The Land Development Design Initiative 2022 Annual Report

P ROGRAM C OORDINATOR

S M ESSAGE

Acting in my role as Program Coordinator, I extend to you my warmest greetings as I welcome you to the Land Development Design Initiative’s 2022 Annual Report. It is with much enthusiasm that I present this year’s Annual Report – one that reflects on another year of continued program growth and success. Following a year of virtual learning, the 2021-22 academic year at Virginia Tech featured classes returning to a traditional in-person instructional modality. This return to the physical classroom coincided with LDDI hosting in-person practitioner engagement activities that included field trips, on-campus product exhibitions, a design charrette, networking mixers, and others, many of which were canceled or held in a virtual format the previous year. The 2021-22 academic year also marked the debut of the new Sustainable Land Development Master of Science program. While LDDI’s foundational objectives remain squarely focused on undergraduate education, this new graduate degree option is already providing us with many benefits I and I’m thrilled by its early success. The past year also saw the implementation of a new LDDI organizational structure, one formally adopted in April 2021. The catalyst behind the new organizational model was twofold: 1) improve efficiency in responding to ever-changing program demands and needs and, 2) provide increased opportunities for young alumni to become involved in steering LDDI’s future direction. While time will ultimately judge our success in achieving the first goal, with more than 70 industry professionals actively participating in LDDI’s new Industry Advisory Group (IAG) and Young Members Group (YMG), it’s safe to say that our goal of increased engagement is, thus far, a huge success! It has been an exciting year, and for those who have been involved with LDDI for some time, I hope that reading this year’s Annual Report leaves you beaming with pride. For those just becoming acquainted with the program, I hope that the following pages will excite and motivate you to get involved!

LDDI’s Annual Report provides a platform each year to extend recognition and gratitude to the individuals and organizations that enable Virginia Tech to confidently claim the most robust undergraduate land development design curriculum in the country. This year, I want to first recognize the aforementioned individuals who volunteer their time and professional talents to support LDDI initiatives through their service on the recently established IAG and YMG. I also want to specifically recognize and thank Jeff Gilliland (Chair), Alisa Cowen (Vice Chair), Skip Notte, Jack Vega, and Sue Wolford for their service on LDDI’s Executive Board. Next, I wish to thank the 40 organizations who supported LDDI financially as corporate sponsors and municipal members during our 2021-22 sponsorship cycle. These sponsorships are the financial lifeblood of LDDI and directly support a majority of LDDI’s course offerings. I also wish to thank everyone who contributed to LDDI personally over the past year, including the more than 140 individuals who made a personal donation to LDDI on Virginia Tech’s 2022 Giving Day In April, LDDI received a commitment from long-time LDDI supporters John and Connie DeBell to establish an endowed faculty fellowship and two endowed scholarships. We sincerely appreciate the generosity of the DeBells for this recent gift and for John’s years of program support and advising. LDDI remains on sound footing, both financially and with unrelenting support from a large network of industry professionals. To all who have given financially and in other ways to support LDDI over the previous year – THANK YOU!

In closing, I want to also recognize my Virginia Tech colleagues for their contributions to LDDI over the past year. College of Engineering Dean Dr. Julia Ross has consistently provided a listening ear to the needs of LDDI and has allocated College resources in direct support of LDDI’s endowment efforts. LDDI continues to also receive strong support from CEE Department Head Dr. Mark Widdowson, with whom Claire and I coordinate on fundraising, course scheduling, and LDDI’s inclusion in the broader CEE curriculum. I also thank Dr. Tripp Shealy for his hard work over the past year to successfully launch the Sustainable Land Development Master of Science program and I congratulate him on the program’s early success and growth. Finally, I thank my colleague, LDDI Assistant Coordinator Claire White, for another great year of collaboration, and I congratulate her for being honored with the 2022 CEE Alumni Teaching Excellence Award. Each year, preparing the Annual Report provides Claire and me with an opportunity to reflect on the previous year. Following a year of limited, nearly exclusive virtual engagement, the past year was certainly one to savor, and I hope you will share our excitement as you read about its highlights in the pages that follow.

Best regards, Kevin D. Young, P.E.,

M.ASCE

Coordinator, Land Development Design Initiative Associate Professor of Practice, Civil & Environmental Engineering Virginia Tech

LDDI E XECUTIVE B OARD ’ S M ESSAGE

As Chair and Vice Chair of the LDDI Executive Board, and on behalf of the entire Board, it is our great pleasure to once again address you in this year’s LDDI Annual Report. It seems like only yesterday that we gathered for last summer’s general meeting in Richmond – LDDI’s first in-person event since January 2020. But the reality is, since that meeting last July, another full academic year was completed at Virginia Tech. Following the almost entirely virtual 2020-21 academic year, the past year featured not only a return to the classroom for LDDI students and faculty, but also an opportunity to once again hold in-person practitioner engagement events. LDDI courses remain in increasingly high demand among Virginia Tech CEE students, and the Board continues to admire how effectively Kevin and Claire deal with such a large volume of students while preserving the high academic standards for which LDDI is known. Without question th e previous academic year was a success!

Last year also found LDDI functioning under a new organizational model, one formally adopted in April 2021. The new structure features an Executive Board comprised of Kevin, Claire, the two of us, Skip Notte, Jack Vega, and Sue Wolford, as well as an Industry Advisory Group (IAG) made up of four standing committees: Brand Awareness, Membership, Practitioner/Technical/Research, and Special Events. The new organizational model also features a Young Members Group (YMG) that provides a portal for recent LDDI graduates to become involved in program leadership. Over the past year, these committees appointed Chairs and Vice Chairs, developed their respective charges and charters, and started working on a flurry of diverse action items. In total, nearly 70 industry professionals are currently participating in the IAG and YMG. Later this summer, the Executive Board and the Chairs from each LDDI committee will convene to look at how to refine the new organizational model in an effort to improve its efficiency and effectiveness in achieving program goals moving forward. After a year of implementation, what is abundantly clear is that the new organiza tional structure provides increased opportunities for industry professionals to bec ome involved with LDDI and we are thrilled by the participation thus far. To thos e who have participated in the IAG or YMG over the past year, we thank you.

In this annual greeting, we like to pause and thank the organizations and individuals who contributed financially to LDDI over the past year. Last year, LDDI enjoyed the financial support of 40 corporate sponsors and municipal members. While the overall number of sponsors remained the same as the previous year, several companies elevated their level of sponsorship resulting in an approximate 10 percent increase in sponsorship revenue. The past year also featured the largest number of individual donors ever contributing to LDDI, with more than 140 individuals making contributions on Virginia Tech’s Giving Day alone. In April, LDDI was thrilled to announce the generous commitment of John and Connie DeBell to establish three new endowments at Virginia Tech (the John and Connie DeBell Junior Faculty Fellowship, the John and Connie DeBell LDDI Scholarship, and the John and Connie DeBell LDDI Diversity Scholarship). On behalf of the LDDI Executive Board, we thank all of the companies, municipalities, and individuals who supported LDDI financially over the past year, and we wish to especially recognize the philanthropy of John and Connie DeBell.

In closing, the Board wishes to also recognize the personal achievements of LDDI’s affiliated faculty – Coordinator Kevin Young and Assistant Coordinator Claire White. In April, Claire was honored with the 2022 CEE Alumni Teaching Excellence Award, and in June Virginia Tech’s Board of Visitors approved Kevin’s promotion to Associate Professor of Practice. We’re thrilled that the CEE department and the university recognize the hard work and personal investments that both Kevin and Claire put forth for their students and LDDI more broadly. The program could not be in the hands of better leadership, and the Board is eager to continue supporting Kevin and Claire in any way possible as they work diligently to keep Virginia Tech at the forefront of undergraduate land development design education. We hope you will enjoy reading this year’s Annual Report, and we invite you to contact either of us to discuss how you can help support this unique program.

Jeff Gilliland, PE

Chair, LDDI Executive Board

Principal, J2 Engineers (703) 361-1550 x 323 jgilliland@j2engineers.com

Alisa S. T. Cowen, LA, AICP

Vice Chair, LDDI Executive Board

Owner, Cowen Design Group (703) 528-4424 acowen@cowendesigngroup.com

Jeff Gilliland, PE Chair – LDDI Executive Board Principal J2 Engineers

Alisa S. T. Cowen, LA, AICP Vice Chair – LDDI Executive Board Owner Cowen Design Group

Skip Notte, PE Vice President/Business Unit Manager Dewberry

Jack Vega, PE, DPE

Deputy Executive Director

Claude Moore Charitable Foundation

Susan Wolford, PLA, AICP, LEED GA, ENV SP Regional Vice President Pennoni

LDDI M ILESTONES

John and Connie DeBell Named LDDI Philanthropists of the Year

LDDI is proud to recognize John and Connie DeBell as this year’s inaugural recipients of the LDDI Philanthropists of the Year Award for their commitment to establish the following three endowments at Virginia Tech: the John and Connie DeBell Junior Faculty LDDI Fellowship, the John and Connie DeBell LDDI Scholarship, and the John and Connie DeBell LDDI Diversity Scholarship

John DeBell’s support for Virginia Tech is nothing new, with his first involvement dating back to the early 1980s when, acting in his leadership role as President of the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers (VSPE), he coordinated with then College of Engineering Dean Dr. Paul Torgersen to promote professional licensure to engineering students. These efforts led to Torgersen ultimately extending an invitation to DeBell to serve on the college Advisory Board and to join the prestigious Committee of 100. Since then, DeBell has also been inducted into the Academy of Engineering Excellence, the Academy of Distinguished Alumni for the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the President’s Circle of the Ut Prosim Society. He has also been honored with the College of Engineering Distin guished Service Award. He is a past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Tech Foundation, the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s Alumni Board, and the College of Engineering Advisory Board. It was during DeBell’s service on the CEE Alumni Board that the founding principals of the LDDI Program began. His service to the civil engineering profession is equally impressive as his commitment to Virginia Tech and includes stints as a Virginia National Director for the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) and as a member of the Professional Engineers in Private Practice (PEPP) Board of Governors. DeBell also served as State President for the VSPE, and has received the organization’s Young Engineer of the Year Award, its Outstanding Service Award (twice), its Distinguished Service Award, and its Engineer of the Year Award.

Following DeBell’s graduation from Virginia Tech in 1968, he served a 16-month tour in Vietnam where he became a decorated flight operations specialist. DeBell’s civil engineering career began in 1970 with a return to his hometown of Centreville, Virginia and landing a job with Dewberry. Four years later, DeBell and his then boss Paul Bengtson branched out to start their own firm, eventually bringing on a third partner, John Elkin. The firm of Bengtson, DeBell & Elkin enjoyed rapid growth, and by the 1980s boasted approximately 300 employees. In the late 1990s, Burgess and Niple, Inc. assumed 100 percent of the company’s stock, while DeBell remained on as an owner and Director of the Mid-Atlantic region as its Executive Vice President. DeBell also served on the Burgess and Niple Board of Directors until his retirement in 2012. DeBell’s career has seen him working with clients that include VDOT, Dominion Power, the National Park Service, various Fairfax County and federal agencies, and many land developers.

DeBell and his wife Connie have two sons, John, Jr. (also a Hokie) and Richard (a graduate of nearby Radford University). While Connie herself is not a Hokie, John is quick to point out her years-long involvement with the university, including serving with him on the steering committee during the last Virginia Tech capital campaign where the two led Northern Virginia fundraising efforts. Please join us in thanking John and Connie for their decades of support for Virginia Tech, the civil engineering profession, and their most recent gifts which directly benefit LDDI.

John and Connie DeBell during Virginia Tech’s 2022 Ut Prosim Weekend

Sustainable Land Development M.S. Program

The Sustainable Land Development Master of Science program celebrated its inaugural year this past academic year with three graduates who will begin their land development consulting careers at LDDI sponsoring firms this summer. This program provides opportunities not only for students interested in land development but also those who are interested in an interdisciplinary civil engineering degree. Dr. Tripp Shealy, VT CEE Associate Professor, serves as the coordinator for the graduate program and worked closely with Dr. Randy Dymond, VT CEE Professor Emeritus, to establish the M.S. program prior to his retirement in Spring 2020. Dr. Shealy has continued to collaborate with Kevin, Claire, LDDI practitioners, and other CEE faculty members to further develop the program.

As with the other Master of Science in civil engineering degrees, the program requires 30 credit hours which include core LDDI courses such as Land Development Design and Sustainable Land Development. In addition to the core courses, students complete 21 credits of electives inside and outside of CEE as determined by the student and approved by their advising committee. This past year, students took elective classes in Urban Affairs and Planning, Leadership, and Public and International Affairs as well as courses across the traditional civil engineering disciplines. Also similar to other master’s programs, students may choose between thesis, project and report, and coursework-only options. In fact, each of these options was represented by the first three graduates of the program. Additionally, up to 50% of the coursework can be completed outside of Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus, opening up greater flexibility for students and professionals alike to enroll in the program. Students have the opportunity to engage in sustainable land development research as well as experience the involvement of industry practitioners that is a staple in LDDI’s undergraduate curriculum. In the past year, graduate students interacted regularly with the LDDI network at the Friday seminar series last fall in addition to three of the graduate students presenting at LDDI’s spring General Meeting. LDDI also supports the graduate students through the mentoring program within the Land Development Design course, one of the required core courses.

The goal in establishing this new graduate program is for Virginia Tech to become nationally recognized for our students advancing sustainable land development. We see great opportunity for growth through this graduate program, and in fact, anticipate growing from four to 16 students in just the second year. Dr. Shealy said,“Theinterestintheprogramhasreallybeenoutstanding.Thebestpartofmyjobascoordinatorislearning abouttheirinterests.WhenIaskthemwhywantanadvanceddegreeinlanddevelopment,theytellmethattheyseelanddevelopmentasacareer pathtomakeapositiveimpactintheircommunity.They’reintriguedtolearnmoreabouthowtheycanaddvaluetoprojectsandhelpshepherd projectsintothefuture.Inourmeetings,theyaskmequestionsandhavecreativeideasaboutconceptslikehowtoprepareasiteforfuture conditionsduetoclimatechange,howzoningandparkingrequirementsshouldbeadaptedtodriverlessvehiclesthatarejustonthehorizon,and howtodealwithsocialissueslikegentrificationasaresultofsuccessfulredevelopment.Ourgraduateprogramhelpsgivethemthetoolsand flexibilitytothinkthroughtheirideasandentertheworkplacereadytomakeacontributionondayone.”

No similar programs exist at the graduate level in civil engineering across the country, which makes it attractive to both Virginia Tech civil engineering undergraduate students as well students from other departments and universities. We recognize that sustainable land development involves knowledge and skills that span multiple disciplines within and outside of civil and environmental engineering and have designed the master’s degree to foster this type of interdisciplinary thinking. The program is unique within the Department and nationally, because it opens up opportunities for students to explore how sustainability, planning, and engineering design work together. Students graduate ready to contribute to conceptual design, comprehensive planning, grading, erosion and sediment control, and stormwater management processes. They can also articulate to clients the effects of particular types of development on transportation, utility, social-economic, and environmental systems. Through this advanced degree, students are exposed to unique projects and case studies, which will help them foresee the potential barriers to sustainable land development and equip them with tools to help overcome these barriers. Morgan Newcomb will finish her thesis while starting her career at Bohler in Charlotte this summer. Of the program, she offered, “thesustainablelanddevelopmentmaster’sprogramisnotonlya bigstepforthegrowthofLDDIatVirginiaTech,butgrowthforanindustrythathasbeentrailingbehinditssistersub-disciplinesinresearchand highereducation.Openingthiswindowofopportunitywillbringawealthofexplorativeandinquisitivemindsintothelanddevelopmentindustry,

propellingtheinnovationneededtohelpsustainablydevelopourplanetforcurrentandfuturegenerationstoexperience.I’mbothhonoredand excitedtohavebeenapartoftheprogram’sdebutandamlookingforwardtoseeingwhatthenextcohortcanaccomplishinourwake.” Morgan completed her B.S. in civil engineering at Virginia Tech in 2021.

We are also growing the number of graduate courses related to sustainable land development and the flexibility of these course offerings at Virginia Tech. This past year, Dr. Shealy developed a graduate level course on adaptative reuse and redevelopment, which had 15 students enrolled, and we anticipate this becoming one of the core course options in the future. Dr. Shealy said the purpose of the course “isforstudents toexperiencemanyofthecomplexissuesthatareinvolvedwith redevelopment.Thecourseincludestopicslikebrownfieldremediation, engineeringcontroltechniques,historicpreservationgrants,regulatorychallenges,andlifecyclecostanalysis.Thecoursealsotouchesonhow infrastructureprojectscanbetheimpetusforlargeredevelopment.Studentslearnthroughcasestudiesabouttheeffectsofroaddietsandnew transitlinesontheredevelopmentpotentialofacorridor.SeveralLDDIsponsoringcompanieshavehelpedmecuratecasestudiessteachingour studentsabouthowtocreateeconomicdevelopmentplans,howto follow design guidelines for special district zones, and about the unique financial structures when dealing with large scale redevelopment.”

Outside of the classroom, the students and faculty had the opportunity to participate in several social gatherings to further build relationships among the first cohort of students. Dr. Shealy said, “we aretryingtocreateasupportiveatmospherethatbreaksdownthe barriersbetweenstudentsandfacultyandhelpstudentscreatelong lasting professional connections that will sustain well after their graduate education.” The students also had the opportunity to participate in a construction site tour this spring at the UNION student housing on University City Boulevard in Blacksburg (designed by Pennoni).

Sustainable Land Development graduate students tour Union apartments in Blacksburg in March 2022

As we look ahead to the next year, we see opportunities for LDDI industry partners to expand their role in the graduate program. Through core courses, LDDI industry members help us introduce professional and industry norms, standards, and evolving trends, while providing students with valuable mentorship. We also anticipate the opportunity for the LDDI network to review and provide input on graduate student master’s projects and research, including opportunities for internship experience to support a student’s project and report. Lastly, LDDI’s industry partners are a big reason why the College is willing to support the professional production of an online certificate program in sustainable land development. We continue to welcome feedback on the certificate program to develop a suite of courses that is deemed valuable to the industry.

LDDI Enjoys Record Giving Day Success

Giving Day is a 24-hour celebration of the Hokie Spirit that provides an opportunity for students, alumni, employees, family and friends to come together and show support for their favorite Virginia Tech organizations. Virginia Tech’s 2022 Giving Day was held on February 24th and 25th, and the contributions made to LDDI were the largest in the history of the event, both in overall revenue and number of individual donors. For the second consecutive year, LDDI Executive Board Member Sue Wolford (Pennoni) and Special Events Committee Co-Chair Caleb Hurst (Draper Aden Associates / TRC) worked to assemble a group of match donors to incentivize others to give by unlocking increasing matching amounts as the total number of individual donors grew. Sue and Caleb ultimately secured a total match amount of $11,500, resulting in more than 140 individuals contributing to LDDI on Giving Day, compared to 81 last year and 37 the previous year. To better frame perspective on these numbers, the percentage increase from last year’s number of individual donors ranked LDDI fourth on the College of Engineering’s “Beat Your Best” final leaderboard. Of his involvement with Giving Day, Caleb offered, “DonationstoLDDIduringthe2022 GivingDaygeneratedalotofenthusiasm.Theemphasisonnumberofdonorsallowedanyonetocontribute,fromstudentsandrecentgraduates tolong-timedonors. The2022GivingDaysuccesswouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthepoolofdonorswhopledged$11,500inmatching funds.“ To further incentivize donations on Giving Day, LDDI created an inaugural decal to send to all donors. These decals will become an annual tradition and provide a way for donors to show their support for LDDI.

This year’s focus on increasing the total number of donors (rather than individual donation amounts) made Giving Day more accessible to current students and recent graduates as no donation was considered too small. CEE senior Tyler Bledsoe stated of his contribution on Giving Day,“LDDI hasplayedanintegralpartinexpandingmycivilengineeringknowledgeduringmytimeatVirginiaTech,andthelanddevelopmentcourseshave been excellent in preparing me for my future in engineering. Additionally, I was fortunate enough to become an Envision Sustainability Professionalforfreewhileastudent–allthankstoLDDI. IwillbeforevergratefulfortheopportunitiesaffordedmethroughLDDI,thusthereason whyIchosetomakeapersonaldonationtoLDDIonGivingDaythisyear.”

We thank everyone who contributed on Giving Day and recognize the following individuals who responded to Sue and Caleb’s call, and whose matching donations helped LDDI reach new Giving Day heights:

Brett Buckland

Alisa Cowen

Diana Doan

Jeff Gilliland

Andy Gorecki

Laura Hall

Suzy Harding

Meghan Hekl

Caleb Hurst

Bob Jansen

Paul Johnson

Meredith Jones

Bill Junda

Lance Koth

Jeff Lighthiser

Skip Notte

Chris Parrish

Rick Rabil

David Ragsdale

Rob Reddick

Tom Rust

Alex Sarant

Brendan Snell

Brian Utterback

Jack Vega

Adam Volanth

Claire White

Sue Wolford

LDDI Industry Advisory Group Committee Update

In April 2021, LDDI adopted a new organizational model that included the establishment of an Industry Advisory Group (IAG) comprised of four standing committees: Brand Awareness, Membership, Practitioner/Technical & Research (PTR), and Special Events. The new model also established a Young Members Group (YMG) to provide a path for LDDI graduates to become involved in program leadership during the early stages of their careers. Surveys were conducted among the LDDI membership to initially populate the new committees, and over the past year each has been active in appointing a Chair and developing their respective charters. Each committee also appointed a Vice Chair chosen from the Young Members Group in a deliberate effort to provide further paths to involvement for recent program graduates. Cody Mudd , Assistant Project Manager with LDDI Dymond sponsor Bohler, co-chairs the new PTR Committee and states, “ThePTRCommitteeoffersauniqueopportunity forindustryprofessionalstodirectlycontributetothegrowthanddevelopmentofLDDIstudents,aswellastheLDDIprogramasawhole.Asa formerstudentandgraduateoftheLDDIprogram,myexperienceonthePTRcommitteehasbeenanextremelyfulfillingopportunitytogiveback totheprogramthatpavedthewayformycareer. IamhonoredtobeapartofacommitteesodedicatedtocontinuingLDDI’sgreatcontributions totheindustryandthepeoplethatareapartofit.” Meghan Hekl is a former LDDI student and GTA now employed with LDDI Platinum sponsor Kimley-Horn. Meghan serves as Vice Chair for the Brand Awareness Committee and of her involvement offers, “AsIprogressinmycareer,Ihave lovedcontinuingtofindwaystogivebacktoLDDI.ActingasViceChairontheBrandAwarenessCommittee,Ihavebeenabletoworkwithother dedicatedLDDImemberstothinkabouthowtheprogramcanimproveandexpanditsreachintheacademicworldaswellasintheindustry.I appreciatetheopportunitytohaveanimpactonhowstudents,alumni,andotherpeopleintheindustryperceiveandinteractwithLDDI.”

The table below highlights just a few of the items on which each committee is actively working. If you are not already a member of one of the new LDDI committees and wish to get involved, please contact Kevin or Claire indicating your preference and they will connect you with that committee’s Chair.

Brand Awareness Membership PTR Special Events

Reviewing/updating program name, logo, and branding

Reviewing/updating LDDI website

Planning future General Meetings

Assisting with annual sponsorship drives

Reviewing CEE elective courses complementary to the LDDI curriculum

Reviewing non CEE elective courses

Conducting practitioner involvement surveys

Promoting LDDI on VT Giving Days

Planning practitioner recognition and appreciation events

Organizing “splash” events

LDDI Assistant Coordinator Honored wi th Alumni Teaching Excellence Award

In April, LDDI Assistant Coordinator Claire White was honored with the 2022 Alumni Teaching Excellence Award. The award, chosen from a surv ey of alumni that have graduated within the past five years, recognizes a CEE faculty member whose exceptional talent, innovation, commitment, and hard work elevates the educational experience for their students. Positive comments from Claire’s former students are in no short supply, with many citing the personal investment that she makes in their education. Beyond her teaching abilities, many students also state that Claire’s passion for civil engineering is infectious and served as a source of inspiration and motivation for them. Akul Mehra , VT CEE Class of 2021 and a 2022 graduate of the Sustainable Land Development Master’s program, who completed three courses with Claire as the instructor and also worked with her as a graduate teaching assistant in multiple courses offers, "AtalargeinstitutionlikeVirginiaTech,itcanbedifficulttofindfacultywho areabletoformlongterm,deepmentoringrelationshipswithstudents.Claireisoneofthe rarefacultymembersIhaveencounteredwhocaresaboutherstudents’wellbeing,bothinsideandoutsidetheclassroom.NotonlydoesClaire careaboutherstudents,butshealsotakesthetimetolearnaboutherstudents’backgroundsandperspectives,creatingapositivelearning environmentforeveryone.Ontopofallthat,Claireisanexceptionalprofessorwhohelpsstudentsbuildtheskillstheywillusefortheirentire careers.IamextremelythankfultohavehadClaireasaprofessor,mentor,andcolleagueoverthelastfiveyears.Shehashelpedmegrowasa student,professional,andperson.AnyonewhohashadClaireasaprofessorcanseehowmuchshecaresaboutherstudents,theLDDIprogram, andVirginiaTechasawhole."

Claire is a Virginia Tech alumnus, earning her B.S. in civil engineering in 2010 and her M.S. in 2011. Following her time in industry with LDDI Platinum sponsor Kimley-Horn, White joined the CEE faculty as an Assistant Professor of Practice in 2016. LDDI Coordinator Kevin Young has worked closely with Claire since her hiring and states, “Perhapsmorethananyoneelse,IwitnessdailytheeffortthatClaireputsintoherclasses. Her students,LDDI,CEE,andVirginiaTecharefortunatetohaveher,andIcanthinkofnoonemoredeservingofthisaward.”

Claire was previously honored in 2020 with the Blackwood Award for Exemplary Faculty Service for her contributions to the Blackwood Program in Real Estate.

LDDI Coordinator Promoted to As sociate Professor of Practice

This summer, Virginia Tech’s Board of Visitors approved the promotion of LDDI Coordinator Kevin Young to Associate Professor of Practice. Kevin first joined the Virginia Tech faculty in the fall of 2006 as Research Associate, then transitioned to Assistant Professor of Practice in the fall of 2012. His involvement with LDDI began in the spring of 2007 as Assistant Coordinator, and now, Coordinator since 2020. His impact on both students and the industry is wide-spread. LDDI students frequently cite Kevin’s enthusiasm in the classroom as a source of their own emerging interest in land development design. Zach Hershey, VT CEE Class of 2022 and incoming Sustainable Land Development M.S. student, completed two of Kevin’s courses and is currently serving as one of his graduate teaching assistants in CEE Measurements. Zach had this to offer,“Kevinisaverythorough,thoughtful,andcaring instructorwhoreallywantstoseehisstudentssucceedatVirginia Tech. It is evident that Kevin is committed tothe success of the LandDevelopmentprogramatVirginiaTech,andheinspiresthenextgenerationofcivilengineers.”.

Excerpts from a Virginia Tech video showcasing Young’s adaptation of the CEE 2814 lab during COVID appeared on NBC’s TodaywithHoda&Jenna

Kevin has also spent more than 15 years working hand-in-hand with industry practitioners from the early days of LDDI to now, where we are looking to grow and expand its footprint. Bob Jansen, President Emeritus of Jansen Land Consultants, and a member of the LDDI Platinum Advisory Group states, “ThethingIadmiremostaboutKevinishedoesn’tcarewhogetsthecredit. Heworksdiligentlyandpassionately,always withthegoalofdoinghisbestandstrivingforthebestoutcome. Heinvitesallofustojoin,hecollaborateswellwitheveryoneandhestays calmlyfocusedontheultimategoal. It'sraretorunacrosssomeonesoselfless.”

Promotion in academic rank is a nearly year-long process that begins with the faculty member preparing a dossier that summarizes their teaching, research, and service activities, as well as providing a personal statement. Then, during the academic year, the Virginia Tech CEE Promotion and Tenure Committee reviews the application packet, attends one of the faculty member’s lectures to complete a teaching evaluation, and then makes a recommendation on the promotion. The packet is then reviewed at the College level and by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost before going before the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors for final approval.

C URRICULUM

The 2021-2022 academic year at Virginia Tech found faculty and students returning to campus for in-person instruction for the first time in almost 18 months. Enthusiasm was high as we were able to engage with one another and get back to the hands-on activities and industry practitioner involvement that is a staple in LDDI courses. In total, we offered nine sections of four unique LDDI courses with more than 425 total students enrolled. Advanced Land Development (CEE 4284) was not offered this academic year and will be offered next in Spring 2023. Below is a summary of the five LDDI courses followed by hi ghlights from the past academic year.

Intro. To Land Development (CEE 3274)

The first LDDI course available to VT students and for many sparks their interest in land development.

Course steps students through planning, pre-design, design, and other related topics. Course also incorporates guest speakers, hands-on activities, and software demos for Civil 3D & ArcGIS.

Land Development Design (CEE 4274/5274)

course

Student teams of 3 or 4 are paired with a mentoring team from an LDDI sponsoring firm. The mentors provide the project for the team to step through the design process: due diligence & concept planning, grading, stormwater management, utilities, and erosion and sediment control.

Municipal Engineering (CEE 4254/5254)

Taught by a municipal engineer with assistance from local government mentors.

Course acquaints students with a municipal engineer’s responsibilities and the relationship between municipal enigneers and the land development industry.

Sustainable Land Dev. (CEE 4264/5264)

One of the most popular senior-level courses in the CEE Department

Course teaches students principles of sustainable design, the impact of land use intensification on the environment, and sustainable site selection critieria. Student are also introduced to sustainable rating systems.

Adv. Land Development (CEE

4284)

Taught by three teams of industry practitioners every other spring and a co-requisite with Land Development Design (CEE 4274).

Students take a more in-depth look at due diligence and site planning, stormwater design, development types, and project delivery methods.

Hallmark course of the LDDI program and designated senior design

During the 2021-2022 academic year, we offered 5 sections of CEE 3274 – Introduction to Land Development Design, serving almost 250 civil engineering undergraduate students. During both the fall and spring semesters, we welcomed four guest speakers to campus:



Jessie Ponce de Leon (GordonDC) discussed due diligence and shared a case study on Columbian Quarter in Washington, D.C.  Sue Wolford and Laura Hall (Pennoni) discussed sustainability including LEED and Envision rating systems. 

Skip Notte (Dewberry) discussed the land development engineer’s role during the construction phase of a project.

This was Laura Hall’s (LDDI graduate and now Associate Engineer with Pennoni) first opportunity to present in one of the LDDI courses, though she has on several occasions mentored in the senior design class and participated in after-hours presentations. She shared, “itwassucha rewardingexperiencetospeaktotheIntroductiontoLandDevelopment classaboutsustainabledevelopment,LEED,andtheEnvisioncertification process.Sharingwiththestudentstheadditionalcertificationswitha sustainabilityfocusthatareavailableandachievableduringtheirtimeas astudentandgraduatewasgratifying Wewereabletoshowcasehow sustainabilityisbeingappliedtoprojectsontheVirginiaTechcampusto seamlesslybeincorporatedintoastudent’sdailylife.”

We also continued to use some of the resources and new practitioner engagement opportunities developed during the 2020-2021 online academic year for this past year, including the professional development student mentoring program. Our students also benefited from recorded Civil 3D and GIS demo sessions to review following our in-class discussions and while working on completing their assignments. We also took full advantage of being back together in person with the return of our in-class professional networking session (including holding one of these sessions outside!), and having students visit a local development project to take photos of civil engineering elements as their last homework assignment.

CEE 4254/5254 – Municipal Engineering, was offered in Spring 2022 with 41 undergraduate students and 8 graduate students. The course was taught by Matt Stolte , Engineering Services Director at Virginia Tech and formerly Assistant Director of Management with the Town of Blacksburg. This was Matt’s third time instructing the course, and his instruction was supported by 18 guest speakers and practitioners from across the Commonwealth of Virginia as well as 12 professional mentors for the course’s final project. The course also featured the largest graduate enrollment to date, as one of the required courses of the Sustainable Land Development M.S. Program. Each graduate student had the opportunity to select a topic of their choosing related to Municipal Engineering and write a literature review in addition to the rest of the course requirements. These literature reviews spanned diverse topics that included comparing and contrasting the implementation of green infrastructure in the U.S. and Europe, to investigating infrastructure vulnerability arising from climate change.

Sue Wolford and Laura Hall with Pennoni presenting to CEE 3274 on Sustainability

Kevin and Claire alongside LDDI courses’ Teaching Assistants, May 2022

One of the most popular course among students in the LDDI curriculum, CEE 4264/5264 – Sustainable Land Development , was offered in Fall 2021 with 49 undergraduate students and 5 graduate students. The students participated in two local field trips, a staple of this course dating back to its first offering in Spring 2009. The field trips included an on-campus stormwater BMP tour led by Katelyn Muldoon and Mark Witt (Virginia Tech’s Site and Infrastructure Development department) and the Village at Tom’s Creek residential neighborhood led by Meredith Jones (Eden and Associates). Thanks to the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI), students also had first priority to receive free Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) training as a result of ISI’s BOGO promotion during summer 2021. In total, LDDI distributed 34 free trainings to LDDI students this past academic year. In class, students also enjoyed participating in a new way – a game called “Sustain-agories”, which is a takeoff of Scattergories and offers students extra credit for coming up with unique responses to question prompts. For a culminating project, students worked with partners to research a sustainable land development project of their choosing, applying sustainable criteria learned throughout the semester, and preparing a short paper and presentation. The graduate students also completed a literature review on a topic of their choosing similar to the requirements in CEE 5254.

Lastly, LDDI offered two sections of CEE 4274/5274 – Land Development Design, with 74 students (including 4 graduate students) and 19 design teams, each paired with its own professional mentoring team. We were excited to welcome the professional mentors back to the classroom for project introductions and final presentations for their first time since Spring 2020. The professional mentoring teams included seasoned veterans as well as first timers such as Charles P. Johnson & Associates and Koontz Bryant Johnson Williams. Returning mentor Tiffany Caceres, Associate with christopher consultants, shared, “beingamentorintheLDDIprogramissomethingthat Ideeplyenjoy.Mentoringthestudentsandseeinghowtheyworkthroughproblemsfor agivensiteisreallyexciting.Thestudentsalwaysaskverythoughtfulquestionsand, asamentor,it’salmostlikeIgettowatchthings‘click’intoplaceastheylearnand connectthedifferentconcepts.VirginiaTechdoesagreatjobwiththisprogram,and thestudentswhotakeitdefinitelyhaveanadvantageastheycomeintotheworkforce.”

christopher consultants senior design team with mentor, Tiffany Caceres, at final presentations in May 2022.

Per usual, the design projects offered great variety, from a large data center to singlefamily residential to an urban Washington, D.C. project. Claire White, LDDI Assistant Coordinator, also made her instructional debut in this course in Spring 2022, and also welcomed Jeff Gilliland (J2 Engineers) to discuss grading and Michael Cardman (Bowman) to discuss financial analysis of land development projects.

Sustainable Land Development students visit the Village at Tom’s Creek in Blacksburg; tour led by Meredith Jones

We would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their guest lectures and mentorship in LDDI courses during the last academic year. We offer our sincerest gratitude for helping to enrich our students’ educational experience!

Intro. To Land Development & Sustainable Land Development Mentors

ATCS

christopher consultants

CPJ

Dewberry

J2 Engineers

Timmons Group

VHB

Land Development Design Mentors

ADS

ATCS

Bohler

Bowman

christopher consultants

CPJ

Draper Aden Associates

Dewberry

Edens Land

Gordon

J2 Engineers

KBJW

Kimley-Horn

LDC

McAdams

Pennoni

Timmons Group

VHB

WithersRavenel

Municipal Engineering Mentors

Albemarle County Service Authority

Arlington County Operations

City of Alexandria

City of Hampton

City of Roanoke

Fairfax County

Fairfax Water

Town of Blacksburg

VDOT

VHB

Virginia Tech CPIF – Energy Engineering

Virginia Tech CPIF – Site Infrastructure Design

Guest Speakers & Practitioners

Matthew Adams, Fairfax County

Brian Booth, Blacksburg Transit Authority

Sandy Camargo, ADS

Michael Cardman, Bowman

Carol Davis, Town of Blacksburg

Jeff Gilliland, J2 Engineers

Lindsey Geiger, Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure

Elizabeth Grant, GAF

Laura Hall, Pennoni

Lee Hixon, H2R Stormwater Engineering

Kafi Howard, Town of Blacksburg

Meredith Jones, Eden & Associates

Andrew Kassoff, Blacksburg Planning Commission

Trevor Kimzey, Foresight Design Services

Amy Linderman, Fairfax County Park Authority

Anas Malkawi, HRSD

Elizabeth Merin, Fairfax County

Gabby Mikuria, Fairfax County

Joshua Middleton, Town of Blacksburg

Craig Moore, VDOT

Alexander Morrison, Albemarle County

Katelyn Muldoon, VT Site & Infrastructure Development

Skip Notte, Dewberry

Jessie Ponce de Leon, GordonDC

Justin St. Clair, Town of Christiansburg

Robert Stalzer, City of Fairfax

Ross Stilling, Fairfax Water

Brad Stipes, Christiansburg Town Council

Caleb Taylor, NRV Regional Water Authority

Eric Wiseman, VT College of Natural Resources

Mark Witt, VT Site & Infrastructure Development

Sue Wolford, Pennoni

C ORPORATE S PONSORSHIP S UMMARY

During the 2021-2022 fiscal year, LDDI enjoyed the financial support of 40 corporate sponsors and municipal members. While the total number of sponsoring organizations remained the same as the previous year, there was an approximately 10 percent increase in sponsorship revenue arising from several sponsors upgrading their levels of support. In total, corporate sponsorships and municipal memberships generated just over $208,000 in program revenue that was used to directly support LDDI activities inside and outside of the classroom. The following describes some of LDDI’s major expense categories toward which this revenue has been directed historically and over the past year. 

InstructionalSupport: Nearly all Professor of Practice appointments at Virginia Tech are funded by external sources. Of the nine (or ten) LDDI course-sections offered each year at Virginia Tech, revenue from corporate sponsorships and municipal memberships funds four (or five) course sections in their entirety. 

ProgramExpenses: Program expenses include support for the Sustainable Land Development Club (SLDC), including field trips, travel to service project locations, and catering for after-hours guest speakers and other events. This expense category also includes event catering for LDDI general and outreach meetings, publication of the LDDI What’sDeveloping bi-monthly newsletter, and publication of the LDDI Annual Report.



Operations Expenses: Operations expenses include general overhead costs including postage, printing and copying, telecommunications, and university accounting and service fees.



TravelandMeetings: LDDI has historically hosted three general membership meetings each year. Outreach efforts such as these comprise a critical part of LDDI’s efforts to ensure continued practitioner participation in the program.

LDDI thanks its corporate sponsors and municipal members for their continued and essential financial support!

“BeingpartoftheLDDIprogramhasshapedmycollegeexperience.Thisprogram,specificallythedesignclass,hasallowedmetointeract withavarietyofindustryprofessionalsandbegintoadvanceinmycareer.Thisisinvaluableexposurethatopensthedoortomanyinteresting andchallenginginternships. DuetomyinterestthroughoutundergradandencouragementandsupportfromfacultyIdecidedtoextendmy timeinLDDIandpursueamaster’sdegreeinsustainablelanddevelopment.Thiswillallowmetoexpandmyunderstandingofsustainability incivilengineeringandsetmeupforasuccessfulcareer.”

– Mandy Smith, VT CEE Class of 2022, incoming SLD M.S. student

LDDI I NDUSTRY AND N ETWORKING E VENTS

General Meetings

Over the past year, LDDI hosted General Meetings in June, January, and April. In addition to the thematic content of the meeting, LDDI General Meetings serve an important outreach function, keeping sponsors and other professionals in the land development industry informed of program activities both inside and outside of the classroom through the overview presentation delivered by LDDI Coordinator Kevin Young. The meetings also provide a great opportunity to showcase students, with this year’s meetings featuring presentations from the senior design and sustainable land development courses. Another important outreach component of the meetings is the networking opportunity among a diverse mix of attendees that includes consulting engineers, developers and homebuilders, product and service providers, municipal engineers, and others from the land development industry. Even through a virtual format for the January and April meetings, we were able to capitalize on Zoom breakout rooms to facilitate a networking session among attendees.

LDDI’s 2021 summer meeting was held in person on Friday, July 23rd at the Hof Garden in Scott’s Addition in Richmond, VA with a virtual partipicpant option. The meeting featured a discussion on the recent growth and development of the Scott’s Addition Historic District from an impressive panel of speakers representing multiple stakeholders – municipality, developer, and designer. The panelists highlighted community input, infrastructure improvements, and adaptive reuse opportunities. It was a great opportunity for the LDDI network to gather again in person for the first time since January 2020!

Summer 2021 General Meeting in Richmond, VA

LDDI’s annual winter meeting was held as a virtual meeting on Friday, January 14th, 2022. The winter meeting featured a diverse mix of topics including:

Stream Restoration Efforts in Fairfax and Arlington Counties

Update from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure

2021 Infrastructure Investment and Job Act

The winter meeting also featured student presentations including a senior design team and a partnership from the Sustainable Land Development course.

Turkey Run Stream Restoration (photo provided by Fairfax County)

LDDI’s third General Meeting was held as a virtual meeting on Friday, April 1st, 2022 with a featured topic of“TheImpactofLightRailonthe CharlotteMetropolitanArea.” The guest speakers included Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO), Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), and Timmons Group. LDDI was also proud to announce the John and Connie DeBell endowments, and to hear comments directly from John who was in attendance. LDDI’s Committee

Chairs also provided an update on what the committees have accomplished in the past year and their upcoming goals. Lastly, the first cohort of Sustainable Land Development master’s students who are graduating in 2022 each presented, sharing both the technical and professional skills they developed as part of their graduate studies.

Blue Line Light Rail Extension (photo provided by Timmons Group)

We would like to recognize the following guest speakers for their contributions to LDDI General Meetings in the past year. Thank you for your role in maintaining outreach with our general membership!

Andrew Basham, Spy Rock Real Estate Group

John Bennett, AES Consulting Engineers

Brett Buckland, Bohler

Brian Crutchfield, Timmons Group

Chris Daily, VHB

Lindsey Geiger, Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure

Mary Wolter Glass, Arlington County Citizen

Emma B. L. Gutzler, Fairfax County

John Howard, Charlotte Area Transit System

Caleb Hurst, Draper Aden Associates / TRC

Cody Mudd, Bohler

Morgan Newcomb, VT CEE

Maritza Pechin, City of Richmond

Matt Reiffer, ACEC

George Rhodes, Stantec

Agustin Rodriguez, Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization

Brian Utterback, Cowen Design Group

Miranda Tison, VT CEE

Amelia Wehunt, Timmons Group

Josh MacDonald, Timmons Group

Akul Mehra, VT CEE

Dr. Mark Widdowson, VT CEE “TheLDDIprogramhasallowedmetosecureagreatlanddevelopmentjobthatIfeelconfidentgoinginto.Throughthecoursework andseniordesignproject,Ifeltmyknowledgeandcomfortabilitywithinlanddevelopmentskyrocket.Havingconsistentmeetingswith mentorsinthefieldgavemeroomtogrow,askquestions,andimprovetheskillsthatIwilluseinmycareer.Inaddition,thementors helpedmegainagreaterunderstandingofwhatthecareeritselflookslike.LDDIhasgivenmemanygreattoolstogointomyfirstfulltimejobfeelingreadyandpreparedtosucceed.”

–Jack Vance, VT CEE Class of 2022, Incoming Analyst at Kimley-Horn

Golf Tournament

On Wednesday, September 15th, LDDI, Inc. hosted the seventh annual Land Development Professionals Golf Tournament at the Potomac Shores Golf Club in Dumfries, VA. LDDI, Inc. is an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose purpose is to help financially support the goals and mission of the broader LDDI program. Last year’s tournament featured 25 corporate sponsors and 100 golfers, breaking the previous fundraising record and solidifying the event as LDDI’s single biggest annual fundraiser. Jim Bishoff (J2 Engineers) and Sue Wolford (Pennoni) served as the primary event organizers, and LDDI sincerely thanks them, as well as everyone who contributed to making the event a success. Of the tournament, Sue comments,“The2021LDDIGolf Tournamentwasanothergreatsuccessduetoourgeneroussponsors,wonderful volunteers,andagreatgroupofgolferswhogottoenjoyabeautifuldayoutonthelinksof PotomacShoresGolfClub.”

The 2022 Land Development Professionals Golf Tournament will be held on Wednesday, September 21st, again at the Potomac Shores Golf Club. Various sponsorship opportunities are currently available, and we invite you to email golf.lddi@gmail.com for information about sponsoring and/or participating in this event.

Sustainable Land Development Seminar Series

The Sustainable Land Development M.S. program debuted its fall seminar series in 2021. Within the CEE department, each graduate program area has its own seminar series in which graduate students are typically required to enroll. Taking a slightly different approach, in addition to inviting current and prospective graduate students, the LDDI professional network was also extended an invitation to attend any of these Friday afternoon presentations via Zoom. Forty professionals attended at least one seminar, including Alex Sarant with Gordon who attended almost all of the offered sessions. Of the experience, Alex shared, “the Fall Sustainable Land Development SeminarSerieswasagreatadditiontoindustryandstudentsalikethis pastyear.Personally,Iattended10oftheseminarsandwhilemyinitial goal was to gain some PDH credits for upkeep of professional licensure,Igotsomuchmorethanexpected.Topicsrangedanywhere fromdisplaysofcomplexdesignsolutions at the National Museum of African

Sustainable Land Development graduate students

assessments.Dr.Shealywasabletoprocureawidevarietyofspeakerswhichreallyhelpedtoshowhowwideofanetcanbecastsurrounding thelanddevelopmentindustry.”

AmericanHistoryandCulture,toutilizingGISfortreecanopy

Golfers from J2 Engineers pause for a photo during the 2021 Land Development Professionals Golf Tournament

While the students were earning course credit and satisfying a graduation requirement rather than earning PDHs, the current topics and case studies presented at the seminar expanded upon the discussion in their other master’s courses. Miranda Tison , VT CEE Class of 2021 & 2022 and incoming engineer for chri stopher consultants, shared, “theSLDseminarisauniqueopportunitytohearindustryprofessionalsdiscusstheir currentprojects.IfounditparticularlyinterestingtolearnaboutthesustainabledesignelementsincorporatedintoVirginiaBeachschoolsas wellasthedesignchallengesandsolutionsofsolarfarmdevelopment.”

We would like to thank the following individuals for presenting at the inaugural Sustainable Land Development seminar series:

Danielle Brock, RK&K

Jordan Brooks, Kimley-Horn

Kelly Drewry Eager, Delos

John Eustis, New River Land Trust

Karen Firehock, GIC

Meghan Hekl, Kimley-Horn

Matthew Jones, Hazen Sawyer

Career Nights

Margaret McMenamin, Wetland Studies & Solutions

Robyn Niss, Kimley-Horn

Ryan Seavy, R+

Justin Stenkamp, PAE

Cutter Sydnor, Kimley-Horn

Eric Wiseman, VT College of Natural Resources

Katie Zabrocki, PAE

Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 marked the 23rd and 24th consecutive semesters that LDDI has hosted “Land Development Career Night” – a professional networking event typically held on the eve of the Civil & Environmental Engineering Career Fair. Like many other events, the past academic year marked the return to an in-person modality after the previous year’s mixers were held virtually using the online Remoplatform. The fall semester event was held outdoors on a delightful October evening at Blacksburg’s Nelly’s Cave Park while the spring mixer was held in February, on campus at the Virginia Tech Graduate Life Center. These mixers have long provided an opportunity for students to meet and mingle with prospective employers in a relaxed environment prior to the stressful and sometimes even chaotic atmosphere of the career fair, and employers often cite the event’s value in helping them to identify and distinguish students interested in land development design from the larger pool of CEE candidates. Cameron Palmore , Director of Housing and Education for LDDI Platinum sponsor Koontz Bryant Johnson Williams (KBJW) attended both the fall and spring mixers and offered, “I’ve been involved with LDDI for nearly 15 years and appreciateallofthedifferentwaysthattheprogramseeks to connect students with employers. The Career Night Mixer is certainly one of, if not the, the most valuable of all these recruitmentopportunities. Itisagreatwaytomeetstudentsina morerelaxedatmospherepriortothecareerfair. WhileKBJW recognizes that Virginia Tech CEE produces exceptional structural,geotechnical,andtransportationengineers,ourfirmis primarily interested in students who have focused their courseworkonlanddevelopmentandrelatedtopics. TheLDDI resumebankandCareerNightMixerallowustohoneinonthose studentsaheadoftheCareerFair,makingourrecruitmentefforts moreefficientandproductive.”

Students and practitioners mingle at Nellie’s Cave Park during the Fall 2021 Career Night Mixer

S USTAINABLE L AND D EVELOPMENT C LUB

Founded in 2008, the Sustainable Land Development Club (SLDC) is the student “arm” of LDDI, and has grown to be one of the most active student organizations in all of CEE. LDDI Coordinator Kevin Young has served as the club’s faculty advisor since its founding, and in recent years LDDI Assistant Coordinator Claire White has become increasingly involved in leading club activities. Since its inception, the SLDC has benefitted greatly from the vast LDDI network of professionals and their willingness to support and participate in a variety of club activities. The past academic year was an exciting one for the SLDC, as Virginia Tech’s return to in-person instruction once again allowed for events such as field trips, a design charrette, and on-campus product exhibitions. The SLDC was also able to reengage with its long-standing tradition of service and philanthropy when, in March, club members partnered with a local Girl Scout troop to raise money for ProjectLinus– an organization that provides handmade blankets to children in need. In April, SLDC members also provided survey stakeout for Virginia Tech’s Relay For Life track. While SLDC members certainly enjoyed the return to in-person engagement, some of the virtual events held during the previous academic year were retained. These included our Industry Professionals and Young Professionals Panels.

Tyler Misenik and Ella Waide served as SLDC co-presidents this year, and Tyler offered the following of the experience, “Atthebeginningofthe academicyear,EllaandIwereeagertakeonleadershiprolesfortheSLDC.LikeotherCEEstudents,wewereexcitedtofinallyreturntoin-person clubactivities.Duringthefallsemester,membersofSLDCcollaboratedonaprojecttoimproveon-campusbicycleinfrastructurethroughthe OfficeofSustainabilityGreenRFPprogram.TheSLDCalsohostednumerouspanelsthroughouttheyearthatfosteredengagementbetweenCEE students,industryprofessionalsandrecentgraduates.Additionalhighlightsfromthispastyearincludeon-sitetoursofvariousdevelopments aroundBlacksburg,adayofvolunteerworkatRainbowRidersChildCareCenterthroughTheBigEvent,RelayForLifetrackstakeout,anda cornholefundraisertosupportProjectLinus.ThisupcomingsemesterpresentsmanynewopportunitiesfortheSLDC,andEllaandIarelooking forwardtousingwhatwehavelearnedtogrowandbuildtheclub.”

The following section presents some of the SLDC events and activities over the past year, all of which contributed to fulling the mission of connecting industry professionals with LDDI students.

Local Field Trips

This past academic year, LDDI students had the opportunity to attend local field trips in both the fall and spring semesters. In September, Virginia Tech Capital Construction and Renovations Supervisory Project Manager, Kyle White , led a group of SLDC students on a pre-construction site walk of the Quillen Family Spirit Plaza at Dietrick Hall on campus. Students had the opportunity to review the existing conditions and topographic survey while hearing about the proposed design and some project challenges. The project entered the construction phase in March 2022, and ultimately will provide a central campus gathering place to host special events such as pep rallies and viewing parties when complete. Of the experience, Kyle shared, “Theimportanceofasite visitcannotbeoverstatedduringtheplanningand

Students attend a field trip to Dietrick Hall for a pre-construction walk through

designphasesofaproject. Whileapre-constructionsitevisitmaynotbeasexcitingastheconstructiontoursstudentshaveattendedinthe past,itwasagreatopportunitytoteachthestudentsthetypesofquestionstheyshouldbeaskingandwhattheyshouldbelookingforwhen reviewingatopographicsurvey. Andasalways,thestudentsblewmeawaywiththeirtop-notchquestionsandkeenobservations.”

In March, LDDI Coordinator Kevin Young, Assistant Coordinator Claire White, and Sustainable Land Development Graduate Program Coordinator Dr. Tripp Shealy led a group of graduate students on a construction site visit to UNION apartments in Blacksburg. UNION is a redevelopment project on the site of the former Sturbridge Square apartments on University City Boulevard. The apartments are set to open in fall 2022, and students had the opportunity to watch a real-time curb pour and also discuss the challenges of dense development. The site was designed by Pennoni and the site tour was led by Greystar’s construction manager, Justin Warren

The following day, Kevin and Claire led a group of undergraduate and graduate students to several local sites in Blacksburg and Christiansburg as part of the annual spring field trip (though the weather with a mix of wind and snow was anything but springlike). This is the first such field trip since the spring 2019 semester. At each site, the design engineer met with the group, and we were also fortunate to have David Camden of ADS join us at multiple sites where StormTech chambers were being used for underground detention.

The first stop was a residential subdivision, Berry Ridge, on Airport Road where Carolyn Howard (Draper Aden Associates / TRC) met the group. The site was in the middle of infrastructure improvements which allowed students to see multiple erosion and sediment control devices in practice as well as climb inside some ADS StormTech chambers or a storm manhole onsite.

Next stop was The Farm, a multifamily residential development on Glade Road, where Trevor Kimzey (Foresight Design Services) met the students. Here Trevor shared challenges about the site design including ADA, sanitary sewer, and sequencing. Trevor then led the students on two different public school sites in Christiansburg to discuss some of the nuances for K-12 design as well as stormwater.

After a much needed lunch break, the group visited The Hub multifamily residential project. This is also a redevelopment project on the site of a portion of Terrace View along Patrick Henry Drive. The Hub Phase 1 opened last fall and the second phase is scheduled to open fall 2022. The site tour was led by Gretchen Merix (Balzer and Associates) as well as the general contractor, Findorff. Here students heard about the challenges of meeting schedule, sequencing, and construction in cold weather. Gretchen shared, “touringanactiveconstructionsiteandhavingthe opportunitytoseeclassroomconceptsinarealworldenvironmentisaninvaluableexperienceforthesestudentsandIbelieveitwillbeagreat benefittothemastheygraduateandmoveintoprofessionaldesignwork. Itrulyenjoyedtheexperienceofsharingtheprojectwiththestudents andbeingabletocontributetotheireducationaljourney.”

The field trip, like those before it, proved to be immensely educational for the students. Julia White , Sustainable Land Development M.S. student, shared, “thespringfieldtripwassomuchfun(despiteasurprisesnowstormandtemperaturesthatwerenotquite‘spring’)!Itgavestudentsthe opportunitytogooutintothefieldandlookatavarietyofdifferentsitesandlearnabouttheiruniquelayoutsandchallengesfromtheengineers themselveswhoworkedonthosedesigns.” Special thanks again to this year’s hosts of the various local field trips!

Students visit Berry Ridge residential subdivision in Blacksburg

On-Campus Product Exhibitions

LDDI has long recognized the value of getting students out of the classroom and into the field to observe and gain an appreciation for the size and scale, installation, and maintenance of the infrastructure that they will ultimately design. While field trips certainly serve as an effective means to achieving this educational goal, the logistics of getting multiple sections of a junior-level course, each with potentially as many as 65 students, out on a traditional field trip are daunting. Similarly, group design projects and job interviews place demands on senior students that are often prohibitive for “destination” field trips. During the 2018-19 academic year, LDDI, with the help of its Dymond-level sponsors Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) and Concrete Pipe & Precast (CP&P), took this challenge head on and brought the field trip to the students in the form of on-campus product exhibitions. While these inaugural product exhibitions were hugely popular among students, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic precluded similar events during the spring 2020 semester, and during the entirety of the 2020-21 academic year. With a return to in-person instruction last year, LDDI was thrilled to once again welcome ADS and CP&P back to campus.

On a chilly day in November, ADS brought a truck loaded with its innovative stormwater management products onto the Virginia Tech Drillfield. David Camden , an LDDI graduate and now Southwest Virginia Sales Engineer for ADS, said of the event, “Theon-campusproductdemonstration isthemostimpactfulopportunityLDDIhasofferedADSasasponsoroftheprogram.Atruckloadofourmostpopulardrainageproductsare deliveredandunloadedonthecentralcampusDrillfield.Studentsareallowedtofamiliarizethemselveswiththeproductsandconsultwithreallifestormwatermanagementexpertswhiledoingso.Intotal,wehaveorchestratedthreeoftheseon-campusproductdemonstrationsandthey seemtogrowinpopularityandstudentturnouteachyear!Wearealreadylookingforwardtothenextone!”

In April, CP&P set up just outside of Goodwin Hall with a whole host of storm and sanitary infrastructure products that students studied, asked questions, and learned about. CP&P Technical Marketing Manager Hank Gottschalk offers, “CP&Pbroughtintwo tractortrailerloadsofprecastconcretestructuresandreinforced concretepipetoprovidetheLDDI students a ‘hands on’ view of whattheymaybedesigningandspecifyingwhenworkingonfuture landdevelopmentprojects.TheCP&Pteamhadagreatafternoon getting to talk about the various precast products as well as learning about the students’ future plans and aspirations. Each studentwalkedawaywithacomplimentaryhardhattoencourage futurevisitsoutinthefield.”

LDDI thanks ADS and CP&P for giving so generously of the time of their salespeople, engineers, and truck drivers to further advance LDDI’s educational goals and objectives.

ADS showcases their StormTech product on the VT Drillfield

Students examine CP&P products outside of Goodwin Hall

Design Charette

After necessarily migrating the annual spring semester Design Charrette and Competition to a virtual modality during the 2020-21 academic year, this year LDDI was thrilled to return this fun and educational event to an in-person format. The charrette was organized and led by Dewberry’s Skip Notte and Paige West , and featured more than 20 student participants representing seven different teams. Each team was provided full-size plan sheets that showed a proposed development property and its topographic and planimetric features, while students brought their own calculators, engineering scales, and colored pencils and markers to prepare their design (all of which was completed “by hand”). The format of this annual event finds Skip first introducing the students to the site, the development goal(s), and any unique caveats or restrictions on the site or their design. Following this introduction, student teams are given one hour to work toward a design that meets the development objective while also adhering to relevant codes and sound engineering design principles. Dinner is then provided to the student participants while their designs are judged by Skip, CEE faculty members, and volunteers drawn from the LDDI professional network. This year’s judges included John Neel (President, Foresight Design Services) and former LDDI student Taylor Bolte (Assistant Project Manager, Virginia Tech Capital Construction and Renovations).

The key goals of the Design Charrette and Competition are to encourage group collaboration among student teams and to create a supportive but competitive atmosphere where limited time forces students to work under pressure to prioritize site layout and other design decisions. The event also provides another opportunity for practitioner-student engagement as Skip and the judges share their own insight and professional expertise on the project. First, second, and third place student teams received $100, $50, and $25 gift cards, respectively. Rising CEE senior Collin Vaughan was a member of the winning team, and of the event stated, “IamverythankfulthatLDDIprovidesactivitiesliketheDesign Charettetoallowmetoexercisemyengineeringdesignskillsthathavebeentaughtintheircourses.Beingsurroundedbyprofessionalengineers andmyfellowclassmatesduringtheeventchallengedmetopushmyskillsfurtherandhelpedmedevelopintoabettercivilengineer.Ibelieveit iscrucialthatstudentsparticipateinactivitiesliketheDesignCharettebecauseVirginiaTechCivil&EnvironmentalEngineeringisnotonlytrying tocreatesmartengineersbutalsoengineersthatalreadyhaveexperiencewithprofessionaltasksandinprofessionalworkenvironments.”

LDDI thanks Skip and Paige for leading the charrette, as well as John and Taylor for serving as judges.

“TheLDDIprogrambridgescollegewithindustrytocreateacurriculumwhichisbothapplicableandengagingforstudents.Ifirstheard aboutLDDIduringmysummerinternshipbetweenfreshmanandsophomoreyear,andsincethenLDDIhasfosteredmyinterestinland development.Thecourses,mentorship,andeventsarealldesignedtohelpusgrowandsucceedwithinthefield,andIhavegainednew skillsandnewconnectionsbecauseofit.TheSustainableLandDevelopmentgraduateprogramisoneofthenewestadditionstoLDDI, andIamexcitedtocontinuemytimeasastudenttobeapartofit.Integratingsustainabilitywithcivilengineeringisgoingtobe evermoreimportantinsolvingsomeofourbiggestchallenges.”

– Nicole Fontenot, VT CEE Class of 2022, SLD MS Class of 2023

Winning Design Charrette team with Skip Notte and Paige West of Dewberry

Young Professionals Panels

For the third consecutive year, LDDI and the SLDC hosted the “Young Professionals Panel.” For many graduates, the transition from college to the professional world represents an abrupt lifestyle change that can be challenging to navigate. For some students, questions and stress begin to emerge before they even graduate and accept a position.

Whatwillmyfirstsixmonthsonthejobbelike?

Whataboutthefirstyear?

WouldIthriveworkingforasmalllanddevelopmentfirmor alarge,multi-disciplinecompanywithanationaloreveninternationalfootprint?

Students are sometimes understandably overwhelmed by these questions and challenges, and with a panel comprised of graduates of the LDDI program, this event seeks to help current students benefit from the experience and advice of those who have gone before them. Student feedback on the event remains overwhelmingly positive and, similarly, the former LDDI students serving as panelists greatly enjoy giving back and speaking with current students.

In an effort to make the event accessible to as many students as possible, two virtual panels were held during the spring 2022 semester. LDDI graduate, and Assistant Project Manager at McAdams, Jonathan Balderson participated in one of the spring 2022 panels, and offers, “Likeso manyLDDIgraduates,theexperienceandknowledgefromtheclassroomprovidedasolidfoundationtokickstartmycareeratMcAdams.Iam nowexcitedtobeapartofLDDI’sBrandAwarenesscommitteeandtohelpbringnewenergyandeventstogrowandstrengthenthealready strongandvaluableLDDIbrand.IhopemyparticipationintheYoungProfessionalsPanelinspiresfutureLDDIalumnitoremaininvolvedinthe programasIhaveaftertheirgraduation.”

LDDI recognizes and thanks the following individuals for participating in the spring 2022 Young Professionals Panels:

Jonathan Balderson, McAdams

Allison Culicerto, Timmons Group

Alex Devlin, Dewberry

Carlos Guerrero, McAdams

Kyle Long, Kimley-Horn

Akul Mehra, Virginia Tech & Bohler

Caitlin Pendergast, VHB

Natalie Rupinski, Ramey Kemp Associates

Tully Saul, Bowman

Brendan Snell, Pennoni

Alex Wells, Bohler

“MyundergraduateexperiencewouldhavebeencompletelydifferenthaditnotbeenfortheLDDIprogram.Asafirstgenerationstudent, LDDIclassesandeventsprovidedmewithnumerousresourcesintendedtohelpstudentsthriveandprepareforworklifeoutsideof college,whichwasinvaluabletome.Throughtheprogram,Iamabletonetworkextensivelywithmanyindustryprofessionals,learn aboutthelanddevelopmentindustryholistically,gaintechnicalskills,andhavepreviouslyreceivedvariousinternshipoffers.However, my favorite part of LDDI are the wonderful and engaging faculty that deeply care about students’ professional and academic development.Throughthemandthisprogram,Ihavebeenabletofostermydesiretocontinuouslylearnaboutsustainabledevelopment andhowcivilengineerscanpositivelyimpactsocietythroughdesign,leadingmetopursueamaster’sdegreeinSustainableLand Development.IamtrulygratefulforLDDIandwhereithasledme!“

–Valeria Lebron , VT CEE Class of 2022, SLD MS Class of 2023

Industry Professionals Panels

Land development is a diverse industry, and even what appear to be the simplest projects often require the coordinated effort of a multitude of professional disciplines. While the LDDI program is centered around the engineering and design aspects of land development, a fundamental program objective has always been to make students aware of the other career opportunities in the land development industry, including those of developer, home builder, municipal engineer, surveyor, architect/landscape architect, contractor, wetlands specialist, product suppliers, and many others. Further, it is a firmly held belief that even though a substantial majority of LDDI students will enter the land development industry as site design engineers, it is critical that the curriculum acquaint those students with the other professional disciplines with whom they will ultimately work and collaborate. To help better achieve these outcomes, during the fall 2020 semester, LDDI debuted a new practitioner involvement event, Industry Professionals Panels, where representatives from various professional disciplines shared their perspectives on the land development industry. These inaugural panels in 2020 were well-received, leading to two panels being held during the fall 2021 semester. The first panel, held in October, was titled “The Design Partnership” and featured an architect, a transportation engineer, an environmental/wetlands specialist, and two landscape architects. In November, a second panel titled “Review, Permitting, and Construction” featured a product supplier, surveyor, municipal engineer, and a general contractor. Drew Sullivan , Senior Project Engineer with LDDI Platinum sponsor Timmons Group, represented transportation engineering in the first panel and of his participation offered, “Iwasverypleasedtobe invitedtoparticipateintheFall2021IndustryProfessionalsPanel.Hearingdifferingperspectivesfromyourcolleaguesinthesameorsimilar industriesonlyhelpsbuildyourknowledgebase.IfIhadtheopportunitytoparticipateineventslikethiswhenIwasastudentitwouldhavehelped meimmensely.”

Student attendance at these after-hours events was fantastic, with more than 70 students attending at least one of the panels. Moving forward, the Industry Professionals Panels are anticipated to be an annual fall semester practitioner involvement event. LDDI thanks the following individuals for their participation in the fall 2021 series of Industry Professionals Panels:

Allison Austin, Virginia Waters and Wetlands

Brent Evans, Bowman

Travis Frank, Bohler

Hank Gottschalk, CP&P

Dodie Hudson, Dewberry

Resume Review Workshop

Greg Mascola, Bohler

Justin St. Clair, Town of Christiansburg

Drew Sullivan, Timmons Group

Nicholas Thornsbury, Burns & McDonnell

The Resume Review Workshop was scheduled two weeks ahead of the spring Virginia Tech CEE Career Fair to give land development students an opportunity to update their resumes and get some timely advice from recruiters. Julia Mork (Bohler), Courtney Cooper (Timmons Group), and Hannah Godsey (Draper Aden Associates / TRC) kicked off the session by providing an overview of resume dos and don’ts, interview dos and don’ts, and what to do once you receive a job offer. Students were then placed into breakout rooms with one of the three recruiters to have an opportunity for a smaller group discussion and review of their current resumes. Of the ev ent, Julia Mork offered, “TheLDDIresumereviewwas agreateventtoconnectwithstudents.ThestudentsaskedthoughtfulquestionsandIenjoyedsharingtipsandtrickstocreatingastrongresume. Iamlookingforwardtobeingpartoftheeventnextyear!”

LDDI F ACULTY AND S TUDENT A WARDS

We would like to recognize the following LDDI faculty members and students for the recent awards and recognitions they have received. 

Kevin D. Young, Promoted to Associate Professor of Practice 

Claire M. White, CEE 2022 Alumni Teaching Excellence Award 

Tyler Misencik and Ella Waide, LDDI Hokie Stone Award

LDDI students whose leadership, attitude, and personality elevate the performance of those around them 

Nicole Fontenot, LDDI Lead ership in Sustainability

Recognition of an LDDI student’s commitment to sustainability as it relates to land development design 

Valeria Lebron and Steven Manolios, LDDI CEE 4274 Students of the Year

Outstanding students in the land development senior design course from the past academic year 

Mandy Smith and Julia White, Professional Development Award

Inaugural award to recognize students’ professional growth and development through the completion of their senior design project 

Morgan Newcomb, Outstanding Graduate St udent in Sustainable Land Development

Inaugural award to recognize a student’s contributions to the Sustainable Land Development graduate program 

Akul Mehra and Jackie McCarthy, LDDI GTA Recognition

Each year, we acknowledge the GTAs who are such integral contributors to the success of the various LDDI courses. This year, we recognize and thank Akul Mehra and Jackie McCarthy for serving as GTAs in CEE 3274, CEE 4254, and CEE 4264.

Land Development Student Scholarship Recipients

o Dylan Sakaria and Kenneth Williams: William A. Joyner Scholarship

o Devan Eilbert: Howell & Ann Simmons Scholarship

o Cory Demers: Balzer & Associates Scholarship

o Gia Ha: Jacobs Holly A. Cornell Scholarship

S PECIAL R ECOGNITION

During the more than 16 years of its existence, the LDDI program has witnessed many of its practitioner partners move from one company to another, ascend through the corporate ranks, and even change career paths entirely. Others have reached the point when it’s time to walk away from the hustle and bustle of corporate life to enjoy the benefits of a successful career in the form of a well-deserved retirement. In 2020, we announced the retirement of long-time LDDI Coordinator Dr. Randy Dymond, and last fall we were finally able to celebrate Randy’s retirement in person after a pandemic imposed delay. In this year’s LDDI Annual Report, we’re excited to debut a new piece to acknowledge and celebrate the retirement of individuals who have contributed in meaningful ways to LDDI. In this year’s inaugural piece, we recognize Sandy Camargo (Advanced Drainage Systems), Jeff Lighthiser (Draper Aden Associates / TRC), and Sue Wolford (Pennoni).

Sandy Camargo retires as a Zone Engineer with LDDI Dymond Sponsor Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) after nearly 9 years with the company and more than 30 years in the industry. ADS has been a sponsor of LDDI since 2011, and Sandy has been heavily involved since he joined the firm. A routine guest lecturer in LDDI’s senior design course where he demonstrates ADS’ online stormwater design tools, Sandy has also spoken multiple times (virtually and in person) to the Sustainable Land Development the Introduction to Land Development l courses. Sandy and ADS Sales Engineer and former LDDI student David Camden have also served as the key organizers for ADS’ annual fall semester on-campus product exhibition. Sandy’s numerous visits to LDDI classes over the years have affectionately branded him with the nickname “The Professor” among his ADS colleagues. Though he is a proud alumnus of the University of Kentucky, through his involvement with LDDI, Sandy has embraced all things Virginia Tech (except perhaps during March Madness).

Jeff Lighthiser retires as President and CEO of Draper Aden Associates (now Draper Aden Associates / TRC) after more than 47 years with the company. Jeff was one of LDDI’s original founding members, working with Dr. Randy Dymond and a core group of land development professionals in 2005 during initial outreach efforts across Virginia. Since those early days, Jeff has been consistently involved with the program, serving as an active Advisory Board member from the Board’s inception in 2006 until his appointment as Life Member in 2012. Jeff now serves on the LDDI Platinum Advisory Group and is one of three Directors of LDDI’s affiliated 501(C)(3) organization. Even as Jeff has transitioned toward his retirement, relinquishing day-to-day LDDI involvement to Industry Advisory Group Member Caleb Hurst and other DAA/TRC colleagues, he has consistently facilitated the company’s support for LDDI by providing senior design project mentors, Advanced Land Development instructors, onsite field trip hosts, and in many other ways. A VT CEE alumnus, Jeff is a strong supporter of his alma mater, and in addition to his contributions to LDDI he also serves on the CEE Alumni Board.

Sue Wolford retires as Regional Vice President for Pennoni’s Virginia and North Carolina operations after nearly 25 years with the company. Sue first joined the LDDI Advisory Board in 2015 where she has held the positions of both Board Chair and Vice Chair, and where she served through the Board’s dissolution in 2021 coinciding with the adoption of a new organizational structure. Sue was heavily involved with the creation of the new LDDI organizational model, and currently serves as one of five members of its inaugural Executive Board. Sue also serves as a Director for LDDI’s affiliated 501(C)(3) organization. A landscape architect by trade, Sue is passionate about helping students better prepare for careers in land development design, and while her contributions to LDDI’s leadership have been immeasurable, she has also been a frequent senior design project mentor and guest lecturer in Introduction to Land Development and Sustainable Land Development. Like Sandy, Sue is a proud alumnus of another academic institution (Penn State) but has contributed significantly to improving the undergraduate land development design experience at Virginia Tech.

Please join us in wishing Sandy, Jeff, and Sue all the best in their retirements!

H OW TO G ET I NVOLVED WITH LDDI

Since its earliest beginnings, LDDI has embraced an organic model that relies on the ”time, talent, and treasure” of industry professionals to achieve program goals. The past 16+ years have seen LDDI grow to become a nationally-recognized leader in undergraduate land development design education and the past academic year featured the debut of a new affiliated master’s degree program. There are nearly 800 individuals currently in the LDDI database, with many attending LDDI General Meetings and other LDDI functions. During these meetings, these professionals contribute ideas for curriculum improvements, practitioner engagement with students, and other suggestions for improving the program. If you are not already on our email list, please reach out to us at lddi@vt.edu in order to receive invitations to future events, as well as eUpdates, newsletters, and other program news. LDDI also has an active Linkedin page and we encourage you to follow us there by searching “LDDI at Virginia Tech”

There are many ways for individuals to become involved with LDDI, including joining the Industry Advisory and/or Young Members Groups. Each member of the Industry Advisory Group is assigned to one of the committees described below. We encourage you to review the respective summaries of each committee to see what best aligns with your own interests and professional expertise. Each committee provides its own unique opportunities to become active in the program.

For organizations, LDDI offers four tiers of corporate sponsorship, and two levels of municipal membership. Contact information to discuss sponsorship/membership opportunities is also provided.

Practitioner/Technical and Research Committee

The Practitioner/Technical and Research Committee assists the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in providing a strong and sustainable land development design undergraduate and graduate curriculum. The committee is also a resource for research as part of the sustainable land development graduate program. This committee identifies opportunities for practitioner involvement both inside and outside of the classroom, which is a cornerstone of LDDI.

Special Events and Fundraising Committee

The Special Events and Fundraising Committee is responsible for organizing fundraising events that include the annual golf tournament as well as splash events to roll out new programs or initiatives. This committee is also involved with the annual sponsorship drive, annual VT Giving Day, ongoing endowment efforts, and the summer 2022 celebration and recognition event.

Membership Committee

The Membership Committee provides assistance with planning and organizing LDDI’s General Meetings. The committee also assists with recruiting new members to the LDDI network as well as regularly reviewing corporate sponsorship and municipal membership benefits.

Brand Awareness Committee

The Brand Awareness Committee is responsible for expanding the footprint of LDDI through outreach events (“Road Shows”) in new geographic markets, and for overseeing LDDI’s social media presence and website. This committee is also responsible for future updates to the LDDI name and logo. This committee is further tasked with LDDI’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.

Young Members Group

The new LDDI organizational model provides numerous opportunities for alumni of the program to become involved! The Young Members Group is intended for recent graduates (generally one to seven years post graduation) and provides a forum for them to collaborate and reconnect with their peers. Young Members are assigned to participate in one of the IAG committees describe above.

Corporate Sponsorship, Municipal Me mbership, and Individual Giving

Last year, LDDI enjoyed the support of 40 corporate sponsors and municipal members, and more than 140 individual donors. There are four levels of annual corporate sponsorship which afford varying levels of student access and interaction. Two levels of membership are offered for municipalities and other government agencies. For more information, please contact Kevin Young, Claire White, or visit the LDDI website at http://www.lddi.cee.vt.edu .

FormoreinformationonhowtogetinvolvedwithLDDI,pleasecontact:

Kevin D. Young, P.E., M. ASCE

Jeff Gilliland, P.E.

LDDI Executive Board Chair (540) 231-2474 (703) 361-1550 keyoung@vt.edu jgilliland@j2engineers.com

VT LDDI Coordinator

Claire M. White, P.E., ENV SP

Alisa S.T. Cowen, LA, AICP

LDDI Executive Board Vice Chair (540) 231-3934 (703) 528-4424 cmwhite@vt.edu acowen@cowendesigngroup.com

VT LDDI Assistant Coordinator

R ECOGNITION OF S PONSORS AND D ONORS

Dymond Level

ADS

From its introduction and championing of corrugated plastic drainage pipe in the United States more than fifty years ago, to its current line of innovative products, Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) has been a leading materials supplier for the land development industry. The company’s commitment to excellence and sustainability have been long recognized, including this year by Plastic News annual rankings, where ADS was confirmed the number one plastic recycling company in North America. In fact, more than half of the plastic ADS purchased to make drainage products in 2021 was recycled, made possible by the company’s pioneering plastic-blending program, company-owned and operated recycling facilities, and unmatched engineering expertise. In 2020, ADS also consumed 28% of all high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottl es in the entire country. HDPE is used to make plastic bottles for products such as laundry detergent, milk and shampoo. Since coming on board as a Dymond-level sponsor in 2018, ADS has been actively involved with LDDI both inside and outside of the classroom. The past academic year was no exception, and featured MidSouth Zone Engineer Sandy Camargo speaking to multiple sections of LDDI’s CEE 3274, CEE 4264, and CEE 4274 courses. The company was also involved with LDDI outside of the classroom, with Engineered Products Manager Jim Clark participating in the Fall 2021 Industry Professionals Panel, and Sales Engineer David Camden leading the ADS on campus product exhibition.

Bohler

With 29 locations from New England to Texas, Bohler’s team of driven professionals provides site civil engineering design, permitting, and land development consulting services to owners and developers across all commercial, industrial, and residential real estate sectors. Bohler consistently partners with clients to create opportunity for high-profile projects, such as 8787 Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring, MD and the award-winning Signal House office development in the Union Market section of Washington, D.C. In addition, Bohler has completed more than five million SF of data center work in the last three years including several marquee projects within Loudoun County, VA’s “Data Center Alley.” Continuing to grow its presence across the region, Bohler’s newest MidAtlantic office in Richmond, VA has more than doubled its staff since opening in the fall of 2020.

Bohler has been a sponsor of LDDI since 2007, and the company provided mentors for both the fall 2021 and spring 2022 offerings of LDDI’s senior design course. Representatives from the company also frequently visit campus to attend events, including LDDI Career Nights, the CEE Career Fair, and a Bohler-sponsored mixer. Additionally, Bohler staff participated in the Industry Professionals and Young Professionals Panels.

During the 2021-2022 academic year, Bohler hired nine full-time graduates and eighteen interns from the LDDI program. Sarah Mitchell, a 2018 graduate of the program who remains heavily involved with LDDI as a mentor, shared,“Participatinginthisprogram allowsmetoengagewithstudentswhoareinterestedinlanddevelopmentandseekinghands-onlearningopportunities.It’s excitingtobeontheothersidenow,continuingtobearesourcetostudentsandfillingthegapofpreparednessinthisfield.”

Bowman

Headquartered in Reston, VA, Bowman Consulting Group Ltd (Bowman) is an established professional services firm delivering innovative engineering solutions to customers who own, develop, and maintain the built environment. With over 1400 employees and more than 60 offices throughout the United States, Bowman provides a variety of planning, engineering, construction management, commissioning, environmental consulting, geomatics, survey, land procurement and other technical services to customers operating in a diverse set of regulated end markets.

On May 11, 2021, Bowman completed its $51.7 million initial public offering and began trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol BWMN. A year marked with continued growth by acquisition, service offerings and an expanded customer base, Bowman has acquired 10 firms since going public and plans to continue looking for strategic opportunities. The company ranked 21st on Zweig Group’s 2022 Hot Firm List, #118 on Engineering News Record’s 2022 listing of the Top 500 Design Firms and #9 on the Washington Business Journal’s ranking of the largest engineering firms in Greater DC for 2022. Bowman has been a sponsor of LDDI since 2007, with Principal Bill Pyle currently serving on the LDDI Industry Advisory Group. Firm President Gary Bowman has been one of LDDI’s strongest advocates since the program’s infancy, and continues to support the program through his personal contributions and commitment of company resources.

Senior Project Manager Brett Hammonds, a 2010 VT CEE graduate, offers the following on his involvement with LDDI, “Whilementoring futurelanddevelopmentengineersthroughtheirdesigncourse,itisextremelyrewardingtoobservegrowth,understanding,and knowledgedevelopoverthecourseofasemester.Notonlyarestudents’designskillsandtechnicalexpertisehoned,butyoucansee theirexcitementduringthefinalprojectpresentations.Learninginaclassthatsimulatesaprofessionalsettinghelpsteachvaluable skillsandexperiencenotfoundwithinotherprograms.”

Concrete Pipe and Precast

An LDDI sponsor since 2018, Concrete Pipe & Precast, LLC (CP&P) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of concrete pipe and precast products in the MidAtlantic and Southeastern United States. CP&P focuses on delivering value through innovative products and committed partnerships. This commitment extends to its valuable partnerships with designers, developers, inspectors, and owners, and CP&P recognizes the value that the LDDI program serves to those numerous partners. Hank Gottschalk , CP&P’s Technical Marketing Manager, says, “Wefeelthatitisimportanttospendtimediscussingmaterial, design,andinstallationofourproducts.Itiscriticalthateachandeverystakeholdersunderstandstheimportancethataburied infrastructure plays in our daily lives. We take these things for granted everyday, until something doesn’t work. Dialog and understandingofeachindividual’sroleinprovidingthattherightproductisproperlyinstalledforeachlocationwillhelptoensurethat weobtainasystemthatwilllastforgenerations.”

The past year has been one of numerous recognitions for the company, with two of their plants named to the National Precast Concrete Association Top 25 Quality Awards list (Salem & Summerville). CP&P’s Jessup plant was recognized with a safety award from the Heavy Construction Contractor Association and their Chesapeake plant received a safety award from the Hampton Roads Utility Contractors Association. Current high profile projects that feature installation of CP&P products include the $3.8 billion Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel Expansion, 120 inch diameter concrete pipe for the NCDOT I-440 project, and numerous other large drainage and data center projects across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States.

Edens

Edens Land, founded in 2004, is a privately owned real estate investment, acquisition, and development company located in Durham, NC. The professionals at Edens Land are committed to delivering a high-quality work product while providing exceptional service. Edens Land focuses on single-family, multi-family and commercial investment opportunities, with an emphasis on self-sustaining communities. Earlier this year, Kingsport, TN was honored with the Donald E. Hunter Excellence Award for the city’s Brickyard Park/Cement Hill project. Edens was a key player in the project, bringing 380 single family homes, duplexes, townhouses and apartments to the 30-acre northern portion of the site.

Last year marked the company’s fourth year as an LDDI sponsor and its first year as a Dymond-level supporter. Firm president and proud Hokie alumnus Jarrod Edens served as a mentor in LDDI’s senior design course for a fourth time during the fall 2021 semester. A committed mentor, student teams working under Jarrod’s tutelage have in the past been extended the honor of being invited to present and represent LDDI at a General Meeting. Regarding his experience as a CEE 4274 mentor, Jarrod offers, “I’vehadtheopportunitytomentorastudent designteamseveraltimesnow,andIcontinuetobeamazedathowmuchthestudentsdevelopoverthecourseofasemester. Similarly,it’s impressivejusthowmuchmaterialiscovered in the class. When I first meet withthestudentsearlyinthesemester,they’re often understandablyoverwhelmedatthescopeofthetaskbeforethem. But,bythetimefinalpresentationsrollaroundtheirconfidencehas grownimmenselyandthey’reeagertosharewhatthey’velearned. Ifindthementoringexperiencetobegreatlyrewarding,andI look forwardtotheopportunityagaininfuturesemesters.”

Pennoni

Pennoni is a multidisciplinary design firm, providing a full suite of civil engineering, environmental, and geospatial services. Our capabilities are ever-expanding with growing business demands, tech innovations, and the creative influence of a new generation. Pennoni’s services cover both traditional markets as well as emerging sectors such as sustainability and resiliency, energy, and design-build.

Pennoni’s offices are strategically located to best serve their growing list of clients with more than 1,200 professionals in 36 offices. In the past year, Pennoni has worked on a variety of project types and sizes including an offshore wind farm, numerous K-12 public schools, cannabis agricultural facilities, data centers and recreation complexes.

Pennoni continued its active support of LDDI over the past year, with Regional Vice President Sue Wolford serving on the LDDI Executive Board, co-chairing the annual LDDI, Inc. golf tournament, delivering multiple guest lectures to LDDI courses, and teaming with other Pennoni staff to serve as mentors for the CEE 4274 design course.

Pennoni values the knowledge of LDDI students and has hired several recent graduates and interns knowing their contributions and enthusiasm strengthen their design teams. 2020 LDDI graduate Chris Parrish shared,“OnethingtheLDDIprogramoffersthatisincredibly valuableistheopportunitytoworkonarealprojectwithengineeringprofessionalsinCEE4274.Thereissomethingtobesaidaboutknowing thattheproblemsyouencounterwithyoursitearethesameproblemsthatdesignengineers encounterdaily.Whenyouovercomethese problems,thatrealismcontributestoasenseofpridethatyoudidn'tjustsolveanacademicproblemthatwaswrittentobesolved,butthat youfoundasolutionwhenonewasnotguaranteed.IgotthatsenseofaccomplishmentintheclassroomfromtheLDDISeniordesignproject.”

Platinum Level

ATCS

ATCS is a professional consulting firm dedicated to providing comprehensive, multidisciplinary services including land development, transportation planning and design, traffic engineering, construction management and inspection, surveying, and other civil and environmental engineering services. Headquartered in Herndon, VA, the firm has eight offices across Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania. ATCS was recognized as one of the top places to work in 2021 by The Washington Post.

ATCS has maintained an active role in the LDDI program since first coming on board in 2016 as a Platinum sponsor. 2001 VT CEE alumnus Kevin Siegel , Vice President of Hampton Roads Operations, has served as a mentor in multiple semesters of CEE 4274. This has provided Siegel and his site civil design staff in ATCS’ Newport News office an opportunity to regularly engage with students in the LDDI program. Siegel says “wehighlyvaluetheLDDIprogramandthequalityofthesite-civilengineersitproduces. Thisiswhybeinginvolvedinthis programissoimportanttoATCS,sothatwecanshareourexperiencesandinsightwiththefuturesite-civilengineersjoining our profession.” One of those LDDI graduates, Lanna Clements (VT CEE 2014), now a Project Manager in ATCS’ Largo, MD office, is looking forward to working with 2022 LDDI graduate, Mason Leon . Mason is a four-time intern with ATCS and is joining the ATCS site-civil team in the Largo, MD office. Mason says, "beingabletoparticipateinbothLDDIcoursesandaninternshipwithATCSduringmytimeat VirginiaTechgavemebothperspectiveandcareeradvancementopportunity.IgainedinsightnotonlyabouttheworkATCSdoes,but alsowhatitmeanstobeacivilengineeringprofessional.”

christopher consultants

As christopher consultants, ltd. (christopher) celebrates 40 years in business, their growth continues rapidly. With six office locations across Virginia and Maryland, christopher provides a full range of services including civil engineering, surveying, planning, and landscape architecture. christopher boasts a robust staff of 150 full-time employees, of which 14 are VT alumni. christopher welcomed 5 interns in the summer of 20 22, all of whom are VT students.

In 2022, christopher was once again named to Washington Business Journal’s list of Largest Engineering Firms in Greater DC, coming in at #14 of 30 firms. In addition, christopher was also named to Virginia Business’ Best Places to Work in Virginia for 2022, thanks to feedback directly from employees. In addition to its involvement at Virginia Tech, christopher is also engaging local high school students through presentations, demonstrations, and the continuation of the company’s scholarship program. These scholarship applicants this year were most impressive, and two finalists received scholarships. christopher looks forward to seeing the impact these young people will make as they enter college and the industry.

A designated small business under Virginia’s SWaM program, christopher has been a proud sponsor of LDDI since 2007. christopher regularly mentors the senior design course and attends the LDDI Career Night Mixer and the CEE Career Fair. Senior Project Manager and Associate Katie McDaniel offers,"LDDIprovidesinvaluablehands-onexperienceandahugeedgetograduatesenteringtheland developmentindustry.Theprogramisalsoagreatresourceforindustrytostayconnectedtowhatisgoingoninhighereducation.The studentsachieveanimpressiveamountoflearningandgrowththroughtheircourseworkanditisalwaysanhonortocomealongside themintheirjourneyandwitnessitfirsthandduringfinaldesignprojectpresentations.”

Charles P. Johnson & Associates

In 2021, Charles P. Johnson & Associates, Inc. (CPJ) celebrated its 50th year in business as a fullservice civil engineering firm providing land planning, civil and environmental engineering, and surveying services. While firm president Paul Johnson has long been one of LDDI’s strongest individual supporters, the past year marked CPJ’s first as a corporate sponsor. Headquartered in Silver Spring, MD, with offices in Gaithersburg, Greenbelt, Annapolis, Frederick, and Fairfax, VA, the professionals at CPJ boast over 500 years of combined expertise and collectively embrace the company’s motto of “Crafting a Shared Vision of Success.” CPJ has a broad portfolio of both public and private projects, including the Germantown Town Center Urban Park, the Upper Watts Branch Forest Preserve Stream Restoratio and Outfall Stabilization project, Accotink and Clarksburg Villages, and the Lake Anne House redevelopment.

During CPJ’s first year as an LDDI sponsor, the firm provided a mentoring team for the fall 2021 offering of CEE 4274 – Land Development Design, where CPJ engineers worked with students on the design of a mixed-use development located in Montgomery County, MD. During the spring 2022 offering of CEE 3274 – Introduction to Land Development Design, firm President Paul Johnson served as a professional development mentor. CPJ also attended both the fall and spring LDDI-sponsored Career Night Mixers. CJP Engineering Department Section Head Brian Thomas served on the CEE 4274 mentoring team, and of the experience offers, “It’sgreattowatchthe studentsgetengagedinthelanddevelopmentprocessandembracethechallengesweputinfrontofthem. Ilookforwardtoworking withtheLDDIprogramandfuturedesignteamsintheupcomingsemesters.”

Dewberry

Established in 1956 and headquartered in Fairfax, VA, Dewberry is a leading, market-facing firm with a proven history of providing multidisciplinary professional services to a wide variety of public- and private-sector clients. Engineering News-Record ranked Dewberry as the #36 Top Design Firm in the United States.

The Virginia Chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) recognized Dewberry in 2022 with the ACEC Pinnacle Award for the Alaska Statewide Mapping Project, and two Merit Awards for the Warrenton Southern Interchange Project and the HSR D Boat Harbor Outlet Sewer Improvements Project. With more than 2,000 employees and 50 locations, Dewberry has been a proud sponsor of LDDI since 2007, hiring 25 interns and 10 entry-level graduates in the past year.

Throughout the company’s time as a sponsor, Dewberry has been involved in nearly every aspect of LDDI. Vice President and Business Unit Manager Skip Notte currently serves on the LDDI Executive Board, is a frequent guest lecturer in multiple CEE courses and ASCE student chapter meetings, and since 2012, has led one of LDDI’s hallmark practitioner involvement events – the spring semester Design Charrette and Competition.

Dewberry recruits heavily across all discipli nes within Virginia Tech CEE, including LDDI. A graduate engineer in Dewberry’s Richmond office and former LDDI student Gabriella Johnson says, “VirginiaTech’sLDDIprogram,andmorespecificallytheLandDevelopment SeniorDesigncourse,openedmyeyestothelanddevelopmentindustry.Myteamwasguidedbyseasonedmentorsaswewentthrough thesiteplandesignprocessandsubsequentpresentations.TheskillsIgained,bothtechnicalandsoft,Istilluseeachdayasanengineer. I'mextremelygratefulforthehands-onopportunityIhadthroughVirginiaTech'sLDDIprogrambecausemyexperienceshowedme thatIwantedtopursuethisfieldformycareer.”

Draper Aden Associates, a TRC Company

Draper Aden Associates was acquired by TRC Companies in May of 2022, broadening the company’s ability to provide environmentally focused and digitally powered solutions across the US, Canada, UK, and China.

Draper Aden Associates / TRC, has been a sponsor of LDDI since 2007 and remains active through participation in Career Night Mixers, part of the Advanced Land Development practitioner instructional team, and design course mentoring. Carolyn Howard of the Blacksburg office also served as one of the spring field trip hosts. The company has a long-standing tradition of providing site planning and engineering services for projects on Virginia Tech’s campus and throughout Blacksburg such as Holden Hall, the recently completed Creativity an d Innovation District (CID) on campus, and the Blacksburg Multi-Modal Facility.

Andrew Hemmen , Class of 2014, shared “AsagraduateoftheLDDIprogrammyself,Ihavethoroughlyenjoyedgivingbackbyworking withtheprogram.WhetheritbeteachingsectionsofAdvancedLandDevelopment,mentoringstudentsintheLandDevelopmentDesign course,orspeakingwithnewstudentsintheprogram,Iamalwaysimpressedbytheirknowledgeandhardwork.AlotoftimesIlearn justasmuchfromthestudentsasIteachthem!LDDIisanunparalleledprogramthatgetsstudentsthehands-onexperiencetheyneed tosucceedintheprofessionalworld.”

Gordon

Founded in 1976, Gordon is an award-winning, multi-disciplinary design firm specializing in urban design, mixed-use, commercial, mission critical, and government facility development. The firm serves local and federal government clients as well as private developers in the Washington D.C. Metro region and nationally across 31 states. Providing its clients with a full complement of civil engineers, land planners, landscape architects, surveyors, and security

firm was recognized as #21 on the Washington Business Journal’s ranking of the largest engineering firms in Greater DC. Proudly employing more than 25 Virginia Tech alumni, Gordon has been a sponsor of LDDI since 2007.

Gordon participates in numerous LDDI functions, including CEE 4274 mentoring, CEE 3274 mentoring and class presentations, SLDC meetings, and networking mixers. This breadth of involvement grants the firm front-line access to LDDI students, and in 2021 the firm hired two-full time graduates of the program and three summer interns. This year, the firm will also welcome four additional LDDI fulltime hires and three interns.

Paul Weiss , Class of 2021, shared, “TheLDDIprogramatVirginiaTechwasthespringboardofmycareer.Itprovidedmewithresources andknowledgethatInowuseeverydayhereatGordonandwillcontinuetousethroughoutmycareer.TherelationshipsIbuiltduring mytimeintheLDDIprogramhavecarriedoverintomyprofessionalcareer.HereatGordon,therearemanyLDDIgraduateswithwhom Icanmakethatconnectionandshareexperienceswith.Toanynewengineer’senteringthefield,myrecommendationistodevelopas manyofthoseconnectionsinLDDIaspossibleastheywillbeyourkeytothefuture.”

professionals, in February, the

J2 Engineers

J2 Engineers, founded in 2007, is built to be different: a different approach to design services, a different employer for talented employees, a different niche in the marketplace. J2 emphasizes a positive work culture to meet client goals through excellence in engineering, landscape architecture, and land surveying. For the past five years, J2 has been recognized as one of Zweig’s Best Firms to Work For. The firm’s project portfolio features both private development, public facilities, and significant transportation improvements. A few signature projects from the past year include design for the growing Goose Creek Village, a mixed-use center in Ashburn, VA; entitlement and design of Waxpool Crossing, a multi-family neighborhood in Ashburn, VA; and improvements to Route 15, James Monroe Highway, a critical transportation corridor located north of Leesburg, VA.

J2 is a dedicated LDDI sponsor since 2007 and remains active through class presentations, mentoring junior-level students and senior design project teams, attending LDDI Career Nights, and organizing the annual golf tournament. This active participation positions yearly hires for the firm, including five full-time and intern positions this year with students from the LDDI program.

Michael Guarrasi , CEE Class of 2018, shared, “TheLDDIprogramwasgreatlybeneficialtomewhileattendingVirginiaTech.TheLDDI CareerMixerhelpedmetomeetwithprospectiveemployerspriortocareerfairswhichhelpedalleviatenervousnesswhenexplaining myresume.IalsoattendedmanyoftheSLDCpresentationsandtheywerealwaysenlighteningofhowcivilengineersdesignprojects withdifferentdesignconstraints.IalsotooktheLandDevelopmentdesignclass,andthisparticularclass,withoutadoubt,wasthe mostinfluentialclassthatItookwhileatVirginiaTechasitprovidedmewitha“sneak-peak”atwhatIwouldactuallybedoingafter graduation.”

Kimley-Horn

Kimley-Horn is one of the nation’s premier planning and design consulting firms. With more than 6,400 employees in 100+ offices across the United States, the firm offers full services in a wide range of disciplines. The firm has been repeatedly included on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list, and in 2022, Engineering News-Record ranked Kimley-Horn as a top 10 U.S. Design Firm out of 500 firms nationwide. Kimley-Horn’s portfolio includes serving both public infrastructure and private development with a full suite of civil engineering, planning, and landscape architecture services. Recent signature projects include the planning, landscape architecture, site civil, and traffic engineering for Commerce Metro Center in northern Virginia. The firm also provided civil engineering and creative stormwater solutions for the Atlantic Park (The Wave) mixed use development in Virginia Beach, and transportation planning and civil engineering design for the new Las Vegas Raiders stadium.

Kimley-Horn has been a sponsor of LDDI since 2007. The firm’s employees (many of whom are Hokies themselves) are passionate about Virginia Tech and mentoring rising VT engineering students by participating in LDDI Career Night, Sustainable Land Development Club events, class presentations, mentoring the advanced and design courses, and serving on the LDDI Industry Advisory Group. During the past year, Kimley-Horn hired over 26 Virginia Tech students and alumni for full-time, post-grad opportunities, and summer internships. Former LDDI student and class of 2021 graduate Josie Nolan shared, “BeingapartoftheLDDIprogramintroducedmetoproject managementanddesignexperiencebeforecomingtoKimley-Hornandsetmeuptohitthegroundrunninginmycareer.Theprogram gavemedirectcontacttoindustryprofessionalsallowingmetobeginbuildingmynetworkwellbeforemyprofessionalcareerbegan. TheLDDIprogramexceedinglypreparedmeforthelanddevelopmentindustry.”

Koontz Bryant Johnson Williams

Named a 2021 Top Workplace by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Koontz Bryant Johnson Williams, Inc. is a fun, family-oriented business, dedicated to the success of their employees, clients, and communities. For more than 30 years, KBJW has served as a leading civil engineering, survey, geotechnical, and environmental firm in the Mid-Atlantic Region. As engineering experts, KBJW’s team of engineers, geologists, scientists, surveyors, and project managers share a passion and commitment for providing excellence in all that they do. With more than 150 employees in five locations, KBJW provides an excellent opportunity for internships, as well as fulfilling careers.

KBJW employees are committed and involved with the education of young engineers in civil engineering, having been actively involved with the Virginia Tech LDDI program since its inception. Cameron Palmore , KBJW’s Director of Housing and Education and Virginia Tech alumnus, currently serves as a mentor for CE 4274 and is a member of the LDDI Industry Advisory Group.

In the past year alone, six young professionals in the LDDI program have joined KBJW’s team for summer internships, resulting in two full-time hires upon graduation. Kayla Frink , 2022 LDDI program graduate, started her journey with KBJW as a summer intern in 2021 and returned to the team as a full-time staff engineer immediately after graduating with her EIT. “MyinvolvementintheLDDIprogram openedthedoorforaninternshipwithKBJW,”explains Frink. “Ispentthesummerworkingonmultipleprojects,whichallowedmethe opportunitytogainexperienceandknowwhatIwantedtodoupongraduation.”As far as advice for current LDDI program participants, Frink says “getasmuchexperienceaspossible,focusonwhatyoulovedoing,anddon’tbeafraidtoputyourselfoutthere.”

Land Design Consultants

LDC (Land Design Consultants, Inc.) was founded in 1985 and is currently owned by two proud Virginia Tech alumni Josh Marshall and Matt Marshall

LDC is a dynamic land development engineering firm that provides services within dozens of localities in and around the Nation’s Capital. The company provides a unique, employeecentric work environment that is committed to its core values of empathy, integrity, passion, innovation and client success. LDC is different, that difference is intentional, and the results are astounding and speak for themselves.

LDC has nearly one hundred new projects every year and they are proud of them all, including their efforts in support of George Mason University’s Prince William Campus. Innovation Town Center will be a large component of what is planned to be a vibrant mixed-use community to complement the planned growth of the university. This community is focused on place-making, automobile independence and environmentally friendly design.

LDC is currently bringing to life several plazas with pop up retail, gathering areas and community centers (think the Boro or Mosaic District but next door to a growing college campus). The firm is processing construction plans for the first two buildings in the Town Center and 1,000 residential units.

This past year, LDC President and Owner Matt Marshall shadowed a senior design project mentoring team in preparation for LDC mentoring their own student team this upcoming year. LDC has hired several students over the past decade from LDDI and continues to sponsor program efforts.

McAdams

McAdams is a full-service land planning, landscape architecture, civil engineering and geomatics firm located in Durham, Raleigh and Charlotte, NC and Dallas-Fort Worth, TX. Comprised of over 400 professionals, McAdams has built its reputation throughout the industry over 43 years by delivering unmatched expertise and unwavering commitment to clients in a variety of markets, including municipal, education, healthcare, as well as commercial and residential development. 2022 continues to be a year of achievement for the firm, having received Zweig Group’s “Best Place to Work” and “Hot Firm” awards, as well as our notable listing in the ENR 500. McAdams has been active in LDDI over the past year, serving as mentors in both the junior- and senior-level design courses as well as participating in the Young Professionals Panels. McAdams is also active on LDDI’s Industry Advisory Group with Rob Reddick serving as the co-chair for the Brand Awareness Committee and Diana Doan serving as the vice chair for the Practitioner/Technical & Research Committee.

McAdams has been a sponsor of LDDI since 2018, and currently employs over 15 Virginia Tech alumni, including several recent graduates from the LDDI program. One of those recent graduates, Carlos Guerrero Duran, stated,“LDDIwasincrediblyhelpfulin givingmeastronglanddevelopmentfoundationformyschool-worktransition.ApartfromtakinglanddevelopmentcoursesatVirginia TechIwasalsoinvolvedinLDDIactivitiessuchasfieldtripsanddesigncharrettes,thisgavemevaluableinsightoftheindustryprior tostartingmyfull-timejobatMcAdams.IwasluckyenoughtoalsobementoredbyMcAdamsformylanddevelopmentseniordesign projectanditgavemeallthebasictoolstojumpstartmycareerasacivilengineer.”

Timmons Group

Timmons Group is invested in providing excellent engineering and planning services to clients across the United States. A recent project of notoriety is the CPCC Library & Student Success Center in Uptown Charlotte, NC for which Timmons Group provided services including site and civil, stormwater, and pedestrian pathway designs. The total cost of the project was $113.5M. Timmons Group also avidly works on projects in markets like parks/recreation, healthcare, residential/multi-family, water resources, local/federal government, renewable energy, and commercial building, among others.

Having joined as a sponsor in 2017, Timmons Group remains active in the many facets of LDDI. The firm has served as a mentor in both junior and senior design courses and participated in multiple SLDC after-hours events, including the Industry Professionals Panel, Resume Review Workshop, and Young Professionals Panel. Timmons Group has hired more than 10 LDDI students for full-time and intern positions in the last year, including Nathan Hearne. He shared,“asa2021graduate,stayinginvolvedinacademicorganizations duringthelatteryearsofmycollegecareerwasdifficult.Butdespiteuniversityguidelinesandotherlimitingfactors,LDDIcontinuedto thriveasafountofindustry-focusedresourcesthatkeptstudentsupportandgrowthatitscore.ThroughLDDIresourcesandorganized events,Iwasabletoconnectwithmanycompanieswhounderstandthestandardofqualitythisorganizationupholds.NotonlyhasLDDI providedmewithasolidfoundationofskillsthatIcontinuetobuildondailyatTimmonsGroup,butitalsocontinuestoprovidelasting fellowshipwithacommunityofindustryprofessionals,newandestablished,thatIwouldnothaveformedotherwise.Iamverygrateful fortheopportunitytobeapartofthisgreatorganization,andIhighlyrecommendittoanyoneconsideringacareerintheland developmentindustry.”

Tri-Tek

Since 1988, Tri-Tek Engineering’s core value, “Doing things according to plan” has been the foundation of the firm’s commitment to client service, creative design, and professional integrity. Headquartered in Herndon, VA and founded by Virginia Tech alumni Kevin Murray and Ted Britt , Tri-Tek is staffed with passionate and dedicated team providing a wide array of civil, surveying, and environmental engineering services for both public and private clients.

Tri-Tek continues to support unique custom-built residences throughout the Great Falls and McLean area. Listed at $39 million, currently the most expensive residential listing in the DC region, “The Cliffs” sits on 5 acres with 400 feet of Potomac River riverfront adjoining 700 acres of protected land in conservation easement. The home and site layout are designed to capture sweeping views from every room. At 39,000 square feet, the estate includes an infinity edge pool, an indoor basketball court, and a 22-car garage that doubles into a ballroom for indoor gatherings.

In the commercial/industrial sector, Tri-Tek is currently working on Phase 2 of the Leesburg Airport Commerce Park project for EPL Archives. This project is part of EPL’s master planned corporate campus and entails a 140,558 SF office-warehouse building that supports EPL’s expanding laboratory and medical sample repository business.

Tri-Tek Engineering has been an LDDI sponso r since 2011 and routinely serves as mentors to LDDI’s senior design course. Additionally, representatives from the firm are regular attendees at the LDDI Career Night and the CEE Career Fair. Former LDDI student Steven Petrullo commented, “LDDIprovidedmewithpracticalskillsthathelpedmetransitionintoworkingfull-timeasaDesignEngineer.This programexpandedonthelessonstaughtinclassandbroughtthemintotherealworld.Usingthoseskillsandreal-worldapplications, I’mthrivinginmycareerwithTri-TekEngineering.”

VHB

With more than 1,600 employees across 30 offices, VHB’s work helps improve mobility, enhance communities, build resilience, and contribute to economic vitality. Ranked by Virginia Business Magazine as a Best Place to Work in Virginia for six years in a row and ranked the 8th Largest Engineering Firm in Greater DC by the Washington Business Journal, VHB’s passionate professionals include engineers, scientists, planners, and designers who partner with clients in the transportation, real estate, institutional and energy industries, as well as federal, state, and local governments. VHB’s land development teams work on a variety of project types with sustainability being an integral part of their approach and solution for addressing social, environmental, and economic issues. Notable land development projects include the mixed-use, sustainable ecodistrict, GreenCity, in Henrico County; EVgo Electric Vehicle charging stations across the east coast; and a sustainable permeable parking lot solution for Busch Gardens in Williamsburg.

VHB has been a proud supporter of LDDI for more than 15 years, hiring 10 new employees from the program within the last year. VHB understands the value of receiving an industry practitioner’s perspective during undergraduate studies and have the desire to give back through volunteering and mentoring. John Carty , Land Development Manager at VHB mentored in Fall 2021, and shared, “TheLDDI programatVirginiaTechisuniquewithitbeingoneofthefewuniversitiesacrossthestatethatoffersthistypeofprogram,specifically forlanddevelopment Asadesignprojectmentor,IsawfirsthandtheadvantagetheLDDIstudentshavebygainingrealworld knowledgeintheirundergraduatecurriculum.It’scertainlyexperiencethatstandsouttousduringthehiringprocess.”

WithersRavenel

WithersRavenel is the largest employee-owned, multi-disciplinary design firm located solely in North Carolina, specializing in the planning, design, and construction of public and private projects. The firm offers expertise in environmental engineering, geomatics, land development and planning, landscape architecture, construction administration, stormwater, utilities, transportation, and funding and asset management.

Signature projects for the last year include Project Forge, which brought an automobile components manufacturing plant and more than 300 jobs to Sanford. WithersRavenel led project due diligence, site development, permitting, and partnered on design-build services. The project was honored with a North Carolina American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Engineering Excellence Award. Another successful project is Pleasant Park in Apex, which features six multi-use athletic fields for soccer and lacrosse, four baseball fields, six tennis courts, basketball courts, beach volleyball, splash pad, unique playgrounds, shelters, a large open play lawn, and a cross country running course. Construction is nearly complete, with a ribbon cutting expected in late 2022.

WithersRavenel joined LDDI as a Platinum sponsor in 2018, and has hired five Virginia Tech graduates in 2021-22 along with three interns. The company is active in the LDDI program through participation in multiple career events, along with mentoring the senior design course. Amber Mason , CEE Class of 2017, discusses the impact of the LDDI program on her career; “LDDIhasshapedmycareerfrom beginningtopresentday. Theseniordesigncourseteachesyouhowtodesigninteamsettings,receiveclientfeedback,andworkwith strictprojectdeadlines.TheLDDIprogramalsohelpedmegetmyfirstlanddevelopmentinternship. Now,asadesignclassmentor,I gettoworkwithCEEstudentsandbuildvaluableskillssuchaslearninghowtoadviseandcommunicatewithyoungerengineers.Those skillsmakemeanall-aroundbetteremployee.”

LDDI Gold & Silver Sponsors and Municipal Members

Gold

AES Consulting Engineers · Balzer & Associates · Cowen Design Group · Delta Airport Consultants

Foresight Design Services · Hurt & Proffitt · Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure · Lumsden Associates · Rodgers Consulting Van Metre Homes · Youngblood, Tyler & Associates

Silver

Burns & McDonnell · Colman Engineering · Eden & Associates · Mattern & Craig Ramey Kemp & Associates · Virginia Waters and Wetlands · Wetland Studies and Solutions

Municipal Members

Fairfax County

Multi-Year, Endowment Fund Pledges

Bohler · Gordon · Bill Junda · Pennoni · Van Metre Homes

LDDI Individual Donors

Legacy

Julian B. Bell, Jr. Diamond Gary Bowman Paul Johnson

Platinum Bill Junda Tom Rust

Gold Alisa Cowen John DeBell Hank Gordon Jessie Ponce de Leon Bryan Stevenson

Orange and Maroon

Silver Bob Brown Michael Cardman Jeff Lighthiser Claire & Kyle White

Billy Anderson · Joe Arrowsmith · Kyle Bollinger · Mary Ann Bonadeo · Ted Britt · Barry Bryant · Brett Buckland · Tyson Catlett · Derrick Cave Young Ho Chang · Gil Colman · Glenn Custis · Greg Deubler · Sid Dewberry · DFT Data Centers · Doug Fahl · Jeff Gilliland · Suzy Harding · Diana Howell · Caleb Hurst Bob Jansen · Jimmie Jenkins · Meredith Jones · Pete Lazarevich · Matt Marshall · Garland & Barbara McKenzie · Spud Mistr · Kevin Murray · Skip Notte · Charles Nuckols James Patteson · Peterson Family Foundation · Lawrence Phipps · Matthew Pillow · Sam Proctor · Bill Pyle · Rick Rabil · Rob Reddick · William G. Reynolds Mark Richardson · Randy Rivinus · Lauri Rustand · Patrick Shaffner · Jefferson Sinclair · Greg Stecher · Jack Vega · Anthony Verdi · Sue Wolford · wpl

Supporters

Andrea Agee · Savannah Amor · Alvaro Armaza · Tyler Austin · Megan Baird · Jonathan Balderson · Ali Beisner · Peter Belgrader · Ryan Blazauskas · Tyler Bledsoe Mark Boyd · Casey Britt · Andrew Browning · Holly Casey · Arvil Catlett · Chris Chegwidden · Nisha Cheriathund · Graham Corson · Brian Crittenden · Zack Delgrosso Alexa Devlin · Jackson Deweese · Alec Deyaert · Rick DiSalvo · Diana Doan · Erin Donovan · Jarrod Eden · Kevin Eye · Randy Dymond · Nicholas Fattman · Mike Flagg Michael Formica · Zoe Foxhall · Anthony Gaynord · Louis Genuario · Mary Ann Gimbel · Joseph Giusti · Tabitha Gomes · Andy Gorecki · Hank Gottschalk · Ginger Greunke Michael Guarrasi · Carlos Guerrero · Deborah Hall · Katharine Hall · Laura Hall · Mary Hall · Andrew Hanson · Stephen Hanson · Jessie Hekl · Meghan Hekl · Rhett High · Connor Hill · Clay Hodges · Sean Hoffman · Chris Howell · Alex Holleman · Mark Huffman · Kellen Johnson · Brendan Kent · Ryan Kincer · Christopher Kingsland

Lance Koth · Matt Lawrence · Mark Liberati · Teresa Lin · Daniel Long · Kyle Long · Josh MacDonald · Arch Marston · Mark McGuire · Charles Mckeever · Connor McManus

Akul Mehra · Nicholas Mitchell · Sam Mongtomery · Pilar Moore · Robert Moore · Cody Mudd · Gus Newman · Nicholas Nordberg · Andrew O'Grady · Mike O'Shaughnessy Kelly O’Such · Ethan Pacifico · Cameron Palmore · Chris Parrish · Bella Patrocino · Caitlin Pendergast · Griffin Peters · Lars Peterson · Steven Petrullo · Nick Pezzuti David Ragsdale · Sarah Rasmusson · Kerry Rice · Joe Riley-Ryan · Mike Roselius · Chris Santiago · Alex Sarant · Tully Saul · Jonathan Sawyers · Michael Sawyers Chris Schaible · Annika Schmierer · Karen Small · Brendan Snell · Christina Soule · Liz St. Angelo · Erin Stewart · Peyton Stone · Drew Sullivan · John Tedesco Becky Temkin · Barrett Terrell · Tammy Trinh · Brian Utterback · Patrick Valentine · Daniel Vargas · Adam Volanth · Erika Walsh · Roy Waugh · Paul Weiss Alex Wells · Joe Whitebread · Mark Widdowson · James Williams · Jason Williams · Laura Wolford · Gavin Worley · Kevin Young · Charlie Yowell