Welcome to a continuing feature in the Kansas City Business Journal introducing readers to people they should get to know in key industries and categories. In this installment, reporter Mary King shares 20 people to know in engineering — each including a short explanation of why that person is on the list.
Coming installments this year will introduce you to people you should know in commercial real estate and insurance, along with 20 key innovators. We previously detailed 20 to Know in banking.
We designed this feature as a replacement for the Power 100 lists published in previous years. Although those lists had value chronicling top executives and officials, they were — as someone said — people you already know.
You’ll see that each 20 to Know list is filled with powerful people.We expect that you’ll already know a few of the people on each list. But pay extra attention to those you don’t know to expand your market knowledge — and perhaps your network.
— Brian Kaberline
Jared Carlson
Henderson Engineers
Director of engineering
A mechanical engineer, Carlson was promoted to director of engineering in December. In that role, and as a principal for Henderson Engineers, Carlson manages the firm’s technical direction and process-improvement programs.
In addition to technical expertise, Carlson builds strong relationships with clients and co-workers, proving instrumental in maintaining Henderson’s culture of quality, mentorship and continuous learning for the company’s 900-plus employees.
Carlson has been with Henderson more than 13 years, contributing to projects including the Kansas City International Airport and the Sacramento Kings practice facility.
Sara Clark
TranSystems
Vice president
Clark was promoted to vice president in November. As leader of TranSystems’ Midwest Transportation Planning Team, she works to develop sound policy, plans or programs for the public and private transportation sectors.
Since joining the firm in 2001, Clark has worked with states and municipalities, freight railroads and private developers on transit planning, corridor studies, feasibility and market assessments, and freight planning. She also is active in the community, serving on the board for KC SmartPort, an offshoot of the Kansas City Area Development Council that works to attract freight-based companies to the region.
Joseph Davis
Custom Engineering
CEO
Davis has led Custom Engineering since 1999, balancing responsibility for overseeing big projects as well as Custom’s business operations, including everything from budgeting to HR. The firm has grown to rank No. 20 on the Kansas City Business Journal’s Minority-Owned Businesses List. And it has continued to grow, expanding in St. Louis and acquiring a nine-employee firm in Columbia in 2019.
The mechanical and electrical engineering company has won a long list of high-profile jobs, including work on Kansas City International Airport, the Kansas City streetcar extension and the Major League Soccer stadium in St. Louis.
David Ford
Walter P Moore
Principal, managing director, practice leader
Although much of engineering is about the inner workings of projects, Ford is an expert on exteriors. He is the firmwide leader of Walter P Moore’s Enclosure Diagnostics Practice, which includes assessing and restoring building facades and roofs, repairing problems that allow moisture to seep in and basic structure.
Ford has degrees in architectural and civil engineering and is licensed in seven states and one Canadian province. He has more than 20 years of experience.
He also is co-chair of the firm’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Council.
Sonia Garapaty
FSC Inc.
Owner and CEO
Garapaty oversees operations, recruiting, marketing, business development and project management. She also manages international operations. The firm specializes in fire protection services and worked on a number of high-profile area buildings, including the headquarters of Dairy Farmers of America and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.
Before FSC, the electrical engineer spent 11 years in telecom, working on wireless technology. Garapaty owns one U.S. patent and has two applications pending.
Garapaty is a member of the Kansas City Business Journal's 2008 class of Women Who Mean Business.
Leonard Graham
Taliaferro & Browne
President
Probably one of the most well-known names on this list, Graham has been a decades-long fixture in Kansas City engineering. A native of the area, Graham joined and bought Taliaferro & Browne in 1992, where he has been president. His area of expertise is in general civil engineering and project management. The firm has had a hand in household-name area projects, including the then-Sprint Center and the Kansas City Power & Light District, improvements to Arrowhead Stadium, Shoal Creek Parkway and the new KCI terminal. Graham previously was a partner at Schlup Becker & Brennan.
Tirzah Gregory
HNTB
Vice president, Bridge Group director
With more than 25 years of experience, Gregory leads HNTB’s bridge and geotechnical sections in Kansas City, Overland Park, Oklahoma City, Des Moines and St. Louis. During her career, she has played a role in a variety of highway, railroad, movable and pedestrian bridge projects and brings expertise in all aspects of structural design. Gregory also is responsible for business development, sales, staff development, project delivery and quality control for projects, with revenue exceeding $20 million annually.
Gregory is a member of the Kansas City Business Journal’s NextGen Leaders class of 2017.
Elise Kirchhofer
Hoefer Welker
Principal
When Hoefer Welker launched an in-house mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering unit this year, the firm chose Kirchhofer to lead it. The unit’s first project is Aspiria in Overland Park, a major redevelopment of the former Sprint campus — and Hoefer Welker’s future home.
Kirchhofer has experience in mechanical systems design and leadership for projects in health care, education and the commercial sector. In addition to her expertise in project management and sustainable design, Kirchhofer previously was an owner’s representative at Hoefer Welker and vice president of Henderson Engineers, as well as project management director with CBRE. She is a member of the Women Who Mean Business class of 2016.
Kristen Leathers-Gratton
Affinis
President
Leathers-Gratton has spent her entire career with Affinis, signing on in 1991 after graduating from Missouri University of Science and Technology. Her history with the Overland Park-based firm played a part in her becoming president two years ago upon the sudden death of co-founder Rick Worrel.
A natural problem solver, Leathers-Gratton and her team can be seen working in local neighborhoods or yards for stormwater system repairs, roadway paving or finding ways to reduce flooding.
Leathers-Gratton’s work in the community extends beyond her job. She is part of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Centurions leadership program.
Paul Miller
Davidson Architecture & Engineering
Principal, director of civil engineering
A Kansas City native, Miller has worked his entire career in the metro area. With nearly 30 years of engineering and design experience, Miller has worked on projects ranging from multimillion-dollar wastewater treatment plants to small water main extension plans. He also spent 20 years working on residential and commercial development.
Along with its work on a wide range of engineering and architecture projects, Davidson is a regular honoree in the Kansas City Business Journal’s Best Places to Work program.
Tawn Nugent
TREKK Design Group
Associate partner, transportation
Nugent leads TREKK’s transportation market, focusing on designing and managing improvement projects for state and local agencies. She’s part of the leadership team for the company that won the Mr. K Award in 2019 as the small business of the year from the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
Nugent has more than 20 years of experience and is active in a number of professional groups, including the American Council of Engineering Companies of Missouri and the local chapter of the American Public Works Association. She also is a community volunteer, particularly for causes involving STEM education and animals.
Matthew Olson
Burns & McDonnell
Vice president and managing director, Telecom Group
Olson is an electrical engineer who specializes in telecommunications systems. He was named as managing director of Burns & McDonnell’s Telecom Group in early 2020, working on multimillion-dollar network projects for utility customers. Earlier this year, he was promoted to vice president of the Kansas City-based firm.
Olson is a member of the Kansas City Business Journal’s NextGen Leaders Class of 2020. He is an Oklahoma native and graduate of the University of Tulsa.
Molly Pesce
Olsson
Leader, Water/Wastewater Team
Pesce has led Olsson’s Water/Wastewater Team since 2019. She manages a group that works with communities to find efficient and innovative ways to solve water-related challenges. Among projects she’s worked on are the design of the Buckeye Creek Force Main for Kansas City and the Marcy Gulch Wastewater Treatment Plant in Littleton, Colorado.
Pesce earned an engineering degree at the University of Dayton and a master’s from the University of Kansas. Before joining Olsson, she was a project engineer with Bartlett & West. She’s actively involved in the American Water Works Association’s Missouri section.
Algert Prifti
Black & Veatch
Manager, decarbonization technologies
Prifti’s work focuses on efforts to use existing and emerging technologies to reduce carbon levels through carbon capture, sequestration and use. It’s an area of growing importance as companies — including Black & Veatch — pledge to reduce carbon levels in the face of global warming.
One emerging area Prifti is involved in is exploring uses of hydrogen as a clean fuel.
The civil engineer graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He joined Black & Veatch in 2015.
Jason Robertson
CRB
Vice president, food and beverage
Promoted this year to vice president of CRB’s food and beverage business, Robertson champions integrated design, construction and delivery solutions, assisting in the firm's food and beverage market growth. With more than 20 years of experience in design and construction, Robertson blends his manufacturing and production expertise in traditional food segments with market-leading project delivery for producers of alternative proteins.
Robertson is involved in a number of professional organizations. In June, he spoke on the area’s importance in the food and beverage industry at KC SmartPort’s annual industry briefing.
Pooja Shah
Kiewit Engineering Group
Lead electrical engineer, renewables
Shah works in engineering and design, supporting Kiewit’s renewable energy projects, including utility-scale solar and energy-storage projects. She is the lead electrical engineer for the Marsh Landing Energy Center, an innovative project designed to use energy storage to restart a power plant during blackouts.
A member of the Kansas City Business Journal’s NextGen Leaders Class of 2021, Shah works to inspire future engineers, serving as the KieWomen Outreach Committee chair and working with other organizations that promote STEMM outreach, diversity and inclusion.
Greg Trees
Dialectic Engineering
CEO
Trees was promoted to CEO in 2020, though he is not an engineer by training. Instead, he has a background in finance, having been CFO of Dialectic for four years. In 2013, he was honored by the Kansas City Business Journal as a CFO of the Year, then working with Barkley.
Trees’ objective is to lead a surge of growth for Dialectic, including providing mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering services in such high-growth markets as Dallas, Houston and Nashville. The firm also is working to provide support services for new cannabis production facilities.
Dialectic is 100% employee owned.
Sean Turner
Henderson Engineers
Director, innovation and research
Turner is director of innovation and research — a heady title at an engineering firm. The job involves combining engineering expertise with out-of-the-box thinking about the way Henderson Engineers serves its clients. A current area of focus is on development and oversight of the firm’s Smart Building Systems service, which includes integrating various controls to increase energy efficiency and improve overall building performance.
The electrical engineer also is helping guide the firm’s venture into design for manufacturing and assembly.
Brigitta Wade
Black & Veatch
Innovation and Development Team
Wade is part of a three-person team at Black & Veatch that investigates and researches new technologies, software and innovations to help streamline work at the firm. With a construction-led focus, the architectural engineer conducts internal and external interviews, develops growth plans and coordinates with telecom teams to ensure buy-in.
In the fall of 2020, Wade was featured in Woman Engineer magazine, where she discussed the ins and outs of the Innovation and Development Team.
Wade earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Kansas.
Cale Wilson
Terracon
Senior principal
Wilson leads Terracon’s engineering operations for environmental, geotechnical and materials services. The area includes 76 employee-owners and $10 million in annual revenue.
He has been a fast riser since joining the firm as a field engineer in 2004. Wilson advanced from project engineer to department manager, and then to his current roles as office and regional manager. He has been active in many professional, civic and community-focused organizations during his 14-year career in civil engineering and consulting.