Six Kimley-Horn Employees Recognized as ENR 2026 Top Young Professionals

The Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top Young Professionals designation is awarded annually to dedicated industry leaders who are under 40. These professionals are selected due to their passionate innovations within their fields, thoughtful leadership and mentorship, and community service. This year, six Kimley-Horn employees received recognition in ENR’s East, Midwest, Mountain States & Southwest, Texas & Southeast, and West regions.

ENR East: David Samba, PE, PTOE, PTP, RSP2B

A transformative relationship builder and technical professional, David co-leads a multidisciplinary team that integrates design, multimodal planning, traffic and parking analysis, and much more to create results that meet client and community needs. Beyond his own team, David is passionate about creating spaces for belonging at Kimley-Horn and in the broader industry. From 2023 to early 2025, he was a regional representative for the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. In this role, he led in-person focus groups and helped implement revisions to guidance for diversity groups at the office and firmwide levels.

Recognized as a regular presenter at conferences and training programs, David is a passionate mentor to multiple young professionals and holds office hours to help analysts focus on topics like quality and technical writing. With a past of deep involvement in the Institute of Transportation Engineers—including leading planning committees for annual meetings and developing a visionary action plan—David is currently the DC Area Director for the Chesapeake and Potomac Section. Across his various roles, he has created opportunities for professionals to grow their technical and interpersonal skills and support the present and future of community transportation.

ENR Midwest: Jake Panter, PE

Jake Panter is an innovative leader in sustainable infrastructure and a dedicated steward of the greater Chicago community. Over his twelve years at Kimley-Horn, Jake found a niche in sustainable pavements, helping high-profile clients cut carbon emissions by up to 40%. Responsible for shepherding a robust pavement expert network spanning 80 offices across the US, Jake helps guide Kimley-Horn’s sustainability-related initiatives by creating sustainability guides and developing a “Responsibility Report” that outlines the firm’s annual sustainability contributions.  His leadership has stretched beyond sustainability to strengthening the firm’s financial health through various roles in the office—and is evidenced by winning individual and team awards for his outstanding project management and deliverables.

Jake’s commitment to caring for his community extends to his eight years of volunteering with Cara Chicago—a nonprofit that helps individuals experiencing poverty receive long-term employment support. He has assisted in résumé development and mock interview preparation for more than 50 participants, most of whom have landed jobs. Now working as fundraiser chair on the executive council, he offers insight into Cara’s revenue and business advancement. Jake’s consistent commitment has earned Cara grants from the Kimley-Horn Foundation for five years in a row and propelled him to serving on the Foundation’s board as a representative for more than 1,000 Midwest employees.

ENR Mountain States & Southwest: Eric Gunderson, PE

Since joining Kimley-Horn in 2011, Eric has cemented his multi-disciplinary practice focusing on both public transportation and municipal services as well as large scale private land development projects. Eric started in the Denver office before relocating to help open the Colorado Springs office in 2018 and support the growth of a public sector practice in southern Colorado.  He has become an expert in industrial, multifamily, single-family residential, solar, commercial developments, roadway, and municipal projects. With great partnership, he has helped grow the Colorado Springs office from three employees to now more than 40 and continues to serve as a dedicated leader there and throughout the Mountain Pacific region.

Not only is Eric a proven leader within Kimley-Horn, he has served on the City of Colorado Springs’ Citizens Transportation Advisory Board since 2022. In this role, he provides guidance on multimodal transportation systems during monthly meetings with the Colorado Springs City Council. In his free time, Eric enjoys backcountry skiing and mountain biking and has run six half-marathons and four mountain-style triathlons.

ENR Mountain States & Southwest: Zac Taylor, PE

As a bridge and structural engineer, Zac has brought impactful, nation-wide civil engineering projects to life over the past 15 years. As one of the early employees in the Salt Lake City office, Zac has been instrumental in growing Kimley-Horn’s Utah offices from 15 to 130 employees over seven years to help build the firm’s business and reputation in the region. Serving as an exemplary mentor in Salt Lake City and beyond, Zac provides expertise across regions on technical issues such as Accelerated Bridge Construction, Finite Element Analysis, and seismic design. He teaches regularly as part of Kimley-Horn’s Structures Technical Training program, and because of his expertise, Zac is a reviewer for the Utah Department of Transportation.

Zac’s leadership extends nationwide, and he recently served on the firm’s Mid-level Advisory Committee as one of two representatives chosen from the Mountain Pacific region. Not only that, but his impact also includes a wide history of volunteerism dating back to his tenure at Utah State University (USU). For two years at USU, Zac volunteered with Special Olympics Utah, an organization that provides sports competitions for individuals with intellectual disabilities. He coached the Unified Soccer Team—a blend of players and coaches—and under his guidance, the team won a state gold medal. Today, Zac volunteers as an advisor for his church’s youth group, helping organize weekly and monthly events for local boys and girls aged 12-18 that include career days and camping trips.

ENR Texas & Southeast: Mary McGowan, PE

Since 2011, Mary McGowan has earned a reputation for her exceptional leadership and outstanding project results. She began her engineering career in Houston before relocating to Nashville in 2018 to support the firm’s expansion, later moving to Franklin in 2022 to open a new Kimley-Horn office. A key leader in both client projects and enhancing company culture across the South Region, she leads Tennessee’s interdisciplinary practice teams and serves as Franklin’s Office Practice Leader, ensuring financial strategies and project pipelines align with Kimley-Horn’s vision. Her projects have received the Urban Land Institute Nashville Excellence in Development Award and the People’s Choice Award in 2025, and her work with high-profile clients such as In-N-Out Burger is expected to bring hundreds of jobs to the area.

Mary has dedicated her career to serving clients working on master-planned communities, retail, and single- and multi-family developments, as well as supporting utility projects for underserved communities. She is also a strong advocate for working parents, young professionals, and women at Kimley-Horn. In addition, Mary is a dedicated leader in her community. She serves as an active member of the City of Franklin Development Services Advisory Committee and the county’s chamber of commerce, Williamson, Inc., where she provides expert recommendations to enhance the community and address its needs.

ENR West: Nicole Dias, PE

With more than 14 years at Kimley-Horn, Nicole Dias is a civil and transportation engineer specializing in multidisciplinary roadway, multi-modal, and complete street design. Her mentorship, technical expertise, and ability to deliver complex projects while promoting collaboration have shaped transformative projects across California, including multi-grant-funded projects for the City of Los Angeles like the Mission Mile Active Transportation Project—aimed at improving public health and safety by creating safer streets for pedestrians and bicyclists and enhancing transit accessibility and urban greening.

In 2024, Nicole helped guide the 15-person Los Angeles office, helping nurture its growth while maintaining legacy clients, strengthening inter-office and regional partnerships, and expanding into new geographies and markets. Beyond her day-to-day project work, Nicole champions representation in engineering through organizations and programs like WTS-LA and Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, which empowers and educates high school girls from underserved communities to pursue STEM careers. In early 2025, Nicole also volunteered with the Red Cross during the LA Wildfire Response, assisting at temporary shelters and organizing donations and cleanup kits for displaced residents.