Industry Judges Select ENR 2026 National Top 20 Under 40

ENR debuts the 2026 U.S. list of Top Young Professionals, with industry judges selecting 20 of the most industrious young minds from more than 400 entries received last summer during the regional competitions, with winners representing construction markets across the country and Puerto Rico.

This year's group—listed below—will be recognized during an event in New York City on March 25, and also featured in a cover story and photo spread to be published in the ENR May 11, 2026 print issue. The feature story will include professional insights and perspectives from the recipients related to industry's most pressing challenges.

Panels of independent judges selected winners to represent each of the five ENR regions. A national team of judges then reviewed highest scoring candidates from each regional contest to determine national award winners. 

A special thanks to this year's national team of judges: 

• Emma Bones, project manager, Dewberry


• Sadia Janjua, digital transformation & special projects 

office of the chief operating officer, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey

• Jake Schmidt, project development director, FCI Constructors Inc. 

Regional Top 20 Under 40 winners will be featured early next year in respective ENR regional magazines.

If you know an outstanding candidate under 40 years of age to be considered for emerging leader recognition next year, don’t miss your chance to submit an entry to ENR’s regional competition when it goes live next summer. 

For more information about the contest, visit www.enr.com/top-young-professionals. 

ENR's 2026 National Top 20 Under 40 professionals are listed below in alphabetical order by last name. Congratulations! 

Sharod Alford, Project Field Engineering Manager, Bechtel. Originally submitted to ENR Midwest

Chase Anderson, associate principal, Thornton Tomasetti. Originally submitted to ENR Texas & Southeast

Jamal Atkins, vice president of construction engineering and inspection, Volkert Inc. Originally submitted to ENR Texas & Southeast

Rafiqul Chowdhury, president & founder, Quadrant Engineering. Originally submitted to ENR East

Lori Ferriss, executive director and co-founder, Built Buildings Lab and principal consultant, Cameron MacAllister Group. Originally submitted to ENR East

Rajat Gangrade, technical advisor – geotechnical and tunneling, HNTB. Originally submitted to ENR West

Freddys L. Hernandez, assistant commissioner, NYC Dept. of Design and Construction. Originally submitted to ENR East

Christopher Hoffman, co-business unit leader, DC/Baltimore, DPR Construction. Originally submitted to ENR East

Michelle Hoysick, greater west transportation business development director, AECOM. Originally submitted to ENR Mountain States & Southwest

Melanie Jefferies, chief operating officer, engineering services, Milhouse Engineering and Construction Inc. Originally submitted to ENR Midwest

Tiffany Mok, senior design manager, Hensel Phelps. Originally submitted to ENR West

Nathan Mozeleski, technical manager, ITS/Traffic, AtkinsRéalis. Originally submitted to ENR Texas & Southeast

Dhruv Patel, president of renewable energy, McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. Originally submitted to ENR Mountain States & Southwest

Pramodh Reddy, senior project manager, PCL Construction. Originally submitted to ENR West

Gina Semerad, principal, HVAC, Jaros, Baum & Bolles. Originally submitted to ENR East

Lauren Simone, director of learning & development and lean construction, W. M. Jordan Co. Originally submitted to ENR East

Amber Smith, marketing director, Kiewit. Originally submitted to ENR Mountain States & Southwest

Stephanie Tovar, superintendent, Flintco. Originally submitted to ENR Texas & Southeast

Jane Wilberding, senior mobility manager, HNTB Corp. Co-Founder, Parking Reform Network. Originally submitted to ENR Midwest

Emilee Woods, founder, managing partner, Athena Engineering. Originally submitted to ENR Texas & Southeast