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ON THE MOVE OHM ADVISORS ANNOUNCES THREE NEW SHAREHOLDERS OHM Advisors ’ board of directors and partners announced the addition of three new shareholders: Lambrina Tercala P.E., ENV SP, George Tsakoff, P.E., and Matt Wendling, P.E. The partners were recently elected to the 57-year-old firm’s ownership group by fellow owners and partners. The announcement was made by OHM Advisors Board Chairman James Houk. The new shareholders, nominated from among the firm’s many outstanding professionals, represent a range of disciplines, experience levels, and specialties. Each is recognized for their contributions within the firm, and dedicated service to clients and colleagues. The role of the shareholder is to contribute to the firm’s leadership and success, elect board members and future shareholders, and exercise voice in the future direction of the company. “The addition of these three professionals to our partner group enables us to continue our aggressive growth strategy going forward,” said Houk. “As OHM Advisors continues to expand our national footprint, our shareholders’ commitment to our Advancing Communities mission will be instrumental
in the company’s success in 2019 and beyond.” Lambrina Tercala started her career with OHM Advisors in 2014 as a wastewater design engineer in the firm’s environmental water resources group. She has a deep strategic and business aptitude that lends itself to identifying growth opportunities and improved project performance. Lambrina is a graduate from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental studies and is an alumna of the 2018 OHM Grad School program – a focused 12-month curriculum that prepares OHM Advisors’ next generation of leaders. George Tsakoff joined OHM Advisors’ Municipal Group in 2014 and immediately took on responsibilities with several long-standing municipal clients. In four years, he has grown a team within the firm’s municipal group that now leads five clients and more than $1 million in revenue as a principal-in-charge and senior project manager. With more than 20 years of experience, Tsakoff provides leadership for several major municipal partners in southeast Michigan. Tsakoff earned a bachelor’s degree in civil
engineering from Michigan State University and an master’s degree in civil engineering from Wayne State University. Matt Wendling, P.E., has more than 22 years’ experience that includes feasibility studies, alternatives analysis, structural design, roadway design, non-motorized network design, wetland mitigation oversight and a variety of projects with the Corps of Engineers and various local agencies. He serves as OHM Advisors’ Michigan Transportation Practice Leader. Wendling served 13 years in the U.S. Army, including two years stationed in Germany. He continues to serve through volunteering with his local American Legion Post. Wendling earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Michigan State University. OHM Advisors is the community advancement firm. Founded in 1962, OHM Advisors delivers award-winning work across the architecture, engineering, and planning spheres. With more than 450 employees in 14 offices throughout Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, the OHM Advisors team partners with leaders at all levels of government, school districts, developers, universities, and private companies, to create great places.
LAND OF 10,000 LAKES, from page 7
a timely manner. As an engineer with experience in design-build procurement and team coaching, speak to the pitfalls of this form of project delivery, and how to avoid them. MC: Risk management is a major factor in design-build proj- ects. Again, assigning risk to the party that can best manage it is key in all types of project delivery. Design-build project success is also dependent on a collaborative environment. If you’re unable to build a collaborative team environment with the contractor, your project will struggle. TZL: If you were sitting in a classroom with high school students, what would you tell them about the opportu- nities and lifestyle a career in civil engineering can pro- vide? MC: Just like any job, civil engineering is what you make of it. There are so many opportunities within this civil en- gineering industry that include career paths in transporta- tion, municipal, water, wastewater, structures, environmen- tal, etc. I encourage people to find their passion and pursue it. I’ve been fortunate throughout my career and civil engi- neering has helped me build both personal and professional successes. I’ve had several opportunities to work on some incredibly challenging and character-building projects. To me, the challenges inspire me. Watching the public react to a project that has improved their lives is satisfying. Civil en- gineering is solving problems that are environmentally sen- sitive, it’s shortening someone’s commute, it’s rebuilding a bridge after tragedy struck, or improving the safety of an intersection. From the outside, it may not appear the most glamorous of positions, but from a public service perspec- tive, it’s extraordinarily rewarding.
monitor the safety of structures across the United States, resulting in increased safety of structures. The public sup- port for this project and the communication across multi- ple stakeholder groups was outstanding. We took a well-bal- anced approach and combined it with a highly-functioning team that showed the world the best of civil engineering. “Empowering my team is important and it is not my job to make every decision or micromanage, but rather help solve challenges and act as a resource for success. I want my team to feel that they have the confidence to make decisions at the right level.” TZL: You have experience with public-private partner- ships. What’s the biggest key in making sure risk is prop- erly managed, and to delivering the project as planned? MC: I have a lot of experience with alternative delivery and the key to making sure risk is properly managed is ensuring it is assigned to the party that can most effectively manage it. Largely, projects fail over time due to poor communica- tion. I believe that beginning projects with aggressive and frequent communication forms a foundation for success. TZL: Design-build is a way to complete a project in
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THE ZWEIG LETTER April 29, 2019, ISSUE 1294
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