ENR West 2025 Legacy Award Winners: Glen Kaneshige, Nordic PCL Construction, Inc.; Erin McConahey, Arup; Cary Kopczynski, CKC Structural Engineers
Photos courtesy of Nordic PCL Construction, Inc., Arup, CKC Structural Engineers
ENR West is pleased to announce the region’s three Legacy Award winners for 2025: Glen Kaneshige, Nordic PCL Construction, Inc.; Erin McConahey, Arup; and Cary Kopczynski, CKC Structural Engineers. The three represent ENR West’s Northern California, Southern California, and Northwest subregions, respectively.
The Legacy Awards program recognizes industry veterans with many years of experience and long lists of contributions to their profession and community. More than a dozen people filed as candidates for ENR West. In choosing this year’s winner, ENR’s regional editors assessed several criteria, including each nominee’s history of innovation, career highlights and commitment to the industry and the communities they serve.
Northern California Subregion
Glen Kaneshige
President of Nordic PCL Construction, Inc.
Honolulu
Kaneshige has led Nordic PCL Construction since 1999, allowing him to expand throughout the Hawaiian Islands while participating in some of the state’s most prominent projects. He is also a staunch champion of the sector. He served as president of the General Contractors Association (GCA) of Hawaii in 2006 and is currently one of four Hawaii-appointed General Contractors Associate Governors on the GCA board of directors. Kaneshige has served as a leader in the NAIOP Hawaii chapter, the state’s workforce development council, and in 2009 served on a 16-person task force created by a Senate resolution to determine the impact of construction in Hawaii’s economy and develop recommendations for further industry growth to stimulate the state economy.
Southern California Subregion
Erin McConaughey
Arup Fellow, Arup
los angeles
For a quarter of a century, Erin McConahey held a variety of roles for Arup, including multidisciplinary design leader, principal mechanical engineer, sustainability consultant and project manager. His extensive project experience is a testament to the impact his work has had on the field of mechanical engineering. McConahey was an early champion of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within Arup, producing a learning resource on unconscious bias in STEM that was later distributed by the Society of Women Engineers. McConahey also initiated and designed the induction course for new graduates joining Arup. The programme, which still takes place annually, brings together junior staff with the aim of preparing them well for their future in the company.
Northwest subregion
Cary S. Kopczynski
CEO and Senior Director, CKC Structural Engineers
Belleview, Wash.
For more than four decades, Kopczynski’s firm has been a driving force in transforming the Seattle area’s skyline. Twice, ENR Newsmaker, has been recognized for CKC’s pioneering work in the fields of high strength rebar and steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC), especially seismic design as 2021-22 President from the American Concrete Institute (ACI). There, Kopczynski’s leadership was instrumental in promoting improved design and construction standards. He has also focused on the issue of productivity in industry, leading the creation of a new entity called PRO: An ACI Center of Excellence for the Advancement of Productivity.
For more on Kaneshige, McConahey and Kopczynski’s accomplishments, see the March 3 print issue of ENR West.
Here is a list of past Legacy Award recipients from each ENR West subregion:
