Beth Duffield has joined Turner Construction Co. in Nashville as workforce development manager. She will lead the firm’s ongoing efforts to positively impact the local community and the construction industry while focusing on initiatives to support the Nashville Stadium project. Duffield comes to Turner from Ascension, where she served as national director for early talent development. In that role, she designed and implemented a work-based learning program for students looking to work in the health care industry. She also worked with the Tennessee Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development and the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce.

Mila Vega has joined HNTB as senior transit project manager based in the Charleston, S.C., office of the infrastructure solutions firm. A leader with 17 years of experience in all aspects of transportation and strategic initiatives, Vega has worked with various public agencies to drive the development of bus rapid transit projects and most recently served as assistant vice president of planning and sustainability at the Jacksonville Transportation Authority. Kevin Palmer has also joined the firm as a project director supporting technology and tolling projects in Ocoee, Fla. He specializes in program and project management, systems engineering, specifications development and infrastructure design. The company also hired Bill Jones as senior project manager and vice president in Tampa. He brings almost 25 years of engineering experience to the role in both the public and private sector. Previously serving as HNTB West Florida deputy office leader, he has also served as CEO of a separate consulting firm and worked for the Florida Dept. of Transportation.

Hanson Professional Services has hired Kalvin Kwan as energy, sustainability and resilience lead in Orlando, overseeing projects involving energy demand, decarbonization and strategic energy conservation initiatives. He was an account executive for a renewable energy firm and is an adjunct professor in the Valencia College energy management and controls technology program. The firm has also hired Brian Maldonado to the role of electrical designer, also in Orlando. He will provide design services for various clients, having previously worked for Hanson from 2018 to 2022.

Consulting engineering firm Terracon has named Christopher L. McIntyre senior vice president and Florida division manager, based in Jacksonville, to support client service, innovation and project delivery as the firm grows its presence in the state, He will oversee the unit’s growth and strategic direction.

Fully integrated rental housing company RangeWater Real Estate has promoted Alp Kirmizioglu to executive managing director of construction, based in Florida. In the role, Kirmizioglu will manage RangeWater Construction, the firm’s in-house construction firm and oversee construction management, design management and quality control functions supporting all projects under development. He brings more than 15 years of experience to the role and has expanded the RangeWater Construction team to 20 employees and led several projects.

T&T Construction Management Group, a woman-owned concrete specialty contractor, has promoted Michael Skorochod to director of operations for the Southeast region. Formerly senior project manager, she has worked for the firm since 2020, heading project management for Southeast prpjects. In this new role, he will expand and increase the firm’s market reach while focusing on oversight and growth in the Southeast.

Dewberry has hired Brian Ribaric in Orlando as senior project manager for the transportation practice. Previously, he managed and developed the Florida Dept. of Transportation Florida Turnpike Enterprise General Engineering Consulting Program and other project development and environment studies. In this new role, Ribaric will manage and expand Dewberry projects and staff across the region.

Kevin Smith has been named division manager for general contractor Swinerton’s Carolinas division, based in Charlotte. He joined it in 2010 and brings more than two decades of experience to his role leading development of the firm’s operations in the Carolinas.

Sundt Construction promoted Lonnie Emmert to field superintendent in Nashville to support Nashville Metro Water Services’ KR Harrington and Omohundro water treatment plants. He has more than 35 years of experience in civil construction. It also elevated Courtney Meyers to proposal manager in Tampa, where she leads creation of proposals and presentations for Southeast industrial work pursuits. Her previous roles include business development representative.

Ball Janik LLP has hired Izaac A. Polukoff as an associate attorney in the firm’s Miami office. Polukoff brings expertise in construction defect litigation. He also has previous legal experience in privacy compliance and international regulations.

Goodwyn Mills Cawood has hired Jim Grassiano in the role of senior technical leader and Tim Mitchell as construction manager as part of the company’s Alabama team, bolstering its water-wastewater expertise. Grassiano has more than 35 years’ experience at the Alabama Dept. of Environmental Management and elsewhere. Mitchell previously worked for ClearWater Solutions, where he developed expertise in water treatment, wastewater treatment and water distribution.

Ravi Soneja has been hired by engineering and geospatial firm McKim & Creed in the role of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) program manager, overseeing the firm’s aerial acquisition services. Soneja, based in the firm’s flagship Raleigh office, brings years of experience in acquiring and processing airborne lidar data and imagery on a wide variety of mapping projects across the U.S.

Matern Professional Engineering has hired Amir P. Peymayesh as electrical engineer in Orlando. He will focus on providing electrical design for the company’s commercial divisionm including design, evaluation and specification of electrical systems, such as lighting, power and low and medium voltage power distribution.

Skanska has named Tracy Hunt executive vice president and general manager for Florida. He will oversee the firm’s building and construction operations in the state. Hunt most recently served as senior vice president and account manager for Florida, a role held since 2018. He has been a company leader for 26 years, the firm says.

Andy Brown has been hired by Catamount Constructors as project executive for its Atlanta unit, bringing 20 years of experience in all facets of construction project development and delivery in many market types. The firm also named Elaine Kanelos as vice president of national business development to lead growth initiatives.

Rebecca Thomas has stepped into the role of CEO for T&T Construction Management Group, a woman-owned concrete specialty contractor that restructured and rebranded in 2023 to represent its expanded client base that now stretches from Florida to the Northeast and Caribbean. The firm also earned national certification as a Women's Business Enterprise from the Women's Business Enterprise National Council in 2023. 

OBITUARY

Longtime Florida contractor and concrete pump maker James P. Judge Sr., 78, died Dec. 29 in Temple Terrace, Fla., said his son, James Judge Jr. The elder Judge founded multiple industry firms that worked on such projects as Walt Disney World Resort, the Skyway Bridge and Tampa International Airport. In the 1960s, he founded Judge Construction, which had a contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect the 16th-century Spanish fort Castillo San Felipe del Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from erosion, a personal highlight for Judge, said his son. After selling the firm in the 1980s, Judge and his brother, Tom, started PUMPS Inc., which produced towable concrete pumps including the P-88 model, before selling that firm in 1991 to Schwing America. It marketed the P-88 into the 2010s and still sells replacement parts. Judge also co-founded contractor Concrete Pump Dispatch Inc., which was dissolved in 2022. “Dad loved the challenges and adventures of starting businesses, and he loved living in the Tampa Bay area,” his son said.

–James Leggate