ENR Midwest’s 2023Top Young Pros | Columbus Ohio Dump Trucks

January 25, 2023

The urgent need for future talent in design and construction is not lost on today’s emerging leaders. A common theme among this year’s ENR Midwest Top Young Professionals—which honors 20 individuals in the region under the age of 40—is engagement with high school and college students to foster interest in the built environment and to help people build careers.

But it’s not enough just to attract young talent. Many of these professionals are actively engaged in mentoring those who have already chosen an AEC career. Issues around inclusion and diversity are also important to this generation, whether it’s women supporting other women or building a better understanding around issues of race, gender and sexuality.

Although today’s emerging talent is driven to find success on their own career path, they are willing to help others find their way forward. Beyond their own outreach to others, these top professionals inspire others through their accomplishments. Several have established themselves as subject matter experts—some with national and international recognition. Two are already at the top of the ladder at their firms.

ENR Midwest’s 2023 Top Young Professionals were selected by a panel of judges including Marcus Thompson of Skanska USA Building Inc., Emily Hyland of HDR Inc., Jason Carmello of POPULOUS, Jennifer Pangborn of WSP USA and Islam El-Adaway of the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Regional Top Young Professional honorees will move forward for consideration in the national round of judging, which will decide ENR’s 2023 Top 20 Under 40. The 2022 Top 20 Under 40 class will be celebrated at ENR’s annual Top Young Professionals Conference, which will be held March 8-10 in New Orleans.

Read on to learn more about the top young professionals in the region who are not only moving the AEC dump trucks columbus oh community forward but also bringing along the next generation.

 

Randall Beck
Committed to Delivering Clean Water Both at Home and Abroad
36, Senior Project Manager
Shook Construction
Brecksville, Ohio

A senior project engineer who has worked on more than $200 million in water resources projects, Beck became passionate about clean water during Engineers Without Borders trips abroad with Case Western Reserve University. He recognized through columbus oh dump truck work in third-world countries that clean water is critical to civilization—a fact that he feels can be taken for granted in the U.S. During his 16 years at Shook, Beck has managed critical projects, including construction of the city of Toledo’s new ozone treatment facilities at the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant, which pretreats and mitigates toxins caused by algal blooms from Lake Erie. Beck also helped others at Shook serve globally, planning two mission trips led by the company. To date, he has helped 16 coworkers create safe drinking water in Bolivia and build teacher dormitories in Mozambique. He has been a member of the Construction Employers Association’s future executives committee since 2013, serving as president in 2016. Beck also volunteers at Habitat for Humanity and Cleveland’s RiverSweep.

 

Ryan Bauman
Reshapes Communities Through Public Transportation Access
37, Transit Section Manager
HDR Engineering Inc.
St. Louis Park, Minn.

Committed to leading transportation projects that improve communities, Bauman has worked on more than 45 transit projects across 27 states, four countries and two continents during his 14-year career. He earned a civil engineering degree from Michigan Technological University, where a rail and transit study abroad program in Finland inspired him to design public transit systems that integrated best practices from communities around the world. Today, as the leader of HDR’s transit and rail section in Minnesota and Wisconsin, Bauman serves as project manager for HDR’s columbus oh dump truck work on Minneapolis Metro Transit’s Bus Rapid Transit program. At HDR, Bauman is often called upon by staff across the country to help solve difficult issues. “Ryan is not just my go-to for all things Bus Rapid Transit, [he] is sought after by our clients across the country,” says Luke Olson, vice president and central region transit director at HDR. Bauman graduated from the American Public Transportation Association’s Emerging Leaders program in 2016, where he spent a year researching how to keep employees engaged. As a manager, Bauman leads a team of 15 and positions them for opportunities to grow in technical and leadership roles. He nominated one of his team to the APTA Emerging Leaders program and helped him develop into a project manager, which eventually resulted in the employee gaining recognition as a professional associate at HDR.

 

Christie Brinkman
Builds Her Business While Helping Other Women in the Industry
37, Director, Design-Build
Castle Contracting
St. Louis

A former business development manager and now director of design-build at Castle Contracting, Brinkman aims to build long-lasting relationships with clients, design teams and trade partners. Leveraging her networking skills, Brinkman brings together architects, developers, engineers and public works professionals so they can better understand the unique skills and challenges that everyone brings to the table. In just her first year in her new role, Brinkman more than doubled the firm’s design-build clients and increased the number of design-build projects more than sixfold. Committed to empowering women within the construction industry, she participates in the McCarthy Partnership for Women, a national employee resource group organized by Castle’s parent company. She has held leadership positions in such industry organizations as the St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers, Construction Forum STL, the Engineers Club of St. Louis, the Missouri Society of Hospital Engineers and the St. Louis chapters of Commercial Real Estate Women and Urban Land Institute. As a member of the Construction Forum STL Young Leaders group, she initiated a partnership with the nonprofit organization Kingdom House to educate students in one of St. Louis’ most impoverished neighborhoods about potential careers in construction, engineering and architecture.

 

Muralikrishna Chelupati
Enables Smart Decision-Making Through Modeling and Software
39, Senior Associate, Senior Civil Engineer
Stantec
Cleveland

A civil engineer with more than 16 years of experience in wet weather management and master planning of wastewater and stormwater collection systems, Chelupati has worked with some of the largest utilities in North America. As a project technical lead, his experience includes hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) modeling of combined/separate sanitary sewer systems, long-term control plans, sewer system characterization and basement flooding mitigation. Chelupati’s sewer modeling experience includes developing high-resolution H&H models for systems ranging from 100 pipes to 80,000 pipes. These models serve as decision-making tools for projects under consent decree, combined sewer flow abatement and sanitary sewer overflow mitigation programs. He also co-led the development of the Sewer Modeler’s Analysis and Resource Toolbox (SMART) app at Stantec, which analyzes big datasets such as sewer flow monitoring data, rainfall data and water consumption data. Chelupati is actively involved in the Ohio Water Environment Association (OWEA) and leads various STEM and public outreach initiatives. He is also a founding member and chair of the OWEA Student Design Competition, which promotes real-world design experience for students interested in pursuing a career in the water industry. Since May 2019, Chelupati has served as a board member for the Northeast Section of the Ohio Water Environment Association (NESOWEA) executive committee, where he works to provide education and training opportunities for wastewater engineers and operators in northeast Ohio. He previously served as chair of the NESOWEA Science Fair Competitions between 2014 and 2019, where he developed guidelines for selecting the winning presentations at science fair events for middle school and high school students.

 

Laron Evans
Encourages Honest Dialogue About Inclusion, Diversity and Equity
37, Business Diversity Director
Burns & McDonnell
Kansas City, Mo.

Evans, who is in Burns & McDonnell’s Transmission and Distributions Group, works with some of the largest utilities in North America to formulate plans and strategies that promote diversity, business equity and inclusion. Within Burns & McDonnell, he serves as an ambassador to promote equitable practices within the workplace as well as engaging with diverse-owned businesses in the Transmission and Distributions Group’s supplier network. “Laron is one of the most influential voices at Burns & McDonnell in leading multichannel conversations aimed at encouraging honest dialogue on ways to incorporate continuous improvement and best practices for inclusion, diversity and equity,” says John Olander, COO and president of the Transmission & Distribution Group at Burns & McDonnell. Evans also serves as minister for the Swope Parkway Church of Christ in Kansas City, where he champions several outreach programs for area youth, the needy and the dump trucks columbus oh community at large. He also serves as president of the Kansas/Missouri chapter of the American Association of Blacks in Energy. The chapter offers programs and scholarships to encourage youth from disadvantaged groups to pursue energy-related career fields.

 

Tori Gillespie
Skilled Health Care Professional With an Eye Toward Inclusion
39, Director of Operations, Health Care
Ross & Baruzzini
St. Louis

Backed by 14 years of experience in health care and government facilities design, Gillespie plans, directs, coordinates and manages people and health care design policies for Ross & Baruzzini. Since joining the firm in 2019, she has held the roles of project manager and mechanical engineer of record. Skilled in building load and pressure loss calculations as well the research and implementation of local and national building, engineering and mechanical codes, Gillespie’s project experience includes the Capital Region Medical Center’s Ambulatory Surgery Center in Jefferson City, Mo.; Christian Northwest’s Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis; and Samaritan Medical Center’s New Patient Pavilion Addition in Watertown, N.Y. Gillespie also serves as chair of the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee, implementing and guiding DE&I programs. She is a former treasurer and former programs chair for the National Society of Black Engineers, St. Louis Gateway Alumni Chapter. Gillespie was originally inducted into the NSBE during her high school years, and she was a 2002 scholarship recipient of the local chapter. She is also a member of ASHRAE and the Society of Military Engineers.

 

Paul Graves
Brings a World of Knowledge to the Bluegrass State
39, Senior Mechanical Engineer
CMTA
Prospect, Ky.

An internationally licensed professional engineer who has worked in 20 states and four countries, Graves recently returned to his hometown of Louisville, Ky. During his 16-year career, Graves has focused on providing knowledge and consulting expertise as a design engineer and general construction manager. As a native Louisvillian, Graves aims to columbus oh dump truck work toward creating a better tomorrow by applying his experiences, knowledge and mentorship gained abroad in the Bluegrass State. Outside of work, Graves served as a member of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce board of directors. After the 2020 Santa Monica riots, he organized a citywide cleanup, helping more than 20 businesses reopen quickly and safely. Graves spent time in the Inuit villages of Alaska renovating schools. The experience left a profound mark on his interest in local climate challenges and supporting Alaska’s underserved tribes. In 2012, Graves started on a Kickstarter campaign to develop a floating pool in New York City’s East River. The first of its kind project is scheduled to open in summer 2023.

 

Jonathon Jackson
Former Young Architect of the Year Grooms Next Generation of Leaders
37, Project Architect
Ghafari Associates Inc.
Dearborn, Mich.

A former AIA Michigan Young Architect of the Year Award recipient, Jackson has gained considerable experience in his 11-year career, establishing himself as a subject matter expert within Ghafari. Starting his career as an entry-level architectural draftsman, he quickly established his skills in architecture, technical knowledge and BIM technologies. In his current role as project architect, he provides guidance, support and assistance for client-related procedural concerns and construction issues. His involvement with projects spans the design, document production and construction administration phases. “He is repeatedly called upon to provide guidance, support and assistance in a variety of capacities, whether they be client-related, procedural concerns or construction issues,” says Rebecca Barry, director of architecture at Ghafari Associates. Nominated to the Michigan Construction Code Commission in 2019, Jackson helped improve the quality of housing for Michigan residents. Concurrently, he served as the Young Architect Regional Director for the State of Michigan, helping give a voice to young architects in the early stages of their careers by coordinating events to connect emerging professionals with seasoned ones. Today, Jackson continues to help young professionals, acting as a conduit of information between local AIA chapters and the National AIA. In this role, he joined an advocacy group that organized webinars to discuss topics such as universal and inclusive design; citizen architects; and justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. His project experience include First Solar, the largest thin-film solar module facility in the U.S., and Ford Blue Oval City, which will be Ford Motor Co.’s largest, most advanced auto production complex in its 118-year history.

 

Shane Jefferies
Drives Digital Transformation in Both Operations and Business Outcomes
34, Director of Information Technology
Milhouse Engineering and Construction
Chicago

Since joining Milhouse a decade ago, Jefferies has helped the firm’s growth—from revenue around $10 million in 2013 to $50 million in 2020—in the strategic areas of technological infrastructure, business operations and cybersecurity. During the pandemic, he focused on accelerating the firm’s digital transformation, instituting sustainable practices and improving digital dexterity. He emphasized the importance of collecting pertinent people, process and production data—and using the data to drive business decisions, solve workforce challenges and better position the organization to increase positive business outcomes. Recently, he led the implementation of technology solutions with artificial intelligence, machine learning and business intelligence to help prioritize cybersecurity, recruiting and retention. His efforts also enabled hybrid, flexible and distributed columbus oh dump truck work to support the “new normal” of work. The recent decrease in insurance carriers providing cyber coverage was further complicated by huge increases in insurance premiums. Carriers also significantly increased the number of controls required to qualify. Jefferies and his team were able to overcome the hurdle in under three weeks. Jefferies’ dump trucks columbus oh community involvement includes i.c.stars, which creates economic opportunity for underserved communities by bridging disconnected young adults with the high growth tech sector.

 

Megan A. McDonald
Excels in Public Involvement to Garner Support of Projects
39, Senior Engineer for Planning
WSP USA
Chicago

With expertise in phase 1 preliminary engineering and environmental studies, McDonald has developed context-sensitive solutions for a range of clients, including state departments of transportation and other county and municipal agencies. Recently, she led the public involvement and stakeholder coordination for three large phase 1 corridor studies in northern Illinois. Now a senior engineer, McDonald’s role has expanded to include freight studies and grant applications for Illinois DOT. In this role, she taps into her background in public involvement to reach communities and gain support for projects. Since 2008, McDonald has been actively involved in the American Society of Civil Engineers, serving leadership roles from the younger member group to executive board member positions. In 2018, she received the ASCE Illinois Section Young Engineer of the Year Award. The following year, she was named section president and was responsible for overseeing 17 technical group and committee chairs to ensure the section provides support to its more than 2,800 members.

 

Scott Rahn
Fosters Interest in Construction and Helps Builds Careers in the Trades
39, Vice President, Industrial
Clayco
St. Louis

Over the past five years, Rahn has been instrumental in growing Clayco’s industrial business unit from an $800-million enterprise to a $3-billion enterprise. In that time, he has been promoted twice to leadership roles—from senior project manager to project director to vice president. He currently oversees 30 large-scale projects for national industrial developers representing e-commerce and Fortune 500 clients, including NorthPoint Development, Prologis and Scannell Properties and for companies such as Walmart, Amazon, Dollar General, Chewy and Home Depot. He helps implement Clayco’s design-build delivery method on industrial projects and mentors Clayco’s next generation of design and construction leaders. Rahn oversees the entire project process including estimating, design, construction and closeout. As an executive board member and mentor for the Construction Career Development Initiative, he fosters an interest in construction and helps build careers. For the past three years, Rahn has mentored Dominick Gatlin, a recent graduate of CCDI and new carpenter apprentice with the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council. “Being a mentor for CCDI is important to me because my grandpa, dad and father-in-law all worked in the trades,” Rahn says. “Their start in the trades came from someone they knew in the industry and [who] invested in their success.” In addition, Rahn is also the executive chairman of the St. Louis Chapter golf tournament for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 2022, under Rahn’s leadership, more than $400,000 was raised by the event, a record amount. “[Scott Rahn] represents the best ideals and values of the Clayco enterprise where we seek to improve our communities most of all,” says Anthony Johnson, president of the Industrial Business Unit at Clayco.

 

Shelby Rizzi
Makes a Difference by Helping Others Get Home Safely After a Day’s Work
31, Sr. Safety, Health and Enviro. Analyst
AECOM
Indianapolis

Rizzi studied communications at Indiana University Bloomington with the goal of making a positive difference in the world. After college, she was recruited for an entry level safety role and her mission shifted to ensuring employees made it home safely after work. “At the end of the day, I was making the positive difference that I wanted, just different than I expected,” she says. In her current role, Rizzi provides technical solutions to AECOM’s multiple safety databases used by the construction management division. She develops corporate safety metrics so AECOM can measure its incident rates as well as data relating to safety audits and observations. “I used my technical knowledge to make it easier to track and share safety metrics,” she says. “I develop a report every month that is seen from site level all the way up to the CEO and board of directors of AECOM.” Rizzi also used her technical skills to develop dashboards so the team could measure COVID’s impact during the pandemic. She worked closely with executive leadership to develop statistics for coronavirus cases for employees as well as impacts on the business. She also developed an onboarding training system and played a key role in developing a corporate-wide training program called Back to the Basics, which every employee in the construction management division has to complete. Since starting in her current position four years ago, AECOM’s total recordable incident rate has decreased by 40% and the lost workday case rate has decreased by 45%.

 

Jenell Schroeder
Market Sector Executive With an Eye on Recruiting Future Industry Leaders
38, Senior Director
AECOM Hunt
Chicago

Schroeder began as an intern 15 years ago, working on a hotel project, and today serves as senior director and market sector leader of multifamily, office and hospitality projects at AECOM Hunt. Her diverse portfolio of projects includes the Mid Hotel and Co-Living projects in Detroit and the NFL Hall of Fame development in Canton, Ohio. Notable Chicago projects include 1345 S. Wabash Condos, 1333 S. Wabash Apartments, Palomar Hotel and Residences, Greenfields of Geneva and the Cooper Apartments. Schroeder’s current role has expanded her geographic reach to follow clients beyond Chicago. Her current columbus oh dump truck work includes projects in Austin, Philadelphia, Nashville and Indiana. Recently, Schroeder was asked to help form a college recruiting committee that involves younger team members to assist in the recruitment process. “What I have found is that this has provided these [younger] members with the opportunity to expand their communication, leadership and decision-marking skills, all while taking on the important task of recruiting the future generation of our company,” she says. Schroeder was also a founding member of the City of Hope Future Leaders Board in 2015, which raises money for the City of Hope Hospital in Pasadena, Calif. Additionally, she is involved in the Ace Mentor Program and is a member the Bradley CEC Advisory Board. She is also a member of Girls in the Game Gala Committee with a mission to enable every girl to find her voice, discover her strength and lead with confidence.

 

Leanne Skuse
Earned Company Leadership Role at Age 37
39, President
River City Construction
East Peoria, Ill.

Previously vice president of preconstruction services at River City Construction, Skuse was elevated to the position of president at the age of 37. She is responsible for all aspects of the firm with an emphasis on serving the people and the teams in the organization that drive success for its clients, trade partners, affiliates and communities. In her previous preconstruction role, Skuse gained valuable experience in business development, including fostering and maintaining client relations, design firm partnerships and trade partner relationships. She was also responsible for aligning clients’ goals and project scope with their budgets, project timelines and sequences. At the beginning of 2022, River City Construction formed the RCC Foundation, under Skuse’s leadership, to support the firm’s employees, fund scholarships, provide industry awareness and recruit in the communities where RCC operates. An employee benevolence endowment offers financial support to employees in need. Skuse stays involved in the dump trucks columbus oh community by participating in the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council. She is also a board member of the Bradley University civil engineering and construction advisory board, a board member of the Unity Point Health Foundation and a member of Commerce Bank’s Central Illinois advisory board.

 

Mike Swanson
Youngest Member of Firm’s Executive Leadership Team
37, Vice President, Managing Principal
Ross & Baruzzini
St. Louis

At 37, Swanson is the youngest member of the Ross & Baruzzini executive leadership team, managing the health care market for the firm. Since joining the firm in 2012, his roles have included electrical engineer, senior electrical engineer, project manager, director of operations and vice president and managing principal of the health care market. As the electrical engineer of record for multiple construction projects across Missouri and Illinois, Swanson is responsible for project designs in his market. Drawing from his experience on more than $1 billion worth of projects, he serves as a technical resource to colleagues nationwide for his electrical and health care expertise. As the only person in the firm with a WELL AP certification, he is the company’s foremost expert on taking a holistic approach to patient health in the built environment. In 2014, Swanson helped Ross & Baruzzini receive a First Place ASHRAE Technology Award in the existing public assembly category for the solar photovoltaic system at the St. Louis Zoo.

 

Michelle Sweeney
Transportation Leader Takes a Top Role in Attracting Talent
38, Transportation, CRS Dept. Leader
AECOM
Waterloo, Iowa

Sweeney began her career in civil engineering with the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, followed by the city of Cedar Falls, Iowa. Working for municipalities, she gained experience designing bridges, streets, storm and sanitary sewers, trails and sidewalks. Today, she uses those talents at AECOM, where she continues to evolve through designing and managing municipal highway, urban, federal aid, city and private site development projects. Among her recent successes as project manager is the $38.3-million University Avenue Reconstruction project—a 3.1-mile urban arterial roadway in Waterloo, Iowa. The project earned awards from Iowa Concrete Paving Association and Iowa DOT. Outside of her project manager role, Sweeney is the transportation planning/CRS department leader, which entails staff coordination and assistance with the hiring process. Sweeney supports others through mentorships, serving as an active mentor for both ACP and AECOM’s mentorship program in addition to leading the Iowa office’s hiring initiatives. “She has taken a lead in our talent acquisition process by actively recruiting young engineers and interns for positions in our Waterloo and Des Moines, Iowa, offices and attending career fairs at the Iowa universities,” says Douglas Schindel, senior operation manager at AECOM.

 

Marcus Taylor
Helps International Clients Expand Operations into the U.S.
38, Vice President
Gray
Lexington, Ky.

During his 16 years at Gray—including 13 years in business development—Taylor has become an integral part of the firm’s growth. Four promotions after his first role as market research specialist in business development, he now serves as the team’s vice president with a focus on manufacturing—Gray’s largest market. During that time, he has worked with some of the global companies on the leading edge of market sectors such as advanced manufacturing, aerospace and aviation, electric vehicles and alternative energy. Taylor played an instrumental role in winning projects for the first U.S. operations for the Italian paper producer Sofidel America, Chinese fiberglass maker Jushi USA and Spanish wind tower component manufacturer GRI Renewable Industries. As a result of his efforts, foreign direct investment now accounts for nearly three quarters of Gray’s manufacturing projects. “His ability to develop strong relationships has proven instrumental in winning projects with customers looking to expand their operations around the globe,” says Brian Jones, president and chief executive officer at Gray Construction. Taylor is also a supporter of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass. As a member of the Gray charitable grant committee in 2013, his advocacy for BBBS led to its selection as Gray’s charity partner for a three-year term.

 

Steven Uecke
Set Out on His Own at 26 and Now Runs Three Companies
37, CEO
REX Engineering/REX Construction
Naperville, Ill.

Just four years after graduating summa cum laude from Illinois Institute of Technology in 2007, Uecke founded his own company. In setting out on his own, Uecke drew from his structural engineering experience with Johnson Wilbur Adams, where he managed 75% of all connection and miscellaneous steel design projects. He also served as project engineer for numerous full-building structural design projects, tallying a combined 650-plus project portfolio. In 2017, REX Engineering Group was officially formed when Uecke merged his structural engineering firm, Ntrive, with a Los Angeles-based MEP firm he acquired called Innovative Engineering Group. The 2019 acquisition of Florida-based Edwards Construction and the 2020 acquisition of Chicago-based Integrated Construction Services led to the birth of REX Construction Services. The services arm has offices in Chicago, Orlando, Charlotte, and Ocala, Fla. In his second year in business, he acquired Descon, a steel connection design software and led its development through two major versions, including adding 3D visualization and editing. Recently, Uecke led the acquisition of SuperDroid Robots, a custom robot design and fabricating Charlotte NC dump trucks company based in Raleigh. The team is refining the current product line, aiming to create a line of robots for the construction industry. As the chief executive officer of REX Engineering Group, REX Construction Services and REX Technology Solutions, Uecke provides overall leadership of operational, resource management and financial functions across all three companies. He is responsible for setting the firms’ strategic direction and growth and is a leading voice in supporting innovation and continuous improvement. “I came to REX because of Steven’s vision of doing things differently and truly impacting the construction through process improvement and technology,” says Perryn Olson, vice president of marketing.

 

Cory White
Led Efforts to Lower Insurance Costs and Increase Safety Programs
39, Chief Legal Officer
Milhouse Engineering and Construction
Chicago

A transactional attorney with more than 12 years of experience across a variety of industries, White joined Milhouse Engineering and Construction three years ago. He currently serves as corporate counsel to the firm’s entire family of companies. He leads the legal department, which also houses Milhouse’s training and safety programs. Recently, White led the effort to secure membership in captive insurance, significantly reducing the cost of business insurance. He was also recently elected to the board of directors of Milhouse Engineering. During his tenure, White has led efforts to dramatically reduce transactional document review time; facilitate the growth of in-house training programs; and expand the firm’s safety programs. Within the legal industry, White has served a number of boards including the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Foundation, the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education and the Illinois Legal Action Pac. He also serves as an adjunct professor of law at Chicago Kent College of Law, where he teaches securities regulation.

 

Nichole Witushynsky
Leverages Well-Rounded Engineering Background to Deliver Projects
36, Bridge Design Engineer/Sr. Consultant
WSP USA
St. Louis

Witushynsky’s civil engineering experience started in buildings, then aviation and now bridge design. That range of knowledge has served her and WSP well on projects. Going back to her architectural engineering background, Witushynsky utilizes her aesthetic knowledge for pier designs and other features on projects such as 25th Street Bridge over I-235 and Harry Street Bridge over the Arkansas River—both in Wichita, Kan. Witushynsky also led bridge preliminary design and cost analysis for two design-build program projects where WSP served as program manager in Missouri and Michigan. Within the first two years of working at WSP, Witushynsky documented field inspection for a multifaceted bridge rehabilitation project in downtown Wichita. The project included crack repair, vacuum grouting, pressure grouting, shotcrete repair and non-destructive testing inside two 21-span multicell post-tensioned box girder bridges. Following the project’s success, Witushynsky went on to give multiple presentations about the project, including at a local ASCE meeting, the Kansas State Bridge Design Workshop, the KU Structural Engineering Conference and the International Bridge Conference hosted in Washington D.C. Witushynsky was an active member of Wichita Society of Women Engineers before relocating to St. Louis, where she volunteered for their biggest event of the year—the Society of Women Engineers Engineering Expo. The expo is a free event for kids K-8 with hands-on activities and workshops. It gives children an opportunity to learn how engineering relates to the world through STEM activities.

KEYWORDS: 20 Under 40ChicagocontractorsEngineeringKansas Cityprofessional servicesSt. LouisTop Young Professionals

Bruce Buckley is a freelance writer and photographer based in the Washington, D.C., area.