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A true role model: Nathelyne A. Kennedy Zweig Group’s 2021 Jerry Allen Courage in Leadership Award winner on being nominated and what it meant to win the prestigious award.
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent
T he first award was given out in 2013. It’s Zweig Group’s Jerry Allen Courage in Leadership Award and each year since then it’s been awarded to someone working in an architecture, engineering, planning, or environmental firm who has made tremendous impacts on the company through courageous leadership. The award winner is someone who has overcome obstacles to advance their firm to a new level of success. Nominees can be in any role and come from firms of all sizes and types. Nathelyne A. Kennedy, founder, president, and CEO of Nathelyne A. Kennedy & Associates, Inc., a Houston-based civil engineering firm, was the award recipient in 2021 and says she was very much surprised – and pleasantly so. “I knew nothing about receiving the award,” she says. “I felt elated that WSB thought this much of me; I was so proud.” After engineering and consulting firm WSB (Minneapolis,
MN) acquired NAK in 2019, it chose to nominate Kennedy because of her impressive career and the impact she’s made on the industry. “She leads by example, cultivates relationships, and has built a reputation for herself,” says Bret Weiss, CEO of WSB. “She’s faced many challenges along her tenured career, but they never got in the way of her building one of the most successful, black, female-owned engineering firms in Texas. She’s one-of-a-kind and deserved to be recognized for her impressive career and advocacy efforts over the years. She’s a true role model and an example of great strength and tenacity.” Weiss adds that they’re fortunate to still have her as part of their team, ensuring that their clients receive the same exceptional service to which they’ve become accustomed. “She supports our business development efforts around
THE ZWEIG LETTER JU
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