Pick six

Six North American colleagues typify the external recognition earned by our people for their personal as well as professional excellence and achievement.

Connor Langford

Connor was one of ‘Forty Under 40’ outstanding individuals, representing diverse backgrounds and skillsets, selected by business intelligence organisation, Business in Vancouver.

Connor is our tunnels team lead in Canada and is involved in several major water and metro projects across Vancouver.

Recent stand-out roles include supporting the Broadway Subway Project, an extension of the Vancouver Sky Train Millennium Line with a twin-bore, 5km long tunnel; and project manager for Vancouver’s Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel – a piece of infrastructure critical to long-term resilience of the city’s water supply system. “Getting from concept design to construction procurement required incredible focus from everyone involved,” Connor says.

Good leadership is about helping develop and foster growth in your team, so they have the opportunity to step up and do great things.

He attributes his success as a team leader to “servant leadership – putting the needs, growth and wellbeing of my colleagues and community first.

“As a result, much of my day to day involves igniting a sense of excitement in the people I work with and trying to remove roadblocks so that my team can accomplish their goals. Good leadership is not about standing out, it’s about helping develop and foster growth in your team, so they have the opportunity to step up and do great things.”

Connor is an active organiser and mentor in Mott MacDonald’s global network of early career professionals, helping younger staff advance their careers by connecting with other people across the business and building their skills.

“It’s not just about what you achieve in the end, it’s also the journey that matters,” Connor says. “The best outcomes always come when you work collaboratively, with a team that is aligned in its values. Building that team takes time, but it’s one of the most important things you can do and something that truly sets companies apart from one another. Not only does it lead to a better product, but it helps with retention and makes the work you do more enjoyable.”

Best piece of advice? “Don’t be afraid to put your hand up. New opportunities can be intimidating and it’s easy to feel like you’re not good enough, but the reality is, the people around you want you to succeed.”

Outside work he is a board member with ‘Circles of Support and Accountability British Columbia’ and the ‘Tunnelling Association of Canada’, a member of the Science World ‘Scientists and Innovators in Schools program’, a volunteer guest lecturer at the University of British Columbia, and an undergraduate mentor.

Find out about the Stanley Park Water Supply project

RebieAnn Reyes

In 2023, for the second year in a row, RebieAnn won the Fresh Ideas Award at the Annual Conference of the New Jersey Section of the American Water Works Association (AWWA).

The Fresh Ideas Award is given to the top presenter aged under 35. No other person has ever won this award more than once.

RebieAnn’s presentations in 2022 and 2023 focused on the key planning and design elements for the upgrade of the City of New Brunswick water treatment plant, which serves the town’s population of 60,000 and delivers water wholesale to two nearby communities.

As the town’s original treatment plant, built in 1916, approached the end of its useful life, we recommended it be converted to membrane filtration. It now has the largest membrane water treatment plant in New Jersey.

RebieAnn described how improvements to the 80Ml/day capacity, $50M plant were designed, and the three-year construction programme planned. The build took place in three phases to maintain full supply throughout.

RebieAnn has been involved in addressing the challenge of PFAS, a class of ‘forever chemicals’ now reaching dangerous concentrations throughout the natural environment – including water sources.

RebieAnn has also been involved in addressing the challenge of PFAS, a class of ‘forever chemicals’ used across a wide range of industrial and manufacturing processes and now reaching dangerous concentrations throughout the natural environment – including water sources. These chemicals are linked to a higher risk of certain cancers, heart disease, high cholesterol, thyroid disease, low birth weight, and reproductive issues.

In April 2024, for the first time, the US Environmental Protection Agency placed strict limits on six of these chemicals, increasing the urgency of the problem for water utilities.

RebieAnn was part of a team that delivered a PFAS removal facility for the city of Camden, New Jersey, showing how treatment can be adapted to address this fast-emerging water quality issue.

Katherine Miller

Katherine is a leader with “boundless energy and relentless determination,” said the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies British Columbia on naming her winner of its 2023 Young Professional Award.

Katherine is a senior project engineer for rail and transit and received the award for her leadership in advancing equity in the transportation sector. This has been demonstrated throughout her eight years’ involvement in the Arbutus Greenway in Vancouver.

Katherine and team examined how the permanent pathway could best integrate with the community, places along the route, as well as different mobility options.

Katherine was a member of the project team responsible for concept planning, preliminary design and community engagement: The Greenway is a 9km stretch of disused freight and passenger rail corridor that is being turned into a multimodal transport route over a period of 15 years – 2016-2031. It is enabling green travel, providing spaces for gatherings and physical activity, and enabling people to enjoy nature and scenic views.

It connects neighbourhoods, green spaces and popular destinations, such as schools, libraries and community centres, from False Creek in the north to the Fraser River in the south. After city authorities purchased the land in 2016, the rails were removed and a temporary path for walking, cycling and rolling was installed so residents could explore the route and consider its future potential.

Katherine and team examined how the permanent pathway could best integrate with the community, places along the route, as well as different mobility options.

The Greenway is being developed in eight ‘character’ zones – the first two opened in 2022. As it develops it will provide landscaping, plazas and gathering spaces, urban agriculture, public art, and indigenous design. Future phases may introduce a streetcar, encouraging more of Vancouver’s growing population to leave the car at home.

It is already a popular destination, described by the Lonely Planet travel guides as “an accessible, nature-hugging weave where you can expect to spot birdlife, butterflies and lots of wildflowers. There are public bike share stations on route if you fancy hopping in the saddle.”

Amir Ibraheem

Amir was a winner under an entirely separate ‘Forty under 40’ awards programme run by Consulting-Specifying Engineer magazine.

Amir is a senior mechanical engineer and project manager. His expertise is in the technical design and management of complex multidisciplinary projects, with an emphasis on underground construction and the design of mechanical, fire and life safety, and plumbing systems. He has also been involved in designing and developing technical specifications for mechanical, fire/life safety and tunnel ventilation projects.

Amir developed an acclaimed digital solution to assist with asset data collection and management.

Recent major projects on which he has provided fire and life safety and mechanical engineering leadership include the I-64 Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel Expansion, and Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel, both in Virginia. He has investigated and advised Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority on the climate resilience of its subway tunnels. And he has advised transport clients nationwide on asset management, developing an acclaimed digital solution to assist with asset data collection and management.

Amir co-chairs the mechanical standard committee for our fire and life safety group. He is also involved in training, development and knowledge management, giving lectures to colleagues in his areas of expertise, and mentoring younger staff.

Doug Heineke

Doug was selected alongside Amir in Consulting-Specifying Engineer magazine’s ‘Forty under 40’ list.

Doug is a senior project manager. In early 2022, he completed a near five-year assignment on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Red Line/Orange Line Transformation Program in Boston.

He did not take a direct route to engineering project management, coming from a communications background. This equipped him with a collaborative approach that has been applied with success across a diverse collection of projects spanning education, transportation, construction and digital technologies. He has been involved in challenging change programmes within Mott MacDonald.

Doug is recognised by clients and colleagues for his interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence.

Doug is recognised by clients and colleagues for his interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence. He sits on our Early Career Professional (ECP) Steering Committee, the purpose of which is to expand career development opportunities for recently qualified professionals. On the committee, Doug shapes a quarterly newsletter to engage, inform and connect ECPs, and conducts outreach to identify and address issues of importance across the ECP community, from professional to pastoral.

Philip Yu

Puget Sound Engineering Council named Philip 2023 Young Engineer of the Year for his “excellent work as a marine structural engineer.”

Philip joined Mott MacDonald in 2019, following his graduation, working on projects the length of the Washington State coast, as well as in California. Jetty and mooring designs for the Parks & Recreation Commission, National Park Service, San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, Port of Portland and the United States Forest Service have focused on optimising functionality for users, and capacity and cost-efficiency for owners.

Pushing the envelope of what we can do and how we do it is always a fulfilling experience.

“The most exciting part of civil engineering is the continuous innovation,” says Philip. “Being a part of that process – pushing the envelope of what we can do and how we do it – is always a fulfilling experience.”

The Engineering Council lauded Philip’s dedication to mentoring junior engineers, calling out his services as practitioner advisor to the student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers in Washington.