Leadership Academy

The most important advice I received is the only constant is change.

My parents always said, "Go to college for a career," which led to me taking engineering classes early. I knew my sophomore year in college that I wanted to be a Chemical Engineer and wanted to do wastewater work after visiting the Allentown, PA, rock media filter plant in 1994.

Simultaneously, the best and worst advice was,"Do it, they'll think it's funny!"

Make plans, but be okay when it doesn't all go according to plan

Best advice I ever received is to communicate, communicate, communicate!

The best advice I have ever received is, "Find solutions, not excuses!”

Best Advice: From my Grandma, “Always put others needs ahead of your own.”

The best advice I ever received is work hard, work smart and have fun.

The best advice I received is to be open minded and take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. You never know where they will take you!

My grandmother used to tell me the old saying, “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.”

The best advice I received from my mentor was to always finish well! The worst piece of advice ever is thinking it can wait until tomorrow.

A good piece of advice I received is to only handle things once.

The best advice I ever received is, "Treat Others the Way You Want to be Treated."

The best advice I have received is that bad news doesn't age well.

The best advice I have ever received is simple: stay happy.

Best advice I ever received is "Feel the fear and do it anyways!"

The best advice I have received to perform my job well is to reduce a morass of information to a modicum of simplicity; and preparation, preparation, preparation!

The worst advice taught me a valuable lesson. "Things will work themselves out in due course of time." I quickly found out that is not the case and I always address the problem head on, immediately.

The best advice I have received is to lead by example and never ask your team to do things you aren't willing to do yourself.

Best Advice - All you need is in the book "Everything I need to learn I learned in Kindergarden" and always remember “Servant leadership is set of practices that enrich the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a better world.”

The best advice I received was from my wife when I thought about starting my own firm years ago. She said if it feels right, and seems right, go for it!

Best Advice – Early in my career, a colleague told me “Tushar, you really don’t know what you’re doing. You should really ask for advice and feedback from others around you.”

The best advice I ever received is to never take anything at face value.

Always be honest, then you don't need to remember a lot of "stories" and who you told what to. Once you lose someone's trust it's very difficult to gain it back.

When I was in college I started off as a business major, and took a geology class. My professor took me under his wing and that naturally became my passion. Something he told me was to always follow my passion and I eventually changed majors and haven't looked back!

Don’t spend hours or days of your time (and others) exchanging emails, when the problem can be solved in a 10-minute phone conversation or face to face meeting. 

The best advice I have received is to always keep learning. I went back and earned my PhD in public health and it's been tremendoulsy helpful in my reuse work.

I like fashion design and sewing. I used to make all my clothes with my designs such as hand bags, home stuff like curtains, cushions and some accessories. I was about to open my own workshop, but finally I decided to stay in the engineering field and to work hard to build my career in engineering. I think this was a very good decision!

I have a passion for fine craftsmanship and have taken a keen interest in woodworking. My most recent projects have been an ottoman and a dining room table.

Rain drops are like rays of sunshine to me. I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and grew up in Sonoma County, California (wine country). While I definitely enjoy sunsets, I prefer rain over sunshine. A sunny day could never compare to a heavy rain or a good thunderstorm. I’m actually a Pluviophile, which is defined as “a lover of rain; someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days."

I can make my own kombucha.

I enjoy cooking all types of cuisine including making my own pizza.

I am a recent member of the Appalachian Mountain Club Boston Chapter Mountaineering Committee. One of the initiatives I started endeavors to provide opportunities for women rock and ice climbers.

I’ve been a vegetarian for more than 20 years, and that’s something I’m very proud of.

I’m an Eagle Scout.

I started my engineering career back in elementary school while participating in a local program called “Invention Convention."

I love traveling and experiencing different cultures and cuisines. I’ve traveled to five of the seven continents, but I don’t plan on visiting Antarctica anytime soon! A safari in South Africa was one of my favorite adventures of all time, and I think that everyone should experience it once in their lifetime.

"My life is like the movie “The Big Fat Greek Wedding”

• My husband and I own a small Greek café in Austin.
• My husband brought home a goat during COVID so my kids could have a friend… Mind you, I live in a neighborhood--not a farm!
• There is a statue of a Greek god on my fireplace that my kids call Grandpa."

I enjoy producing maple syrup each spring with family using tradition techniques (taps and buckets, wood fired boiler, etc.)

As a child I was magically drawn to water. I gave my first lecture on trout behavior in elementary school. Even today I have to stop on every river bridge to look down and all my favorite hobbies deal with water: sailing, swimming, fishing, diving. The increasing pollution of rivers, lakes, groundwater and oceans hurts me a lot and one of the most important reasons for my career choice as a water engineer was to leave the environment and our water in a better condition than I found it.

I taught junior high and high school math for two years as a United States Peace Corps volunteer.

I can repair or fix almost anything in my home.

I’m an avid traveler and have been to six out of seven continents and four out of five oceans (with near-term plans to visit the fifth and final ocean – the Arctic!).

I brew my own beer and I cure my own bacon.

While in high school, I was selected to attend Texas Girls State, a summer leadership and citizenship program that focuses on exploring the mechanics of American government and politics. It’s basically a “boot camp” for future political leadership and you participate in a week-long mock government to pass bills, run for office and the like. Many of the people who participate in this program go on to a life in politics, with notable alumni such as Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, Cory Booker and others. It wasn't my future, but it was a very cool experience!

I grew up working and spending time on my family’s sportfishing boats in Southern California. I tend to think that’s where my fascination with water started and eventually turned in to a career.

While living in Tanzania for over seven years managing our irrigation and rural roads project, I was fortunate to have easy access to high-quality Tanzanian coffee beans. I learned to roast coffee and kept my own household and friends in the community well caffeinated with fresh-roasted coffee.