September 24, 2020
Roller Coasters, Leather Goods, Breakfast Foods, & Woodworking – Meet our Raleigh Stormwater Team!
By: Trang Vu
By now, I’m sure you know that we offer Stormwater Services from our Raleigh office. If you didn’t know, do you even love us at all? 
I’ll forgive you this time and I’ll even do you one better and give you an in-depth introduction to our team! Our Stormwater Services group in Raleigh, NC is led by Becky Ward, a seasoned professional with almost four decades of experience. Her team is comprised of four talented designers that bring varied expertise to the group. This week I was able to catch up with the team and ask a few questions to better know the personalities behind the designers.
Becky is a transplant, originally from Michigan, who loves roller coasters but is terrified of heights. Talk about sweet irony, huh? Her passion is to share her knowledge and experience to advise others on stormwater management (the perfect person to lead this team, in my opinion)! Becky’s favorite type of project is one that is challenging and forces her to use her imagination to find the best solution that supports and addresses the site’s current conditions. I asked about her favorite meal and she said she could eat tomato soup and salad any time all the time, and I can personally attest since I’ve witnessed her with soup multiple times a week for lunch!
Chris is an experienced stormwater designer that is dedicated to taking design challenges head on to meet our client’s needs while maintaining engineering standards. This is very appropriate since he is also a Tank Commander with the Marine Corps Reserve. When not at work or at drill, he loves spending time with his family on their farm, perfecting the perfect eggs benedict from scratch (I’m just waiting for my brunch invite over here), and putting their acre of land to good use for gardening and raising chickens.
Shane is a stormwater tech that enjoys woodworking and a big slice of buffalo chicken pizza after work (not at the same time of course, that could be dangerous)! His favorite project to date has been the Thomas Brooks Ball Field where our team resolved the drainage issues and slope failures around the USA Baseball National Training Complex (check out that blog here). His favorite part about working with Timmons Group? The people and the work life balance so he can relax with his family after a day in the office.
Abrham, a stormwater designer, is an Ethiopian native that likes spicy foods and leather goods! Well, he likes to make leather goods - he grew up helping his father make women’s leather purses (Abrham, Etsy is calling)! During his graduate class to obtain his Masters in Hydraulics Engineering, Abrham spent two years studying in the Netherlands and traveling as part of his academic excursions! He has enjoyed working on the Swift Drive Storm Drain Improvements because it offered him a chance to learn new techniques for Cured in Place Pipe (CIPP) lining. Yea, I had to look it up too: CIPP lining is a method of trenchless rehabilitation and restoration used in the repair of existing sewer pipes!
Alston started with Timmons Group as an intern last year and we’re glad to have him on full time on our stormwater team! He is a breakfast-for-dinner lover that has traveled to over 10 different countries while studying abroad in Belgium during college. I can bet his waffles don’t come from a box! He loves stream restoration projects, his most exciting being the Royal Street stream where he provided much of the upfront data collection, analysis, and is now assisting in the design. Alston appreciates how much Timmons Group’s leadership invests in our new employees by continuously offering training opportunities for career growth.
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