Katie Swanson Receives the 2022 EBC Ascending Leader Award

CHICAGO – CDM Smith’s Katie Swanson was recently honored the 2022 Ascending Leader Award from the Envi­ron­men­tal Business Council (EBC) in recognition of her profes­sional achieve­ments and her dedication to services outside the orga­ni­za­tion. 

The award recognizes young profes­sion­als in the energy and envi­ron­men­tal sectors demon­strat­ing exceptional leadership and industry involvement early in their careers. Recipients have often achieved early career success by contribut­ing to the energy or envi­ron­men­tal sector. 

Swanson serves as a water resource engineer and project manager in training at CDM Smith. She works on a wide variety of water resources projects, ranging from drought planning studies to extreme flooding, and she is passionate about using computer models to answer fundamental questions about the avail­abil­ity and movement of water both above and below the ground surface. 

"Since my first day working in the field of civil engineering, I’ve come to understand the importance of connection. Ranging from one-on-one mentoring sessions to committee meetings and newsletters that bring the broader civil engineering community together, I’ve learned invaluable lessons in leadership, management, and career development,” said Swanson. “I’m honored to receive this recognition from the Envi­ron­men­tal Business Council.”

Swanson serves as a mentor within the CDM Smith structured mentorship program and is actively committed to the training and development of junior engineers. Addi­tion­ally, she has been actively involved in the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section (BSCES) since 2016, where she has served as chair of four committees and currently serves as senior vice president on the executive committee as of 2019. 

“Katie provides innovative technical work for water resources projects around the globe while contribut­ing to the profession through conference presen­ta­tions and service with the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section (BSCES) and the New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA),” said CDM Smith Regional Team Leader Matthew Gamache. “Katie is also a mentor in the Career Compass program and a recent graduate from the PMiT program. I am excited that she received this award, which recognizes the leadership, excellence, teamwork, and initiative she consis­tently brings to CDM Smith, our clients, and the industry.”

The Envi­ron­men­tal Business Council of New England (EBC) was established in 1990 by envi­ron­men­tal and energy company executives who began meeting on a regular basis to exchange ideas and share experiences. The EBC was the first orga­ni­za­tion in the United States established to support and foster the development of the envi­ron­men­tal industry. The goal of the EBC is to enhance business and job growth of both established and emerging envi­ron­men­tal and energy businesses.