Darrin Kotecki, PE

President

What I Love About What I Do:

Imagine working somewhere where you have fun and laugh, have a voice, share in the company’s financial success, get rewarded for helping others grow and have the freedom to create your own career path—that is GPD in a nutshell, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Proudest Moment at GPD:

When we created the GPD Employees’ Foundation. It was amazing to see our employees come together to establish, create and support a 100% “employee run” foundation. The support by our employees is truly inspiring, and the impact we are having is tremendous!

Jeff Evans, PE

Senior Vice President, Operations

Years With GPD: 30

What I Love About What I Do:

Every day is a different challenge! I thoroughly enjoy working with our diverse employees across all our different disciplines and market sectors, tackling a variety of different challenges.

Proudest Moment at GPD:

I am most proud of being part of our growth from 70 people in one office when I was a co-op to more than 600 people and 14 offices around the country.

Becky McAdams, NCIDQ, LEED® AP

Vice President, Operations

Years With GPD: 18

What I Love About What I Do:

Working with our great people is what gets me charged up every morning. Our team members, our clients and partners make the job interesting and fun.

What Makes GPD Different?

We’re friendly and down to earth, and our horizontal management structure allows people to grow and take opportunities they didn’t even think existed.

Trever Powers

Vice President, Operations

Years With GPD: 18

What Makes GPD Different?

Our employee ownership, our purpose and our servant leadership approach seen at all levels are what set us apart from 99.9% of other organizations.

Proudest Moment at GPD:

Looking back, I’m most proud of the instances when our team members placed the needs and goals of others ahead of their own. As I look forward, I am excited for all the proud moments yet to come.

Angie Wells, PE, LEED® AP

Vice President, Operations

Years With GPD: 26

What I Love About What I Do:

I love the journey of working passionately and collaboratively with colleagues on solutions that serve a greater purpose.

Proudest Moment at GPD:

Helping others be successful and achieve their goals.

Tina Belz, EI

Senior Director, Public Markets

Years In Industry: 25

What I Love About What I Do:

I love being able to create opportunities for others—our staff, our clients, our business partners, our community.

What Makes GPD Different?

Our unique, broad-based employee ownership. It empowers me every day to do what is in the best interest of GPD, the clients I serve and, most importantly, the incredible people I am so privileged to work beside.

Jackie Bennett, Esq.

General Counsel

Years With GPD: 7

What I Love About What I Do:

I’m lucky to support such a great group of people at GPD, and in the aggregate, the company. I take pride in being part of the GPD story.

Proudest Moment at GPD:

One moment would be difficult to define. For me, it is really the big picture with respect to our history and growth. Since joining GPD, we have doubled in size. Comparing our current industry presence with our history, founding fathers and path to the present is inspiring.

Charles M. Bourgeois, AIA

Director, Public Buildings / Education - Texas

Years In Industry: 42

Proudest Moment at GPD:

I am proud of how our firm supports the communities where we work. When Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston area, GPD immediately donated thousands of dollars to area school districts to replace music instruments destroyed in the storm, and to meet other needs.

What Makes GPD Different?

The firm’s value statement: “We treat customers like our employees and employees like our customers”—says it best. When everyone associated with a project benefits from its success, the project will almost certainly be successful.

R. Tony Burgoyne, PE

Director, Public Markets – Ohio

Years With GPD: 20

Proudest Moment at GPD:

2019 Corporate Dodgeball Champions. My arm is still sore, but we have the Golden Wrench to prove it! Everything we do stems from our people and our collective ownership spirit. It’s personal!

What Is Your Favorite GPD Project?

It is easy to recall the large-scale, national profile projects – like the “Akron Waterways Renewed! Ohio Canal Interceptor Tunnel” program or the “Howard Storage Basin (CSO Rack 22)” project that continues to receive top honors and recognition for its exceptional design and creative financing in Ohio—but the projects in smaller communities equally stand out. Projects in places like Seville, Ohio, come to mind, where we have maintained a 35-year relationship serving as their municipal engineer and have the privilege to provide nearly every service we offer to support and grow together with their community.

Del Channels, PE

Director, Geotechnical

Years In Industry: 32

What I Love About What I Do:

I am a teacher at heart, and the favorite parts of my job revolve around teaching. I love mentoring our geotechnical staff, passing on the knowledge gained throughout my career, while teaching them how to ask themselves the probing questions that will provide clarity on what direction a project needs to go. I also enjoy passing on my geotechnical knowledge to other disciplines within GPD and providing our clients with best practice geotechnical solutions structured around their specific project.

What Makes GPD Different?

I believe that GPD’s employee ownership structure is what makes us different. This structure encourages all employees to think and act like owners.

Grant Childers

Director, Telecom

Years in Industry: 20+

What I Love About What I Do:

Having the daily opportunity to work with and support an amazing team, equally amazing clients and pairing the two to create long-term partnerships though successful program development and project execution to achieve shared goals and objectives.

What Makes GPD Different?

Our culture is GPD’s differentiator. Prior to joining GPD I had the opportunity to work with a number of GPD team members over a couple decades. I always admired GPD’s culture from the outside looking in. When I happened upon the opportunity to explore a role with GPD, I jumped at the chance. Joining the GPD team has more than validated what I had observed for all those years. GPD’s culture is second to none!

Joe Ciuni, PE, PS

Director, Public Works – Cleveland

Years In Industry: 39

What Makes GPD Different?

We are successful because we are a team of friends. GPD co-workers form lifelong friendships, and that makes the difference.

What Is Your Favorite GPD Project?

I enjoy all Municipal Infrastructure Improvement Projects. These projects solve local problems in the communities where we live. I can design the project in winter and watch it be built in the summer.

Mo Darwish, PE

Director of Planning

Years In Industry: 35

What I Love About What I Do:

I love being able to have ownership, freedom and to grab opportunities and run with them…Just do it.

What Is Your Favorite GPD Project?

With the diversity of the projects that I deal with, I enjoyed all of them, and they were all different. The one project that stands out was the LeBron James Center for the Boys and Girls Club of America in Akron. GPD volunteered and donated the time of its staff to redesign and manage the construction of an old senior arena/rec center where LeBron James started playing basketball when he was a kid. His foundation donated the funds to rebuild the center and made it first-class center for the Boys & Girls Club of America.

Josh Eblen

Director, Construction

Years With GPD: 19

What I Love About What I Do:

I love building and I enjoy guiding/helping others, and as Director of Construction, I get to do both. Inside of GPD, I enjoy learning the traits and strengths of our team members and find great personal satisfaction in guiding our team members’ individual growth along the many services we provide.

Proudest Moment at GPD:

Every time a client calls back asking for GPD to be involved in a project or says, “We couldn’t have done this without your team,” fills me with pride.

Kevin Grathwol, PE

Director, Public Works – Columbus

Years In Industry: 32

What I Love About What I Do:

Being involved with public infrastructure improvements that have a positive and lasting impact on society. I also love being involved during the construction phase, seeing firsthand our design efforts come to fruition.

What Makes GPD Different?

Our culture is what makes us different. We are comprised of individuals who share the same beliefs and goals.

Mark Grossman, PE

Director, Transportation – Roadway

Years With GPD: 30

What I Love About What I Do:

My favorite part of my job is teaching the craft to others and building them into engineers. Anyone can build things; not so with building engineers.

What Makes GPD Different?

True employee ownership. With broad-based ownership across the entire staff, GPD is uniquely constructed with a team-first attitude that permeates all staff levels and across departmental lines. Employee ownership has created a culture of stability at GPD that is unparalleled in the industry and provides the employees, business partners and clients the assurance that can only be obtained from a stable foundation of professionals all pulling in the same direction.

Brian Hagemeier, PE, LEED® AP

Practice Leader, Federal

Years In Industry: 20

Proudest Moment at GPD:

I enjoy mentoring people and watching them develop. So, I think I am filled with the most pride when I see them grow in their career.

Funniest Moment at GPD:

Wrapping every item in Darrin’s office in wrapping paper is definitely the moment that sticks out as the funniest.

Jim Hewitt, PE

Director, Water - Ohio

Years In Industry: 32+

What I Love About What I Do:

I enjoy serving the citizens of our communities and providing exceptional solutions to their engineering needs. The Water Team at GPD is an integral part of daily human health by helping our clients achieve regulatory compliance to provide the safe treatment and distribution of drinking water and safe collection and treatment of sanitary sewage. On the stormwater front, we will work with our clients to provide solutions to their erosion, flooding, and storm water conveyance needs to improve our environment and mitigate flooding issues.

What Makes GPD Different?

We are all committed to improving lives through our projects, our talents, and our personal time. GPD truly is a special place to work!

Mike Hiland

Director, IT

Years In Industry: 25

Proudest Moment at GPD:

Participating with my family in our Foundation events is the most fulfilling. Having the opportunity to give back is the most important to me.

What Makes GPD Different?

The people at GPD “walk the talk” and work together to exceed customer expectations. We all play a role, and this is demonstrated daily at GPD.

Mike Hobbs, PE, PTOE

Senior Practice Leader, Public Works

Years With GPD: 20

What I Love About What I Do:

I feel like I make the largest difference in the planning and funding areas, helping clients find funding for their projects, and seeing the vision become reality is rewarding.

What Makes GPD Different?
By not focusing on company profits and instead focusing on the welfare of our employees, GPD has developed an atmosphere of trust and family.

Joe Kidder

Senior Director, Business Development

Years In Industry: 30

What Makes GPD Different?

Our employee ownership. Our employee ownership has created our culture. Employee empowerment is very powerful within our culture. Employees feel empowered to create innovative solutions for our client’s projects. Our ownership, culture, and empowerment has helped us grow to over 600 employees in my 15 years at GPD.

Proudest Moment at GPD:

Every day is my proudest moment. People like to talk about their dream job. I get to work in mine.

Mike Morrison

Senior Director, Private Markets

Years With GPD: 22

Proudest Moment at GPD:

Being part of the GPD Employees’ Foundation has been incredible. We craft experiences and memories that last a lifetime for the kids and for us.

Funniest Moment at GPD:

While it was funnier for others than some, a couple of people sent a co-op to the field across the street to look for a nonexistent manhole. Everyone stood at the windows and laughed as this poor co-op searched and searched for the manhole. It would have been a whole lot funnier if I wasn’t the co-op.

Steve Mullaney, PS

Senior Practice Leader, Field Services

What Makes GPD Different?

Our culture promotes leadership and independent thinking for all. We bring our talents together and bring the best approach to the table for clients.

Proudest Moment at GPD:

I am most proud of any moment that allows us to put all of our technical and professional expertise together as a team and help our clients reach their goals. It is a truly great feeling when you can use a team approach to find innovative solutions together.

Davin Ng, PE

Director, Transportation – Bridges

Years With GPD: 16+

What I Love About What I Do:

Watching a project come to life and seeing lines drawn in CAD transform into a real bridge is so satisfying—it never gets old!

What Makes GPD Different?

The company culture at GPD is truly unique, and being able to have such a close-knit office community makes it an enjoyable place to come to every day.

Jim O’Connor, PE

Practice Leader, Power

Years With GPD: 19

What Makes GPD Different?

Our people’s genuine care for one another, our clients and our communities make us special. It’s a culture rather than a conscious effort.

Proudest Moment at GPD:

I am always proud of how the GPD staff rises up as a team to unselfishly achieve challenging goals.

Ryan Oyster, PE, LEED® AP

Director, Retail, Restaurants, Corporate/Commercial

Years With GPD: 17

What I Love About What I Do:

There is nothing more rewarding than transforming our clients’ dreams into opportunities for them to succeed, work, live and thrive. I love helping a team of people with different strengths and skill sets come together to create amazing solutions for our clients.

Proudest Moment at GPD:

My proudest moment stretched over a few years while my team positioned GPD as the firm of choice for one of the largest restaurant brands in the U.S.

Brian Peterson, PE

Practice Leader, Energy

Years With GPD: 23

What I Love About What I Do:

In addition to the people I work with, I love making a difference in the lives and communities we serve with access to energy.

What Makes GPD Different?

We have innovative and adaptive folks that treat our clients like they are our only one. Caring for our clients is more than just a saying here.

Ed Reese

Director, Public Markets – Pennsylvania

Years in the Industry: 33

Proudest Moment at GPD:

Being a part of the team that won our first stand-alone assignment under our Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority Wastewater On-Call Contract for their Large Diameter Sewer Rehabilitation Project.

What Makes GPD Different?

GPD’s culture. GPD’s “All for one, one for all” attitude is a key component of our culture where everyone truly wants to see everyone succeed. I also appreciate how GPD puts employees first, whether it’s our excellent benefits program or how transparent our management team is with our finances and reasoning behind business decisions.

Dan Rodia

Director, Finance

Years With GPD: 19

What Is Your Favorite GPD Project?

Any project where the client pays their GPD invoices timely.

What Makes GPD Different?

The things that make GPD special are the people at GPD, the people at GPD, and most significantly the people at GPD.

Mark Salopek, AIA, NCARB

Director, Public Buildings / Education - Ohio

Years With GPD: 36

What I Love About What I Do:

I love that I get the opportunity to dream with our clients and create something with them that is unique and makes their lives better.

Proudest Moment at GPD:

Being involved in the K-12 education market affords me tremendous opportunities every day to work with our educators and the children in our community.

Christopher Scheks, PE

Director, Telecommunications

Years With GPD: 15+

What I Love About What I Do:

Working with new engineers, or new to Telecom engineers, and opening their eyes to the detailed infrastructure engineering and planning that is required to use their mobile phone.

Proudest Moment at GPD:

My proudest moment at GPD was searching for, identifying and opening the doors for office space in Seattle and then watching it grow and thrive.

Leonardo Sferra, PE, CPESC

Director, Site Development

Years With GPD: 19

What I Love About What I Do:

I enjoy the opportunity to work with great people, both internally and externally. In addition to working with great people, I enjoy having the ability to be creative, solve problems, provide mentorship and design things that matter to someone.

What Makes GPD Different?

Our dedication to maintain our high-spirited, family-oriented, playful-but-driven-to-outperform culture defines who we are as an organization.

Jimmy Stahl, PE, CFM

Director, Water - Kentucky

Years In Industry: 27

What I Love About What I Do:

Helping communities accomplish things they didn’t know they could do. Finding and providing opportunities for people to grow in and be excited about their career.

What Is Your Favorite GPD Project?

It is hard to choose my favorite project. I guess it depends which client I’m talking to.

Danyelle Sweitzer, PHR, SHRM-CP

Director, Human Resources

Years With GPD: 11

Proudest Moment at GPD:

I am most proud to have seen so many of our co-ops embark on their journeys as they graduate, become professionals and start families of their own.

What is Your Favorite GPD Project?

GPD Group Employees’ Foundation. Being so intimately involved with this project has allowed me to witness firsthand the needs within our communities and see the lasting impact our GPD family is making.

Chris Tolnar, PE, CPESC

Director, Public Works - Youngstown

Years With GPD: 21

What I Love About What I Do:

Being in public works and seeing a project developing from an idea to then overseeing the construction really gives a sense of accomplishment.

What Makes GPD Different?

From the first day at GPD, I felt right at home. GPD has always felt like a growing family. Like any big extended family, you may not like them all or understand their ways, but at the end of the day, you all pull together and use your shared values to make sure the group is successful. I have witnessed our staff at all levels work tirelessly to accomplish tasks and put forth efforts beyond what was expected to help out and make a difference both in and out of the office.

Steve Turner

Director, Multisite Programs

Years in the Industry: 20+

What is Your Favorite GPD Project?

Colonial Williamsburg/Aramark Binns Building – this project is allowing us to engage our design team in the full experience design process from Discovery through Design Development. We’re collaborating with CW/Aramark to develop the experiential retail store environment that will attract customers and drive sales.

What Makes GPD Different?

Our talented people, the culture and values of the company, and how we consistently leverage them to deliver success for our clients.