This year’s class of Top Young Professionals in the Midwest affirms that the future of design and construction in the region belongs to the firms that are willing to adapt and innovate. A consistent theme among the 20 standouts featured here is a dedication to improving practices and outcomes at both a company level and a national level. Some of these leaders, like Afolabi Sanusi, are creating and integrating new technologies that save significant time and money on projects. Others, like Shawn Walker, are breaking down barriers within project teams to improve results.

The drive for increased diversity in the industry is also a common refrain among this year’s class, which includes a notable representation of women and minorities. Many of these leaders are treading new ground within their respective firms while helping others follow their path. Some, like Alzira Maldonado Protsishin and Mirela Keserovic, are living the American dream as immigrants who strive to improve their new communities.

ENR Midwest’s Top Young Professionals program, which is held annually by all of ENR’s regional editions, recognizes young industry professionals, all under 40 years of age who are achieving excellence in their professional lives by exhibiting qualities of leadership, career progress, rapid experience and community involvement.

Qualified candidates must be based in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio or Wisconsin.

The 2024 class was selected by a panel of judges, consisting of former Top Young Professionals honorees. The jury included: Emily Hyland of HDR Inc.; Leslie Freeman of WT Group; Kyle Roberts of Burns & McDonnell; Lisa Hoekenga of Michael Baker International; and Abbas Kachwalla of AECOM. Judges did not review applications from colleagues working at the same firm or with whom they had any conflicts of interest.

Read on to learn more about the young leaders who are guiding the future of architecture, engineering and construction in the Midwest region.

Zac Buckmiller
Well-rounded leader expands firm’s footprint in the Kansas City area
37, Kansas City Buildings Practice Lead
Garver
Kansas City, Mo.

As Garver’s Kansas City buildings practice lead, Buckmiller’s work is focused on designing the buildings that contribute to the Kansas City region’s rich architectural history. He has designed buildings ranging from brand new health care centers to corporate office space to multi-family apartments. A mechanical engineer by trade, his experience is expansive enough to be considered a generalist with the ability to design just about any facility type. While the firm has had a presence in the Kansas City area for years, Buckmiller is expanding the Garver brand into new markets across the region and offering clients a local expert and “one-stop shop” for structural, civil, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection engineering services. He led the charge to improve Revit and BIM standards at Garver as well as the processes for creating documents for the buildings team. He also created several engineering calculations that assist in project documentation and reduce project errors. In addition to being a professional engineer, Buckmiller obtained his master’s degree in business administration from University of Arkansas in 2015. He is also involved in Pillars, the local American Institute of Architects’ young professional leadership program. As a member of GenKC, a young professionals group through the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, he became a part of the executive committee and led the professional development subcommittee. Additionally, he was named to the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Centurions Program—a two-year development program for Kansas City’s emerging leaders. Buckmiller was recently nominated for Man/Woman of the Year by the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society after spending a year recruiting a team of family and friends to put on fundraising events. In total, his team raised more than $55,000.

Katie Caskey
Gives communities a voice in transportation projects
37, Minnesota/Wisconsin Strategic Communications Manager, Associate
HDR
Saint Louis Park, Minn.

Before ground can be broken or ribbons can be cut, Caskey ensures that projects are a welcome part of a community. As a community outreach specialist, she leverages her passion for the built environment’s power to shape communities combined with her background in architecture and transportation planning. Caskey aims to give communities—especially those historically left out—a voice in decision-making on infrastructure projects that have the potential to impact and improve quality of life. Equity and diversity are the foundation of Caskey’s practice and her commitment to the teams she works with to implement meaningful and successful community outreach strategies. Caskey translates complex concepts to diverse audiences and brings robust knowledge of transportation issues and trends. She leads both a team of communications professionals and community outreach and engagement programs for both public agencies and private enterprise. In four years, she grew her team from six to 24 members, maintaining a 100% retention rate through the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, her team led 89 projects with a value of $13.2 million. Previously, Caskeyheld roles at public agencies including serving as policy planning director at the Minnesota Dept. of Transportation. While at MnDOT, she piloted a tool called VideoAsk, enabling community members to record answers to questions via voice, video or text in four different languages—Somali, Hmong, Spanish and English. She also conceptualized and managed the development of a funding tool for MnDOT called “Follow the Money” to help community members understand the challenges of MnDOT’s planning work.

Ariel Castillo
Drives digital transformation at 100-year-old firm
34, Innovation Manager
Miller-Davis Co.
Kalamazoo, Mich.

As innovation manager at Miller-Davis Co., Castillo drives digital transformation at the 100-year-old firm. Under his guidance, the firm transitioned to utilizing multiple technological solutions to enhance employee development, project management, preconstruction and field activities. Deriving experience from his work both stateside and abroad, he has played a key role in international projects that involved the implementation of building information modeling. He has also been called upon to tackle office-to-field technology implementations in Latin America. “His tenacity to drive change has successfully instilled a digital-first mentality within Miller-Davis, fundamentally reshaping the company’s culture and approach to embracing innovation,” says Nicole Marques, business development manager at Miller-Davis. Since becoming a CM-BIM instructor for the Associated General Contractors of America in 2018, Castillo has instructed more than 15 AGC BIM courses, totaling 500-plus hours. His courses have been taught at AGC chapters as well as part of international courses in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Qatar. In 2023, he became an active member of the AGC’s Information Technology Committee. He is also an associate professor for Universidad Iberoamericana in the Dominican Republic.

Corie Foley
Mentors women in construction to find paths to leadership
31, Vice President
ARCO/Murray
Milwaukee

A 2015 graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, Foley advanced from project manager at ARCO/Murray to director of operations to vice president in just seven years. As vice president, she was charged with the strategic planning, opening and running ARCO’s first office in Milwaukee. Her responsibilities included completing market analyses, research, networking, business development, office leasing and expanding ARCO’s pipeline in the city. Meanwhile, she balanced her role as a director of operations for the Tenant Solutions division, overseeing the operations of $137 million of design-build projects that year. Foley developed an onboarding program for new hires, which consists of a six-month training platform and mentorship program. She also created, refined and optimized team policies and procedures for estimating, preconstruction, construction, closeout and field operations. Foley is the driving force behind ARCO’s annual Women in Construction Week event, which grew from one location in 2019 to four national markets last year. She also helped plan a camp at ARCO’s Downers Grove office in 2023 that aimed to empower middle-school and high-school-age girls—95% of whom come from challenging circumstances—to improve their self-confidence and gain the skills they need to become future leaders.

Emily Foote
Young leader on multiple mega-projects for Bechtel
35, Area Manager
Bechtel Corp.
New Albany, Ohio

Since joining Bechtel 12 years ago, Foote has amassed an impressive record on projects that create jobs, grow the economy, enhance national security and increase access to energy. As area manager, she helps lead Bechtel’s semiconductor facility project in New Albany, Ohio, and is responsible for the safe execution of over 5 million hours of work. Approximately 3,000 construction workers will be under her leadership at peak construction. The construction activities and subcontracts in her portfolio will total billions of dollars. As the area manager, she is responsible for construction of the main fabrication unit. Past Bechtel projects include the Uranium Processing Facility Project in Oak Ridge, Tenn., where she was an area superintendent for two of the four main plant buildings, and a Corpus Christi LNG project, where she was a piping superintendent and directly responsible for the safe execution of more than 150,000 hours of work. On her first major Bechtel project—a liquified natural gas plant in Gladstone, Australia—Foote identified the root cause of project delays in the tubular piling schedule. Her process improvement efforts enabled the recovery of more than 70 workdays in the schedule.

John Hoodjer
One of the youngest vice presidents in company history
38, Vice President; Group Manager
JE Dunn Construction
Omaha

An intern at JE Dunn Construction 16 years ago, Hoodjer is now one of the youngest vice presidents in the company’s 100-year history. During his first nine years at the firm, Hoodjer served in project management, field supervisory, scheduling and quality control roles. He worked across all industries, totaling 41 projects for some of Nebraska’s largest clients. In 2018 alone, he earned his MBA and joined the mission critical group. A year later, he was promoted to vice president. Today, he is the regional lead for the company’s largest client, overseeing 600 employees and their work across multiple projects, sites and states. He helped expand work with a confidential client from one to eight states, totaling over $2.6 billion worth of completed and current work for JE Dunn. He’s also helped grow the mission critical group as whole, which now accounts for 41% of JE Dunn’s Nebraska revenue. In 2018, Hoodjer was asked to serve as an adjunct professor for Metropolitan Community College. Since 2021, he has served as Industry Fellow of Construction Operations at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, where he helps improve university curriculum to ensure the workforce is prepared for success. He has also served on the board of the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction Industry Advisory Council since early 2023.

Dustin Hunt
Helped significantly expand construction services at HNTB
34, Project Manager, Construction Services
HNTB
Madison, Wis.

Since joining HNTB, Hunt has helped grow the construction services department by 333%, from three to 13 employees. He has worked directly with leadership since early in his career, earning recognition for his strategic contributions to project delivery, client relationships and key hires. Among his major accomplishments, Hunt took on a leadership role in winning a large infrastructure project in May 2023—the $150-million replacement of the I-39/90/94 bridges over the Wisconsin River. He led the three-year pursuit for HNTB and will serve as project manager. The four-year Wisconsin River Bridges project will be the largest in WisDOT southwest region history and one of the largest DOT projects ever in Wisconsin. Other projects include the $82-million reconstruction and expansion of Verona Road/U.S. 18, serving as electrical task lead. “Dustin is a doer who is making things happen for the community and in the industry,” says Ryan Luck, HNTB Wisconsin office construction services group director. “He represents a benchmark for younger employees who want to follow his path.”

Katie Kawczynski
First woman partner at VJS pushes for work-life balance
38, Partner and Director of Architecture
VJS Construction Services
Pewaukee, Wis.

Hired in 2014 as the first in-house architect at VJS Construction Services, Kawczynski is the first woman to ever hold a non-family partner/ownership position at the firm. Under her leadership, she has increased the firm’s design-build services by 400%. Kawczynski spearheads work-life integration and co-leads the diversity, equity and inclusion initiative at VJS and earned a certificate of diversity, equity, and inclusivity from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. A member of the Wisconsin chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women Network, she was awarded 2022 Woman of the Year. Last year, she was named 2023 Notable Woman in Construction and Design by the Milwaukee BizTimes. As the first and only woman partner/owner who is also a wife and a mother, Kawczynski brings a unique work-life perspective to the firm. She values the ability to be impactful in the workplace without having to sacrifice her family life. She advocates for company culture at VJS that supports work-life integration, allowing flexibility in terms of when, where and how employees do their work. “The next generation of women should not have to work twice as hard for three-fourths the pay just to see success,” Kawczynski says. “I want this to change. I want to be part of this change.”

Mirela Keserovic
From Croatia to Chicago, delivering structural engineering excellence
36, Structural Engineer
AECOM
Chicago

Two days after earning her master’s degree in engineering at the University of Rijeka in Croatia, Keserovic moved to the U.S., started a five-day-per-week internship at AECOM and attended night school for almost two years to validate her diploma from Croatia. That set off a career that led to Keserovic working on some of biggest projects over the last 11 years for AECOM’s Chicago bridge group. Her work includes award-winning projects, such as the 41st Street Pedestrian Bridge over Lake Shore Drive project, which won over 20 industry awards. Another of her projects, the $793-million Jane Byrne Interchange in downtown Chicago, won a National ACEC Honor Award. Keserovic was a structural team leader for the $700-million I-35 Northeast Expansion Central Project in Bexar and Guadalupe counties in Texas. The project included two elevated bridges—each almost four miles long—and a complex interchange involving two direct connectors with columns up to 100 feet tall. Keserovic is a member of WTS International and the American Society of Civil Engineers. She has also participated in diversity, equity and inclusion panels, advocating that everyone should have equal opportunities to learn, grow and succeed.

Sri Kumar
Assumed a leadship role in his 20s, now president and CEO
34, President and CEO
Connico
Hebron, Ky.

As president and CEO of Connico, Kumar focuses on investing in Connico’s people, building strong relationships with the firm’s partners and leveraging the team’s diverse knowledge base to deliver client solutions. He joined the firm in 2011, and five years later he was appointed the youngest member of the leadership team at Connico. His 12 years of project experience include construction scheduling and estimating, onsite project administration and engineering, program administration and construction observation. His industry leadership includes serving on the Airport Consultants Council board and the ACC Foundation board. He is also formerly the president and a board member of the Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers Northern Kentucky chapter. In 2023, he was named New Professional Engineer of the Year by the National Society of Professional Engineers and Kentucky New Professional Engineer of the Year by the Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers.

Maria Kurniati
Critical consultant on WisDOT traffic management technology
35, Transportation Engineer
TranSmart Technologies
Milwaukee

Since 2018, Kurniati has worked with the WisDOT Traffic Management Center as a systems engineer, providing engineering support for software, communication networks and field device hardware and software. In her current role at WisDOT TMC, she also serves as a representative for the department when collaborating with other departments within WisDOT. Her collaboration with the Bureau of Information Technology Services, for example, ensures smooth project execution by coordinating infrastructure requirements for software and network deployment projects. Kurniati is involved in several professional organizations, including the Intelligent Transportation Society, Wisconsin chapter. She took on the role of chairperson for the 2022 ITS Wisconsin Transportation conference. Over eight months, she led a committee of more than 20 members, dedicating her time to conference preparation.

Krista Kutter
Boosting business and nuturing company culture
39, Marketing Director
McCownGordon
Kansas City, Mo.

Since starting with McCownGordon as an intern in 2007, Kutter has played a key role in marketing programs that contributed to the company’s 500% growth in sales during her tenure. As the Kansas City Business Unit marketing leader, she helps drive strategy, business planning, staffing and financials for the $600-plus million business unit. She also leads the marketing planning and strategy, development, positioning and execution for the Kansas City regional business unit and provides corporate branding and leadership for the firm’s four offices. “She is known for always looking at how we can ‘take it to the next level’ as a team and company, all while helping the team balance the expanding workload of a fast-growing company,” says Sheri Johnson, chief marketing officer at McCownGordon. As one of McCownGordon’s longest-tenured associates, Kutter has been a part of several initiatives to develop the culture of the company. As a member of the “Culture Quad” at McCownGordon, she led a recent project to define, share and activate a winning culture across the enterprise. She led the process of analyzing the company’s culture, defining it and creating tools to help describe the culture and the actions that could be taken to develop and maintain that culture. As a member of the Service Marketing Professionals Society, she chaired the Marketers on the Move initiative and served as a mentor in the program in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, she earned the SMPS- KC Chapter Award of Excellence for Internal Communications. She is a graduate of the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce's Leadership program.

Parker Logan
After years of project success, now leads efforts to reshape processes
36, Department Manager, Refining Construction
Burns & McDonnell
Kansas City, Mo.

Over his career, Logan has assumed increased responsibility on large critical projects for Burns & McDonnell, beginning as site manager on a warehouse expansion project to most recently acting as project manager for a 35,000-barrel-per-day $1.4-billion renewable diesel project that was delivered ahead of schedule and under budget with more than 5 million work hours in the field. Following years of success, he was recently promoted to department manager of refining construction at Burns & McDonnell. Logan has been a part of several corporate initiatives to help shape and refine construction execution processes. As a member of the Corporate Technology Implementation Steering Committee, he led platform selection and development for technology initiatives that bridged construction industry needs with current software platforms. He’s a leader in training programs for young construction management professionals, teaching the fundamentals of construction administration and change management programs. Logan has also been involved in mapping career path development plans for young construction professionals. This effort includes development of mentorship plans, career path road maps and follow-up with young professionals to make sure they are getting a cross-section of exposure in the industry and developing their skills to become industry leaders. He has also participated in the Engineering and Construction Contracting Association Future Leaders Program. Outside of work, contributions to his community include working with Boys & Girls Club, Literacy KC, Ronald McDonald House and Cornerstones of Care, where he led the scoping, development and execution of a large garden and orchard expansion.

Megan McPhilimy
Chicago native aims to make communities more livable
33, Senior Transportation Planner
STV
Chicago

A Chicago region native, McPhilimy strives to improve multimodal transportation throughout the Chicago Metropolitan area. She first focused on transportation issues as an undergraduate at Northwestern University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in urban studies and art history. She was particularly inspired by an urban planning course that she took during a semester studying abroad in Copenhagen. “The experience opened my eyes to observing how cities operate and how to design livable communities that ensure access for all,” she says. At STV, McPhilimy serves as task manager for a major Chicago region bus agency’s fleet electrification transition and facility plan and is part of STV’s program management team for a Chicago commuter rail transit project. She is a member of the Transport Chicago—an annual conference that provides a forum for exchanging knowledge in transportation research, policy and practice. McPhilimy also volunteers with the Chicago Architecture Center’s Open House Chicago event—a free public festival that offers history and architecture tours.

Alzira Maldonado Protsishin
Promotes pathways for young Latinas to enter the design industry
39, Senior Design Architect
EXP US Services
Chicago

In her 10 years with EXP, Protsishin has risen through the ranks from intern to now one of the youngest leaders in the firm. After earning a bachelor’s degree in architecture at Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota, Colombia, she received master’s in architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology. During her second year of graduate school, Protsishin joined EXP as an intern and remained on as an architectural designer upon graduation. She has been a key contributor on several high-profile, award-winning projects, including the CTA Washington/Wabash Elevated Station, the CTA 95th Street/Dan Ryan Intermodal Terminal Station and the U.S. Courthouse in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Protsishin regularly participates in design critiques, workshops and presentations for both undergraduate and graduate level students, promoting design excellence, diversity and inclusion at her alma mater, Illinois Institute of Technology. As an immigrant Latina, Protsishin is committed to serving as a mentor at Arquitina, encouraging other Latina architects to pursue licensure in the U.S.

Eric Reinsch
Structural engineer with a keen understanding of business
39, Principal/Client Executive
IMEG
Rock Island, Ill.

As a client executive at IMEG, Reinsch leads his team and develops his client base while working as a licensed professional engineer on projects in higher education, K-12, health care, housing, commercial and industrial facilities. He joined IMEG as a structural engineer in 2007, after earning a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Iowa State University. He earned a master’s in business administration from the University of Iowa in 2015 and was named project executive in 2018. In 2021, he was promoted to client executive, leading IMEG’s national structural engineering team and managing more than 30 team members across six offices—four in the Midwest and two in India. Reinsch is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Institute of Steel Construction and the Structural Engineering Institute, where he is former president of the Quad-Cities chapter. Through his work with Junior Achievement and other philanthropic activities, he introduces young people to STEM careers and helps build interest in the architecture, construction and engineering fields.

Afolabi Sanusi
Spearheads innovations that save millions of dollars on megaprojects
29, Advanced Work Packaging Manager
Bechtel Corp.
New Albany, Ohio

Sanusi has made it his mission to simplify the construction of megaprojects. At Bechtel, he has been a champion of the development and adoption of new technologies in the industry, which led to him receiving three Bechtel Innovation of the Year awards inside the company. He is currently the advanced work packaging manager for a semiconductor facility megaproject in Ohio. By implementing innovations, his efforts are expected to save tens of thousands of work hours over the course of a project that will peak with 7,000 craft professionals. Sanusi implemented automation and digital delivery programs on a number of megaprojects projects, including the Cricket Valley Energy Center, a combined-cycle power generation plant; Pennsylvania Chemicals, a facility producing 1.6 million annual tons of plastic; and Southfield Energy Project, a combined-cycle power generation plant transitioning from coal to liquefied natural gas. He also worked on the Cutlass Solar 1 project, a 700-acre solar farm in Texas that implemented a 100% digital execution model. Among his innovations, he developed an app called Book Builder. Field engineers pull information from multiple sources to create “books” for each job. The app connects those sources and synthesizes the information into a book in seconds. Each book created by Book Builder replaces 30 minutes of labor. In 2018 alone, Book Builder saved an estimated 27,000 hours.

Katherine Waldrop
Helped civic studio nearly triple revenue in three years
34, Associate Vice President, Project Architect
Hoefer Welker
Leawood, Kan.

For the past six years, Waldrop has been singularly focused on civic projects. She was promoted to associate vice president in 2020 and currently manages Hoefer Welker’s civic studio, which has grown from $2 million to $6 million in revenue since 2018. After earning a master’s degree in architecture from Kansas State University in 2013, Waldrop focused her efforts on gaining diverse project experience in health care, education, multifamily, corporate and civic architecture. Today, she is responsible for overseeing projects from ideation to construction management and completion for police departments, courthouses, government offices, civic centers and fire stations. Recent work includes the Lawrence Police Dept. Headquarters, Independence Communications Center and the KCK Police Dept. South Patrol Campus. Waldrop has participated in the AIA Kansas City Pillars Leadership program and served as president of the Kansas City Architectural Foundation, raising money for student scholarships.

Shawn Walker
Builds better relationships between different trades
35, Site Manager
Fluor
East Chicago, Ind.

From learning the trades as a boilermaker apprentice to now serving as a site manager, Walker works to build better relationships between different crafts. After a four-year apprenticeship at SunCoke Energy’s Indiana Harbor site, he joined Fluor in 2012 and progressed from foreman and general foreman to site superintendent in just two years. For the past six years, since age 28, he’s led all of Fluor’s maintenance and small capital projects at the Indiana Harbor site. Today, he manages 60 union craft employees that can peak up to 180 employees for key projects. After becoming site manager, he helped adjust contract management approaches, resulting in millions of dollars in savings. Recently, his team developed a plan to safely replace the facility’s stack while the unit was operating. The team safely performed five critical lifts over four, 24-hour days, with some lifts weighing nearly 100,000 lb. The approach prevented the unit from being offline for a month, resulting in significant cost savings.

Kendall Williamson
Improves community relations and creates opportunities through DEI
32, Regional Manager of Community and Industry Engagement
AECOM Hunt
Chicago

Prior to joining the construction industry four years ago, Williamson worked in higher education, primarily focusing on creating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Today, he manages all engagement and DEI operations for AECOM’s Hunt’s Central region, including the recent Joint Public Safety Training Campus project in Chicago. Prior to the start of construction, the JPSTC project was met with significant community resistance and opposition from City Council members. Under Williamson’s leadership, innovative and creative outreach strategies led to 15% of total workforce hired from local community, 61% of journeypersons were minority, 85% of laborers were minority and 21% of apprentices were women. He serves on the DEI Committee for Chicago’s Chapter of Professional Women in Construction. For the second consecutive year, Kendall was selected to be a diversity ambassador for the Chicago Build Expo. Williamson also serves as the volunteer lead for AECOM Hunt’s Chicago office, partnering with such organizations as Greater Chicago Food Depository, Good Kids Mad City, Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago and My Block, My Hood, My City.