Many of our water/wastewater clients are transitioning away from the traditional “full suite of services,” heavy program management approach, where the consultant is responsible for every aspect of a program, to a more tailored, custom-fit, collaborative delivery model. This means clients are looking for our program management team to provide discrete programmatic-level services when needed throughout the client’s capital delivery lifecycle.

For example, a client may be challenged to meet their stated capital improvement plan (CIP) spending goals over a series of years. This could be due to several factors, such as limited project managers, extended procurement timelines and requirements, or a lack of available construction partners in their area. Our program delivery teams can help by potentially reprogramming the client’s CIP to better match their resources and delivery model, providing staff to augment client resources to help with peak workload periods, or providing outreach assistance to contractors with whom we’ve worked in the past. Over time, additional services can be added to address other client needs as they progress along their project delivery lifecycle.

“Mission First, People Always” – This is a lesson I learned very early in my military career. As consultants, our clients entrust us with helping them deliver a capital project or program to benefit their stakeholders. This is our mission. But without a great team, none of this is possible. As leaders, we must always remember that our people are our greatest asset and should always be at the forefront of our minds in everything we do.

Programs are a great opportunity to accelerate the careers of less-experienced staff. Many of our teammates start out on a technical track and focus on the engineering side of our business. Most likely, they have very limited opportunities to interface with clients, develop budgets and schedules, or engage directly with client stakeholders. As a program manager, I always try to develop a structured skills rotation plan for less experienced staff. Over a 24 to 36 month period, they sit alongside our clients in a dedicated program management office and work in areas such as planning, regulatory compliance, program and project controls, risk management, design management, and programmatic construction management. If staff choose to return to the local GFT office at the end of this rotation, they will be significantly ahead of their peers with the same level of professional experience, thanks to the opportunities gained while part of the program team.

“No Two Programs Are Exactly Alike” – While program management principles are similar across programs, how you successfully deliver a program is unique to each opportunity. I always encourage my teams to use previous experiences as a guide, while allowing each client to define the right approach for their specific needs.

I joined GFT for two key reasons. First, the people. I have been fortunate to work with several current GFT leaders over the course of my career. They are not only leaders in our industry but also people I personally respect and admire. The fact that they choose to be at GFT speaks volumes to me about the company’s culture, how it treats people, and how the company views the importance of the work we do.

Secondly, GFT’s vision for how program management can be a value creator for current or future clients is something that is not always seen in our industry today. Our vision and commitment as a firm to work directly with our clients to understand how best we can support them, whether through our design teams, our construction services partners, or through our program management expertise, is truly a differentiator in today’s consulting market.

Prior to starting my engineering career, I served as an active-duty Army Aviation officer. My everyday job was as an attack helicopter pilot (or, as I like to say, my company-issued vehicle was an AH-64 Apache helicopter).

Outside of work, I enjoy traveling with my family and almost anything sports-related (especially if it’s my University of Kentucky Wildcats). My wife and I love to travel with our kids and give them experiences of new cultures and people. In addition, I’m a proud grandpa who loves spoiling my grandkids.