Persistent Leader

BY KAYLA PRASEK

Growing up, Lonni Fleck enjoyed taking things apart to put them back together. She parlayed that love for solving problems and taking on challenges into a successful career as a municipal engineer.

Now, as principal engineer and vice president of Interstate Engineering based in Williston, N.D., Fleck has seen her career continue to evolve. She also sits on Interstate Engineering’s board of directors. “The board is charged with overseeing the business, finances, goals and strategies, but we’re also considered working principals who continue to practice,” Fleck says. “We deem it important to continue working on projects so we don’t lose sight of what the company’s goals are and so we continue to be right in there with the other engineers.”

Fleck, an Aberdeen, S.D., native, graduated from North Dakota State University in Fargo, where she chose a career in engineering because it was the right fit for her. “Going to college is an investment, and engineering seemed like it would give me a return on that investment,” Fleck says.

Fleck started her career as a planner for the Red River Basin Board in Fargo, where she worked for one year. She then spent two years working as a civil engineer for LJA in Fargo, focusing primarily on hotel site design. Fleck then worked at Ameritech Engineering in Williston for four years, before joining Interstate Engineering, where she has spent the past 10 years.

“I’ve evolved as a municipal engineer over the years,” Fleck says. “My clients now are typically cities who have projects including water mains, street design, storm sewers and water storage. I like to keep a broad range of skills, so I try to be involved in a variety of projects. Even if I’m not directly working on a project, I like to be part of different types of projects.”

Fleck says one of the highlights of her career was being involved from the beginning with trenchless technology for removing water and sewer mains. “I like to challenge the norm, and I am always looking for less costly options for my clients. I got to be part of one of the first trenchless projects, which was very exciting at the time.”

One of the most challenging parts of Fleck’s career has been learning time management to balance her “most important job of raising my two children,” she says. Technology has helped make that balance easier because “I can leave work and spend the evening with my family, but can finish up working for the day once my children have gone to bed.”

Being a woman in a male-dominated field “has not held me back, but has not been an advantage necessarily,” Fleck says. “I tried to work harder than everyone else to prove myself or offset any doubt anyone may have about my ability.” Fleck’s colleague and developing leadership skills as an engineer and as a business owner. She strives to understand the complexities of every situation to be able to effectively and efficiently evaluate the situation and develop the best solution.” Additionally, Peterka says Fleck interacts with a wide variety of people in her position and “each is dealt with in an appropriate manner, with respect and a dignity that she would expect on her behalf. I believe that this quality allows her to remain approachable, as well as inherently setting a level of expected professionalism. The combination of these qualities not only raises her abilities as a leader, but also elevates the leadership qualities and expectations for success of those working with her.”

Jed Kirkland, a senior project engineer and regional vice president at Interstate Engineering, says that hard work has helped make her a strong leader. “She leads by example with her hard work, determination and willingness to do whatever it takes. Her perseverance and work ethic have helped her have a successful career.”

Daren Peterka, principal engineer at Interstate Engineering and chairman of the board, says Fleck is “persistent in learning

Fleck is a member of the American Council of Engineering Companies of North Dakota and is a liaison for the North Dakota Department of Health. She is also the head instructor of an introduction to engineering course at Williston State College. “Education has been my motivation so I have worked hard to share that at Williston State. We have so many different types of engineering in-house (at Interstate Engineering), so we lecture on all types of engineering for that student who may be interested but doesn’t quite know where they want to go with this career yet. We try to give the students a broad range of information.”

Kayla Prasek Staff Writer, Prairie Business 701-780-1187, kprasek@prairiebizmag.com