Across the nation, our young professionals continue to showcase what it means to deliver a better world through innovative ideas and unparalleled leadership. Their sustainable focused work positively impacts our clients, communities and world for generations to come. We are excited to congratulate and introduce our ENR 2024 National and Regional Top Young professionals. Read more about each of our honorees.

ENR Mountain States

Santosh Vangala, Associate, Structural Engineer. Santosh is a registered professional engineer with a master’s degree and 10 years of experience in structural engineering, precast design and project management for commercial projects. As a lead structural engineer, Santosh successfully executed the concept, analysis and design of a theatre operational facility at Peterson Air Force Base and a vehicle maintenance/aircraft support shop/storage complex at F.E Warren Air Force Base. Santosh is also a founding member of ArchTam’s Structural Gatekeeper community, which advocates the use of digital tools and writing scripts to automate repetitive tasks and enhance efficiency.

ENR California

Jacqueline Saladé, Natural Resources Group Manager, Southern California/ Project Director/ Senior Restoration Ecologist. Jacqueline joined ArchTam in 2015 working as a Restoration Ecologist and then as a task manager soon after. Jacqueline’s proactive and team-motivating style facilitated her project successes as well as earned her the role of ArchTam’s Southern California Botany and Restoration Practice Leader, managing a team of 25, just three years after joining ArchTam. One of her most impactful technical achievements has been her contributions to the implementation of an industry-leading, large-scale, seed collection program for a local utility company. With a knack for financial strategy, Jacqueline’s impact also extends into Northern California where she supports ArchTam as a Portfolio Delivery Lead, overseeing financials on over $20M of projects.

ENR Northwest

Courtney Brozovsky, GIS Specialist. Joining ArchTam in 2013, Courtney is a GIS Specialist who seeks to connect with junior staff, peers and mentors by bringing solutions to problems using GIS, technology, creative thinking and a “can-do” attitude. These traits are evident in her involvement during her education, career and the Alaska GIS professional community. Courtney’s career-defining projects include the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project (Alaska Energy Authority), Point Thomson Project (ExxonMobil) and the Bering Sea-Western Interior Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management).

ENR Midwest

Mirela Keserovic, Structural Engineer. In her more than 11-year career, Mirela has worked on some of the Chicago Bridge group’s biggest projects, winning many prestigious regional and national engineering awards; 41st Street Pedestrian Bridge over Lake Shore Drive project won over 20 awards, among them ENR’s 2019 Best of the Best award. As a Peoples Manager, Mirela has been involved in several high-profile engineering projects, consistently delivering exceptional results and reflecting her exceptional skills, unwavering dedication and commitment to both personal and professional growth.

Kendall Williamson, Director of Community and Industry Engagement. Kendall currently manages all engagement and DEI operations for ArchTam’s Hunt’s Central Region, showcasing passion for expanding opportunities for all in every capacity of his work, including historically excluded and marginalized communities. Kendall has had the opportunity to support many award-winning projects, including the Joint Public Safety Training Campus (JPSTC), a state-of-the-art facility to provide comprehensive, joint, best practice training for the Chicago Fire Department, the Chicago Police Department, and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications; and O’Hare21 (ORD21), an $8.5 billion modernization and expansion project to transform O’Hare International Airport to a premier international transit hub.

ENR New York

Ryan Andrew, Vice President, ArchTam Tishman. Ryan Andrew, a construction management professional with a 14-year track record, launched his industry career on a 6.3 million-SF Hotel and Casino project in Atlantic City, NJ. Andrew has been involved in various mixed-use projects in the tri-state area but excels in the management and execution of mega projects. Ryan takes pride in ‘leading by example’ and holds mentoring young professionals as one of his top priorities.

Blair Pan, Senior Project Manager. Blair is a Senior Project Manager at ArchTam Tishman with 12 years of experience working in the construction industry. A few of her most recent projects include One Madison Avenue, 3 Hudson Boulevard and 30 Hudson Yards. Due to her outstanding commitment to her work, as well as her contribution to advocating equality in the ACE industry, she was recognized among the 40 Outstanding Women in Construction Under 40 and also received the Next Generation of Women Builders Award prepared by the Women Builders Council in 2021.

ENR Southwest

Raybeau Richardson, Structural Engineer III. Throughout his 9-year career, Raybeau has worked on several notable projects including assisting in the structural design and radiation shielding for Australia’s ANSTO nuclear medicine facility in Sydney, serving as the lead structural engineer for the design of the new 12,000 SF Headworks Facility at the Wastewater Treatment Facility in Salt Lake City, and as the structural engineer for a 16,000 SF terminal expansion building at the Lea County Regional Airport in Hobbs, NM. Three years into his career, Raybeau passed the Professional Engineering licensing exam and became a licensed PE in the state of New Mexico. Since then, Raybeau has also obtained his PE in the states of Montana, Utah, Wyoming and Texas.

ENR Mid-Atlantic

Jonathan R Eberle, Associate Vice President, Structural Discipline Lead. Jon currently serves as a department manager role, where he enjoys the opportunities to mentor younger staff. He is also the Operations Manager for ArchTam’s national, movable bridge practice where he helps to pursue work and coordinate staffing needs for the practice. He has recently taken on additional responsibilities as project manager for multiple DelDOT tasks and several movable bridge projects where he manages project teams and coordinates with clients and other consultants. Jon has authored papers and presented numerous projects, including DelDOT BR 1-717 Precast Panel Redecking, DelDOT BR 1-813 Emergency Repairs, MnDOT High Bridge Stability Analysis, and CM/GC Delivery.

ENR Texas and Louisiana

Leah Read, Structural Engineer VI. Leah has developed a strong professional focus on flood risk reduction, water conveyance and coastal restoration projects and structures during her 16 years of work with ArchTam. After graduating from Tulane University, Leah stayed in New Orleans working on flood risk reduction and drainage infrastructure projects for USACE and local governments in New Jersey, New York, Texas, California, Kentucky, Ohio, and Louisiana. She progressed as a team engineer and has had leadership roles in multi-million-dollar infrastructure projects. Leah also has a Graduate Certificate in Coastal Engineering and earned licensure in states outside Louisiana, to perform as a structural Engineer of Record (EOR) for several important projects.

Watch to learn more about our honorees’ stories and how their work is pushing the limits of what’s possible.

Want to join a company that’s pioneering the future and where your opportunities are unlimited? Learn how you can be part of our global team today! https://www.archtam.com/careers/

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Across the nation, our young professionals continue to showcase what it means to deliver a better world through innovative ideas and unparalleled leadership. Their sustainable focused work positively impacts our clients, communities and world for generations to come. We are excited to congratulate and introduce our ENR 2023 National and Regional Top Young professionals. Read more about each of our honorees.

ENR National Winner and ENR Texas & Louisiana

Jaime Miller, PE, CCM: Jaime is a program director leading ArchTam’s team providing project and program management services for the City of Richardson’s $397 million 2021 Capital Improvement Program. Previously, Jaime led three of the most unique and complex campus modernization projects of the 2017 Austin Independent School District $1.05 billion Bond Program. These included the award-winning, state-of-the-art Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders ($75 million total project cost) and the Rosedale School for students with severe special education and medical needs that also features a one-of-a-kind partnership with a pediatric clinic. Jaime has many other public infrastructure projects including a successful 72-hour emergency dam stabilization effort as both an engineer and a construction manager.

ENR California

Carla Aguilar Rivera, PE: As a first-generation undocumented Latina raised in a low-income community, Carla has had to overcome constant barriers to blaze her own trail in the infrastructure world. Now, Carla is a rail and transit infrastructure project manager at ArchTam and an engineer of record for several large infrastructure projects all around the world. Working in the Northern California Mega Region, Carla is bringing her experience as a business development lead and client account manager to help develop the local transit group. 

Elliot Wong: A multifaceted leader, Elliot is a certified project manager and ArchTam accredited quality manager whose career has led him from Asia to Europe, to the Middle East, and now California. In his current role with ArchTam, Elliot is working with client development executives systematically through all workstreams of their programs to ensure a more resilient and monitorable approach to their project delivery practices. Elliot has led efforts within several notable projects including Valley Link, Caltrain Grade Separation and San Jose Downtown West Development. Beyond ArchTam, he is making significant, global contributions to the industry. Currently, he’s working on establishing an industry standard to be published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as well as volunteering in Southeast Asia.

ENR MidAtlantic

Heather Riebeling: As a certified project manager as well as transit market sector operations manager for Greater Pennsylvania, Heather has delivered industry-leading project outcomes that greatly influence the transit industry. Heather was the U.S. OCS Team Lead for the Réseau Express Metropolitan (REM) project in Montreal, a CAD$6.3 billion alternative procurement design-build project. Heather also served as Systems and Tunnel Facilities Package Manager on the $2 billion Southwest LRT project. She is currently managing several projects for Amtrak and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in Philadelphia. Heather serves on the board of the IEEE VTS Overhead Contact Systems Committee and is active in WTS and ArchTam’s Pride Employee Resource Group.  

Jonathan Rumbaugh: Jonathan has become a leader in designing mission-critical facilities around the world and has a passion for integrated architecture and engineering design. He is currently the lead engineer for projects across the country and around the world for notable clients, such as NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, Architect of the Capital, Department of Homeland Security, National Park Service, and government intelligence agencies. He enjoys developing engineering solutions to complex problems for some of the world’s most critical infrastructure projects. Jonathan was the mechanical engineer for the recently completed, 2022 ENR MidAtlantic Best Project Winner, LEED-Gold, NASA Measurement Systems Laboratory, a 175,000-square-foot world-class facility for research and development of concepts, technologies, and systems that helps NASA better understand the Earth’s atmosphere, land spacecraft on other worlds, and improve space travel. Additionally, Jonathan currently serves as the Vice President of the ASHRAE National Capital Chapter and volunteers at several local community service organizations.

Ryan Samuels: Ryan is the founder of PRISM®— ArchTam’s internationally recognized hydrogeologic conceptual site model (CSM)— and a pioneer in the application of sequence stratigraphy to groundwater remediation projects. Ryan has implemented these innovative tools at over 100 complex remedial sites globally. Additionally, he has led and managed over 100 complex sites for the Department of Defense (DoD), private industry, and regulatory agencies, and has supported over $250 million in winning proposals. Ryan has been published in prestigious academic journals, including Springer Nature, and is currently co-authoring a book series.

ENR Midwest

Shelby Rizzi: Shelby is responsible for maintaining and providing technical solutions to ArchTam’s multiple safety databases used by ArchTam’s Construction Management business. She develops corporate safety metrics so ArchTam can measure incident rates as well as data relating to safety audits and observations. Shelby travels around the country providing training on safety databases. She also developed an onboarding training program and a corporate-wide training called Back to the Basics for ArchTam’s Construction Management employees. Lastly, she works closely with ArchTam’s Vice President of Safety to execute and develop corporate safety initiatives, assist with Coronavirus-related protocols, and ensure ArchTam is compliant with corporate and jurisdictional policies and procedures.

Jenell Schroeder: Jenell is the Senior Director and Market Sector Leader of multifamily, office, and hospitality projects for ArchTam Hunt. Jenell is involved in the overall project operations from preconstruction to closeout for the ventures she oversees. She has built over 4,000,000 square feet of high-rise projects. Her current role has expanded her geographic reach to follow clients outside of her primary market of Chicago to other parts of the country. Recently, Jenell has taken on new opportunities in business development to help shape the future of ArchTam Hunt. Janell’s success relies on open and transparent communication throughout the process and collaboration with the design team, ownership, and any other stakeholders to understand the vision and priorities of the project.

Michelle Sweeney: Michelle serves as Senior Project Manager at ArchTam, where she continues to excel through designing and managing municipal highways, urban, federal aid, city, and private site development projects. In addition to being a project manager, Michelle is the Transportation Planning/ CRS Department Leader, which entails staff coordination and assistance with the hiring process. Michelle constantly showcases leadership, such as her work on University Avenue Reconstruction Projects as a project manager. She assisted in transforming the major roadway into a multimodal, Complete Street corridor. Michelle is currently helping to design the IA58 & Greenhill Road Interchange as a project manager, after designing the IA58 & Viking Road Interchange.

ENR Mountain States

Julie Smolarek: Julie has over a decade of experience in dam safety risk analyses, geotechnical analyses, and engineering design. Julie joined ArchTam as a geotechnical engineer in 2012, and she became a geotechnical engineering team leader at the beginning of 2020. Julie has been a leader in developing risk-informed dam safety procedures for state dam safety branches, including Colorado, New Mexico, and Hawaii. She has also conducted over 20 dam inspections to assess the overall condition of a particular dam and its appurtenant structures and inform risk analyses. Julie has shared her expertise with the dam safety industry through the publication of six technical papers between 2014 and 2021.

ENR Northwest

Paige Anderson: Paige has integrated her passion for environmental stewardship and leadership into a multifaceted career. Now working as an environmental impact analyst at ArchTam in Portland, Oregon, Paige specializes in biological permitting, environmental analysis documents, water quality, and public outreach. Paige has used her varied skillset for a multitude of ArchTam projects—from pipeline repairs in Portland’s Forest Park to the expansion of a Metro line in southern California. She has played an integral role in furthering equity, diversity and inclusion into ArchTam’s practices across the Americas.  

ENR Southeast

Samer Alkhatib: Samer has been working with ArchTam since 2018 in the role of both a program manager and a business development director. He serves the public sector as a program management technical advisor for the City of Baltimore Department of Public Works. As a technical advisor, Samer is leading the department of public work’s internal and external coordination efforts. Through developing and utilizing innovative tools, the goal is to minimize the impact and inconvenience of future projects on City residents and businesses. Throughout his career, Samer’s led high-profile projects and programs, including Wet Weather Consent Decree, Water Rehabilitation & CIP, AMI/AMR, and Transit programs. As a CIP Department Manager, Samer led the development and management of the Maryland Transit Administration’s $2.5 billion capital program.

Grace Porter: Since joining ArchTam, Grace has supported South Carolina’s Transportation Group on a wide variety of projects for SCDOT and other local clients across the state, including road widenings, intersection improvements, safety projects, and multimillion-dollar streetscape/bike-pedestrian improvements. She personally assisted in bridge scour inspections for over 30 bridges across South Carolina, conducted surveys to local bus patrons for transit planning purposes over the course of a week, and aided in the design of many mechanically stabilized earth walls. Grace received a Making a Difference Award from ArchTam in September 2020 for demonstrating innovation and excellence with her work on an upcoming downtown Columbia streetscaping project.

Patrick Wipperman: Prior to graduating from Purdue University, Patrick had already begun working at ArchTam Hunt. Since then, he has advanced from laborer to his current role as a vice president, where he specializes in sports and multi-purpose venues. Onsite day-to-day, Patrick is communicating directly with the client/owner, program manager, and architect. As an executive, he is responsible for but not limited to site safety, site logistics, cost management, contract management/execution, and QA/QC. Patrick has played a prominent role in the construction management of high-profile projects such as the World’s Largest Engine Test Cell in Atlanta, Daily’s Place 6,000 Amphitheater and Covered Flex Field in Jacksonville, USTA Grandstand and South Campus in Flushing Meadows, Barclays Center home of Brooklyn Nets, Amway Center home of Orlando Magic, and Lucas Oil Stadium home of the Indianapolis Colts. 

ENR Southwest

Tyler Besch: Beginning his career with a land developer in Phoenix, Tyler is now a vice president for ArchTam’s transportation business line in the U.S. West region.  In his current roles as the Deputy Transportation Regional Business Line Leader in the Greater West and the Transit-Rail Division Manager in the Greater West and Gulf Coast, Tyler is part of the leadership teams responsible for delivering a business plan comprised of Highways, Structures, Transit, Traffic, and Construction Management, that covers over 20 states and 800 staff. He has exhibited leadership related to driving innovative project delivery and plays a key role in business development, client management, career development, mentorship and general support for staff.  In addition to leadership roles, Tyler is an active project manager delivering projects for key clients. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Friends of Transit, an Arizona nonprofit corporation whose mission is to educate the public on and drive awareness on the benefits of an accessible transit network.

Rumpa Dey: Rumpa is ArchTam’s ITS & Emerging Technology Leader/Group Manager for Arizona and Utah. She is a licensed professional engineer and a professional traffic operations engineer. Through her work, Rumpa seeks to improve mobility and safety with the design and implementation of cutting-edge technologies. She has been assisting government agencies as well as private clients with innovative solutions to address emerging transportation issues. With her innovative designs, Rumpa has been able to make significant positive financial impacts on several landmark projects in Arizona, Texas, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. More importantly, Rumpa is a proud mom of two wonderful boys.    

ENR Texas & Louisiana

Stefanie Massey: As the youngest technical auditor in the Americas, Stefi serves as a project manager and client account manager. Her area of expertise includes wastewater treatment facilities, lift station, and pump station rehabilitation, and expansions. She is improving water and wastewater infrastructure for millions of people in North Texas, helping support clients in delivering clean water to citizens or ensuring they can release clean water to the Trinity River and other local bodies of water.

Want to join a company that’s pioneering the future and where your opportunities are unlimited? Learn how you can be part of our global team today! https://www.archtam.com/careers/

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As the leader of ArchTam’s national economics infrastructure practice, Toni supports our clients with economic analysis to bolster their decision making, as well as making the case for project investment. She and her team help clients with the development of grant applications and implementation strategies, as well as grant administration and grant manual development.

Since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), was enacted in 2021, she has played an integral role in helping our clients develop and implement funding strategies and position their projects to attract IIJA funding through multiple discretionary programs. Toni holds a doctorate in Regional Science from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Government from Oberlin College, Ohio. 

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry 

I was always interested in why cities and regions exist, and what makes some grow and prosper while others decline. Consider the region of the United States once known as the Rust Belt, for example. Some cities recovered and are thriving, while others are still struggling due to an industrial decline that started over 40 years ago. Why do some places succeed while others don’t?

My interest in cities led to an interest in infrastructure, since transportation and infrastructure are key to helping cities thrive. I specialized in urban and regional economics in graduate school, and wrote my dissertation on how people find jobs, and how your location within a city often influences not only your access to transportation but also your social access, and how that affects your ability to find jobs.  

After finishing my doctoral degree, I worked for a small startup called Economy.com, now known as Moody’s Analytics, as a senior regional economist. When I saw that ArchTam was looking for someone to focus on how highways can be used to spur economic development in impoverished and rural areas, this was like catnip for me, and the rest is history. I’m lucky to work with a group of extremely talented people that make up our economics team here at ArchTam.  

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why? 

Different projects have different rewards. I love working on big projects that have huge impacts but it’s also extremely rewarding to work on smaller, local projects or help more rural communities that have fewer resources. It’s fun to help them move their projects along by connecting them with ArchTam’s capabilities. The variety of perspectives that our economics team brings to these projects is key to this forward movement.  

In Willmar, Minnesota we helped develop a rail project that decreased the number of trains that needed to pull into the rail yard downtown. Every single part of the community — residents, the city, county, state and economic development authority, as well as the BNSF Railway and other private businesses — pitched in to move the project forward. When we needed pictures for the grant application, somebody called the newspaper, and the newspaper photographer came out and took some pictures for us.

Our application secured funding through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) competitive grant program and we did the downstream work, adding a rail connection between two existing BNSF railway lines and modifying surrounding roadways to better move freight through the city of Willmar. 

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community. 

Through our team’s economics work, we collaborate with communities to gain funding for their projects. Helping people move their projects forward and then seeing those projects come to fruition is extremely rewarding. One example is in Lexington, Kentucky, where the city wanted to build the Town Branch Commons trail. The trail connects many parts of Lexington, sewing them into a loop and closing the gap between the downtown parks and two major trails. The city had tried and failed to get project funding on its own.  

We were able to help them make the case to the United States Department of Transportation for the project by tightening up the details and explaining the importance of the project for the city — why it represented more than just recreation. ArchTam was part of the team that designed it, incorporating green infrastructure for improved water quality. The trail opened in October 2022, and I’m looking forward to spending a long weekend in Lexington to see the project as it’s been realized. 

Share a piece of career advice 

Say yes! Be open to assignments, even if they’re unusual, because you’ll learn something useful through the assignment that you can bring back to your main course of work. You may discover a new interest that you didn’t know you had. ArchTam is such a great platform for learning new things and doing multidisciplinary projects. Find every opportunity to take advantage of that. 

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Karisma has specialized experience in community outreach, wraparound services for unaccompanied minors and community health initiatives. After Hurricanes Irma and Maria struck St. Croix and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2016, she played a key role as disaster recovery specialist, helping to renew and restore neighborhoods across the islands. This effort involved helping a quarter of the territory’s population to return to safe and stable housing, and over a thousand households to access code-compliant roof repairs. Currently, Karisma is part of ArchTam’s program management and grant administration team helping the City of Detroit manage $826 million in appropriated American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funds for over 100 programs and projects directed at public safety and community health.

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry

My parents would say I was inspired to join the industry “at the tender age of seven,” by the Architectural Digest magazine. I was drawn to the structure and design of buildings, and how people worked within spaces. From an early age I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the design and planning field, and I was interested in creating social change through my job. However, my path into our industry was a winding one.

I studied conservation, marine science and biology during my undergraduate years and then worked for a local nonprofit organization (St. Croix Environmental) as the conservation director, defining short- and long-term conservation program goals and objectives for the St. Croix, USVI, Marine Protected Area. Next, I pursued a doctorate in traditional Chinese medicine in Shenyang, in northeast China. After completing my doctoral degree, I moved back home to St. Croix to help reinvigorate the community’s focus on preventative health care and was engaged in that work in 2016 when hurricanes Irma and Maria struck as category 5 storms.

I was hired by ArchTam to provide community outreach and case management under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Step Emergency Home Repair of the Virgin Islands (EHRVI) program as part of the restoration work after the storms to bring the voice of the community back to the design and program management team. This opportunity to work alongside ArchTam’s architects and engineers, who were all focused on designing buildings and infrastructure in a way that would better our community, renewed my childhood love for structures and design.

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why?

The FEMA Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power (STEP) EHRVI program provided the opportunity to work in my own community, connecting with people and helping them find a path after these catastrophic disasters. Working alongside our team, I led the community outreach component for St. Thomas and St. Croix. FEMA and the ArchTam team were initially tasked with providing repair assistance for 5,500 homes in the territory. This included completing damage assessments and making basic repairs, so individuals were able to shelter at home. As part of the first team on the ground, we conducted fast-track assessments and administered the FEMA application process to secure the funds needed to carry out the restoration program.

The outreach component involved collecting documentation from more than 5,000 applicants, managing individual cases and maintaining communications with the community throughout the life of the program. Nearing final closeout this year, the EHRVI/STEP program has provided temporary repairs to 8,000 homes and permanent roofing repairs to 1,648 homes. Working as part of this team to help my own community recover from natural disasters was inspirational and it has shaped my career.

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.

On the Pomona Emergency Intake Site (EIS) project in California, my team and I made immediate, positive impacts to the lives of people in need. Through the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s Unaccompanied Children program, we provided facility design and wraparound services, including direct care and supervision, intake processing, clothing, hygiene kits, interior security, case management and medical services.

As part of the logistics and procurement team on the ground in Pomona, I was able to help provide children with clean and safe shelter along with food and clothing after they’d completed their journey to the U.S. Something as simple as procurement of shoes and socks was extremely rewarding.

Share a piece of career advice

Remain open to possibilities. Stay versatile and keep learning.

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Congress and the Biden Administration are pushing to fund it and, most importantly, put the climate-oriented policy frameworks in place to do it right. As of September 2021, Congress is poised to act on the bipartisan $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. If it passes, it will provide significant funds to jump-start electrification and enable decisive movement toward a low-carbon electric grid. We are actively supporting many of our clients in operationalizing this exciting and challenging shift from vehicles powered by gasoline to an electrified future.

Why is modernizing the grid so important? The International Energy Agency expects the global electric vehicle fleet to reach about 130 million by 2030, and to increase electricity demand by 4-to-6 percent. Technological and policy developments could push these numbers much higher. What we do know is this: Electric vehicles will vastly increase the demands on our energy grid. We are working with our clients to plan and execute effective modernization strategies that take into account the specific grid-related needs and issues from the micro to macro level so that we can reliably power electric vehicles and boost user confidence. Recent severe weather-related U.S. grid shortages and outages have further highlighted the need to modernize the grid for resilience as well as effectively power our transportation infrastructure.

The electric grid, as we know it, needs to adapt. Once sourced solely from large power plants, modern grids need to accommodate increased supplies from renewable, distributed resources that enable power to flow more flexibly based on supply and demand. While some solutions will be shared, each utility and geographical region will have different grid resources and demands, so a one-size-fits-all solution won’t work. Physical infrastructure improvements coupled with digital smart grid management technology will enable distribution utilities to move energy from one part of the grid to another to avoid service interruptions. And innovation will play a key role in enabling these new-use requirements.

Electric utilities are poised to see a significant growth in demand for their services. Utilities, as well as the policy making community, must be proactive to support the effective transition to transportation electrification: modeling, developing, implementing and managing programs and incentives to advance energy infrastructure and grid modernization.

Enter the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. With proposed federal investments to reenergize America’s power grid and transmission systems, resources will flow to states and municipalities to modernize the grid, producing jobs and strengthening communities along the way. As passed by the U.S. Senate in August 2021, this $1.2 trillion investment toward infrastructure initiatives would be spent in just five years – an average of $700 million dollars a day – and approval by the House of Representatives and President Biden’s signature are all that’s required to authorize the funding. The funds proposed for grid modernization and transportation electrification is significant, and ArchTam is supporting our proactive clients in preparing to leverage these funding resources as they are made available.

As of this writing, Congress is also considering other funding proposals as outlined in the Administration’s Build Back Better Initiative that target electrifying our transportation infrastructure.  Funding has targeted building out a national network of charging stations, subsidizing renewable energy development, incentivizing consumers to purchase electric vehicles, funding municipalities and states to convert their school bus fleets from diesel to electric, and many other investments that would fund the transition to a low-carbon transportation system.

New allies, new challenges. The transition to electrified transportation and distributed energy resources also highlights the need for collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Their partnership can benefit utility companies and transit agencies by delivering roadmaps for electrification programs and incentive funding through existing loan programs and contracting measures. The DOT typically funds vehicles, such as new buses, but not the energy infrastructure needed to support electrified fleets. The DOE can help plan the modernization of the grid and provide technical expertise to expand advanced control systems.

The nation’s electric utility industry is grappling with the difficult challenge of powering up the nation’s vehicles as more people are buying electric cars, fleets are announcing conversions, manufacturers are responding to the demand and policy makers are encouraging the shift. The electric utility industry is highly regulated, and it’s designed from a regulatory standpoint to deliver the power needed when the customer wants it. How will different utilities meet the challenge, and mitigate the risks? How quickly will demand grow? How should utility rate structures be optimally designed? What are the reliability issues that need to be mitigated? How will be local distribution utilities fund grid improvements needed to effectively power all the new transportation-related needs? And what’s the right blend of private vs. public investment?  

While the challenges are significant, the opportunity is greater.  With the initial funding in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, innovative thinking from DOT and DOE, the private sector can and will respond with solutions.  At ArchTam, where we are deeply involved in all aspects of transportation, we can see that grid modernization is at the heart of transportation electrification. It’s an opportunity to create new jobs, power the transition to a lower-carbon use economy and deliver the future of infrastructure.

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Over her thirty-nine-year career in the engineering and construction industry, Maribel Chavez has repeatedly broken the mold and served as a trailblazer for younger generations. A life-long Texan, she sees firsthand the immense impact her work has on the communities she serves.

Before joining ArchTam, Maribel spent thirty years at the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), serving as the agency’s first female district engineer. Maribel continues this legacy at ArchTam by serving as the company’s TxDOT Client Account Manager, helping to advance goals for the company’s surface transportation clients across the state. She displays her passion for mentorship every day, empowering younger generations to assume challenging roles and developing new leaders from within.  

What inspired you to join the industry? My early inspiration to work in engineering was the television sitcom, Family Affair. The patriarch of the show was a civil engineer who traveled all over the world building dams and bridges. I was fascinated by it and thought to myself, “I want to do that!” I was also inspired by my older brothers, who studied engineering before me. They encouraged me to pursue an education that utilized my aptitude for math and science. I didn’t really enjoy math in a classroom setting, but once I realized I could solve real-life problems – actually build something! – with math, it came together for me. The critical thinking and tangible application – that’s the fun part. It hasn’t stopped being fun in the nearly four decades I’ve been doing it.

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community. So many of the projects I’ve had the privilege of working on over the years have challenged me technically and allowed me to work with amazingly talented and dedicated professionals. I’ve helped bring a project that was planned for over forty years to fruition, completed improvements for the World Series and Super Bowl, and worked with community leaders to deliver the world’s first pre-cast network arch bridge. Most importantly, the projects I oversee make a huge difference in the day-to-day lives of the community by increasing safety, connectivity, and mobility. 

My passion for mentorship is how I make my personal impact on the community. When I began working at TxDOT, I was typically the only woman in the field. I was the first female to serve as an area engineer, working my way up to be the agency’s first female district engineer. What was hard was establishing credibility – I was constantly having to prove myself. I set out to do my job well every day, to advance in my career, to be successful. Unfortunately, that had its challenges because of where the industry was at the time. I have the platform and experience to share the lessons I have learned and feel a great sense of responsibility – and honor – to help guide young women in this field. And, I’m still learning and experiencing “firsts” myself – it wasn’t until I came to ArchTam that I was managed by a woman! There’s a visible presence of women in leadership roles here and I gain knowledge from them and pass it on.

What career advice would you like to share? The best piece of career advice I can give is to take every opportunity that is afforded to you and fight for the ones that you are not given. If you see someone accomplishing something and think to yourself, “that’s what I want to be doing,” then find a sponsor who can help you get there. It’s so important for those in leadership positions to step up and personally engage with lending credibility to the younger generations – and in my experience this is something executives want to do! But, if you don’t find the right sponsor the first time, keep looking because that person is out there.

You really can be anything in this industry, so my advice is to try it all and see where your true passions lie.

Read more about Maribel’s career journey here.

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The result is Richmond 300: A Guide for Growth, a plan five years in the making that recently earned the American Planning Association’s 2021 Daniel Burnham Award as the nation’s top comprehensive plan. The master plan envisions an equitable, sustainable and beautiful Richmond that delivers a high quality of life for all residents. It incorporates such goals as creating inclusive housing, developing an equitable transportation network, fostering a diverse economy and supporting a thriving environment.

Here are six takeaways from this City of Richmond/ArchTam collaboration that can help guide the development of master plans for other municipalities across the country looking to embrace a new sustainable future for all residents.

Break the mold. Typically, cities lead their master plan development, researching current conditions, developing their project scope and establishing targets before hiring a consultant to determine how to meet those goals. The planning director for the City of Richmond made the deliberate decision to move forward without these elements in place, underscoring the city’s desire for a more inclusive master plan that would consider the needs of underserved neighborhoods that historically had been shut out of these efforts.

This led to a master plan tailored to Richmond that accounted for needs voiced across all the city’s communities. While the city did not have the capacity to dedicate its personnel to the master plan full-time, ArchTam embedded itself within the city, temporarily relocating their offices for the project. This close relationship allowed for open, in-person discussions between ArchTam and city staff, cementing the team’s ability to serve as trusted advisors in a more meaningful, impactful way than would be possible with a traditional consultant.

Be open with the public. We were vocal about the process of creating an inclusive roadmap to guide the master plan’s development and sought input from the public from beginning to end. An example of this was how we formed the master plan’s steering committee. Typically, city officials appoint members for a steering committee before hiring a consultant, but Richmond wanted all voices to be heard. So, the mayor hosted a press conference where he asked citizens to apply for the plan’s committee and over 170 people expressed interest. The final committee consisted of 21 people varying widely in age, planning knowledge, and length of city residency. This diversity set the stage for an inclusive, transparent process and allowed us to create accessible, understandable content that resonated with our constituency and built community consensus.

Change the information flow. During the engagement process, we reversed the traditional top-down approach so that information flowed from the community up to the planners — a shift that allowed more people to contribute to the master plan.

We asked Richmond residents to send in their ‘Big Ideas.’ We received about 6,000 submissions, with over 900 vision statements that were then organized and brought to five working groups that were assigned to shape these submissions into draft maps, goals, objectives and recommendations. All Richmonders were invited to participate in these working groups with the expected commitment to attend all the meetings. Staff asked key technical experts from inside and outside City Hall to participate in the working groups as well, providing guidance and insight. Ranging between 30 and 50 unique members each, the groups worked with staff to fine tune the draft master plan during 15 meetings over five months. Once the working groups made their determinations, we brought the draft back for public review. The planning process began with Richmonders’ ideas and ended with their buy-in, giving all residents the opportunity to have a voice in the process and ownership of the adopted plan.

Shift gears when needed. We understood there would be times when a strategy or process didn’t work. To counter that, we built in time to reconsider and readjust, doing just that with our community engagement efforts.

We aimed to engage two percent of Richmond’s population — about 6,000 people. This target was intended to include people who are typically involved in planning conversations, such as residents who are active in civic associations, as well as residents from Black and Latino neighborhoods who have been less likely to be included in this process in the past.

When, after our first round of engagement, we lacked input from that second group, we readjusted our approach and hired seven residents from the communities we wanted to reach. These residents expanded input by using their community networks to discuss the plan and shared their feedback with the planning team, allowing us to build the inclusivity that was required in our approach.

Reach out for expertise. As a global firm, ArchTam has a depth of resources to draw on to address specific needs that arise during the master planning process. When developing ways to address heat islands — areas that experience increased heat within Richmond’s neighborhoods — we reached out to our colleagues who specialize in resiliency and sustainability. Based on their input, we worked with local researchers who mapped out the locations of these heat islands. The researchers found that these areas aligned with disinvested, minority neighborhoods. As a result, we devised strategies for increasing the presence of and access to greenspaces, providing greater equity for these communities.

Take action. The Richmond 300 master plan encompasses 17 goals, 70 objectives and more than 400 strategies, but unless these recommendations are acted upon, it’s only a document. Richmond is investing in bringing this plan to life. The city is rewriting zoning ordinances to deliver more parks, greenspaces and housing units throughout the city. Richmond is also using Richmond 300 to guide the redevelopment of over 100 acres of city-owned land scattered throughout the city into a blend of mixed-income housing, job-generating commercial uses and open space. And plans are in the works for a deck to be built over the interstate to reconnect a Black neighborhood that was cut off from the rest of the city decades ago. These are the first of many steps the city will take as it prioritizes equity, sustainability and inclusivity to build upon its motto – “One Richmond.”  

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Bridget is an accomplished transportation project and program manager who has dedicated 20 years of her career to the successful delivery of projects for the Illinois Tollway, including her recent role on the general engineering consultant (GEC) contract and her current position as Deputy Project Manager for the Tollway’s $4 billion Central Tri-State Design Corridor Manager contract.

What project has most impacted your career at ArchTam and why? I’ve had the unique opportunity to gain most of my career experience through my roles at the Illinois Tollway, starting as a field inspector and then working on all phases of project development—planning, design, construction management, and operations and maintenance. It’s through this work that I’ve earned the trust of my clients, and it’s here that I developed my expertise and pursued my passion for innovation. I created the Tollway’s asset management database and designed a 50-year program that allows the Tollway to make program repairs that are vital to maintenance and preservation of these assets. As a result of my project experience, I am one of ArchTam’s leading subject matter experts in the field of asset management.

As part of my recent work at the Tollway, including on its general engineering consultant contract, I introduced software for electronic design (Bluebeam) review and for virtual public meetings – all of which helped the CTS team transition to remote working during the global pandemic. I’m thrilled to continue my career supporting the Tollway and remain focused on innovation to help one of the world’s premier tolling agencies.

How has your work positively impacted the community? Over the past 10 years, I have led ArchTam’s internship program at the Illinois Tollway. As part of my leadership, I’m committed to placing diverse, qualified firms and people into meaningful roles on Tollway projects and initiatives. This has given me an opportunity to introduce women and minorities in the community to STEM careers. Our team has also hired many minority-, veteran- and women-owned businesses as subconsultants with key technical and management responsibilities.

Through ArchTam, I was also introduced to the American Corporate Partners program, where I mentor veterans. I’m on my third round with the program, helping those that have sacrificed so much for our country with resume development and employment negotiation. I also work with them to create understanding on how the workforce operates while acting as a sounding board on issues they are facing in their transition back to civilian life.

Advancing women in the industry Early in my career I was the only woman inspector at a highway construction site that was using a tunnel boring machine (TBM). Weighing over 1,000 metric tons, the TBM drills through hard rock and requires stringent installation procedures. Some on the site believed it was no place for a woman. I was fortunate to have the support of my manager and subsequently the client, who made sure I had the resources and respect to do the job I was hired to do.

I share this story because their support inspired me to take action on behalf of women in the industry. I’ve gone on to serve as president of the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) of Greater Chicago, whose mission is to advance the careers of women in our industry. Now as the immediate past president, I continue to support WTS’s formal mentoring program, and I’ve joined ArchTam’s newly formed mentorship program, to stay committed to helping others with their careers.

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Suzanne Klein is a principal and associate vice president specializing in college and university projects. Always an advocate for advancing the client’s mission to advance academic success, Suzanne works closely with stakeholders to explore complex programming, design and campus planning issues associated with science, engineering, student life, and health and wellness.

A Passion for Design

My interest in architecture began at age 12 when my parents purchased a historic, but dilapidated farmhouse in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The house, barn, outbuildings, and the five-acre property itself needed extensive work and it became a family project as my parents relied on my brother and me to help whenever possible. The restoration and renovation were typically challenging and often not what teenagers wanted to do on weekends, but we learned extensively from the experience – both what to do and what not to do. In addition, frequent visits to the many local historic buildings, museums and gardens influenced me from a very young age. When deciding on a major in college, I knew it would be in a design field.

Preserving a Historic Legacy Through Design and Details

I am particularly proud of The Humanities Building at Rice University. At the time, I was serving as the project architect for noted classical architect, Allan Greenberg. It was important to the university that this new building fit into the historic context established by the renowned campus architect, Ralph Adams Cram, while infusing its own legacy. The Rice campus has a unique architectural style and it was critical to work within its context while also being innovative. In addition, Rice wanted the team to find opportunities to feature iconography throughout the design. I was intimately involved in the design and detailing from the earliest phase. The intricate facades and tiled roofs required an extensive number of wall sections, which I loved developing. My bi-weekly construction administration visits to the site kept the project quality in check, plus I learned from working with a great construction team, especially the superintendent, who was an expert mason. To this day, I still get goosebumps when I review wall sections!

The Importance of Transformative Designs for Today and Tomorrow

Although people may not be aware of the diverse impact, design provides a positive influence in an infinite number of ways. Almost every part of our world involves design – from the smallest details in a space to the planning of entire campuses. As planners in the educational market, we have an enormous responsibility to provide transformative academic designs for today and many years from now. We must continually strive to implement the most aspirational, germane and evidence-based designs that encourage learning and student engagement, promote diversity and inclusion, and provide opportunities to infuse health and wellness strategies. When I see the results of projects I have worked on, from enthusiastic students to a building’s impact in the campus context, it confirms I am in the right profession.

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Schools that use prototypes, such as the DeKalb County School District’s John R. Lewis Elementary School (pictured here), can stretch school district dollars while advancing educational equity.

Equity — it’s a word that holds different meanings in different contexts. In education circles, equity is defined as establishing resources and environments that ensure each school community member is provided fair, just and individualized learning and growth. School buildings set the stage for the educational environment and as a result, are integral parts of the equity equation.

With 53 percent of school districts across the United States reporting the need to replace or update multiple systems* and school construction budgets largely constrained, districts are working to find measures that advance equity across all communities regardless of socio-economic position.

School building prototypes — schools built using designs meant to be repeated at several sites — are increasingly important solutions in the effort to build and maintain equity. Here, we will explore how well-designed and well-constructed prototypes can serve as models for schools of the future, advancing equity and academic achievement across all communities.

Why are school buildings so important? Understanding the importance of the school building requires that we examine the impact architecture has on academic achievement. A growing body of research indicates that poorly designed, poorly maintained school buildings — which students from low income or marginalized families are more likely to attend — can have profoundly negative impacts on student health, behavior, engagement, academic achievement and growth across the K-12 spectrum. The focus on creating equity is becoming more mainstream with the recognition that poorly maintained buildings also adversely impact teachers and administrators, increasing turnover and contributing to reduced academic achievement.

Enter the prototype. Prototypes are a practical consideration, arising from the recognition of facilities’ impact on academic achievement and the limitations of funding. Prototypes can cut millions from capital costs and reduce maintenance and upkeep of HVAC systems, electrical systems and technology through economies of scale all while providing cost, quality and schedule assurance during the design and construction phases. The resulting cost savings enables districts to advance equity by delivering new prototype school buildings across the socio-economic scale that predominantly exists in large school districts.

Developing impactful prototypes. While prototypes hold great potential to provide facility equity, they cannot be designed in a vacuum. Developing and constructing successful prototypes requires significant expertise in planning, design and construction. Pre-planning efforts include examining district equity goals and including stakeholders such as parents, school mentors and community advocates as part of the program team. This provides insight into a school’s culture, challenges and strengths so that the team may develop prototypes that address specialized curriculum needs, meet design criteria and capture the district’s and stakeholders’ vision for optimal school buildings that blend into neighborhoods and adapt to fit varied sites.

We used these principles when we collaborated with leaders from the DeKalb County School District in Georgia, to manage the design and construction of their elementary prototype school buildings. The district’s Comprehensive Master Plan prioritized facility equity, diversity and inclusion, and focused on providing sustainable innovations and learning principles to promote academic opportunity. These include creating permanent student online learning options, developing a customized approach to learning, and strengthening Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) programs.

Can prototypes meet specific community and student needs? Amid the positive aspects inherent in using prototypes, there are concerns that prototype school buildings might not reflect the communities in which they are situated. Program management expertise and experience can alleviate these issues. The prototype schools, which ArchTam developed with the DeKalb school district, offer customizable finishes, enabling the community to convey the neighborhood’s culture and priorities and, importantly, are adaptable to specific area sites and cater to each school’s specialized curriculums. And because they are new buildings, the prototypes offer upgraded facilities and future-proof technologies often unavailable in the schools they replace, ensuring that all community schools have the facilities needed to enable learning.

As school districts seek to provide educational equity, prototypes offer a means to provide academic opportunity across district communities. These buildings, when thoughtfully designed and constructed, offer numerous advantages that can help districts stretch their resources and reach their goals for equity and academic advancement across socio-economic scales for their schools, now and in the future.

John Wright is the Program Principal for the DeKalb County School District’s Educational-Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax (E-SPLOST) Capital Improvement Program.

*According to the American Society for Civil Engineers 2021 Report Card on Schools

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