A recipient of the American Institute of Architects’ Henry Adams Medal. The youngest Black woman to be certified as a General Engineering Contractor by the state of California. A researcher who spent two months in the Antarctic collecting specimens for biological experiments. An engineering student who was struck by a drunk driver and was unconscious for 24 hours and who now designs safer roadways as a traffic engineer. A nationally recognized researcher in the field of construction safety.

That is just a sampling of the impressive, and inspiring, talent represented in the 2021 class of ENR Southeast’s Top Young Professionals. Indeed, the career paths—and life journeys—that are included in the following pages provide some meaningful measure of reassurance that the future of the Southeast’s construction industry is in good hands.

At the same time, though all honorees work within the region, the reach of their contributions to the construction industry stretches beyond the Southeast states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee. Indeed, this group of talented up-and-comers is sure to help generate construction achievements that will extend far beyond these borders.

This year, ENR Southeast enlisted the services of four outstanding industry professionals as judges for the competition. Returning veteran judges included Brent Darnell, owner and president of Brent Darnell International of Atlanta, as well as Cheryl Maze, principal with Orlando-based TLC Engineering Solutions. Additionally, Kevin J. Kelly, president of Sauer Inc., and Rachel Klinger, principal engineer with Geosyntec Consultants—both of whom were recognized as members of ENR Southeast’s 2020 class of Top Young Professionals—joined in to help determine this year’s honorees. (It should be noted that judges recused themselves from voting if a candidate presented a conflict of interest.)

ENR Southeast invites readers to peruse the profiles of this year’s Top Young Professionals and review the honorees’ accomplishments.

相关链接 ENR Southeast's 2020 Top Young Professionals

Alex Albert
Construction industry researcher eyes improvements in site safety
34, Associate Professor
North Carolina State University
Raleigh

A nationally recognized researcher in the field of construction safety, Albert not only works as an associate professor of construction engineering within North Carolina State University’s department of civil, construction and environmental engineering, he also leads the North Carolina Construction Safety Laboratory. It focuses on evidence-based research related to the industry’s safety challenges. One of Albert’s recent field investigations revealed insights in construction site safety hazards, notably that up to 40% of such hazards remain unrecognized by workers. During this research effort, Albert used eye-tracking technology to examine workers’ visual search patterns when they participate in hazard recognition efforts. In turn, Albert has developed several award-winning interventions that promote hazard recognition levels, some of which have been recognized as industry best practices by various groups, including CII and the Job-Site Safety Institute.

莱利·伯明翰
Railway engineer recognized as a top designer in her field
38, Rail Section Lead
HDR Engineering
Charlotte

Leading HDR’s rail section for the South Atlantic region of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, Birmingham’s work involves clients such as the North Carolina Dept. of Transportation’s rail section, CSX, Norfolk Southern, the North Carolina Railroad Co. (NCRR) and Palmetto Railways. A civil engineering graduate of North Carolina State University, Birmingham began her career as a roadway engineer but transitioned quickly into freight rail design and, nearly three years ago, was named to her current position with HDR. Today, she is serving as railway design manager for the NCDOT’s $440-million Interstate 440 widening project, which includes bridge construction of a six-lane highway with collector-distributor roads over the NCRR corridor and requires the temporary and permanent relocations of CSX and Norfolk Southern track lines.

劳伦·柯克（Lauren Cato）
Attorney guides firm’s legal issues on major sports venue projects
38, Assistant General Counsel
Aecom Hunt
坦帕

During Catoe’s 10-plus years in private legal practice—including in the Tampa office of national law firm Carlton Fields, where she was a shareholder—she served as outside counsel for AECOM Hunt in connection with multiple projects located across the U.S. After learning the company’s business operations while providing its executives with legal advice, Catoe was hired by the firm in 2018 as its assistant general counsel.

Working from AECOM Hunt’s Tampa offices, Catoe serves as the firm’s primary legal point of contact for its West division, which includes offices in Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Currently, Catoe’s legal oversight for that division includes such projects as the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park and the Terminal 3 Modernization at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Catoe currently serves as associate editor of the quarterly law journal of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Construction Law.

Wheeler Crook
Water engineer communicates need for better infrastructure stewardship
39, Vice President of Engineering
Goodwyn，Mills＆Cawood
Montgomery, Ala.

Within just three years of joining Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood (GMC), Crook joined the firm’s water resources and treatment division, where he has been responsible for engineering analysis, engineering-process design, bidding specifications and construction engineering for water and wastewater treatment projects throughout the Southeast. Additionally, in his role as vice president of engineering, Crook oversees the firm’s business development efforts and the design of all civil and municipal projects across central and south Alabama. Noted within the firm for his ability to connect with people, Crook also focuses on mentoring and otherwise working to develop up-and-coming talent. He is also actively involved in several organizations, most prominently Alabama’s Water Environment Association (AWEA), where he has been part of the group’s leadership team, including serving as president in 2017. He also served as co-chair for the 2019 Alabama/Mississippi Joint Annual Conference.

Ryan Eckenrode
Engineer advocates for traffic safety
38, Project Manager, Senior Traffic Engineer
AECOM
Greenville, S.C.

知道他想从早期开始成为一名交通工程师，埃克森（Eckenrode）20岁时就加入了运输工程师研究所。新利luck然后，在克莱姆森大学（Clemson University）的研究生院的最后一个学期（他将在那里获得土木工程硕士学位）被醉酒的司机宽阔。新利luck该事件使他失去知觉了24小时，还使他完成了最后一个学期的完成，甚至戴着脖子上的锻炼。它还引导了Eckenrode成为运输安新利luck全的倡导者。

Currently leading AECOM’s traffic engineering group for South Carolina, Eckenrode served as 2017 president of the South Carolina Section Institute of Transportation Engineers.

他继续努力提高道路使用者的安全性。迄今为止，Eckenro新利luckde访问了1,000多个十字路口，进行了10次道路安全审计，进行了100多次交通研究，并为减少撞车事故提供了许多建议。

塔希尔·爱德华兹
建筑师领导利益相关者，团队通过交付过程
37，设计与建筑集成经理
The Weitz Co.
West Palm Beach, Fla.

Since his arrival at The Weitz Co., Edwards, a licensed architect, has proven his ability to successfully lead customers and project teams through the design, development and delivery of industrial, commercial and institutional facilities. He produces designs for complex architecture and engineering projects that are responsive to clients’ programs, budgets and schedules.

His first such effort involved the completion and closeout of a $245-million student-housing development at Texas A&M University. Though Edwards is based out of Weitz’s West Palm Beach, Fla., location, he currently serves as design and construction integration manager for the Kansas City International Airport’s new 39-gate terminal and 6,300-space parking garage. His role on the project includes collaborating with the Transportation Security Administration on the design of baggage-handling systems and security checkpoints as well as handling design questions from the owner, subcontractors and other government agencies.

Additionally, he has served as a lead mentor in the ACE Mentor Program of Northeast Florida and is involved with Weitz’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Erika Grace
Environmental sciences expert conducted studies in the Antarctic
39, Project Manager
AECOM
Greenville, S.C.

With a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and a master’s degree in environmental toxicology—both from Clemson University—Grace joined AECOM’s Greenville, S.C., office after having served as a research technician at Clemson studying the life stages of marine invertebrates. Notably, Grace has spent two months living and working at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, as part of a National Science Foundation-funded effort involving various oxygen/temperature-related experiments. Grace is currently an AECOM-certified project manager and supervisor of a team of eight professional scientists and is an integral part of the firm’s environment impact assessment and permitting team. As project coordinator on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) projects, she manages AECOM’s team of technical resource specialists at all levels and oversees the day-to-day schedule, records management, client communication and GIS/field work components.

Keaton Green
Leader helped family-owned construction firm grow
34, Vice President
Frampton Construction
Ladson, S.C.

格林（Green）是克莱姆森大学（Clemson University）的2008年毕业生，他的职业生涯的头五年在亚特兰大的Holder Construction工作。2013年，他加入了南卡罗来纳州拉德森市的弗兰普顿建筑公司（Frampton Construction），担任项目经理，此后不久被任命为该公司的董事。正是从这个角色开始，格林搬到了公司的夏洛特办公室，在那里他领导了该部门的增长以及公司的整体项目管理运营。在2017年回到弗兰普顿的查尔斯顿地区办事处后，基顿现在担任副总裁，重点关注客户关系，公司和运营发展。他还监督了公司的许多标准流程和程序，并领导内部培训计划。Keaton最近在Procore在2019年全国开创性会议上谈到了“现代变革管理”。

亚伦·约翰逊
Leading efforts to limit virus spread in health care systems
37, Principal and Health Care Managing Principal
TLC Engineering Solutions
奥兰多

约翰逊（Johnson）从堪萨斯州立大学获得学士学位和建筑工程硕士学位不到14年后，正在领导多个团队，帮助医疗保健系统应对COVID-19的大流行，通过寻求最大程度地降低病毒传播的潜力。作为TLC Engineering Solutions的国家医疗保健工程小组的校长和高级机械工程师，Johnson一直参与医疗保健提供者的努力，以减轻600多个患者床的室内空气质量问题。同时，约翰逊（Johnson）向许多其他医疗保健系统咨询，以管理其近期需求以及计划长期措施。他在这方面的努力始于他在Ashrae常驻标准项目委员会的持续服务，该委员会着重于医疗机构的通风。

瑞安·约翰逊（Ryan Johnson）
Early technology adopter transforms firm’s design processes
39，计算设计专家
Clark Nexsen
Raleigh

在计算机技术方面有广泛的经验nd coding, Johnson—who was appointed as Clark Nexsen’s first computational design specialist in 2020—has used his skills to transform design processes and, in turn, the built environment. Johnson started at the firm 15 years ago as a design intern and became the first person at the firm to produce renderings in Revit. Instrumental in the firm’s adoption of building information modeling, Johnson has steadily progressed within the company and in 2015 founded the architectural firm’s tech studio as a vehicle for technology innovation focusing on design and workflow. Johnson currently chairs the American Institute of Architects’ Technology in Architecture Practice national knowledge community. In 2020, Johnson was appointed to the AIA’s COVID-19 business task force, which has created resources for architects focused on resilience and strategies for business continuity.

杰夫·琼斯
Delivers stellar customer satisfaction in health care field
38, Superintendent
Robins & Morton
Huntsville, Ala.

With a focus on building relationships, Jones has been a high performer, spanning back to his days at Auburn University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in building science. Upon graduation, he launched into a career with Robins & Morton, where he developed strong client and trade contractor relationships. On his completed projects that have received the results of customer surveys, three earned a 100% customer satisfaction rating and the rest scoring well above 90%. Currently, Jones is managing construction of Huntsville Hospital’s $250-million Orthopedic and Spine Tower in Huntsville, Ala.—the largest project on the health system’s campus in four decades. In his six years as a superintendent, his responsibilities have grown from managing projects valued at around $40 million to those roughly $250 million in size. Jones has served as a mentor for the contractor’s Rocky McMichen Field Leadership Program—a 15-month course focused on career progression for craft-level employees who wish to move into management.

Bradley Lockwood
建筑师提高了公司的高等教育市场组合
36, Vice President
Moseley Architects
Raleigh

2008年,毕业于一个国家的top architectural programs at Virginia Tech, Lockwood was honored with the American Institute of Architects’ Henry Adams Medal for excellence in architecture. Lockwood has continued his penchant for learning and the sharing of knowledge ever since by developing numerous industry mentor relationships throughout his career. At Raleigh-based Moseley Architects, Lockwood was an associate and project manager of the firm’s two largest university clients, James Madison University and Old Dominion University, based out of Moseley's Virginia Beach office.

Lockwood temporarily left Moseley to serve as director of higher education for MOA Architecture in Colorado but returned to Moseley Architects in 2018 as a managing principal in Raleigh.

他返回莫斯利（Moseley）后不久，他重新建立了该公司在罗利（Raleigh）的高等教育工作室，帮助迅速发展。洛克伍德还参与了UNC-Wilmington的Dobo​​ Hall的4200万美元重建。重建项目在2018年被佛罗伦萨飓风摧毁，是该州迄今为止最大的紧急项目。他还参与了通过北卡罗来纳州国家建筑办公室发起的前两个设计建筑采购。

Emily Mathis
Leads estimating, proposal development efforts
33, Senior Manager, Preconstruction Services
Gray
Birmingham, Ala.

Mathis在其东南地区办事处的接待员Gray最初。十年后，作为施工前服务的高级经理，她领导了该公司对该地区的估计和提案开发工作，平均每年有近10亿美元的机会。马蒂斯（Mathis）毕业于佐治亚理工学院（Georgia Technology Institute of Georgia Technology Institute），获得了机械工程学士学位，在那里她获得了在男性建筑行业中度过专业环境所需的信心。她的公司指出，她的跨学科知识能够领导大型和复杂的团队，以与部门专家互动，并将他们与共同的策略保持一致。

Blake Riedling
Helped implement slip-form construction method on tower
39, Operations Manager
Brasfield & Gorrie
Atlanta

Riedling has steadily risen through the ranks during his 14 years with Brasfield & Gorrie, earning a promotion to operations manager in January 2020. The son of a general contractor, Riedling earned a bachelor’s degree in building construction and a master’s degree in real estate development from Auburn University. His talents were identified early by Brasfield & Gorrie executives, who selected him to join the firm’s two-year-long leadership program. During his career with the contractor, he has helped manage nearly $1 billion worth of projects in Atlanta. Recently, he helped successfully implement a slip-form construction method to erect the ThyssenKrupp Elevator Test Tower and Innovation and Qualification Center project.

该方法在美国很少使用，要求该团队使用九个不同的混凝土混合物从移动的模板平台上完成八周的连续位置。最近的其他工作包括耗资9700万美元的725 Ponce Office Building Project，这是有史以来最大的结构之一。

Stacy Rooker
Leads preconstruction for military, student-housing work
38, Director of Preconstruction
Corvias
Cary, N.C.

A member of the Corvias preconstruction group for six years, Rooker manages a team of estimators and is responsible for preconstruction services for several hundred million dollars in new military and student-housing projects annually.

Rooker was one of only five women to graduate in 2004 from East Carolina University’s construction management program, which had more than 500 students enrolled at the time. She was an active member of the East Carolina Construction Association and the student chapters of Associated Builders and Contractors, the Associated General Contractors and the National Association of Home Builders.

After graduation, Rooker was hired by Corvias, starting as a field superintendent and was promoted several times into project management. As construction services manager, she traveled to military projects throughout the country.

Joey Smith
Diverse industry experience led to position as company director
37，项目总监
Frampton Construction
Charlotte

史密斯（Smith）于2019年加入Frampton Construction担任董事，这是一项17年的不同行业经验职业生涯的最新一步，其中包括估算，工程，预建，业务发展，项目管理和运营管理。在加入Frampton之前，他曾在Walbridge Construction担任助理副总裁，在那里他领导了业务发展，估算和工程的东南地区。在那期间，他参加了沃尔布里奇领导人的边缘发展计划和沃尔布里奇指导计划，并在职业生涯的早期指导了几名员工。通过与4C（夏洛特商业建筑联盟）的参与，他帮助塑造了与Covid-19的安全政策，这些安全政策被当地分包商和其他行业专业人员广泛采用。他还是4C倡议的一部分，旨在收集和捐赠100,000张面具，以帮助确保贸易伙伴对当地工作地点的安全和健康。

泰勒·斯蒂芬斯
Performance in various positions leads to leadership role
36, Vice President of Operations
Caddell Construction
Montgomery, Ala.

Since graduating from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in building science 14 years ago, Stephens has worked his way from entry-level assistant project engineer at Caddell Construction to vice president of operations. Two successful projects in Georgia paved the way for a promotion to project manager. He then led his teams on two more successful projects in North Carolina, receiving “exceptional” and “very good” performance feedback from clients. Over his career, Stephens has worked directly on two dozen projects with an approximate value of more than $1.5 billion. In his current role, he is tasked with executive oversight of projects and management staff within Caddell’s governmental business unit; continued development and retention of personnel; and executive-level planning and budgeting. During his time as a construction executive, Stephens spearheaded the company’s adoption of new project management software. He was tasked with total implementation throughout the operations department. In 2020, Stephens was a leader in Caddell’s COVID-19 response efforts in concert with the entire executive team and corporate safety director.

Charles Stuart
Leadership of safety initiatives produces positive results
38, Vice President of Construction Management
Hood Construction
Columbia, S.C.

Stuart是Hood Construction的最佳表现，每年管理10到12个项目。18luck官网斯图尔特（Stuart）在该行业中度过了他目前担任建筑管理副总裁的15年中的最后9年。在此期间，斯图尔特（Stuart）曾担任Hood安全计划的内部经理，并帮助该公司实现200万人小时，而没有损失时间事件。他是哥伦比亚承包商协会的活跃成员，目前是其主席。此外，他是沿海保护协会的州议会议员，也是克莱姆森大学建筑科学与管理系的顾问委员会成员。作为2019年哥伦比亚商会领导班的毕业生，他帮助完成了Babcock Center的美化和品牌项目，Babcock Center是一个组织，该组织通过职业培训，负担得起的住房，可靠的交通和公共服务的途径来支持终身残疾人和机构。

Jennifer Todd
Entrepreneur starts two successful companies
38，创始人兼总裁
LMS总承包商
佛罗里达州庞帕诺海滩。

During her nearly 15 years in the construction industry, Todd has completed work in 13 states and managed the removal of more than 5 million sq ft of hazardous materials. Todd, who was the youngest Black woman to be licensed as a General Engineering Contractor by the state of California, currently serves as president of the second construction company she’s founded to date, LMS General Contractors. Prior to that, following the 2011 tornado disaster in Birmingham, Ala., Todd had founded Logic Management Solutions, a disaster recovery consulting firm. Following the 2020 pandemic, Todd added COVID-19 disinfection services to LMS General Contractors’ portfolio of services, earning two five-year federal contracts.

梅雷迪思·范·杜恩（Meredith Van Duyn）
领导一系列关键项目和监督工作
39，运输集团负责人
RS&H
Raleigh

Van Duyn成员RS＆H的运输基础设施实践具有16年的行业经验，负责公司的努力，从服务范围到项目开发和项目管理的各个方面。她最近曾担任佐治亚州运输公司75号商用车道项目的质量经理；北卡罗来纳州DOT的2017年基础授予奖项项目的计划经理；18luck官网以及众多NCDOT项目的项目经理，总估计的建筑成本超过10亿美元。18luck官网18luck.cub在RS＆H，她是IGNITE女性领导网络的罗利办公室冠军，她们的任务是通过包容性文化增强妇女权力，以促进公司及其社区的成功。范·杜恩（Van Duyn）是运输工程师研究所和美国工程公司北卡罗来纳州委员会的活跃成员。