After weeks of review, an independent panel of judges has selected 20 individuals as ENR Southwest’s 2023 Top Young Professionals. This annual awards program recognizes 20 individuals under 40 years of age in each of ENR's 10 regions who have shown exceptional leadership and service throughout their career.

Firms from Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico submitted entries into this year’s contest. These individuals were then judged by three primary criteria: industry experience and education; career and industry leadership; and community service and involvement.

Our team of independent industry judges was split into teams to tackle the numerous entries and did not score any applicants with whom there could have been a conflict of interest.

We’d like to thank this year's esteemed judging panel for all their efforts in identifying this year's winners:

Scott Elliot, director of business development, EPS Group Inc.
Ali Fakih, principal, Sustainability Engineering Group (SEG)
Erica Lange, vice president, Arizona Builders Alliance
Ben Mlinar, project executive, Rosendin

Winners from each regional class will be put forward for consideration in the national round of judging, which will decide ENR’s 2023 Top 20 Under 40. The national winners will be celebrated at ENR’s annual Top Young Professionals conference, which will be held March 8-10 in New Orleans. A save the date and call for presentations will be going out about the event in the coming weeks.

Our 2023 Top Young Professionals (in alphabetical order by last name) are included below. Please be sure to read more about these rising young leaders in the January 16, 2023 issue of ENR Southwest.

Congratulations!

Sugar Avina, Safety Manager, Hensel Phelps, Phoenix
Tyler Besch, Vice President, Transit-Rail Deputy Division Manager, US West Transportation, AECOM, Phoenix
Brittany Burbes, Project Executive, DPR Construction, Phoenix
Rumpa Dey, Arizona Emerging Technology Leader/Group Manager, AECOM, Phoenix
Eric Geisler, Director - Las Vegas, Shawmut Design and Construction, Las Vegas
Andrew Gillett, Vice President, Preconstruction Commercial Group, McCarthy Building Cos. Inc., Phoenix
Tamara Hashimoto, Geotechnical Department Manager, Terracon Consultants Inc., Las Vegas
Bill Hornaday, Senior Project Manager, The Weitz Co., Phoenix
Tory Jackson, Transportation Emergency Management Lead, HDR, Las Vegas
Aaron Ketner, Associate/Director of Sustainability, Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, Albuquerque
Kimberly Martin, Senior Engineer - Innovation & Sustainability, Keller, Phoenix
Andrew Moreno, Assistant Traffic Group Manager/Project Engineer, AZTEC Engineering Group Inc., Phoenix
Sanjay Paul, PhD, Desert Southwest Area Traffic Business Class Leader, HDR, Albuquerque
Riley Rasmussen, Project Director, Barker Contracting Inc., Tucson
Dustin Ridley, Southwest Region VDC Leader, DPR Construction, Phoenix
Tremain Roseman, Project Manager, Giroux Glass Inc., Las Vegas
Sean Samsel, Vice President/Principal/Arizona Regional Manager, Psomas, Tucson
Curtis Smith, Project Controls Manager, Sundt Construction Inc., Tempe, Ariz.
Gregg Stoneham, Project Superintendent, Hensel Phelps, Phoenix
Laura Toprowski, Department Manager, Construction in Phoenix, Burns & McDonnell, Phoenix