ENR Northwest's 2013 Top 20 Under 40

For three years, Engineering News-Record has showcased the top young professionals in several regions around the country. This year, ENR features a Top 20 Under 40 list focused exclusively on the Northwest for the first time, highlighting up-and-coming talent in Alaska, Oregon and Washington.

Our competition drew nominations from all facets of design and construction. The resulting list, selected by an independent jury, showcases an impressive class of professionals who represent the leading edge of industry advances. Many of the young professionals on our list are promoting the use of new technologies and alternative delivery methods to keep their firms current. Some are pushing the limits of sustainability, while others are focused on contemporary urban design and planning.

Related Links: ENR Northwest's 2014 Top 20 Under 40

Some executives featured on our list managed to turn proven results into big promotions, including Corey Lohman, president of Emerick Construction, and Kirk Sund, who was named managing principal of CB Two Architects by the time he was 30.

Notably, many of the Top 20 Under 40 honorees are mentoring other young professionals, helping expand opportunities and advance their careers. Carrie Sturts Dossick, herself a young professional, challenges students to push the limits of interdisciplinary design and construction practices as an assistant professor at the University of Washington Pacific Northwest Center for Construction Research and Education.

The jury selected winners on the basis of candidates' career experience; industry leadership; community service; and other factors. This year's jury included John Benson, senior human resources director at Skanska USA; Gary Donnelly, projects administrator at Neeser Construction; and Heather Thomas, area marketing manager at Brown and Caldwell.

Read on to learn more about these inspiring young professionals.

 

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CHUPP

Jason Chupp
Portland native puts his stamp on the local cityscape
37, Project Executive
Swinerton Builders
Portland, Ore.

Born and raised in Portland, Jason Chupp has deep roots in the region. With more than 16 years of construction experience, his work can be seen all around the city—including the Nike Flagship Store, the eBay/Critical Path Software addition, the First Republic Bank addition, the WebMD Office remodel, tenant improvements for Coffee Bean International and tenant improvements for Microsoft. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in construction engineering management from Oregon State University, he began his construction career working with Baugh Construction (now Skanska USA) on Class A office building projects. In 1999, he joined Portland-based Howard S. Wright as part of its emerging special projects group, tackling numerous interior, renovation, seismic-retrofit and retail projects. In 2011, when the company was acquired by Balfour Beatty, he joined Swinerton Builders and now serves as operations manager of its Portland office. Chupp is also a member of the Portland Business Alliance and the Construction Specifications Institute.

CUTLER

David Cutler
Expert in innovative urban design, planning and rapid transit
37, Principal
GGLO
Seattle

A prolific writer and frequent conference presenter, David Cutler is establishing a name for himself in the fields of architecture, planning and urban design. He specializes in contested urban design projects that include public outreach, rapid transit components, public-private partnerships, form-based codes and mixed funding sources. In 2004, he earned his master of architecture degree in urban design from Harvard. Prior to joining GGLO in 2008, he worked at Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners and Torti Gallas and Partners. He joined GGLO as an associate and is now a principal. He also serves as chair of the Seattle Planning Commission and co-chair of the Seattle Light Rail Review Panel and is on the Seattle 2030 District board of directors.

 

DAHLE

Ryan Dahle
Advancing use of new modeling technologies within his firm
30, Senior Project Engineer
Lydig Construction
Bellevue, Wash.

Ryan Dahle is helping Lydig Construction adopt and advance new building technologies. He first displayed his abilities as an intern with the company. While attending Brigham Young University in Idaho, Dahle studied building information modeling (BIM). Since joining Lydig, he has become a point person for BIM within the company. Those skills were displayed in his recent work on the 2020 5th Avenue Data Center project, a $70-million conversion of a five-story parking structure into a 10-story data center in downtown Seattle. He managed the implementation of 4D and 5D modeling, augmenting its 3D modeling to identify potential scheduling conflicts and cost issues. He also started utilizing an iPad in the field, exploring the mobile platform and displaying how it can greatly increase efficiency at the job site. Dahle is also active in fundraising for social causes, including the CLIMB to Fight Breast Cancer program for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

STURTS DOSSICK

Carrie Sturts Dossick
Researching interdisciplinary tools and practices
39, Associate Professor and Director
UW Pacific Northwest Center for Construction Research and Education
Seattle

With a focus on research in data practices, collaboration, technologies and building information modeling, Carrie Sturts Dossick is helping to redefine interdisciplinary practices. Some of those efforts include research in technology and collaboration strategies for green building; global virtual teams; applications of BIM and COBie in operations; integrated project delivery; and measuring successful BIM and collaboration applications. At the University of Washington, she created and developed the virtual construction focus area for the master in construction management program, which includes interdisciplinary cooperation with the UW Dept. of Architecture, the Information School and the Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering. In 2007, she received the National Teaching Award from the Associated Schools of Construction.

 

GATTIE

Tim Gattie
Dedicated to design-build on heavy civil projects
35, Project Manager
PCL Civil Constructors Inc.
Seattle

Tim Gattie has developed a passion for design-build delivery on heavy civil projects. Since PCL hired him in 2009, he has pursued design-build work totaling nearly $1 billion. He currently manages the South 200th Link Light Rail project—a $169-million, 1.6-mile extension of the existing light rail system from SeaTac Airport to a new South 200th Street Station. He was also project manager on the $52.7-million Murray Morgan Bridge Rehabilitation project for the City of Tacoma, Wash.

HALL

Michelle Hall
Up-and-coming engineer in water and wastewater work
29, Staff Engineer
AECOM
Spokane, Wash.

Michelle Hall's dedication to the environmental, wastewater and water fields stems from her college days at the University of Idaho, where she earned a bachelor's degree in biological systems engineering and a master's in environmental engineering. While there, she worked as a research assistant responsible for maintaining flow-monitoring stations along Paradise Creek for a watershed management project and participated in a watershed management project that tracked the water quality of the Boise River. Since joining AECOM in 2009, she has played significant roles in several water resources projects for Spokane, Wash., including staff engineer for the Combined Sewer Overflow Program Management Office. Based on her work, she presented a white paper, "Water Reuse Pilot Using Membrane Filtration in Spokane, WA," at the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association Conference in Vancouver, Wash., in 2011.

 

HATCH

Joshua Hatch
Sustainability expert on award-winning data centers
30, Senior Sustainability Advisor & Director of Sustainability Analytics
Brightworks Sustainability Advisors
Portland, Ore.

As an engineer with a foundation in biological sciences, Josh Hatch brings nature's insights to the design table. With a bachelor's degree in biological and environmental engineering from Cornell and a master's in civil and environmental engineering from Stanford, Hatch seeks to go beyond the traditional emphasis on solutions that are structural in nature and dependent upon inorganic materials. After graduate school, he worked at the Rocky Mountain Institute, focusing on the issue of energy use in, and carbon emissions from, the built environment. At RMI, Hatch served as beta developer of the Green Footstep carbon footprinting tool for buildings. Since joining Brightworks Sustainability Advisors in 2006, Hatch has worked on several notable data center projects, including serving as green building program manager for Facebook on its Prineville, Ore., Forest City, N.C., and Lulea, Sweden, data centers. Hatch has also managed sustainable design programs for data centers for such companies as Yahoo!, VMWare and Equinix. He originated a new line of business within Brightworks–called sustainability analytics—to meet the growing demand from clients for help with understanding environmental issues associated with corporate actions that fall outside the domain of conventional decision-making frameworks.

HATZENBEUHLER

Phil Hatzenbeuhler
Rising talent in K-12 repair and remediation projects
30, Project Manager/Drafter
BBL Architects
Vancouver, Wash.

Since joining BBL Architect shortly after graduation from Portland State University in 2005, Phil Hatzenbeuhler has leveraged his enthusiasm and ambition to take on lead roles at the Vancouver firm. He has been particularly active in K-12 projects, including 16 projects for Portland Public Schools as well as multiple repair, remediation and water intrusion repair projects for Lake Oswego School District. Hatzenbeuhler managed the roof repair for PPS at Pioneer High School, where he solved an issue by using integrated two-roof systems. The solution saved money and enabled the team to add to the scope to the project. Hatzenbeuhler is also taking a lead role in advancing the firm's use of 3D drawing and modeling.

 

HEMMER

Chris Hemmer
Regional resource for bus rapid transit systems
39, Senior Project Manager
Parsons Brinckerhoff
Portland, Ore.

With more than a decade of engineering experience in bus rapid transit (BRT) systems, Chris Hemmer is an emerging expert in mass transit in the Northwest and beyond. He helped develop Eugene, Ore.'s pioneering BRT system virtually from the beginning. On the region's first line, he served as a project engineer and deputy project manager. For the second line—the 5.9-mile, $41-million Gateway EmX project—he led the project design team as project manager, delivering it on schedule and under budget. His work guided industry technical development of bus automated guidance technologies to help BRT lines achieve a level of precision that emulates rail transit systems. Hemmer has authored several papers and presentations regarding station design, vehicle-station interface and advanced guidance technologies, helping to advance the U.S. public transportation industry's experience with BRT. Part of this technical leadership includes providing expertise and advice in support of the University of California Berkeley's electromagnetic guidance system development project, especially in its demonstration deployment phase in Eugene. Hemmer has also used his knowledge of guidance options to advise other cities about BRT.

HERZSTEIN

Eric Herzstein
Structures lead on major West Coast transportation projects
34, Project Engineer
Parsons Corp.
Seattle

During his more than 11 years designing highway and mass transit projects, Eric Herzstein has worked throughout the U.S., Canada and Qatar. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in structural design and construction engineering from Pennsylvania State University, Herzstein began his career as a structural engineer with Jacobs in Arlington, Va. While at Jacobs, he worked on the $400-million, 3.1-mile extension of the Blue Line Metrorail outside Washington, D.C. After four years with Jacobs, he accepted a position with Parsons Transportation Group in Seattle. His first assignment was on the program management of Washington State Dept. of Transportation's $10.9-billion, I-405 corridor project. Part of the project included the final design for the NE 10th Street Bridge overcrossing, which was awarded a Local Outstanding Civil Engineering Award by the Seattle Section of ASCE. Herzstein also served as structures lead on the $480-million Oakland Airport Connector for the Bay Area Rapid Transit and currently is a structures lead for the City of Seattle's Elliot Bay Seawall project.

 

JEREMIAH

Katie Jeremiah
Lawyer with real-world construction experience
33, Construction Attorney
Jordan Ramis
Lake Oswego, Ore.

After only a few years as a construction attorney, Katie Jeremiah has led national efforts in the construction aggregates industry for advancement and outreach in the area of mine safety and health. Raised in a construction family, she attended Oregon State University and earned a degree in construction engineering management. Following internships with Kiewit Pacific Co. and Granite Construction, she worked for DPR Construction in San Diego for five years. With a solid foundation in construction, Jeremiah set her sights on law school. She earned her degree with dual certificates in environmental law and business law from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Ore., in 2009. During law school, she volunteered hundreds of hours to help the Oregon Concrete & Aggregate Producers Association address concerns about enforcement efforts by the Mine Safety Health Administration. She evolved into a local subject matter expert for enforcement issues. OCAPA appointed her as the chairwoman of its MSHA compliance assistance committee and invited her to be on the association's board of directors. The agency has since added two full-time compliance assistance personnel to assist Oregon operators in training and compliance with agency regulations.

KAHNE

Jayme Kahne
Stellar safety record on nuclear remediation projects
25, Industrial Hygienist
URS
Richland, Wash.

Less than three years after earning a master's degree in occupational safety and health from Murray State University, Jayme Kahne holds a lead safety role on the $2.3-billion River Corridor Closure program at the Dept. of Defense's Hanford nuclear cleanup site. As a lead project safety representative, she manages and oversees construction, expansion and daily operation activities at the Environmental Remediation Disposal Facility, where millions of tons of Hanford site waste are safely disposed. As of December, she managed the project with a safety record of zero first aid or recordable injuries for the construction subcontractor and the vehicle mechanics. Kahne also developed numerous new programs and campaigns to promote safety awareness and recognize safe work performance. In addition, she championed the use of integrated safety management systems and voluntary protection program principles within daily work activities.

 

KELL

Ian Kell
Delivers large public programs for schools and agencies
35, Senior Project Manager
Heery International Inc.
Seattle

As an owner's representative project and program manager, Ian Kell pushes for integrated multidisciplinary teams and the continuous advancement of industry tools and techniques. After earning a bachelor's degree in architecture from Columbia in 1999, he went to work for KieranTimberlake in Philadelphia. There he helped design and master-plan higher education projects at Duke University and Connecticut College. He transitioned to project management after moving to Seattle in 2000, joining Heery International in 2002. He has since delivered large public school projects for Seattle Public Schools, Lake Washington School District and other major public agencies. Since joining Heery, he has worked continuously on the development and improvement of Heery's collaborative Web-based systems, achieved both LEED AP and CCM accreditations, completed a master's thesis in construction management from the University of Washington and managed and advised on alternative delivery methods projects, all while simultaneously working full time on K-12 projects.

KING

Jason King
Investigates the interrelationship of landscape and urbanism
39, Principal Landscape Architect
Terra Fluxus
Portland, Ore.

With more than 16 years of experience in landscape architecture in Portland, Jason King has made his mark in the built environment and the community at large. After graduating from North Dakota State University in 1997 with degrees in landscape architecture and environmental design, he went on to work at such award-winning firms as Macdonald Environmental Planning and GreenWorks. He started his own firm, Terra Fluxus, in 2010, with a focus on investigating the interrelationship of landscape and urbanism. Throughout his career, he has staunchly supported the local community. In 1999, he created the Portland Green Map Project, which produced community maps of sustainability resources throughout the metro region. In collaboration with governmental leaders, contractors, manufacturers and suppliers, he founded GRiT—the Green Roof Information Think-tank—which aims to promote knowledge and use of green roofs in the Pacific Northwest. He dedicates more than 20% of his time to pro-bono work.

 

LIENHART

Nolan Lienhart
Emerging expert in urban design and master planning
33, Associate, Urban Design
ZGF Architects
Portland, Ore.

During his six years with ZGF Architects, Nolan Lienhart has focused on transit-oriented mixed-use neighborhood planning, campus planning and master plans for institutions in complex urban locations. His recent project experience includes urban design strategies for Portland's Central City Plan; urban design guidelines for high-speed rail in Fresno, Calif.; and master planning for a new 20-Acre Oregon Health Science University Campus. He holds a master's degree in city planning and a real estate certificate from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design and a bachelor's degree in political science and geography from Colgate University. In addition to his work at ZGF, Lienhart volunteers his time with several civic and professional groups, including the land-use advocacy organization 1000 Friends of Oregon, where he serves on the board of directors.

LOHMAN

Corey Lohman
Sits at the helm of an established construction firm at age 37
37, President
Emerick Construction Co.
Portland, Ore.

In light of his efforts to guide Emerick Construction through the recession, Corey Lohman was named president of the 70-year-old company in summer 2012. Lohman joined Emerick as a project manager and quickly rose through the ranks, leading its special projects division. The division took on complex, time-sensitive and non-traditional projects at a time when the company's bread-and-butter work was being impacted by the economic downturn. Thanks to his efforts at the helm of the division, the company was able to maintain profitability during the downturn. As president, he has set an ambitious goal to double Emerick's revenues and geographical footprint over the next 10 years. Lohman has also been active in numerous organizations, including the Oregon-Columbia Chapter of the AGC, Society of Marketing Professional Services, National Association of Women in Construction and the American Society of Professional Estimators.

 

LYONS ELSEA

Kelley Lyons Elsea
Built company brand and expanded industry organization
33, Director of Business Development
Industrial Projects Consulting
Lake Oswego, Ore.

As director of marketing and business development for Industrial Projects Consulting, Kelley Lyons Elsea created the company's first formal marketing and business development plan to build awareness of the firm within the local construction community. Her involvement in every aspect of building the firm's brand has led to an increase in bid opportunities and contract awards. Her creative approaches to winning work are providing the firm with opportunities to negotiate contracts rather than formal bid processes. Lyons Elsea is the chair of the Communications Committee for SMPS Oregon and president of CMAA Oregon. She received CMAA's 2011 Chairman's Award, presented by CMAA National, for her role in more than doubling the number of owner members involved in CMAA Oregon during 2011.

MORGAN

Sarah J. Morgan
Promotes advancement of young professionals in engineering
31, Senior Project Engineer
Golder Associates Inc.
Redmond, Wash.

Sarah Morgan has not only emerged as a top young professional in the Northwest for her work as a geotechnical engineer at Golder Associates, she is also helping advance the careers of other young engineers. Showing an early interest in management, she began managing projects while still performing basic technical design work soon after joining the company. Morgan now manages multidisciplinary projects with teams of varied size. In 2011, Morgan, along with nine other young professionals from Golder Associates, formed the professional development group, which seeks to encourage professional development within the company. The group has evolved into the National PDG Committee. Led by Morgan, it continues to foster future leadership at Golder.

 

SUND

Kirk Sund
Promoted to managing principal at his firm by age 30
31, Managing Principal
CB Two Architects
Salem, Ore.

Kirk Sund was on the path to becoming a principal while in college. As an undergraduate at the University of Oregon, he interned at Curry Brandaw Architects. After graduation, he began working full time at the firm, developing a specialized skill set focused on project management. When the firm closed in 2007, co-founder Garth Brandaw launched CB Two Architects and asked Kirk to join the CB Two team. After proving himself as a skilled architect with a knack for project management and insightful business acumen, Sund was promoted to managing principal in 2011. Sund has been a director for the Salem AIA Chapter since 2008, enabling him to steer the conversation of architecture and design in the Salem area. As director, he spearheaded the resurrection of the Salem AIA Design Awards and was committee chair for programming events.

WARNER

David Warner
Plays a lead role in significant Seattle infrastructure projects
33, Senior Project Manager
Parsons Corp.
Seattle

In Seattle, Parsons' area manager David Warner is leading some of the Northwest city's most critical infrastructure developments. Warner is currently serving as project manager for the Elliot Bay Seawall project, which will replace the city's existing structure. With a first phase valued at $290 million, the project aims to reduce future impacts from coastal storms and likely seismic events, while at the same time enhancing ecosystems along Seattle's waterfront. Warner's role is similarly substantial: manage the project's overlapping design, environmental process, right-of-way acquisition, outreach and contractor procurement efforts. This isn't his only major project, though. Warner recently became a project manager for the Washington State Dept. of Transportation's multibillion-dollar SR 520: I-5 to Medina Bridge Replacement and HOV project, where he was responsible for project delivery, environmental documentation, permits and real estate acquisition. The project included improvements and a bridge replacement from I-5 in Seattle across Lake Washington—including the replacement of a floating bridge.