MAGESTAD

Nathan Magestad
Helps manage Parsons' largest project to date
33, Senior Project Manager
Parsons
Washington, D.C.

A Parsons employee for eight years, Magestad helps manage the 10-year, $1.6-billion technical support services contract for the Federal Aviation Administration's National Airspace System modernization—the largest contract ever awarded to the firm. For the past four years, he has served as the program's national technical regional manager, where he currently oversees more than 25 programs with as many as 200 employees and contractors working across the nation. In 2007, Magestad was selected for the Parsons-sponsored master's program through Texas A&M University. He was one of just 10 people selected out of more than 10,000 employees. Despite working full-time, Magestad graduated in three years. He also regularly mentors others through the Parsons Early Career Professionals program, as an ACE mentor and as a volunteer assistant head coach at the Maret School in Washington, D.C.

MAYERS

Jennifer Mayers
Specializes in remediation and munitions response
35, Federal Principal in Charge
ARCADIS US
Baltimore

Mayers joined ARCADIS as an entry-level task manager, but quickly moved up to project manager and program manager before attaining her current role as a senior leader of the environmental division and client development group. She has managed nationwide contracts with federal clients such as the Army and Navy, handling environmental remediation, hazardous waste and munitions response. She currently oversees four environmental and water service line contracts valued at $230 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District. Following Hurricane Katrina, Mayers relocated to Mississippi for several months to support a contract overseeing debris cleanup as the operations administrator and quality-assurance representative. In 2007, she relocated to Alaska for two years to serve as the program manager for the military munitions response program. In both 2013 and 2014, Mayers received the Young Engineer of the Year award from the Society of American Military Engineers, Baltimore Post, for her work to support STEM education.

SHI

Yilei Shi
Contributed to modification of transportation design criteria
36, Senior Structural Engineer
A. Morton Thomas and Associates
Rockville, Md.

In his current position as a senior structural engineer, Shi specializes in bridge design and rehabilitation projects for the Virginia and Tennessee transportation agencies. Previously, Shi worked at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, where his study and analysis of bridge structures led to developing new standardized methods, materials and specifications for structural concrete repair projects. Shi had studied the performance of other infrastructure types during college, where he participated in a first-of-its-kind seismic research study of innovative materials for bridge substructures. Additionally, earlier in his career, Shi worked as a structural engineer in China, where he contributed to the design of facilities at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, including the Olympic Village and Aquatic Park. While in China, Shi designed underground structures for a landmark Beijing shopping mall capable of withstanding an atomic blast.

SNYDER

Jeremy Snyder
Sustainable design advocate believes in lifelong learning
37, Associate Principal
BuroHappold Engineering
Pittsburgh

With a bachelor's degree and a master's in architectural engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, Snyder has assembled an impressive portfolio in his 11 years with BuroHappold Engineering. A staunch sustainability advocate, Snyder consistently pushes the design envelope for his projects, which include The Tower at PNC Plaza in Pittsburgh. For that project, which is considered to be one of the world's greenest high-rise towers, Snyder's team designed a building that will achieve a 50% energy savings—and stands as a testament to BuroHappold's high-performance design work. A proponent of lifelong learning, Snyder not only takes continuing-education classes and seminars, but also teaches classes—at such institutions as Parsons The New School for Design, Stevens Institute of Technology, Pratt Institute, Columbia University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology—on a wide range of topics, including architectural technology; the fundamentals of mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering systems; sustainability; and energy-efficient design.