- December 15, 2020
- Awards, People Awards
Stephanie Hachem Named 2020 ACEC Chair Emeritus Award Recipient
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) named Kimley-Horn’s Stephanie L. Hachem, P.E. one of two recipients of the Chair Emeritus Award, recognizing her excellent service to ACEC and the engineering profession.
Stephanie joined Kimley-Horn in 1989 as a structural engineering analyst and in her more than 30 years with the firm, has since grown to be a well-respected industry and team leader. Throughout her career, Stephanie has made a national impact by leading strategic initiatives throughout the country. Her successful practice is due not only to her technical expertise, but also to her commitment to providing exceptional client service and building strong relationships as a trusted advisor to both colleagues and clients.
"What inspires me is seeing my projects built and seeing the firm's projects built. And now at this stage in my career, it's inspiring to be part of seeing a young engineer's first project come out of the ground."
On a national level, Stephanie has served on the ACEC Executive Committee as Treasurer and has also been involved with the Life Health Trust. She is an ACEC Fellow. At the local level, Stephanie served on the President of ACEC North Carolina (ACEC/NC).
Through her extensive involvement in ACEC/NC, Stephanie convened and led a task force that initiated legislation to add major liability protections for North Carolina design firms in contract negotiations with owners. This task force—including representatives from ACEC/NC, AIA/NC, NCSS, and ASLA-NC—drafted the Indemnification/Duty to Defend Relief bill to remove “duty to defend” clauses from contracts. These clauses are a high-risk contract provision for designers because they “create unreasonable, unmanageable risk,” and are “uninsurable under professional liability insurance.” The North Carolina legislature agreed that these terms are against public policy and passed House Bill 871. Thanks to Stephanie and the ACEC/NC coalition, “provisions in contracts obligating an engineer or architect to defend the owner against claims involving professional liability asserted by third parties are now void and unenforceable.” This was a monumental victory for all design firms in North Carolina and and a proud victory for Kimley-Horn’s own Stephanie Hachem.
