ENR East's 2026 Top Young Professionals Impress Industry Judges
Marlon Bess, project manager at Leeding Builders Group in New York City, is among this year's crop of ENR East Top Young Professionals.
ENR East is proud to announce its 2026 Top Young Professionals, emerging leaders who are shaping the future of design and construction across the region,
Those to be recognized were judged from a strong field of entries drawn from across the East region, which now includes Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
ENR East encompasses states that previously fell under ENR MidAtlantic, ENR New York and ENR New England. The format for the competition remains the same as last year. Judges evaluated more than 100 entries to choose the Top 25 professionals in the region under the age of 40. Judges did not score entries from individuals employed at their firm or where a conflict of interest existed.
This year’s judges were:
André Barbour, diversity and inclusion director at NEI General Contracting; Brian Derr, vice president of infrastructure engineering at The LiRo Group; Qianyu Hu, assistant district engineer at the Maryland Dept. of Transportation; Rod Jones, senior project manager at Holder Construction; and Lili Liang, deputy director of Maryland Dept. of Transportation State Highway Administration.
Selected young professionals will be featured in the Feb. 2, 2026 edition of ENR East, highlighting career achievements, industry impact and contributions to community.
Below is the list of the 2026 ENR East Top Young Professionals listed in alphabetical order by last name.
Congratulations to all!
Marlon Bess, project manager. Leeding Builders Group, New York City
Rafiqul Chowdhury, president and founder, Quadrant Engineering, Astoria, N.Y.
Robert "Bob" Dieterle Jr., associate director, Delta Consulting Group, Abington, Pa.
Kenneth Donald, senior project engineer and carbon reduction lead, VHB, Watertown, Mass.
Lori Ferriss, executive director and co-founder, Built Buildings Lab, Boston
Alicia Heinsen, senior associate, KSS Architects, Philadelphia
Freddys L. Hernandez, assistant commissioner, NYC Dept. of Design and Construction, Long Island City, N.Y.
Christopher Hoffman, co-business unit leader, D.C.-Baltimore, DPR Construction, Reston, Va.
Michael Hopper, associate partner, LERA Consulting Structural Engineers, New York City
Dimitra Karachaliou, associate vice president at AECOM, New York City
Kevin Khemraj, vice president, Welkin Mechanical LLC, an Iovino Enterprises company, Great Neck, N.Y.
Caleb Krauter, group manager | water & wastewater at Herbert, Rowland & Grubic Inc., Harrisburg, Pa.
Alison Love, senior associate and engineer, STV, Boston
David Samba, civil engineer, Kimley-Horn, Herndon, Va.
Gina Semerad, director, HVAC at Jaros, Baum & Bolles, New York City
Andrew Shalhoub, associate and section manager, Burns & McDonnell, Morristown, N.J.
Sajid H. Sheikh, senior vice president of construction and program management, Enovate, Berkeley Heights, N.J.
Lauren Simone, director of learning and development and lean construction, W. M. Jordan Co., Newport News, Va.
Marilisa Stigliano, chief operating officer, infrastructure solutions, AtkinsRéalis, New York City
Celine Sze, project manager, AECOM, New York City
Adnan Taqui, project manager, Jacobs, Boston
K. James Taylor Jr., northeast area government market sector leader, Verdantas, Wilmington, Del.
Lauren Underwood, northeast division manager, Apex Companies, Quincy, Mass.
Will Wagner, manager of business development, Bechtel, Reston, Va.
Brigid Wright, project manager, Leeding Builders Group, New York City
