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approach to my problem-solving. This combination has been foundational to the whole of my career. TZL: In your time at Aspect, you have become a firm owner. You joined the firm as GIS and data management specialist, but you have also added director of marketing to your list of duties. On top of all that, you are also the co-founder of Rooftop Brewing Company. You have an entrepreneurial spirit. Where does that come from and how have you nurtured that spirit over the years? PW: Frankly, it comes from the same place that led me to my academic background – diverse interests colliding with a “hand raiser” mentality. It’s that idea of making things – of creation – that is really at the heart of it. I suppose it’s the same thing that motivates engineers and artists alike: to have a thing not exist and then to make it exist, there is hardly any satisfaction like it. Whether it’s a map or a brewery or a piece of software, it’s taking all the pieces of what I know and sculpting them into things that make me proud. Isn’t that what is at the core of an “entrepreneurial spirit?” On that “hand raiser” mentality – a willingness to take on challenges, to step to the front of the line and fix something, is so important. In fact, it’s advice I often give to junior professionals – step up and fix things and/ or make new things and don’t always wait until someone asks! Good things happen to those who make. “Outside of compensation, most professionals that change firms do so for a sense of increased opportunity. Retention requires having visible and tangible opportunity aplenty.” TZL: You have obviously found career-growth opportunities within Aspect. How much of this is due to company culture, and how much is due to your own talents and ambitions? PW: I’d like to think I bring some talent and ambition to the table, but there wouldn’t have been much to do with that if Aspect hadn’t had the culture that it does. I’m lucky to have built a career at a firm that rewards and encourages individual ambition and creativity. It’s been to my benefit (and I hope my colleagues’ and clients’ as well!) that I’ve been given the space to build and create and learn. Our firm nurtures a restless culture of continuous improvement that has allowed me to step up into bigger and bigger challenges. Like so many others, perhaps I suffer from a sort of “imposter syndrome” at times. Even though I’ve worked in “the industry” for 15 years, I still feel like an AEC outsider. I’m not an engineer, geologist, architect, or construction PM. Of course, this “otherness” can pose challenges. But I’d like to think it’s an outsider’s perspective that’s helped me chart a course as a firm leader. I don’t take much for granted and I’m always skeptical of the status quo.

I’m grateful to work for a firm that values and acts on unconventional, strategic thinking – even if it isn’t what inertia or industry norms would dictate. TZL: As a younger data scientist with a solid tech base, is it common for older colleagues and consultants to come to you for advice on software and systems? If so, how do you communicate with them? PW: Ha! I’d be lying if I didn’t say: “Yes. All the time.” Such is the era we live in, right? The shortest version of describing my communication tactic is “empathetic listening.” I don’t really approach answering questions about software with my colleagues any differently than I do with my clients: understand the problem and the human motivations BEFORE you start talking about databases, buttons, and algorithms. “What are you afraid of or stuck on?” is a great way to initiate such conversations. Empathy is key. I often talk about “communicating from the overlap” – which is about meeting people where they are and explaining things using shared language. This sort of thing comes naturally to educators. Technology professionals, on the other hand, would do well to explain more and tell less. That is, we as a group can unfortunately veer into building or foisting solutions in search of problems, rather than the other way around. I try very hard to avoid the “solution first” mentality. So, I try to be patient and creative and I really try to be pragmatic. Those three things together have served me well. TZL: You are involved in a long-term project doing stormwater network modeling at the Port of Seattle. This is a marque project that has been ongoing almost as long as you have been at Aspect. What are the lessons learned in terms of scheduling, working with stakeholders, figuring out regulatory compliance, etc.? PW: There is so much to be learned from a project that spans such a long arc of time, of course. Calling it a “project” almost doesn’t do it justice – it’s really an “engagement,” an era of support. In many ways, it’s been the formative client engagement for me. Chiefly, it’s shown me the power and value in really understanding the nuanced complexities and pulse of a dynamic and mammoth agency – it is one of the busiest seaports and airports in the country – and using that understanding to inform solutions. My involvement with the “project” began at a time when the Port was just getting its head around mapping stormwater infrastructure in accordance with its Phase 1 Municipal Stormwater Permit. The good news was/is that the Port had the vision to go well beyond the baseline mapping requirements of its permit, taking a forward- looking approach to data collection and management. At the same time, we helped them advance a software and data management approach that emphasized operational simplicity, business/people needs, and data visibility. We made a point to partner closely with the Port’s internal IT/ GIS group, prioritizing their needs and preferences, too. This enabled us to get things up and running much faster See GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO MAKE, page 8

gust 19, 2019, ISSUE 1309

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