, she has overseen the opening of the Gwinnett Entrepreneur Center and continues to lead in the development of Gwinnett’s unprecedented Equity Action Plan and the Gwinnett Place Mall Equitable Redevelopment Plan, both ensuring investments and service delivery centered around the voices of the community.

KIMBERLY HUDGINS DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, HNTB

Hudgins has been an integral part of enhancing HNTB’s presence in Georgia. She has worked to strengthen Georgia’s policies for better transportation and advocate for funding opportunities. She represents HNTB as not only Director of Government Relations in the southeast but also the mid-Atlantic where she has developed strong relationships with transportation peers/colleagues. Hudgins is a nationally recognized professional advocate and strategist for transportation initiatives.

SHARON IZZO, PE DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR – ENVIRONMENTAL/ PUBLIC WORKS, CITY OF ROSWELL, GEORGIA

Drawing on more than 20 years of experience in the design and construction of capital improvement projects, she is responsible for Roswell’s Water Utility, Stormwater Utility, Fleet Services, and Solid Waste Division with a combined annual budget of $28.2 million. Prior to joining Roswell, Izzo was the project manager for the Marsh Creek Rain Garden, winning both the ACEC Georgia’s Stormwater Engineering Excellence Award and GAWP Innovative Stormwater Project of the Year.

DEBRA M. JAMES VICE PRESIDENT & CLIENT SERVICE LEADER, BARGE DESIGN SOLUTIONS

James has over 20 years of experience in engineering. Before joining Barge's Atlanta office in July 2021, she served as a CSL for international engineering consulting firms, where she skillfully led strategic efforts resulting in significant projects with municipal and state clients, including the cities of Atlanta and Augusta; GDOT, as well as DeKalb, Hall, and Rockdale counties. James is involved in WTS, the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP), and GAWP's Women Making Waves mentoring program.

KAREN JENKINS, PE, SE, AIA, LEED AP

CO-FOUNDER

&

JENNY JENKINS, PE MARKETING LEAD, SOUTHEAST, VHB

Jenkins focuses on proposal strategy and helping VHB's Southeast team maintain relationships with their clients and partners. Before moving to marketing, she was a transportation engineer for more than 20 years and is a registered Professional Engineer in Georgia. Jenkins continues to be extremely active in the industry, including WTS Atlanta, ASHE Georgia, and ACEC Georgia.

MANAGING PARTNER,SHEAR STRUCTURAL

Jenkins is the co-founder and managing partner of Georgia’s first women-owned structural engineering firm, Shear Structural. She holds degrees from both the University of Florida and Georgia Tech. Jenkins sits on the Board of Advisors for the Georgia Tech School of Civil & Environmental Engineering. She is a past recipient of the 100 Influential Women Award, as well named one of ULI Atlanta’s ‘The Leaders’, and she received AIA Atlanta’s James G. Fausett Service to the Profession Award in 2022.

DAVEITTA JENKINS KNIGHT, PE

VICE PRESIDENT, ATLANTA

AREA LEADER, RS&H

Knight is responsible for staff management, supports business development, and project delivery. She has 29 years of broad experience in transportation engineering and project management encompassing a wide range of projects, from interstate systems to urban and rural roadway arterials. She has completed project delivery for federal, state, and locally funded projects through traditional design-bid-build, design-build, and program management delivery.

MIHYEON (CHRISTY) JEON, PH.D., PE, PTOE, AICP

SENIOR ENGINEER IV/SENIOR

PROJECT MANAGER, ATKINS

Jeon brings 21 years of combined experience in research and practice in transportation planning, traffic engineering, sustainability/resilience planning, and electrification of transportation systems. She is the current Secretary-Treasurer of Georgia Section ITE and the President of Ko rean American Women in Science and Engineer ing (KWiSE). She is dedicated to leading the way to a safe, equitable, and sustainable future utilizing emerging technologies.

NANCY JUNEAU OWNER AND CEO, JUNEAU CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

Over the past 26 years, Juneau Construction has become among the top woman-owned general contractors in the Southeast. Passionate about giving back to the community, Juneau serves on numerous organizations and boards and, in 2022, was recognized as one of Atlanta Business Chronicles’ Women of Influence. A 30-year veteran in the A/E/C industry, Juneau enjoys mentoring women to help them grow both personally and professionally and enjoys speaking on panels, at conferences and to local businesses.

KELI KEMP, AICP, PTP CO-FOUNDER & CEO, MODERN MOBILITY PARTNERS

Kemp oversees the marketing and growth strategy for the company, as well as the management of pioneering transportation planning projects. With almost 25 years of experience in transportation planning, Kemp brings thought leadership to the industry as Co-Host of the Modern Mobility Podcast, a ground-breaking transportation planning podcast that provides practical step-by-step solutions to modern-day transportation challenges.

STACEY KEY BOARD MEMBER - 5TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, GDOT

Key is a 25-year veteran in corporate America with a variety of global brands, including IBM, Bellsouth/AT&T, Schlumberger, and Samsung Telecommunications. She is actively involved in the community and in addition to the GDOT Board she serves on the board for, Emory University Center for Ethics, College Football Hall of Fame, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and the Midtown Alliance.

KATIE KIRKPATRICK PRESIDENT & CEO, METRO ATLANTA CHAMBER

Kirkpatrick currently serves as the President and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC). Kirkpatrick is known for her public policy prowess, courageous leadership, and more than a decade of driving impact through her work at MAC. Previous ly MAC's chief policy officer, she served as the link between the metro Atlanta business community and local and national government. Kirkpatrick galvanized the Public Policy team's priorities in business climate, educated workforce, transportation, and sustainability – including water, energy, and the environment. The Public Policy team continues to fight to protect Georgia's top-rated business climate.

DANA LEMON BOARD MEMBER - 13TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, GDOT

Lemon currently serves on the Trustee Board for Clayton State University in Morrow, GA.

Lemon is also serving her fifth term as the first woman elected to the Transportation Board of Georgia. Prior to her election, she served on the Davidson College Alumni Association and Henry County Chamber of Commerce. Her life of service was recognized in 2018 by the Georgia Senate and in 2012 by the Georgia House of Representatives, where she received resolutions and commendations for her contributions to the State of Georgia and unselfish and dedicated public service.

GEORGINNA LOCKETT

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, DEKALB COUNTY

DEPARTMENT OF WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

Lockett is a dedicated leader responsible for providing safe drinking water and ensuring compliance for large wastewater treatment facilities for multiple public systems in the Atlanta Metro area for 20 years. Lockett currently serves as Assistant Director for the DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management, where she is responsible for the 100 mgd Scott Candler WTP, Snapfinger and Pole Bridge WRF, and numerous pumping facilities.

BETH LOWRY PRESIDENT, HOLDER CONSTRUCTION

Lowry is a construction executive with 27 years of experience in commercial construction. She is the first female President of Holder Construction. Previously, Lowry served as Holder Construction’s Executive Vice President since 2012 where she worked across business units to ensure commercial clients’ success across the Southeast and the country. She also serves on the board of the Kennesaw State University Foundation since 2020 and as an advisory board member for Posse Atlanta.

KARYN MATTHEWS, PE PROGRAM MANAGER, ARCADIS

Matthews currently serves as Preconstruc tion SPLOST Manager for Cobb County DOT where she has been the PM for numerous award-winning projects. She is the Co-Chair for the 2023 ASHE National Conference, to be held here in Cobb. Matthews also currently serves as a Director on the ASHE Georgia Board and is a member of Leadership Cobb Alumni Associ ation and WTS. When not working, Matthews enjoys hiking around the Chattahoochee with her husband, Tim and their two teen boys. N

QIANA MCKOY

MANAGER, INFRASTRUCTURE AND MOBILITY EQUITY, HNTB

McKoy is an active member of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) and WTS International, serving on various local and national committees, and is a tireless advocate for the next generation of transportation professionals. In 2022, McKoy won both the COMTO National and COMTO Atlanta Emerging Leader of the Year awards, as well as the WTS Atlanta Diversity Leadership award, in recognition of her commitment to the transportation industry.

HELEN MCSWAIN

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION DIRECTOR, ROHADFOX

McSwain is highly skilled in building high-performing teams, strategic business growth, and partnerships. McSwain has a special interest in mentoring and STEM education. Her commitment to mentoring is exemplified through her volunteer leadership supporting WTS International Board, Past National Chair WTS Transportation You STEM Program; APTA Emerging Leaders Program; Leadership APTA Executive Program Committee; Georgia Supplier Diversity Corporate Mentor Protégé Program; and COMTO Youth Symposium and Scholars Program.

MELISSA L. MEEKER

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER,THE WATER TOWER

Meeker has 30 years of experience in water resources management with an emphasis on water supply diversity and resiliency. Having worked in public, private, and not-for-profit sectors, she currently serves as the CEO of The Water Tower, focused on enabling solutions in research, technology, training, and engagement around water. In 2022, she was awarded the Gwinnett Chamber’s Moxie Influence Award.

KIM MENEFEE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CUMBERLAND COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT

DISTRICT AND ONE CUMBERLAND

Menefee leads efforts at the local, state, and federal levels to advance key transportation and infrastructure projects that enhance the Cumberland community. She is directing the development of One Cumber land designed to bolster the work of the CID by broadening its reach, funding, and impact. Menefee is also a member of the Cobb Chamber Board of Directors, where she served as Chairwoman in 2015. She serves on the Board of Directors for Council for Quality Growth.

MONICA MILES

PRESIDENT, M.H. MILES

Miles manages the firm's audit engagements with State DOTs around the country. She is a key contract administrator of the firm's supportive services contracts that serve DBEs and Veteran Owned Small Businesses. She fosters the entrepreneurial spirit and provides an environment for employees to thrive by contributing innovative approaches to the firm’s service delivery and the development of new service lines.

JANNINE MILLER, MPA, MBA

DIRECTOR OF PLANNING / EXECUTIVE

DIRECTOR, GDOT / GRTA, SRTA, & ATL

Miller leads the development of GDOT’s investment strategy for roads and bridges, including statewide freight infrastructure. In 2023 she was also appointed as Executive Director of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA), and the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority (ATL), by the Governor. Previously she served as Senior Ad visor to the Secretaries of USDOT and USDA.

ASHLYN MORGAN PE, PTOE

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER, ITS AND TRAFFIC ENGINEERING, ATKINS

Morgan is a Senior Project Manager and leads Atkins' southeast operations in safety, signals, intelligent transportation systems design, and connected vehicle (CV) deployments. She leads multi-disciplined teams to provide innovative solutions in support of safety improvements and is one of Georgia’s leaders in emerging CV technology, including leading CV pilot projects for emergency vehicle preemption and freight and transit priority. Morgan is passionate about client service, staff development, and mentorship.

ERIN MURPHY ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES MANAGER, VHB

Murphy is responsible for the growth of the environmental services practice, quality management, project execution, and client relations. Murphy leads a large and diverse group of environmental professionals for a range of transportation, energy, and private development projects. In addition, she serves as the corporate-wide cultural resources discipline lead, providing guidance and support across VHB's footprint. In 2021, she was named by ENR Magazine as one of the National Top 20 Professionals Under 40.

KIMBERLY WELLS NESBITT STATE PROGRAM DELIVERY ADMINISTRATOR,GDOT

Nesbitt is responsible for project management for a statewide program. The office is responsible for over 1300 projects that account for two billion dollars in funding. She began her 24-year GDOT career as a civil engineering technologist in the Office of Traffic Operations and progressed to various project and personnel management roles in the offices of Consultant Design, Traffic Safety and Design, and Program Delivery.

HOLLY PAINTER, PE ASSOCIATE, SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER & KCI BOARD MEMBER, KCI TECHNOLOGIES

Painter is a Professional Engineer with nearly 18 years of transportation engineering experience. She holds active roles with numerous organizations, including ACEC Georgia Board Secretary, ASHE Regional Vice President, ITS-GA Board Director, as well as GA-ITE, ACEC STEM, WTS, and FES/FLENG. She currently serves on the ACEC Georgia/ GPTQ Procurement Subcommittee and Procurement Negotiations Task Force. Her accomplishments have earned her multiple awards, including ENR Southeast's "Top 20 Under 40", 2020 GSPE Young Engineer of the Year, and 2022 ITSGA Presidents Award.

ERICA PARISH, PE DEPUTY DIRECTOR, PAULDING COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Parish has served as the Deputy Director for the Department of Transportation (DOT) since June 2021. Previously she served as interim director of the agency from April 2018 and as the deputy director of the agency beginning in September 2016. Before coming to Cobb County, Parish was with Paulding County DOT where she began her career in civil engineering as a preconstruction engineer.

TAMAE PARTAIN, PMP GLOBAL BUSINESS AREA PROGRAM MANAGER – MOBILITY, ARCADIS

Through experience managing billions of dollars of project implementation, Partain knows quality growth is a balance of planning, finance, policy, engineering, operations, construction, and implementation and understands the intricate relationship between public and private sectors. Her success in leading the delivery of projects has contributed to a more sustainable, safe, and prosperous Georgia.

CRISTINA PASTORE, PE, AICP TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER/ PLANNER & VICE PRESIDENT/ ASSOCIATE, KIMLEY-HORN

Pastore combines technical analysis with public input to develop implementable plans with positive community impact. She has led some of the largest and most complex comprehensive transportation plans in metro Atlanta, positioning local governments for sales tax initiatives and state/federal funding matches. She has served as the Office Practice Leader for Kimley-Horn’s Atlanta Transportation Planning and Traffic Operations group.

HIRAL PATEL, PE DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING,

GDOT

Patel has served in several different roles, including, Area Engineer in the Gainesville District, Senior Project Manager, Assistant State Program Delivery Administrator, and State Environmental Administrator. Currently, Patel is an active participant on several different committees: the Steering Committee of AASHTO Council of Active Transportation, AASHTO Work Zone Subcommittee (Vice Chair), AASHTO Active Transportation Research Subcommittee (Chair), GDOT Consultant Pre-Qualification Committee (Chair) and GPTQ Consultant Relations Committee (Co-Chair).

MEG PIRKLE, PE

CHIEF ENGINEER, GDOT

Pirkle is the Chief Engineer of GDOT, a position she has held since January 2015. As Chief Engineer, she oversees engineering, construction, and project management for the Department’s $2.5 Billion statewide capital program. Pirkle also oversees the P3 program, statewide maintenance, traffic operations, and intermodal programs. Pirkle earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Vanderbilt University and a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech and is a registered Professional Engineer.

JAHNEE PRINCE COMMISSIONER FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF CITY PLANNING, CITY OF ATLANTA

Prince brings more than 25 years of city planning experience to the post, having worked in both the public and private sectors. Prince joins the Administration most recently serving as the Entitlements Director at Parker Poe Adams and Bernstein LLP. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, the American Planning Association, and the Urban Land Institute. N

ANN PURCELL BOARD MEMBER - 1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, GDOT

Purcell, a former state legislator, is serving her third term on the State Transportation Board representing the 1st Congressional District. Her district encompasses 17 counties in Southeast Georgia. She is the Chair of the Statewide Transportation Planning/Strategic Planning Committee and is the Vice Chair of the Intermodal Committee and the Legislative Committee. Purcell is a member of the Finance Committee, Program Delivery Committee, and the Gateways Committee. From 2018-2019 she served as chairperson to the board.

PRASHANTHI REDDY PRESIDENT & CEO, ACCURA ENGINEERING AND CONSULTING SERVICES

Reddy is responsible for the strategic growth, development, and overall management of the company. She has overseen the expansion of the firm's services and market segments and has been instrumental in developing the company into a respected firm known throughout the United States. She is a member of ACEC Georgia and participates at many levels, including serving on a Georgia Partnership for Transportation Quality (GPTQ) subcommittee and sponsoring events such as the Georgia Transportation Summit.

SALLY RIKER, F. SAME PARTNER, LOWE ENGINEERS

Riker was appointed to serve on the Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) Global Leadership Committee for Urban Land Institute (ULI) of the Americas. She is a Fellow in the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) and was elected to serve on the SAME Foundation Board. She currently serves as Vice Chair for the Council for Quality Growth and locally as the Mt. Paran Northside Citizens Association/Atlanta as President. Riker has been named recently as 500 most Influential Georgians by Georgia Trend and was featured in the March 2023 issue as a Female Agent of Change.

ANNA ROACH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ATLANTA REGIONAL COMMISSION

Roach is ARC’s first female leader. Earlier in her career, she served as Assistant Deputy General Counsel for the District of Columbia Department of Human Resources, an administrative law judge in the city of New York, and as appellate counsel for the Legal Aid Society of New York.

KELLY ROBERTS, PE, S.E., LEED AP BD+C PRINCIPAL & SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER, WALTER P MOORE

Roberts is a founding board member of the Lifecycle Building Center. She is a MLAB member of USGBC Georgia and on the USGBC Materials & Resources Technical Advisory Group. She is co-chair for the Atlanta Carbon Leadership Forum HUB, a Steering Committee member for AIA Atlanta COTE, and a member of ACI 318N. She is founding chair of NCSEA Sustainability Committee and an SE 2050 Advisory Council member. Roberts is a 2021 Building Design + Construction 40 under 40 winner and 2022 Auburn University Outstanding Young Engineer.

CARRIE ROCHA, PE, CCM INTERIM CHIEF CAPITAL OFFICER, MARTA

Rocha oversees the Division of Capital Pro grams, Expansion & Innovation (CPEI). The Division of CPEI is responsible for planning, developing, designing, and delivering capital projects to expand transit services that meet the growing needs of MARTA's service area, as well as improving the reliability and safety of MARTA's system through the State of Good Repair Program. She is responsible for a portfolio of over 150 projects and an annual budget of over $500M in the capital improvement program.

JOY ROHADFOX

CEO, ROHADFOX CONSTRUCTION CONTROL SERVICES

Rohadfox's strategic leadership, understanding of the industry, and market knowledge have resulted in developing tactical and long-term partnerships with some of the world’s largest engineering firms on multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects. Under her 22 years of leadership, the firm has increased its national footprint to 12 offices throughout the United States in the aviation, transportation, transit, and water/wastewater market.

RACHAEL SADLER, SHRM-CP

VICE PRESIDENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES, MC SQUARED

Sadler has over 18 years of experience in the A/E/C industry. She has played a vital role in the growth of MC Squared from a five-member firm to nearly 100 strong professionals across the southeast of the US. Her incredible growth trajectory from an Office Admin to her current position as VP of HR is a true success story about MC Squared’s culture of “Nurture and Nourish the Brightest.”

KIMBERLY SANDERS SENIOR ASSOCIATE, STANTEC CONSULTING SERVICES

Sanders is a leader in the development of business with public and private clients providing solutions to their environmental problems. Sanders serves on Stantec's U.S. Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Council, is a Director on the Executive Board of the Southern Section Air and Waste Management Association, and serves on the Villages at Carver Family YMCA Advisory Board. She has a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Alabama Birmingham.

CANDICE SCALE VICE PRESIDENT, KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER – FEDERAL PROGRAM, CHA CONSULTING

Scale has more than 15 years of experience serving federal and defense clients. In her role at CHA, she leads collaboration with cross-functional teams to secure and deliver sustainable, integrated solutions to federal agencies throughout the US and abroad. Scale earned an under graduate degree in Geography and GIS from Georgia Southern University. She serves as the Immediate Past President and Chair of the Leader Development Program at the Society of American Military Engineers Atlanta Post and is a member of the Board of Directors at SAME Panama City Post. She has received numerous awards for her contributions to SAME.

JULIE SECRIST, PE, M. ASCE FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, RED STONE GROUP DEVELOPMENT & ENGINEERING

Secrist is a registered Professional Engineer who manages multiple lines of business and project types for the company. In her 17-year career, she has worked on both the public and private side of civil engineering and land development projects. Secrist also serves as President of ASCE Georgia, Vice President for Georgia Engineering Foundation, PastChair for UGA’s College of Engineering Advisory Board, and Co-Chair of the Georgia Infrastructure Report Card.

REBECCA SHELTON, PE

ACTING

DIRECTOR, GWINNETT COUNTY

DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES

Shelton leads a large metro Atlanta water, wastewater and stormwater utility with a $400 million per year budget serving nearly one million residents. She is active in her community, volunteering with Rotary, local food banks, her church, and ASCE. She is an active member of ASCE’s Committee for America’s Infrastructure, two-time Past-President of the Rotary Club of Buford/North Gwinnett, and current Region 5 Governor for ASCE.

CHARLENE SMART

HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR, CERM

Smart has over 20 years of combined Human Resources & Business Management experience, with an emphasis over the last 10 years in the Civil Design Engineering Industry.

Smart is a proven strategist who has become a trusted advisor and partner who leverages the HR body of knowledge and transformative concepts of LEAN Six Sigma to strategically align human capital plans, strengthen management skills, streamline HR processes, and structure process-improvement initiatives. She is also SPHR, SHRM-SCP, 6o GB, and MBTI certified.

ALISHA SMITH

DIRECTOR OF PROJECTS AND PLANNING, TOWN

CENTER COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

Smith initiates infrastructure and place-making projects that address multi-modal transportation and quality of life needs for the district. She oversees the Town Center CID’s portfolio of projects and collaborates with community stakeholders and local and federal agencies to ensure these investments are managed wisely and achieved on time. Her project di versity experience ranges from transportation, infrastructure, and planning studies to parks, trail networks, community involvement, and grant writing.

ANGELA SNYDER, PE PRESIDENT, PRACTICAL DESIGN PARTNERS (PDP)

Snyder has been an active member of the engineering community for the last 19 years, serving many leadership roles within WTS Atlanta, ACEC Georgia, and the former Georgia Engineering Alliance (GEA). Currently, she serves as the chair of the K-12 subcommittee of the STEM Workforce Task Force and is on the Scheduling and Programming Task Force with ACEC Georgia.

KRYSTAL STOVALL-DIXON, PMP PRESIDENT AND CEO, PARADIGM PROJECT LEADERSHIP GROUP

Dixon offers 27 years of project management and leadership experience, including over 13 years with the GDOT. Named one of the Top 100 Influential Women in Georgia in 2021 by Engineering Georgia Magazine, she has managed projects ranging from $50K to $500M and has led a team of project managers and program managers who are responsible for delivering a $9.5B program for GDOT. N

TRACY STYF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TOWN CENTER COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

Styf works collaboratively with the local, state, and federal leaders to invest the approximately $3.7M of commercial tax funds received each year to develop infrastructure, parks, and trails. She serves on various boards including Cobb Chamber, Cobb Community Foundation, Council for Quality Growth, Georgia Transportation Alliance, Kennesaw State University, Select Cobb, and the Strand Theatre.

RUKIYA THOMAS

VICE PRESIDENT, SENIOR REGIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & STRATEGY DIRECTOR, ATKINS

For nearly five years, Thomas has had the pleasure of leading Georgia’s business development strategy for Atkins, a member of a world-leading design, engineering, and project-management consultancy at its largest US office in Atlanta. She manages community relationships in the infrastructure space and drives a $359 M pipeline that spans 81 clients serviced by five internal lines of business. In 2022, Georgia exceeded financial goals in four of five areas.

SUSAN THOMAS, AICP VICE PRESIDENT, EDWARDS-PITMAN ENVIRONMENTAL

Thomas has helped the firm become an industry-leading environmental consulting firm serving the Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina transportation market. She also serves as the Project Manager for a 5-year Regional Environmental Services IDIQ contract for the GDOT Office of Environmental Services. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is active in the Georgia Partnership of Transportation Quality.

SASHA UGI VICE PRESIDENT, CROY

Ugi leads the strategic direction of the firm, including internal operations, communications, and business development. During her time with Croy, Ugi has worked with the firm’s 120 employees to communicate the firm’s message and brand, establish strategic priorities and goals, as well as develop a robust culture and leadership development program. In addition, she works with Croy’s clients on various projects to portray their vision to others and gain community engagement, understanding, and acceptance.

CHARLOTTE WEBER DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, LUMENOR CONSULTING GROUP

Weber’s 23-year career has seen her progress from a staff historian to her current role as the Director of Environmental Services. She prides herself on identifying, mentoring, and uplifting emerging professionals in the field, particularly women. She received the WTS-Atlanta Member of the Year Award in 2021 as well as being recognized as one of ACEC Georgia’s 50 Notable Women of 2022. She has held numerous board positions and currently chairs the ACEC Georgia STEM Workforce Taskforce.

CAROLINE WHALEY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / PARTNER, GATEWAY MARIETTA COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT

DISTRICT / STRATEGIC CITY PARTNERS

Whaley draws on more than 20 years of economic and land development, public-private partnership, and non-profit leadership. Holding a Master’s Degree in City and Regional Planning from Georgia Tech, Whaley is a partner with Strategic City Partners. Her current focus is on contin ued economic development and infrastructure improvements to the Franklin Gateway Corridor. Whaley is a 2020 inductee into the Livesafe Resources Academy of Women Leaders.

ANGELA WHITWORTH TREASURER, GDOT

Whitworth established a thorough understanding of GDOT’s finance and accounting practices by serving as Assistant Budget Administrator, Financial Management Administrator, Director of Finance, and Assistant Treasurer. With 25 years of service to the State of Georgia, she also held various accounting and financial roles with the State Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Georgia General Assembly’s Legislative Budget Office.

MALIKA REED WILKINS, PH.D.

CHIEF STRATEGY AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS OFFICER, ATLANTA REGIONAL COMMISSION (ARC) Wilkins leads ARC's governmental affairs, strategic planning, corporate and community engagement, board member relations, and communications. Wilkins has more than 25 years of experience in public policy, strategic planning, and building long-standing partnerships in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Prior to onboarding with ARC, she served the State of Georgia in various execu tive-level roles with SRTA, GRTA, and the Georgia Department of Human Services.

KRISTIN WINZELER DEPUTY DIRECTOR, NORTH FULTON COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

Winzeler manages the daily operations, projects, and consulting team of the North Fulton CID. She has been with the CID since starting as a Project Assistant in 2012. She serves as a board member of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and was awarded the Chamber’s JenLan Rising Star Award in 2018.

EMILEE WOODS, PE PROJECT MANAGER, PARSONS

Named as Parsons’ 2022 Rising Star, Woods has led an aggressive career that catapulted her into a visible and challenging leadership role within the multi-billion-dollar or ganization. She has managed and served as Engineer of Record on proj ects with construction values over $100 million. Additionally, Woods supports the Georgia Office operations and oversees the financial and technical performance of all active transportation projects, engages in business development, and manages and mentors a team of engineers. Woods serves on the ACEC Georgia GPTQ Engineering Services Subcommittee.

KATHY ZAHUL, PE

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR STRATEGIC AND SYSTEMS PLANNING, GDOT

During Zahul's 28-years with GDOT, she has held positions in Construction, State Aid, and Bridge Maintenance in addition to serving as the State Traffic Engineer and District Engineer in Metro Atlanta.

KATHERINE ZITSCH, PE, BCEE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF NATURAL RESOURCES, ATLANTA REGIONAL COMMISSION

Zitsch is a leader in planning for a resilient, longterm water supply. Zitsch plans for the region's water future, works with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on water supply issues, protects access to water in ongoing tri-state litigation, and oversees ARC's climate and sustainability programs. Zitsch serves on the board of the National Water Supply Alliance and the Executive Committee of ACF Stakeholders. She previously served on the board of the Institute for Georgia En vironmental Leadership. A

EEngineering Georgia’s 35 Under 35 Women to Know in Georgia Engineering is a celebration of the next generation of influential leaders within engineering and land development professionals. These women are recognized by their peers for their dedication, innovation, and leadership as engineers, planners, strategists, and civic leaders.

1. KELSEY BALDWIN, PE Water Group Leader JACOBS

2. CARLIN BILLINGS, PE Project Engineer PRACTICAL DESIGN PARTNERS

3. SHAYLA BRADSHAW, EIT Project Engineer THOMAS & HUTTON

4. ABIGAIL BURKS, EIT Project Engineer PARSONS

5. HALEY CARMACK Human Resources Generalist 2MNEXT

5.

2.

1.

3

4.

14.

6. DIANA CHUMAK, PE Project Engineer GRESHAM SMITH

7. MACKENZIE COPELAND, EIT Project Manager MICHAEL BAKER INTERNATIONAL

8. LAUREN DAVENPORT, PE, LEED AP, PMP Project Manager THOMAS & HUTTON

9. MARCI EARLY Traffic Engineering Consultant KECK & WOOD

10. ELIZABETH HARTZOG Deputy Project Liaison HNTB

11. MELANIE D. HEAD, PE Municipal Utilities Department Head CROY

12. LUCI HOGUE Senior Communications Specialist CROY

13. ANASTASIA KLOSTERMAN Lead Zero Emissions Transportation Analyst 1898 & CO., A PART OF BURNS & MCDONNELL

CARLIN LIGHT, EIT Engineer In Training PLANNERS AND ENGINEERS COLLABORATIVE

15. AURIE MANIGO, EIT Staff Engineer KECK & WOOD

13.

8.

7.

11.

9.

16. AKYIAA MORRISON, PE Pavement Practice Lead | Program Director 2MNEXT

17. KELSEY MUSICK, PE Project Manager MICHAEL BAKER INTERNATIONAL

18. DOYIN OLADIMEJI Assistant Structural Engineer HAZEN AND SAWYER

19. VALARAE PARTEE Associate Environmental Engineer BROWN AND CALDWELL

20. JANINE PAYNE Transportation Engineer VHB

21. COURTNI PEAVY Bridge Design Engineer ARCADIS

22. MOLLY REA, PE Project Engineer ALFRED BENESCH AND COMPANY

23. DAYSIRY RODRIGUEZ PEREZ Design Engineer PES. STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS

24. LEIGH SEXTON, PE Associate HDR

25. LINDSAY SHIFFMAN Lead Engineer WSP

22.

17

16.

19

20.

21

18.

24.

23.

26. ERIKA SUTTON, EIT Transportation Engineer VHB

27. SYDNEY THOMPSON, PLA, ASLA, GSWCC LEVEL II Associate | Project Manager POND & COMPANY

28. MELISSA TING COO BLUE CYPRESS CONSULTING

29. AIMEE TURNER, PE, PTOE, RSP1, IMSA TS III Traffic Department Manager CROY

30. NATALIA VAZQUEZ DESIGN ENGINEER AMERICAN ENGINEERS, INC.

31. SADHANAPRIYA VEERAVALLI Project Engineer WK DICKSON & CO., INC.

32. KATIE WEST Sr. Planner I ATKINS

33. TIFFANY WOMMACK, PE Project Engineer JACOBS ENGINEERING

34. JENNIFER YOUNG, PE Project Manager DEWBERRY

35. BING ZHANG, PE, PTOE Transportation Engineer/Associate KIMLEY-HORN

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DRIVING GEORGIA FORWARD

DAVID CARAVIELLO

TThe process of adding an electric vehicle charging station to one of Georgia’s highways is far more involved than just plunking down an outlet off an Interstate 75 exit ramp. Does there need to be a canopy, like those which cover the pumps at gasoline fueling stations? Do there need to be restrooms and opportunities to grab food and refreshment? How do you process payments so they’re secure, and make the entire facility safe for the roughly 20 minutes that people spend in their EVs waiting on their car batteries to recharge? N

With four leadership roles, Jannine Miller is a key player in Georgia’s transportation framework

“We want these to be customer-driven,” said Jannine Miller, Director of the GDOT Office of Planning, one of several hats she wears within Georgia’s transportation leadership. “We want local communities to have opportunities to grow from the economic development of tourists coming through. We just published a request for information to gather more input about how we implement the plan. Those are the kinds of things we want to figure out.”

These are the questions that Miller and her team at the GDOT Office of Planning mull over on a daily basis as Georgia prepares for a surge in electric vehicle use that will surely accompany the state’s role as a hub for EV manufacturing. But automotive electrification is hardly the only issue on Miller’s plate—she also serves as Executive Director of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA), and the AtlantaRegion Transit Link Authority (ATL), making her one of the most important voices in shaping Georgia’s transportation present and future.

It’s not a coincidence that she’s wearing all four of those hats at the same time. Her predecessor, Chris Tomlinson, also oversaw the three agencies: GRTA (which deals with transportation-related air quality), STRA (which operates toll roads), and ATL (which coordinates transit options beyond the MARTA network in 13 counties). But Miller brings an added degree of gravity to those multiple roles thanks to her other job as GDOT’s Planning Director, a position appointed by and accountable to the governor.

“Planning is about the future and making sure we understand, as best we can, those new paradigms that the future is going to bring to us,” Miller said. “We're used to growth at this point in metro Atlanta. But we're not necessarily used to as much growth as we're seeing in, say, metro Columbus, metro Augusta, or metro Savannah. That population and traffic growth is really, really new to them. They have been given some more tools and a little bit more funding through the bipartisan infrastructure law. And we coordinate with those metropolitan areas in their transportation planning and help them understand the tools that are available to them and methods that they can take to get ahead of their growth.”

Transportation has been a passion of Miller’s since her childhood, during which she recalls playing with Matchbox cars and designing street grids on paper. A native of New York State who’s been in Georgia for three decades now, Miller has done a little of everything in the transportation arena—worked in supply chain for The Home Depot, ran the Center of Innovation for Logistics at the Georgia Department of Economic Development, oversaw GRTA in a previous stint at the agency, worked in a pair of White House cabinet agencies including the U.S. Department of Transportation as Senior Advisor to then-Secretary Elaine Chao.

It was Gov. Brian Kemp who recommended that Miller head the three agencies in addition to her position as GDOT’s Planning Director, to which he also appointed her. “Jannine Miller is a great public servant who will further her statewide impact,” he said when endorsing her

for the posts in December of 2022. “She has distinguished herself as a leader in the field of transportation and infrastructure on both the state and national levels. Jannine will bring an innovative approach and a deep knowledge of the issues facing commuters and those who move Georgia-made products through and beyond Georgia as she steps into these new roles.”

Miller manages the multiple roles by working out of two offices, one at GDOT and one at GTRA/SRTA/ATL, splitting her week between the two locations and occasionally using telework. But “it's less about a physical place to go than it is about being coordinated with the teams and managing great people,” she said. “I'll tell you what, none of these are fixer-uppers, so to speak. We've got great teams doing great work in both agencies. So really, the play here is coordination and streamlining.” Four agencies, one leader

It’s a quirk in Georgia’s governance structure that led Miller to effectively wear four leadership hats all at the same time. Georgia is one of just nine states, she said, where the governor does not appoint a transportation chief. The Georgia Constitution provides that the GDOT Commissioner, who is the Department’s CEO, is appointed by the State Transportation Board. That led former Gov. Roy Barnes to pull SRTA out of GDOT and make the agency accountable to him, the beginning of a domino effect that gradually gave the governor’s office more control over the state’s transportation infrastructure.

Barnes also created GTRA, in an attempt to pull metro Atlanta into compliance with transportation air quality standards that were connected to federal funds. The GDOT Director of Planning role was created and made accountable to the governor in 2009 under then-Gov. Sonny Purdue, for whom Miller worked as an advisor, to give the state’s chief executive influence over how transportation funds are strategically deployed. The final piece of the puzzle, ATL, was signed into law by then-Gov. Nathan Deal in 2018 to coordinate and improve transit options in a 13-county metro Atlanta area. N

PLANNING IS ABOUT THE FUTURE AND MAKING SURE WE UNDERSTAND, AS BEST WE CAN, THOSE NEW PARADIGMS THAT THE FUTURE IS GOING TO BRING TO US

Having one person at the head of all four agencies allows Miller to help coordinate projects—like bringing ATL and GRTA into the loop on SRTA tolling initiatives, which might not have happened earlier when the agencies were under separate leaders. “That’s one example of the coordination and streamlining that can happen with one person at the top,” she said.

As the head of three state agencies and GDOT’s Office of Planning, Miller is afforded a unique perspective on transportation issues in metro Atlanta and throughout the state. That includes the Savannah area, where Bryan County has become one of the fastest-growing counties in America, and where the continued expansion of the Port of Savannah requires a constant search for solutions to relieve pressure on road and rail infrastructure. GDOT’s Office of Planning is preparing to publish a Coastal Empire study that will identify over $1 billion in transportation investments that could make a difference for the four-county region, Miller said.

“That includes everything from widening some arterial roads to widening I-16,” she added. “Taking intersections that right now are built for a fraction of the traffic, and upgrading those so they can handle more flow. It’s an exciting batch of information that we're going to hand to them to consider in future referendums and for GDOT to know how, when we're investing our bonds in that region, where the most effective places are to put that to get them ready for all that.”

There’s also something else happening in the Savannah region: construction on a $5.5 billion Hyundai electric vehicle plant in Bryan County, which began in January. At the same time, work is underway on a $5 billion Rivian electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Morgan and Walton counties east of Atlanta. Between them, the two factories are one day expected to pump out over 700,000 electric vehicles annually, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development. And it’s Miller and her team that are laying the groundwork for the EV surge to come.

THE ‘MUTUAL’ EV RAMP-UP

The first Georgia-made Hyundai electric vehicle is forecasted to roll off the assembly line in 2025 and the first Rivian will be manufactured in the Peach State a year later. Already, over a dozen companies that sustain the EV industry supply chain have set up operations in Georgia. Kemp wants Georgia to become the electric mobility capital of the United States, and more EVs made in the state naturally translates to more EVs driven in the state.

“The Hyundai Motor Group, which also includes Kia, makes some of the most popular SUVs in the ICE world,” Miller said, using an acronym for internal combustion engine, “so we know that drivers in the Southeast and Georgians, in particular, are going to migrate to electric vehicles. I’m certain we’re going to see those around. And we've got a nice kind of mutual ramp-up happening—so it's not like EVs are here all of a sudden and we don't have charging stations, or we have all these charging stations and there are no EVs sitting at them. We both are going to kind of ramp up equally, as best as you can do that.”

Indeed, the EV movement is underway—Tesla’s Model Y was the thirdbest-selling SUV in America in 2022; according to Kelly Blue Book, its 231,400 units sold outranked only by the Toyota RAV-4 and Honda CR-V. According to GDOT, Georgia’s 4.4 EVs per 1,000 vehicle registrations leads the Southeast. Georgia has been allocated $135 million through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (known as NEVI), which requires that funding first be used to build out EV charging stations largely along existing interstate highways—with the goal of allowing EV drivers to eventually travel comfortably from coast to coast.

EV charging stations in the Peach State built with NEVI funds must be available to drivers of more than one model of electric vehicle, be no more than 50 miles apart, and be less than 1 mile from the interstate. Although Georgia DOT will not own or operate any EV charging equipment—it plans to partner with private entities or community partners for the managing of the actual stations themselves—the agency is clearly quarterbacking the effort to deploy those charging stations, which will be built with federal funds.

“The charging stations that we'll be deploying with the NEVI funds have to be universally accessible,” Miller said. “So even Tesla drivers can have an adapter plug that enables them to charge into the universal EV supply equipment. And right now, the law tells us that we have to be at 150-kilowatt charging—that's a quick charge. In 20 minutes, you'll have all the charge that you need, and you probably won't even need that much, necessarily.”

And EV charging locations will not mirror gas stations one-to-one, she added—the EV fueling profile is far different, more akin to charging your cellphone at every opportunity rather than filling up only when the gas tank nears empty. “It’s just a very different operational paradigm,” Miller said. And while the NEVI funds require a focus on the interstates, Miller said GDOT is looking beyond that to the prospect of community charging—which provides options for those who don’t have access to individual chargers and potentially deepens the pool of EV drivers.

“There were special discretionary grants that were set up in the bipartisan infrastructure law about community charging so that wherever there's a lot of multifamily housing or rental units, we want to make charging opportunities available to them at home as much as folks who have a single-family homeownership profile where they get to charge at night,” Miller said. “We're looking to balance all that out, so it's not just about folks who have resources. Because not too long from now, EVs are going to be affordable for everyone.”

That is the job of a transportation planner, after all—to look into the future and seek solutions to challenges that haven’t even arisen yet. And it provides Miller with a unique and useful perspective as she shuttles between her two offices, juggles her four leadership roles, and creates plans for the future of Georgia’s vast transportation network that includes 9.1 million registered motor vehicles—and, eventually, one EV charging station every 50 miles of interstate highway. N

10 QUESTIONS WITH JANNINE MILLER

GDOT Director of Planning Jannine Miller plays a major role in Georgia’s transportation present and future, given that she also serves as executive director of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority, and the State Road and Tollway Authority. This Q&A has been edited for space and clarity.

1. YOU’VE WORKED IN PLANNING AND LOGISTICS FOR MUCH OF YOUR CAREER, BUT WHAT LED YOU SPECIFICALLY TO THE AREA OF TRANSPORTATION?

I've always been passionate about transportation, even from when I was a kid. I played with Matchbox cars instead of Barbies. When I was given a big white sheet of paper to draw on, I didn't draw flowers or buildings—I drew a street network. I think it was like third grade, and the teacher told us to create a diorama, this little physical thing with artwork. I chose Lombard Street, that squiggly street in San Francisco. I was just this way from when I was a kid.

2. HOW DOES WORKING IN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING IMPACT THE WAY YOU SEE ISSUES LIKE COMMUTING, TRAFFIC AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS EVERYBODY HAS TO DEAL WITH EVERY TIME THEY DRIVE TO WORK?

We have a good vantage point here from the 22nd floor down overlooking the Downtown Connector, and it looks very different hundreds of feet above than it does when you're in it. And that's what I'm constantly reminding myself about the work we do up here. How do we make sure it matters and impacts commuters, drivers, and transit riders in their every day? Because infrastructure takes a long time to design and permit and build. What can we do today that makes their time more efficient on our roadways on in our transportation network? We're supporting things from here wherever we can. From a funding standpoint, we’re deploying more technology out there. GDOT has a program called SIGOPS that enables cars with onboard units to hit green lights all the way if you slow down to like 42 miles an hour, rather than gunning it at 50 to make the next green light. It also gives first responders and transit vehicles the ability to tell those signals, ‘I'm coming up. Give me the green.’ These are big, ethereal things that we have to invest in, but I want to bring as much of that as we can into the real world.

3. YOU’VE WORKED IN TWO WHITE HOUSE CABINET AGENCIES, AGRICULTURE AND TRANSPORTATION. WHAT DID YOU TAKE FROM THOSE EXPERIENCES?

The biggest thing was the importance of Congress and the importance of the career staff. In reality, Washington works because there are career staff who keep the machine going and keep us on the rules, no matter what the political winds are. There’s a real appreciation for them, but also for Congress, because those Congressional representatives, mainly on the House side, but also at the Senate, they listen to their constituents back at home. They're not up there making random decisions. They are in touch with their constituents at home and help the agencies understand how to do their jobs better. And USDA does more in transportation than you would imagine because there's not anything we eat today that did not in some way get along that supply chain by truck.

4. DO YOU HAVE ANYONE YOU WOULD CONSIDER A MENTOR, AND WHAT INFLUENCE DID THEY HAVE ON YOU?

There are many mentors, and two stand out. There’s then-Governor, then-Secretary, and now Chancellor Sonny Perdue. He has a passion for government working well and an ability to figure out how to do that and get the right people in place to do that. I learned a lot from being on his teams because that's a passion of mine, too. And another is Dick Anderson, the chief operating officer at Fulton County. Dick was head of GRTA when I was at the governor's office, and he also worked in D.C. as the COO of the Fed for a couple of years. He’s a retired executive from corporate America who wanted to get into public service and give back, so he has decades of business experience I’ve been able to download and get inspired by.

5. DO YOU HAVE ANY FREE TIME? AND IF SO, HOW DO YOU LIKE TO SPEND IT?

I do have free time. First, it's always the dogs, right? Spending time with the dogs and taking them for a walk is relaxing like nothing else. But I also love to spend time with my mom, who now lives closer to me than she has in a long time, and to play tennis.

6. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE RECENT BOOK THAT YOU'VE READ?

One book that I really love is called “An Empire of Wealth” by John Steele Gordon. I love history, and it's about America's history through an economic lens. And not just banks but also agriculture and transportation and the Industrial Revolution. It's just fascinating. It’s one of my favorites.

7. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MANAGEMENT STYLE, AND HOW WAS IT FORMED?

A balance of flexibility and clarity. I know I don't know it all, and I'm not going to be the one to do it all. I'm just a leader among great people, communicating with each other and making sure we're all doing great things as best we can and setting up those structures so that there is certainty and clarity of purpose. Things that need to be done are priorities. It is all about hiring the right people and getting them in the right direction. As (author) Jim Collins would say, it’s getting the right people on the bus.

8. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEBODY INTERESTED IN A CAREER IN PLANNING OR LOGISTICS?

It's exciting—if you have patience and are ready to be both analytic and a people person. You have to be able to do both to grow in this now. Don't get me wrong. I have people who are just data folks. And you know it's not their forte to interact with elected officials or local transportation staff. There’s plenty of work that we need that’s just analytics. And there are plenty of folks who aren't great at analytics but are really good at interpersonal communications and making sure everyone's brought in the circle. They're both critical. But if you want to succeed and grow into leadership in planning, you want to have the ability to do both.

9. WHAT’S THE BIGGEST TRANSPORTATION CHALLENGE FACING GEORGIA TODAY?

Commute patterns have changed so much. And with so much growth and so many people moving to Atlanta, our challenge is to try to understand what's going on and provide options for them. One thing we're doing over at ATL, for instance, is taking a renewed look at our express commuter bus service. Ridership is much lower than it was before the pandemic. But it's not because there aren’t commutes happening. There is that demand out there; it's just not where and when it used to be. We're taking a new look at providing new options to commuters.

10. WHAT WILL TRANSPORTATION IN GEORGIA LOOK LIKE 20 YEARS FROM NOW?

I think the biggest thing in the future is how we, as owners and operators of infrastructure, help support autonomous vehicles. Right now, we’re at best Level 2, as they call it, where there’s some driver assistance. There’s some testing on Level 3, where you can have your hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals but not eyes off the road. How do we get to Level 5 (full autonomy), and in a 20-year timeframe, what can we do on the infrastructure side to support OEMs and to support the operation of that autonomy? How do we ensure field data is reliable? How do we make roadways uniform and predictable enough for the artificial intelligence to process it, and process it in a split second? That's a big challenge for us. A

“I'M JUST A LEADER AMONG GREAT PEOPLE, COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OTHER AND MAKING SURE WE'RE ALL DOING GREAT THINGS AS BEST WE CAN AND SETTING UP THOSE STRUCTURES SO THAT THERE IS CERTAINTY AND CLARITY OF PURPOSE”

JULIE SECRIST, PE, M. ASCE

Red

Stone Group Development & Engineering, LLC

ASCE Georgia President

www.ascega.org

ASCE GEORGIA HIGHLIGHT: GEORGIA ENGINEERING AWARDS

The Georgia Section of ASCE puts great emphasis on promoting the profession and recognizing our great civil engineers who go above and beyond protecting the public welfare, delivering exceptional projects, and inspiring younger generations with their dynamic leadership and careers. For this year’s Georgia Engineering Awards, ASCE members were recognized with 10 of the 11 coveted honors. Read more about several of our distinguished winners below.

Lifetime Achievement in Engineering: Dr. Raphael

L. Bras, PE, F. ASCE

Dr. Bras’ many accolades and accomplishments are the epitome of a career that exemplifies the ASCE mission to sustainably advance and protect the health, safety, and welfare of all. As a Georgia Tech professor in both the Schools of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, he is an accomplished practicing engineer and an advisor to many government and private institutions, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and both the National Academies of Science and Engineering (NAS and NAE).

Dr. Bras’ career also includes positively impacting many students directly through professorships at MIT, UC Irvine and Georgia Tech, where he now holds the K. Harrison Brown Family Chair. He was also the former provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Overall Engineer of the Year: Jeffrey Chiu, PE, S.E., F.ASCE, JD

Jeffrey Chiu is an expert in structural design and civil and military construction administration involving bridges, roads, and site development of a variety of building types. His education in civil engineering is complemented with law and business degrees. In addition, his experience and dedication to civil engineering allow him opportunities to be widely known and appreciated as an advocate with state and Congressional legislators.

Mr. Chiu is an exceptional advocate of civil engineering infrastructure. He substantially contributed to the ASCE Georgia Infrastructure Report Card which is a significant influence on the passage of Georgia transportation investment acts that have reinvigorated the safe and economical replacement and construction of infrastructure. His advocacy includes testimony before the Georgia Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee and ASCE and Civil Air Patrol fly-ins into Washington, DC.

Engineer of the Year in Education: Mi Geum Chorzepa, PhD, PE, M.ASCE

Currently a tenured Associate Professor of Civil Engineering in the College of Engineering at UGA, Chorzepa was one of the original faculty that created the College of Engineering and the Civil Engineering program starting in 2012. In her career, Dr. Chorzepa has advanced the engineering profession in extraordinary ways as follows.

Dr. Chorzepa’s accomplishments in research and curriculum development demonstrate that diversity is a key to innovation and excellence. Her research productivity, especially journal publications, working with her diverse group of students, has been exceptionally impactful. Dr. Chorzepa has successfully completed 14 states department of transportation and Federal Highway Administration projects and accompanying technical reports and published a notable 39 peer-reviewed journal articles within the last 5 years.

Engineer of the Year in Government: Bobby Sauer, PE, M. ASCE

Mr. Sauer has enjoyed a distinguished career in civil engineering for over twenty years. He is a Georgia Tech graduate and his technical engineering skills have been demonstrated on numerous occasions in the government and private sector.

Mr. Sauer’s extensive engineering practice expertise prepared him to excel in his current role at the Georgia Environmental Protection Division where he is involved in dam safety and compliance. Bobby’s involvement working in this program has been integral to EPD’s environmental protection mission.

Engineer of the Year in Industry: Steve Poole, PE, M. ASCE

Mr. Poole provides expert consultation for those constructing bridge spans and other engineering needs in Georgia, Alabama and the construction industry that supports developers, state departments of transportation, and local governments. Critically he has become the "go to" emergency response engineer when slopes fail during and after construction.

Steve’s service with ASCE and Georgia Engineering Foundation shows genuine passion and commitment for promoting the profession of engineering and future generations of engineers. He enjoys his work as his excitement is contagious in all he shares, whether in conversation or a technical training course.

Young Engineer of the Year: Raj Anand, PE, M.ASCE

Mr. Anand is highly respected for his vast contributions to the industry and his technical expertise in bridge design, structural design and advanced structural analysis. He also exhibits great dedication to the advancement and promotion of the profession of engineering. Within ASCE, he has shown great leadership in instances where it was greatly needed – stepping in last minute to give presentations, taking on tasks without needing to be asked, and proactively offering guidance on difficult issues. Raj works tirelessly to drive the ASCE Younger Member Group, volunteering for K-12 STEM Outreach programs, College Outreach and various other capacities within the Georgia ASCE Section.

SARAH BLACKBURN, PE

Gresham,

ASHE

Smith and Partners

Georgia President

www.georgia.ashe.pro

JOIN US FOR THE 2023 ASHE NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN ATLANTA THIS JUNE!

ASHE Georgia is honored to host the 2023 ASHE National Conference from June 7-11, 2023! The National Conference is expected to attract public and private sector transportation professionals, vendors, contractors, and guests from across the country and will provide a forum for networking and education on topics relevant to the transportation industry. The agenda is filled with informative technical sessions, social events, and plenty of networking opportunities. Registration is now open – visit 2023conference.ashe.pro to sign-up!

HOTEL DETAILS

• The Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel and Convention Center | 2450 Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia 30339

• The hotel is located adjacent to “The Battery Atlanta,” home of the 2022 World Series Champions – the Atlanta Braves – and the location of a world-class live-work-play development. Throughout the conference, be sure to enjoy the daytime shopping, dining, and entertainment options of this area.

• Last day to book to take advantage of the $169/night special group rate is May 24 (hurry, rooms are filling fast!)

GUEST TOURS

We’ve got a full line-up of guest tours and activities to keep you busy, including:

• Atlanta City Passes – Provides access to the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, Zoo Atlanta, College Football Hall of Fame, and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights

• Eastside Atlanta Segway Tour

• Atlanta History Center Tour

• Buckhead Village Shopping District Outing

• Sope Creek Hike and History of the Paper Mill

• Tour of Three Local Breweries

• Fishing and Wake Boarding on Lake Lanier

• Atlanta Botanical Gardens Tour

SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, June 8

• Annual Golf Tournament at Brookstone Golf & Country Club

• Welcome Reception and Ice Breaker with Exhibitors

Friday, June 9

• Opening Session with Keynote Speaker, technical sessions

• Luncheon honoring Past Presidents with Project of the Year awards and Person of the Year award

• Atlanta Braves/Washington Nationals Game with Pre-Game Tailgate Party

Saturday, June 10

• Technical Tour

• President’s Reception

• Annual ASHE Banquet followed by festive entertainment including casino games

THANKS TO OUR HALL OF FAME SPONSOR!

Sponsorship, advertising, and exhibitor options are available – learn more at 2023conference.ashe.pro!

CHRISTINA BARRY, PE GDOT GAITE President president@gaite.org

IT HAS BEEN A BUSY START TO THE YEAR FOR GAITE!

For our February Meeting, we went out to the movies and had our first-ever meeting at Movie Tavern, where we saw a private screening of TED talks about leadership. Following that, our March Meeting was at Mary Mac’s where we heard an update from GDOT Office of Planning. Did you know ITE membership is free for planners this year? Please, tell all your friends! Additionally, we held the makeup for our 2022 annual golf tournament at Smoke Rise Country Club on January 16th (previously scheduled on November 11th but postponed due to rain).

On March 5-6, we had our annual Georgia ITE/ASHE Transportation Winter Workshop in Augusta, Georgia. Nearly 200 people attended the two-day program featuring a group project and a keynote address from Andrew Heath, GDOT Deputy Chief Engineer. There was also a full schedule of technical sessions as well as a Sunday night social event.

Also, in March, the Southern District ITE Meeting returns to Georgia and will be hosted in Savannah on March 19th-22nd. The technical program and ABD event at Vic’s on the River have been set. It looks to be a great conference. Let’s cheer on the Georgia Tech Traffic Bowl team!

Looking forward, we have a full calendar. Our April Monthly meeting is planned for Thursday, April 20th, at Georgia Tech. Preparations are also underway for our annual Summer Seminar. The conference will be held July 16 – 19 at the King and Prince in St. Simon’s Island. The theme for this year’s conference is “Oh the Places We Will Go.”

GAITE runs mentorship and leadership programs in alternating years. In 2023 our leadership program returns. This is a great opportunity for young professionals to receive training geared towards preparing them to be future leaders in the industry.

If you would like to be a part of Georgia ITE, please see our website at: gaite.org/join.php for information on how to join. When you join ITE international, you are automatically added as a member of your local section. Members receive discounts on our monthly meetings and events and have the opportunity to serve on our various committees.

FEBRUARY MONTHLY MEETING AT MOVIE TAVERN

WINTER WORKSHOP GROUP PROJECT WORK SESSION

ITE GOLF TOURNAMENT AT SMOKE RISE COUNTRY CLUB

TER WORKSHOP MENTORSHIP PANEL

GEORGIA TECH TRAFFIC BOWL TEAM

CAPT JOHN PRIEN, CEC,

USN (RET)

The Clorox Company

GEF President

john.prien@clorox.com

www.gefinc.org

GEF AWARDS $100,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW

As part of 2023 National Engineers Week GEF presented a total of $100,000 in scholarships to 56 future engineers (53 undergraduates and 3 graduate students) from 18 different ABET accredited engineering disciplines at Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Georgia Southern, Mercer, and Savannah State University. Our program hosts Peyton Lingle PE (Scholarship Chair) and Andrew Farmer PE (Secretary) highlighted an entertaining evening! Our largest scholarship presentation winners are listed below:

60% of this year’s scholarships were funded by member societies and engineering firms and the remaining 40% were funded by individual benefactors and established endowments. We recognize and thank them for their continued support of GEF.

(on the right) Highlights of our 2023 awardees, our society and member firms, benefactors, and endowments as well as board members who have prioritized the education of future Georgia Engineers!

If you are interested in providing a scholarship or endowment, or volunteering to serve, please reach out to us at president@gefinc.org

GRAHAM S. SIZEMORE, E.I.T.

Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood

GSPE President

graham.sizemore@gmcnetwork.com

www.gspe.org

• GSPE lifetime Achievement in Engineering

– Dr. Rafael Bras, PE

• GSPE Engineer of the Year – Jeffery Chiu, PE

• GSPE Engineer of the Year in Construction

– Jeremiah Haswell, PE

• GSPE Engineer of the Year in Education

– Dr. Mi Geum Chorzepa, PE

• GSPE Engineer of the Year in Government

– Bobby Sauer, PE

• GSPE Engineer of the Year in Industry

– Steve Poole, PE

• GSPE Engineer of the Year in Private Practice – Ralph Forbes, PE

• GSPE Young Engineer of the Year

– Raj Anand, PE

• GSPE Engineering Student of the Year

– Zoe Zhang

The Professional Engineers Conference (PE CON) is a national conference hosted by NSPE. This year’s conference will be hosted in Louisville, KY at the Hyatt Regency. PE CON provides an opportunity to build your network of multidisciplined Professional Engineers across the country, advance your career by learning new skills and preparing for future developments in the industry, gain PDHs, advocate for the profession and licensure, and access specialized content from experts in various fields discussing current issues and trends impacting the profession. Information on PE CON and registration information can be found @ www.nspecon.org Sign up today!

EJCDC CONTRACT DOCUMENTS

MathCOUNTS, put on in Georgia through the Georgia MathCOUNTS Foundation (GMF), recently held the statewide competition on March 13, 2023. MathCOUNTS is a national program that has four levels of competition – school, chapter, state, and national where middle school students compete through four rounds – sprint, target, team, and countdown. The top four students from each chapter competition advance to the statewide competition. The top students from the state competition then advance to the national tournament. GSPE and NSPE alike have been longtime supporters of MathCOUNTS. Thank you to all the volunteers, coaches, and chapter coordinators who help make this a success!

ENGINEER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

The 2023 Georgia Engineering Awards were recently held at the Cobb Galleria Centre where the 2023 Engineer of the Year (EOY) Awards were presented by GSPE. Each year, GSPE solicits applications for the EOY awards and an independent board selects the winners from the applications received in areas across engineering. Congratulations to our 2023 winners and thank you for your contributions to the engineering field in Georgia!

• GSPE Engineering Technology Student of the Year – Alexandria Jenkins

• GSPE Engineering Employer of the Year (Small Business) – M.E. Sack Engineering

• GSPE Engineering Employer of the Year (Large Business) – United Consulting

• Engineering Organization Volunteer of the Year – Kate Kelly, EIT (nominated by ASCE)

GEORGIA ENGINEERING FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP

Each year, the Georgia Engineering Foundation provides a college scholarship to Georgia students preparing for a career in engineering or engineering technology. GSPE has been a longtime supporter of the scholarship, and continues to partner with GEF to provide this important scholarship helping advance the next generation of engineers by providing opportunities to enter the field. In 2022, GEF awarded $119,500 worth of scholarships to 59 selected Engineering students from across the State of Georgia. This is the largest total award and number of students since GEF’s inception in 1971! Thank you to GEF and all other supporting organizations and generous donors that help make this a reality each year! Be on the lookout for upcoming 2024 applications and 2023 award announcement! More information on GEF can be found @ gefinc.org

The Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee® (EJCDC®) develops and updates fair and objective standard documents that represent the latest and best thinking in contractual relations between all parties involved in engineering design and construction projects.

• Created and peer-reviewed by experienced industry experts

• Reduced conflict and litigation

• Balanced and fair provisions

• User-friendly and easily customizable EJCDC® documents conform to recognized organizational format (CSI MasterFormat). They have been tested over decades of use and interpreted in courts of various jurisdictions. EJCDC® documents reduce the potential for errors, omissions, redundancies, or conflicts in construction docs. All documents are fully coordinated and integrated. The documents provide for industry-accepted distribution of risk among project participants. Familiarity with these documents by both the Bidder/ Contractor may result in improved prices bid to Owner. The documents are updated approximately every five years to reflect industry trends, court decisions, and changes in applicable laws and regulations. They are suitable for public works and private sector. Finally, EJCDC® documents are less expensive than alternate standard documents and are created in user friendly MS Word format. To learn more about these documents or purchase them, visit: nspe.org/resources/ejcdc-contract-documents

THOMAS GLUECKERT, PE, PTOE

Kimley-Horn

ITS Georgia President

itsgachapter@gmail.com

www.itsga.org

ITS GEORGIA KICKS OFF THE YEAR WITH BIG DATA AND BUSES

ITS Georgia has kicked off 2023 with some engaging monthly meetings covering opportunities to utilize big data resources and hearing about the potential to bring connected vehicle applications to the nation’s largest transit system, school buses. In January, we were joined in Peachtree Corners by James Hall (Stellar Services), Robert Kohler (AirSage), and Terri Johnson (INRIX), who shared information and insight on emerging connected vehicle datasets that are available through the Eastern Transportation Coalition’s Transportation Data Marketplace. There are billions of data points being generated daily from trucking companies, enabled cell phone applications, and, more frequently than ever, the cars themselves! James, Robert, and Terri provided use cases and sample studies for these data sets, discussed how the data is being aggregated and maintained, and provided real-world examples of their use in transportation operation and planning groups throughout the nation.

In February, we headed back to Monday Night Garage (with on-time pizza delivery this time!) to hear from Caryn Vorster (Applied Information) and Poonam Patel (Kimley Horn) about the practical use of connected vehicle technology deployment in school buses. Applied information and Kimley Horn partnered with the City of Alpharetta and others to deploy onboard units in school buses to provide transit

In each edition of Engineering Georgia, we like to highlight a volunteer who generously gives their time to the Chapter. This issue, we are spotlighting Troy Galloway, Principal Transportation Engineer at Arcadis and an ITS Georgia Board Member.

When did you know you were going to be involved in transportation engineering or policy?

When I was a junior at Southern Polytechnic, I joined the student chapter of ITE. I eventually became the Vice President of our chapter and helped start the SPSU traffic bowl team which in its first three years was able to win the Georgia ITE Traffic Bowl.

What got you interested in transportation?

As an engineer, I wanted to pursue a field that I felt would help the public. This led me to traffic operations as this affects everyone either directly or indirectly. I have always enjoyed making things work effectively and efficiently, and traffic was the best way I could see myself making an impact in the engineering realm.

What is the coolest project you have worked on?

I would like to highlight two cool projects that I have worked on. The first was the SunTrust (Truist) Park Traffic Management Plan, where I was able to use my previous special event management experience to develop plans for the new Braves stadium in Cobb County. I grew up watching and listening to the Braves, so this was my way of being a part of this southern tradition. The second project would be the North Ave Smart Corridor; this project was a great combination of traditional civil engineering design in conjunction with ITS and emerging transportation technologies. This project started as a simple resurfacing project and grew into a road diet and a technology test bed in the heart of Atlanta. We were able to deploy technologies to help operations for motorists, buses, and vulnerable road users, while also improving safety for all modes. This project went on to win many awards, including an international award in Barcelona.

What does the future of transportation look like to you?

signal priority along their planned route. The results were positive, with data reporting a reduction in travel time and fuel consumption. Additionally, the bus driver reported that they were able to focus more on road safety as they were less concerned with on-time performance. This pilot project was nominated and awarded the 2022 ITS Large Project of Significance at our Best of ITSGA awards in 2022.

As always, all our content can be found at our YouTube page so stop by if you missed either of these presentations!

I see transportation going away from large new construction due to the increasing cost in construction and ROW, so we need to make the most out of the existing infrastructure. The use of ITS and data will be the future. Improving detection at intersections as well as the implementation of advanced signal timing operations such as traffic responsive, is showing the best return on investment. As vehicles turn more to automation, this will allow for shorter start-up times from stops as well as reducing headways between vehicles, therefore increasing capacity without the need to impact travel for years with a major infrastructure project.

What are you doing for ITS Georgia?

I am heading membership for ITS Georgia and are looking at getting our involvement back to pre-pandemic numbers. ITS Georgia follows an organizational membership approach meaning for one price everyone in your company is a member and can enjoy our many varying events while doing so at a discounted rate. If you are interested in joining us, please reach out, I would be happy to help.

TERRI, JAMES, AND ROBERT PARTICIPATED IN THE PANEL DISCUSSION WITH THE AUDIENCE.

CARYN AND POONAM DISCUSS THE BENEFITS OBSERVED DURING THE DEPLOYMENT.

Atlanta Post

MICHAEL RAMOS RAYMOND

SAME Atlanta Post President

SERVING TOGETHER, DELIVERING THE POST VISION AND FULFILLING THE MISSION OF THE SOCIETY

To start 2023, the SAME Atlanta Post has launched our annual program, which aims to build stronger ties within the Atlanta Architecture & Engineering community, while developing our future leaders. In January, we were excited to kick-off the year with our co-hosting event with ASCE! We view this event as an always valuable launching point for the year, as we build and continue ties with our engineering counterparts, and learn about the legislative agenda for the state of Georgia. I always welcome the opportunity to hear from Mr. Michael Sullivan with ACEC and he delivered a highly informative “state of Georgia” address as it pertains to the key concerns and agenda that will drive Georgia forward and discussed the roles that our A/E/C community will play.

In February, the Atlanta post had the opportunity to meet at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and show our continued support to our Georgia Tech student chapter. We had the opportunity to not only meet with current undergrads interested in A/E/C, but also learn hear about the latest GTRI approaches to machine learning and big data solutions. We appreciate the continued support and engagement by Dr. Anne Clark, our GTRI host, and we appreciated the opportunity to hear from lead researcher Ms. AnnMarie Spexet.

I’m excited that our post will be launching our first Leadership Development Program (LDP) in March! This is a mission that directly aligns with the SAME National 2025 Strategic Plan and is an initiative that I think is at the heart of the SAME mission – I believe that continuing to develop our next generation of leaders is critical for our industry and how we will support the United States Department of Defense. Our March program will feature a panel of local leaders and aims to help attendees “Leverage the Atlanta Braintrust”. Additionally, we will launch our leadership book club, with the post providing copies for LDP participants. All aspiring leaders are welcome to participate as we kick off our new LDP.

On a final note, I would like to recognize our Mr. Christian Ward and Mr. Joe Bredja for their selection to the SAME National Leadership Development Program. Our

post is especially fortunate to have these individuals as part of our post and to be selected into this exclusive program. We are excited to see how their future leadership shapes and drives our post in the future!

2023 SAME SUMMER CAMPS

Learn more about the SAME Summer Camp Program for aspiring engineers, please visit: same.org/camps

Key summer camp dates:

• Army – Jun 11-17

• Marines – June 18 – 24

• Air Force Academy – July 6- 12

• Navy – July 16 – 22

• Air Force – July 16 – 22

Should you be interested in being a mentor for one of these summer camps, please learn more at same.org/camps/mentors-and-staff

SAME NATIONAL ELECTIONS

For SAME members that have not yet taken the opportunity, please submit your vote in the SAME National Elections before April 15th. Several critical leadership positions are being elected and we would like to drive SAME membership participation.

Voting can be done at same.org/election

Please make sure to log into your SAME account as part of the voting process.

CHRIS LYTLE

Uzun & Case Engineers, LLC

SEAOG President

www.seaog.org

NEW VENUES

SEAOG’s leaders have been hard at work this year, searching for new venues to better serve our membership. We recently held a seminar at Wild Haven Brewery spotlighting Atlanta area projects:

Enmarket Arena, Savannah, GA – presented by Jonathan Hurff, Ph.D., PE, S.E., Principal, Walter P Moore

New Fourth Ward Hotel, Atlanta, GA –presented by Jesse Fortner, PE, S.E., Senior Associate, Uzun + Case

Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC)–presented by Dexter Whaley, PE Bridge Design Group Leader, GDOT Office of Bridge Design and Maintenance

AL, for members to learn more about the latest in mass timber construction.

Got an idea for the next event? Contact programs@seaog.org with your ideas. Upcoming Meetings: seaog.org/meetinginfo.php

COMMITTEE NEWS

SEAOG’s Operational Year runs from July 1 through June 30. As we gear up for the next year, there are opportunities for new faces to join all of our committees. Serving on a committee helps you get the most out of your SEAOG membership by facilitating in-depth networking and professional skill-building.

Structural Engineer Emergency Response (SEER): aid community post-disaster recovery through second-responder building safety evaluations

We’ve also added field trips to our list of offerings. Our January meeting was hosted by Steel, LLC in Scottdale, GA, and began with an enjoyable breakfast. SEAOG members were provided a great opportunity to visit a steel fabrication facility in operation while gaining some insight into ways to improve our structural detailing.

Publicity: everything from K-12 outreach and connecting with media outlets to social media posts and website content

Programs: generating topics for seminars, finding speakers, planning activities

Structural Engineering Excellence Awards

Banquet: plan and organize SEAOG’s biannual celebration of Structural Engineering Excellence via an awards banquet

BOD ELECTIONS

In March, we collaborated with WoodWorks to organize a field trip over to SmartLam’s Cross Laminated Timber plant in Dothan,

Structural Engineering Engagement and Equity (SE3): improve engagement and equity within the profession

Members, be on the lookout for an email in April to vote for the 2023-2024 leaders.

MICHELE REDMOND HOLCOMBE

SMPS

President

Michele@foundationtechnologies.com

www.smpsatl.org

SMPS ATLANTA IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE OUR 2022-2023 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS!

CPSM SCHOLARSHIPS

All entries are blindly judged by an independent panel. We had significant participation this year and are excited to announce our top two winners of the CPSM scholarship. Our first-place award goes to Mikki Cash, Senior Proposal Strategist with Burns & McDonnell. Our second-place award goes to Stephany Gaspard, Senior Marketing Specialist with HNTB.

Congratulations to both winners as you embark on your CPSM certification journey! This scholarship covers the registration and exam fees for each recipient.

PETER LYON SCHOLARSHIP

The Peter Lyon Scholarship is dedicated to professional development, which Peter was so passionate about. This scholarship covers the registration fee for the 2023 SMPS Southeastern Regional Conference (SERC). This year we are happy to announce Cari Gerrits, Business Development Manager with PES Structural Engineers.

Thank you to everyone who participated. SMPS Atlanta looks forward to continuing our scholarships later this year. Please watch out for more communications on how you can enter!

KEEP IN TOUCH:

www.smpsatl.org

www.linkedin.com/company/smps-atlanta

RUKIYA S. THOMAS

WTS Atlanta President

Rukiya.Thomas@atkinsglobal.com

www.wtsinternational.org/atlanta

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

After a few months of settling into my first year as WTS Atlanta Chapter President, I am more than proud of our new historic board, our growing chapter membership and our outstanding new 2023 corporate partners being announced today.

PROUD TO LEAD THIS BOARD

We have the most dynamic board in the 40-year history of WTS Atlanta. Seventy percent of our board represents minority ethnicities with 40% of that representing African/African American and 30% representing Latina. Thirty percent of our board leadership are thriving professionals under 40 years of age. Fifty percent of our board leadership are engineers with the other half representing diverse non-engineering careers in our industry. Lastly, as if our board isn't dynamic enough, 70% of us are working moms balancing careers and family while serving WTS Atlanta.

GROWING A DIVERSE MEMBERSHIP

Our membership has reached new heights! We set a stretch goal of 400 members for our 40-year anniversary and are still committed to it until we reach it. We currently have a total of 283 members in our local chapter – highest number to date. Thirtythree members have joined since the first of the year, already exceeding first quarter numbers of 2022. We believe the excitement after a successful 40th-anniversary chapter celebration and the anticipation of hosting the WTS International Conference here in Atlanta are both key factors. We are excited that our overall membership currently is more reflective of our dear city in terms of racial diversity (33% non-white and 29% white of those that disclosed), which we know will create more collaborative solutions and stronger ideas that will attract, retain and advance all women in transportation throughout our industry.

WHO MAKES IT ALL POSSIBLE

WTS Atlanta Chapter’s corporate partners are the best in the country. They not only support us with corporate dollars, but they also show up with their leaders for programming and their employees as volunteers in the chapter year after year.

2023 WTS ATLANTA CORPORATE PARTNERS

2023 Presenting Partner HNTB

2023 Diamond Partners Atkins, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, WSP

2023 Platinum Partners

Intellectual Concepts, JAT Consulting Services, North Fulton CID, VHB

2023 Gold Partners

Atlanta Beltline, Benesch, Croy, Heath & Lineback Engineers, Inc., HDR, Kapsch, KCI, Modern Mobility Partners

2023 SBE/Non-Profit Partners

Blue Cypres Consulting, Perimeter CID, United Consulting

2023 In Kind Partners

SRTA/GRTA, Odonnell Company

A LOOK BACK

Atlanta, Georgia – The first women allowed to enroll at Georgia Tech, Diane Michel and Elizabeth Herndon, begin classes on campus. Diane Michel went on to become one of the first two women to graduate from Georgia Tech in 1956. These women helped paved the way for Georgia Tech to become a leading university for women in science and technology.

PHOTO CREDIT: Georgia Tech