Southeast

ENR Southeast's 2013 Top 20 Under 40: Building for the Future

By Scott Judy

2013's Top 20 Under 40: Building for the Future — Jay Smith has grown up in the construction business. He started with Ajax Building Corp., Tallahassee, Fla., as a laborer, and after graduation served as a project engineer. As director of business development and now a vice president and company owner, Smith has overseen much of the company's expansion, which now includes 10 Southeast offices.

Photo courtesy Jay Smith

FLOWERS

Josh Flowers
An architect and a lawyer, Flowers offers leadership for both fields
35, General Counsel
Hnedak Bobo Group, Memphis, Tenn.

With both architecture and law degrees, Josh Flowers works within the hospitality design practice at Hnedak Bobo Group, where he is an operations leader who negotiates contracts, including a $245-million hotel and casino project in Detroit.

Additionally, last year, as a director for the five-state American Institute of Architects Gulf States Regional Council, Flowers organized Redefining Design, a symposium that educated students and young architects about the positive social impacts of design. The event included input from the ACE Mentor Program; Auburn University's Rural Studio; and the Grow Dat Youth Farm, a New Orleans-area group that touts the benefits of growing food.

Flowers also served as president of AIA Memphis, where he increased funding for an architecture-focused summer camp.

FRENCH

Mary French
Structural project manager emphasizes collaboration
33, Engineer-in-Training and Senior Project Manager and Designer
Mallia Engineering Co., Knoxville, Tenn.

Mary French's perception of the construction industry has been formed by lifelong learning from her father, an architect, and her brother, who works as a contractor. French, a graduate structural engineer, has developed a keen understanding of how individual construction challenges can be viewed differently by various team members.

To earn her master's degree from the University of Tennessee, French authored her thesis on "Increasing the Structural Engineer's Influence Over Sustainability by Using Integrated Design Teams."

She also put these thoughts into action, by helping to prompt the university's College of Architecture and Design to collaborate with the school's engineering students. French now serves as a part-time instructor at the college.

FRIEDMAN

Kevin Friedman
Environmental engineer helps lead Engineers Without Borders chapter
33, Senior Engineer
AECOM Technology Corp., Orlando

Kevin Friedman's six years of experience designing environmental projects, such as water and wastewater treatment plants and pipeline projects in Florida, comes in handy with his efforts as a technical leader for the South Central Florida Professional Chapter of Engineers Without Borders.

The local group is currently partnering with the Health and Education Relief Organization (HERO) to assist a Haitian community known as Corail Lamothe by supplying the area's 9,000 residents with drinking water, sanitation facilities and hygiene education.

Friedman traveled to Haiti in 2009 to assess the site and explore ideas. In 2012, he returned to help install a rain-harvesting system with more than 17,000 gallons of storage.

GRANTHAM

Joseph M. 'Jay' Grantham III
High achiever has helped affect policies at national firm
32, Project Manager/Design Manager
Parsons Corp., Morrisville, N.C.

Since joining Parsons Corp., Jay Grantham has participated in numerous corporate leadership efforts, including the Parsons high-potential employee program. In addition to being one of the youngest employees to complete some of these programs, he also achieved the highest score ever for the company's project management certification program.

Additionally, as a result of his tenure on Parsons' leadership council, several suggestions he made are now part of corporate policy.

Grantham also assists with the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program's annual golf tournament and leads fundraising efforts for a program aimed at increasing awareness of colorectal cancer.

HIRSCH

Matthew Hirsch
Turns expertise in cold-storage construction into global action
31, Vice President of Sales
Primus Builders, Woodstock, Ga.

The construction of cold-storage facilities may not often receive broad industry attention in the U.S., but Matthew Hirsch knows that these facilities can prove critical to developing countries. As a result of his involvement with numerous industry organizations, Hirsch was invited to deliver the keynote address for the World Food Logistics Organization's Ice Conference Expo in India. While there, Hirsch met with several officials from around the world who were struggling to find effective ways of providing fresh food to underserved populations.

Hirsch has since worked with the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA) in an effort to help develop integrated cold-chain networks that nations can use to prevent spoilage of harvested food crops. Additionally, Hirsch has become involved in a $280-million project to develop cold-chain infrastructure in Pakistan.

Bill Hudson, GCCA president and CEO, offered this observation as part of Hirsch's nomination: "Matt Hirsch is a consummate professional. His global approach and knowledge [are] expansive and unique."

KEYWORDS: Southeast Top Young Professionals

Scott Judy is Deputy Editor for Regions, and editor of ENR Southeast, one of Engineering News-Record's 10 Regional publications. His roughly 27 years as a construction journalist began with an 11-year stint covering Midwest construction projects. In 2000, Judy helped launch the publication now known as ENR Southeast. He often delves into controversial aspects of the construction industry such as bankruptcies and fatal accidents, and wishes he would never have to cover another accident but suspects that he might.