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ON THE MOVE SHERI WILLIAMSON PROMOTED TO STV VICE PRESIDENT Sheri Williamson, P.E., a seasoned project manager and leader who has overseen significant transportation initiatives benefiting commuters and motorists in the Southeastern United States, has been promoted to vice president of STV . With more than 25 years of engineering experience, Williamson boasts an extensive background in transportation project management and design, and site design, having led numerous roadway/bridge improvement initiatives on behalf of the South Carolina Department of Transportation and Georgia Department of Transportation. Previous award-winning efforts include her work as project manager on a new Orangeburg pedestrian bridge for SCDOT and as project manager/lead engineer for the Fort Mill Southern Bypass initiative. Both projects were recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineers South Carolina Section Board, with the latter winning Project of the Year. Williamson also serves on the board of directors for ACEC in South Carolina. For the past year-and-a-half, she has overseen STV’s business operations and business development in South Carolina. In this role Williamson is supervising the Carolina

Crossroads project, a $1.5 billion corridor improvement program in Richland and Lexington Counties that is currently the largest transportation project in South Carolina. The program aims to improve connectivity within the I-20/I-26/I-126 corridor and has been cited as SCDOT’s number one interstate priority. Williamson earned her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is a licensed professional engineer in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. MOODY NOLAN ARCHITECT TROY SHERRARD NAMED AIA FELLOW The American Institute of Architects has elevated Columbus architect Troy Sherrard to Fellow, the most coveted and prestigious honor in U.S. architecture. Sherrard, a partner at Moody Nolan and a leader in the firm’s sports and recreation design practice, was one of 152 Fellows named nationwide and will accept the honor June 22 at the organization’s investiture ceremony at the AIA Conference on Architecture in New York City. “I am pleased to welcome Troy into the College of Fellows,” said Curt Moody, founder and CEO of Moody Nolan. “For nearly 15 years, he has been a key player in the growth of

Moody Nolan’s sports and recreation studio. His passion for wellness and commitment to responsive design is evident in every project he touches.” Sherrard joined Moody Nolan in 2004 and as co-leader of the sports & recreation studio, he has been instrumental in developing the firm’s specialty design practice in health, wellness, fitness and recreation architecture. His goal has been to leverage building design to foster community, engagement, social gathering, and human connectivity. He has published numerous articles and spoken to national audiences on these subjects while leading teams responsible for a number of high-profile architectural projects across the country. They include: The Ohio State University’s Covelli Arena and its basketball practice and training facility; Kempsville Community Recreation Center, in Virginia; Wintrust Arena Event Center and DePaul University’s basketball practice facility, in Chicago; and Penn State University’s Intramural Building expansion and renovation, in University Park, Pennsylvania. Sherrard has been recognized repeatedly for his work, receiving numerous honors and recognitions. Out of a total AIA membership of over 91,000, less than 4 percent are distinguished as Fellows.

MARC FLORIAN, from page 11

For everyone reading this, I wanted to share what I think are a few important take-aways: ❚ ❚ Always be prepared to give a quick overview of your response, your firm, your experience, etc. ❚ ❚ Always be prepared if a prospective client simply asks why you think you are the best choice for this assignment. ❚ ❚ Always be prepared for the likely questions (and decide who/ how we will respond) as well as how you will react to any un- likely ones. ❚ ❚ Always be prepared by making sure everyone on the interview team has read (and re-read) the RFP and your response. ❚ ❚ Always be prepared to speak and concisely explain your knowledge/expertise and experience as it relates to a particu- lar client/opportunity. ❚ ❚ Always be prepared to accentuate the benefits of your firm and services (e.g., It’s a benefit because … It’s important be- cause …). ❚ ❚ Always be prepared to tell them why they should hire you (i.e., have a list in your head). Envision what you’ll need to do to negotiate what’s likely to be the terrain, twists, and turns of your next interview or presentation, and put yourself in “the zone” you want to be in. MARC FLORIAN is vice president for Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc., a professional consulting, engineering and scientific services organization serving clients and markets throughout the U.S. and on four continents. He can be reached at mflorian@ectinc. com.

questions we had hoped we would be asked. We were persuasive in our responses, making sure to answer the questions in a manner that communicated not only what we wanted them to hear, but what they needed to hear. The thing about good preparation is that it sometimes enables you to steer the interview conversation in the direction you would like it to go. In our case, it was to the question we had hoped they would ask: “Why in the hell should we hire you over all of these other firms?” (Yes, that’s how the question was stated.) It was perfect, because that’s how we had rehearsed our value proposition. “Envision what you’ll need to do to negotiate what’s likely to be the terrain, twists, and turns of your next interview or presentation, and put yourself in ‘the zone’ you want to be in.” Our response was direct and compelling. Our response was persuasive. We were in the zone we envisioned for ourselves. Was it effective? Less than 30 minutes later, we received a call from the committee chair saying they had reached their decision and were recommending the selection of our firm.

THE ZWEIG LETTER April 23, 2018, ISSUE 1245

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