The judges selected ENR Texas & Louisiana’s 2018 class of Top Young Professionals based on the following criteria: industry experience and education; career and industry leadership; and community service and involvement. This year’s panel of expert judges included:

Kelly Carpenter
Director of Education Baton Rouge Training Center
Associated Builders and Contractors, Pelican Chapter

In 2005, Carpenter joined the ABC Pelican Chapter to work with a team of people who share a common goal of training tomorrow’s workforce.

In August 2016, she assumed the role of director of education at the chapter. Carpenter has spent the last 12 years working with some of Louisiana’s elite industrial-construction leaders and training the next generation of skilled craftspeople. Carpenter’s previous work experience includes 10 years at the Williamson Eye Center as director of human resources. During her tenure, she managed four offices with a team of 68 technicians and administrative personnel.

Jing Johnson
President
PRISM

After working for more than 10 years at various architecture firms, Johnson knew that by using Chinese architectural visualization experts to quickly produce work, clients could reallocate their internal staff to more billable work. She developed an efficient production process, acting as the intermediary between clients and the production team, and in 2005, she founded PRISM to help clients leverage their project imagery as a business tool.

She now oversees all PRISM operations and leads the firm’s strategic planning. Johnson has final accountability for client satisfaction, working closely with development and design organizations.

She earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s in architecture from Hunan University in China, then relocated to Houston, where she earned a second master’s degree from the University of Houston. She then went on to Rice University for her MBA. Before starting PRISM, Johnson worked for Houston architecture firms Irvine Team, Kirksey and Perkins + Will.

Travis Woodard
Principal Business Unit Leader-Development
CSRS

Before his current role as a business-development leader, Woodard served as program manager for a $550-million bonded roadway improvement program. His teams work on projects that range from public private partnership-funded student housing at Louisiana State University to prototype development for the restaurant group Raising Canes.

Woodard is a graduate of Louisiana Tech and lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, Abbie, and four children. His volunteer work includes a four-year term on the Baton Rouge Library board, working as a mentor in the Future Cities competition and serving several local nonprofits that help young people. Woodard’s free time is dedicated to outdoor pursuits of all types, but his passions are spearfishing and free diving.

Jennifer Woodruff
Vice President Marketing & Communications
Associated Builders and Contractors, Greater Houston

Woodruff is responsible for all internal and external communications as well as media relations for ABC Greater Houston. She also serves as the executive editor for Build Houston magazine and Texas Merit Shop Journal.

Over the last decade, Woodruff has led her organization into the digital realm, establishing brand identity on social media platforms to engage leaders and professionals in the construction industry.

Woodruff works with the East Harris County Manufacturers Association’s PetrochemWorks initiative as the chair of the communications committee and serves on the training communication committee for C3. In her personal time, she recently started a community-caring initiative called Swag Bags for Seniors, where individuals provide necessities and care packages for senior citizens who live in assisted-living and memory-care facilities.

Related Article: Texas & Louisiana's 2018 Top Young Professionals