The Northwest is home to some of the most technologically sophisticated projects in the country. Whether related to building in the grand expanses that define the natural aspect of the area or in major cities like Seattle or Portland, challenges abound.

Consequently, some of the best and brightest in architecture, engineering and construction are working in the region. This also includes a good portion of professionals under the age of 40.

The six winners on the next pages include those under 40 who have exhibited exemplary performance over the early stages of their career.

Some, like Ian Cotton, transcend their professional careers. He volunteers his time to kids in Africa and is a member of the city council in Lynnwood, Wash. Likewise with Wes Thomas, who volunteers with Engineers Without Borders in South America and the Gifford-Pinchot Taskforce.

Lynne Fenley also gives time to the community, but has wowed senior leadership with her get-it-done attitude: a quality shared with the other honorees.

The process of selecting candidates began with ENR soliciting nominations from, or on behalf of, people under 40 years of age who work within the construction industry in Alaska, Oregon and Washington. Special thanks go to the arbiters of the process, John Schaufelberger of the University of Washington and Ken Zarembski of Walter P Moore, whose tireless work on this project was critical to the success of the competition.

The criteria used to evaluate the nominees included their professional achievements, involvement with the construction community, contributions to the Northwest’s built environment and service to their respective communities.

Brooke Bonkoski
Credited with helping Portland office grow
36, Associate Vice President/NW Environment
Arcadis Inc.
Portland, Ore.

Bonkoski has 14 years of experience in environmental consulting in the construction industry. Employed by Arcadis’ Portland office since it opened in 2003, Bonkoski has gained considerable design experience on sediment remediation projects. Her technical expertise in dredging design has elevated her to engineering lead.

Colleagues credit Bonkoski with helping Arcadis’ Portland office grow to 30 staff members. In her role as Northwest environment region manager, she oversees operations and business management of the company’s eight Northwest offices. Since 2008, Bonkoski has supervised seven engineers in Arcadis’ sediment and waterfront practice. She has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

When not on the job, Bonkoski enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, Emmett, 5, and 15-month-old Elsa.

Ian Cotton
Engineer wears ‘several hats’ in work and civic life
38, Project Manager
Stantec
Lynwood, Wash.

Cotton uses his engineering skills to work on some of Seattle’s largest health care facilities, including three Swedish Medical Centers: Cherry Hill, Ballard and Issaquah. Cotton focused his work on spaces for new technologies and progressive ultrasonic treatments, helping to better serve patients and helping facilities improve their OSHA requirements. In addition to being a registered electrical engineer in Washington state, Cotton is a LEED AP designer and used his skills on the LEED Gold-certified T-Mobile “Creative Center” in Seattle. His design includes a watts-per-sq-ft usage under 0.85, daylight responsive controls and a highly controllable lighting system.

Along with his day job, Cotton—a Lynwood native—serves as the city council’s vice president and works with the Homelessness Task Force and Neighborhoods and Demographics Diversity Commission. He has also given his time to children in Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Cotton has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Washington.
 

Lynne Fenley
Praise for skills, outreach to colleagues
30, FieldTech Project Solutions Manager
Arcadis U.S. Inc.
Portland, Ore.

At Arcadis, Fenley manages more than a dozen employees throughout the Pacific Northwest and a $3-million portfolio of environmental restoration projects. She is also a leader within Arcadis’ FieldTech Solutions business. Rebecca K. Andresen, an Arcadis vice president, credits Fenley for seeking out new responsibilities and serving as a capable mentor to other staff members. Fenley has been a LEED-accredited professional since 2009 and received her Oregon Geologist-in-Training certification in 2011.

Two years ago, Fenley was selected to be an assistant project and construction quality assurance manager for a major restoration and redevelopment project in East Providence, R.I., while using cutting-edge technology on a 26-acre former tank farm that will be turned into a $200-million mixed-use riverfront development.

Fenley holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from Oberlin College and is a member of the Women in Environment network and the National Association of Environmental Managers.

Tyler Kimberley
Leader helps company gain new clients, awards
35, President
IMCO General Construction
Ferndale, Wash.

Kimberley was named IMCO president in January 2013, overseeing every department within the company, which performs projects from $1 million or less up to $120 million. He is credited with restructuring the IMCO management team and helping the company gain major clients like Boeing, Amtrak and Rio Tinto. IMCO is now working on its largest single contract, the Interstate 90 Two Way Transit and HOV Operations project in Seattle and Mercer Island for the Washington State Dept. of Transportation.

Under Kimberley’s leadership, IMCO has received numerous accolades, including the 2015 Associated General Contractors’ Project of the Year, 2015 AGC Grand Award for Construction Excellence and 2015 AGC Moss Adams Award. Kimberly has a bachelor’s degree in construction management from the University of Washington.
 

 

Ashley Nagle
A ‘relentless’ commitment to projects and work quality
32, Staff Geoscientist
Arcadis U.S. Inc.
Seattle

As a staff geoscientist, Nagle’s position requires her to work with various project teams across North America. Her responsibilities include leading data evaluation and reporting efforts on several different projects, including large legacy mining sites with more than $1 million gross yearly revenue. Carmel Vidal, Arcadis project manager, credits Nagle for numerous qualities, including her relentless commitment to work quality, work ethics, professionalism, motivation, reliability, team building skills, technical competence and clear communication.

“Ashley’s ability to remain on top of her demanding work schedule while still finding time to maintain a work-life balance is impressive,” Vidal says. Nagle recently stepped into a leadership role during the design, installation and performance evaluation of an 800-ft injection transect to pilot test an innovative in-situ technology to treat uranium in groundwater.

Nagle has a bachelor’s degree in geology from Colgate University and a master’s degree in geological sciences from Brown University.

Wesley Thomas
Experience includes dredging, presentations
30, Project Civil Engineer
Arcadis U.S. Inc.
Portland, Ore.

Thomas, who joined Arcadis’ Portland office in February 2010, provides environmental consultancy focused in sediment remediation and management. He has worked on the design and implementation of maintenance dredging projects and evaluated the beneficial use of dredged material for shoreline resiliency. He now serves as dredging design lead for a complex sediment remediation site in the Pacific Northwest and leads capping design efforts at state-regulated sediment sites. In addition, Thomas also manages remedial investigation activities for a portfolio of retail service stations.

Along with company projects, Thomas takes on leadership roles to help junior staff members’ professional development and coordinates Arcadis’ participation in technical conferences and meetings.

Thomas has a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Virginia Tech and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Virginia Military Institute. Thomas donates time to Engineers without Borders and The Gifford-Pinchot Taskforce.