Chamonix Larsen
Helped Utah implement its high-performance building standards
35, Project Manager
GSBS Architects
Salt Lake City

An established expert in renewable energy and green building, Chamonix Larsen helps clients understand how to hire commissioning agents and make decisions about building systems for long-term value. She also guides project teams on their path to creating net-zero energy facilities.

Larsen has helped advance energy efficiency in state buildings, capturing more than $5 million in energy savings, energy-analysis resources and energy-efficiency rebates for Utah. This, in turn, has allowed the state to reinvest in energy projects, avoid future energy costs and save more than 9 million kW hours annually through building efficiencies.

"We know buildings have the capacity to be more—more beautiful, more efficient, more resilient," Larsen says. "I don't think [Apple founder] Steve Jobs had to wait for an appraiser to tell him how valuable a phone with a camera and a touch screen would be. Imagine where we would be if our industry could evolve as fast as a smartphone."

David Mantel
Working on large, complex jobs doesn't daunt this project manager
38, Project Manager
URS Corp.
Denver

Nearly every project Dave Mantel has worked on during his engineering career has been a high-profile, landmark job in hot industry markets. His portfolio features dam construction, toll roads and highways, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers infrastructure work, rail construction and oil and gas development. Early projects included the Domenigoni Reservoir in California, Bath Iron Works transfer facility project in Maine and California's SR-125 toll road.

Mantel was recently the engineering manager on the a large levee project in New Orleans, trimming the schedule by four months and saving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers more than $50 million. Mantel leads design teams that include all engineering disciplines, even though his background is in heavy civil design-build work.

"The most challenging part of being a young professional is developing my communications skills to work with the varying personalities in the industry," Mantel says. "Each project has different client and team members and its success is largely dependent on the ability to communicate, compromise and resolve issues and conflicts in a timely fashion while working toward meeting the common goals of the project."

Drew Marlow
Architect's diverse skill sets serve him well in broad array of markets
30, Associate and Project Architect
Acquilano Leslie Inc.
Denver

Drew Marlow juggles the roles of designer, technical architect, business development, project manager and even CAD technician. That job skill diversity has served him well in his commercial design, which includes work on corporate, hospitality, gaming, resort and light medical facilities.

Marlow has worked on projects ranging from 6,000 sq ft to 1 million sq ft. Most recently, he was part of the team that completed the 250,000-sq-ft DaVita Dialysis world headquarters in Denver's downtown.

When Marlow isn't engaged in projects, he leads the firm's marketing efforts. "Age doesn't always translate to experience," he says. "I expect to be competing against other senior service providers. In this industry, I may only have 30 minutes to show potential clients that I have the ability to deliver, and overcoming perceptions is a challenge I enjoy."

Robbi McKinney
Firm uses high-tech tools she created as visualization primer
33, GIS Analyst and Data Visualization Subdiscipline Lead
ARCADIS
Highlands Ranch, Colo.

Robbi McKinney has the uncommon moniker of "visualization leader" in ARCADIS' integrated technical services group. For one educational initiative, she created a video using a variety of software tools to reach everyone. McKinney integrated data from software programs AutoCad, TerraModel, ModFlow, EQuIS, GIS and others. Then she worked with a project team to create a 3D visualization tool for multiple tasks that has become a company mentoring tool.

"We all crave data served in an easily understood, artful format," McKinney says. "My toughest challenge is to stay ahead of the competition. That means being on the cusp of technology and keeping my clients and co-workers eager for more."

McKinney uses her multimedia skills to write her daily team site technical blog and prepares podcasts and PowerPoint presentations to illustrate complex processes and successful project deliverables. She also maintains two company Web pages to share information about visualization practices and to attract new clients.