Some of the construction industry’s most impressive young talent will be recognized as winners of ENR’s 2025 National Top 20 Under 40 award next year.
Selected from more than 450 entries received last summer during the Top Young Professionals regional competition, the ENR 2025 National Top 20 Under 40 group represents the AEC sectors in the US and Puerto Rico.
Winners will be recognized at a meeting in New York City in March. Additionally, the May 12, 2025 print issue of ENR will feature a cover story and photo spread featuring this year’s top 20 under-40 national honorees (listed below). The story will include the honorees’ professional insights and perspectives on the industry’s most pressing challenges.
Panels of independent industry judges selected up to 25 winners to represent each of ENR’s five regions. A national team of judges then reviewed the top-scoring candidates from each regional competition to determine the national award winners.
A special thanks to this year’s national team of judges:
- Jerri Daniels, Dewberry Associate Vice President
- Sadia Janjua, Head of Digital Transformation, Project Controls and VDC at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
- Jake Schmidt, Director of Project Development, FCI Constructors Inc.
Articles on the top 20 under-40 regional winners will be published in ENR’s respective regional magazines early next year. The selection process for the 2025 National Young Professionals in the ENR regions has been done a little differently this year, with a regional consolidation being announced. As the construction industry continues to evolve, the audience for ENR’s regional editions has also changed, with companies often working in wider geographic areas across the United States. With this in mind, regional edition newsletters and website content are evolving to accommodate as follows:
The New York, New England and Mid-Atlantic regions will merge to form ENR East, while the Texas and Louisiana and Southeast regions will unite under the ENR Texas and Southeast banner.
Likewise, the California and Northwest editions will merge to form ENR West, with the state of Nevada, formerly part of the Southwest region, also added.
Additionally, the existing ENR Mountain States region will add the states of Arizona and New Mexico and become ENR Mountain States & Southwest.
Finally, the existing ENR Midwest region will retain its name, but will add North Dakota and South Dakota to its coverage territory.
However, much will remain the same as each newly reformed region will continue to publish six bi-monthly digital and print magazines, a bi-weekly newsletter and region-specific digital content published daily on the new regional websites at ENR.com.
In addition, ENR’s successful Best Projects contests/events and Best Business Rankings will continue to provide the same level of opportunity to showcase outstanding business work.
If you know of an outstanding candidate to be considered for next year’s Emerging Leaders Award, don’t miss the opportunity to submit an entry to ENR’s regional competition when it is published next summer.
For more information on the competition, visit www.enr.com/top-young-professionals.
ENR 2025 National Top 20 Under 40 award winners are listed below in alphabetical order by last name. Congratulations!
Nila Abubakardirector, managing director, Walter P Moore. Originally sent to ENR Southeast & Texas
Lauren Algerdirector of sustainable design, STV. Originally posted on ENR East
Christopher BaerstenVice President and Project Manager, Kennedy Jenks Consultants Inc. Originally posted on ENR West
Alex Belkofersenior VDC manager, McCarthy Building Cos. Originally posted on ENR Midwest
Steven BurkeSenior Director, Sustainability, Suffolk. Originally posted on ENR East
Jeff Byrnesenior superintendent, JE Dunn Construction. Originally posted on ENR West
Priscilla Chavezbusiness development manager, PCL Construction Services Inc. Originally posted on ENR West
Hallie CrouchPartner, Chief Strategy Officer, Bialosky. Originally posted on ENR Midwest
Grisel Graydirector of preconstruction and estimating, Gilmore Construction Corp. Originally submitted to ENR Mountain States
Will Kirbyleader in transport sustainability, HDR. Originally posted on ENR Midwest
Jennifer LaBuff, application development manager, Construction Sundt. Originally posted on ENR Southwest
Lauren Ladowskivice president, ARCO/Murray National Construction. Originally sent to ENR Southeast & Texas
Jennifer Mahanassociate, Thornton Tomasetti. Originally posted on ENR East
Colleen MarnellMidwest Regional Leader and Senior Vice President, Kimley-Horn. Originally posted on ENR Midwest
Larisa Nabokova Escallerail and public transportation, Northern California, GHD Inc. Originally posted on ENR West
Adrian RussellDirector of DEI and Procurement, Shiel Sexton Co. Originally posted on ENR Midwest
Charles (Wesley) Southalldepartment manager, Burns & McDonnell. Originally posted on ENR East
Antoni ValdioseraCEO, VST Engineering Inc. Originally posted on ENR West
Ethan Waltonproject manager, McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. Originally submitted to ENR Mountain States
Catherine Woodwortharea superintendent, Hensel Phelps. Originally posted on ENR West
