Robert S. Isabel, PE, BCEE
With nearly 20 years of experience planning, designing, and implementing reliable water treatment solutions, Rob is a proven project manager committed to collaborative, organized, and communicative relationships with his clients. His track record of project successes demonstrates not only Rob’s acute attention to detail, but also his foresight to providing solutions before they become problems. When Rob’s not executing successful projects, he’s spending time in Minnesota’s great outdoors. “I love heading to the lake for a long weekend and spending time with my family water skiing, tubing, wakeboarding and fishing. It’s a great way to connect with nature, relax and forget about our daily challenges!”
Why CDM Smith? I am honored to be a shareholder in one of the largest privately held engineering firms in the world. This allows us to remain focused on the right priorities for our clients and our firm, which are delivering a legendary client experience and creating an unmatched employee experience. I do believe that we are the best in the industry at doing both.
What inspires you? My educational background is in Civil and Environmental Engineering; however, our work in Flint, Michigan reminded me that we are really in the public health industry. Safe and reliable drinking water is key to a healthy community and economy. I’m inspired every day that I get to have such an important impact on our local communities.
What are your 3 non-work passions? I have had the opportunity to coach my son's and my twin daughters’ competitive youth basketball team over the past several years. I love teaching youth about the game of basketball, teamwork, and competition. I’m also a die-hard University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Bengals and Cincinnati Reds fan. Apparently, I’m a glutton for punishment and bad teams….And I love to travel and see the world. I have visited the majority of the countries in Europe and are starting to formulate plans to visit South America, Africa and Asia in the next few years.
What’s something people might be surprised to know about you? I was originally a physical therapy major in college. I quickly learned that I did not like anatomy and touching strangers, so I needed to quickly find a new career and passion!
I'm energized anytime I have the opportunity to collaborate with clients and develop solutions to their challenges.
Rob grew up playing competitive basketball and baseball, and says he’s always amazed at what can be accomplished when a group of talented individuals with different skill sets come together to collaborate on a common goal. Go team!
