Engineers Week: Transforming the Future

We believe transforming the future starts today by being active participants in the communities where we live and work. Serving clients across the country, our expertise spans markets and disciplines, ranging from studies that help make daily commutes smoother to master plans that create accessible spaces. Through innovative solutions, meaningful volunteer efforts, and a commitment to empowering the engineers of tomorrow, the impact of what we do extends far beyond the projects we deliver—and Engineers Week is a powerful reflection of this belief.

Established in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, Engineers Week was created with the purpose of inspiring the next generation, highlighting industry impacts, and strengthening connections within the engineering community.

For Kimley‑Horn, Engineers Week isn’t just a celebration of what we do—it’s a reaffirmation of why we do it and it represents our responsibility to pass that passion forward.

Shaping Spaces and Strengthening Communities

We lead with a people-first mindset—and everything we do revolves around the impact we can make through the roads we design, the spaces we plan, and the systems we build.

For engineers like Lauren Kilgore, this idea is central to her roadway design work across the state of Georgia. Through contributing to infrastructure projects, Lauren actively helps create safer, more connected communities.

“Roads, bridges, and intersections are more than lines on a plan,” she explains. “They’re connections. Thoughtful design can shorten a parent’s commute, calm traffic near a neighborhood, and make a crossing feel safe for a child.”

For others in the engineering field, impact is measured not only in projects delivered, but in communities preserved and voices heard.

In Macon, Georgia, Zac Kannan, PE, CFM, is driven by a deep commitment to both his engineering practice, shaped by his identity as a tribal citizen and his passion for preserving tribal lands. Through partnerships with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative, and other collaborators, Zac is helping shape a strategic vision for what could become the next national park and preserve in the United States.

Turning Curiosity into Career Paths

That same focus on improving the communities around us extends beyond the built environment and into how we develop future planning, design, and engineering professionals. Exposure, guidance, and hands‑on experience play a critical role in shaping the next generation of industry leaders. Through long‑standing relationships with schools and mentorship programs across the country, Kimley‑Horn professionals help students explore careers where they can design solutions that shape the world around them.

Since 2019, Noel Aveton, PLA, ASLA, in Dallas, Texas, has volunteered with CityLab High School, where project‑based learning allows students to design solutions for real-world challenges while developing leadership and technical skills, highlighting the tangible impact they can make in the community. For Noel, this work fills a gap he once experienced himself.

In Richmond, Virginia, engineers like Josh MacDonald, PE, turn mentorship into action. Josh serves as a Lead Mentor with the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering Mentor Program of Richmond, Virginia, which provides students exposure to job sites, workshops, and professional guidance as they navigate decisions about their future.

Building on the shared belief in access and exposure to engineering, Eileen Vélez-Vega, PE, is passionate about investing in the community that helped ignite her curiosity in the field. Recently, Eileen was invited to speak at an event celebrating the future of STEM, held at her former elementary school in Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico. With more than 100 students in attendance, Eileen led a fun, hands-on activity and shared her journey into engineering—one that ultimately led to her becoming the first woman to lead the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation.

When she’s not connecting communities to safer infrastructure projects, Lauren Kilgore uses her experience to spark imagination and inspire students. Through a partnership supported by the Kimley‑Horn Foundation, Lauren’s involvement with the ASCE Georgia Younger Members Group (ASCE GA YMG) K‑12 STEM Outreach Program is one example of how our engineers help bridge the gap between the classroom and real‑world application.

From Curiosity into Confidence

Experiential learning brings engineering concepts to life, sparking curiosity, confidence, and creativity through active participation. Across the country, our people spend time volunteering and supporting robotics programs that emphasize teamwork, problem‑solving, and creativity through competitions.

Supported by the Kimley‑Horn Foundation, student teams including members of Queen City Robotics Alliance in Charlotte, North Carolina, and The Tindley Trailblazers in Indianapolis, Indiana, participate in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics programs. Through these programs, students work together to design, program, build industrial-sized robots, support STEM growth in their community, and compete as a team.

For longtime mentors like Jonathan Boutell, PE, success isn’t about building perfect robots.

Engineering with Impact

Engineers Week is a reminder that engineering is more than a profession—it’s a pathway to possibility and creates meaningful change. By mentoring students, serving communities, and designing solutions with purpose, we are helping the next generation imagine what’s possible and empowering them to transform their futures through engineering.