With regional offices in Colorado and Utah, and projects reaching Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, RS&H has steadily expanded its footprint in the Mountain States. The architecture, engineering and consulting firm provides services for transportation, aviation, federal, health and science, aerospace and corporate projects nationwide; however, its regional focus is primarily on the aviation and transportation sectors, which are experiencing tremendous growth. The company’s regional footprint has grown with the acquisitions of Colorado companies Tsiouvaras Simmons Holderness (TSH) in 2018 and HB&A in 2024, bringing local and specialized capabilities to RS&H.
Lisa Robert, CEO of the Denver-based company, discussed recent projects and opportunities with ENR Senior Editor Jennifer Seward. This Q&A has been edited and condensed.
What projects are driving your success?
The work we are doing at Bozeman International Airport is the story of longevity… We are proud that the work we are doing now is the third part of the expansion efforts we have been working on with Bozeman for a decade.
The Salt Lake City CREX, a planning and environmental contract, is an expansion of an existing airport runway that will be completed in time for the 2034 Olympics. We are also the lead designer on the West Vail Pass Auxiliary Lanes project with the Colorado Department of Transportation.
We have increased our headcount over the past five years by 35% in the Mountain States and our gross revenue has increased by 45%. Behind the employees in the Mountain region, we have more than 1,900 employees across the country.
Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport is designed to enjoy Montana’s mountain views.
Image courtesy of RS&H
How are you managing this growth?
We have incredible employees who are strongly committed to the relationships they form with clients, partners, our subconsultants and our contracting partners. We launched our strategic plan last July and believe we can double its size over the next five years. This creates an inflection point for us to contemplate how to support this growth and maintain customer quality, a strong employee experience and discipline in what we do. We’re improving our onboarding experience because as we onboard people, this is their first experience with us, and a positive onboarding experience is an indicator of [retention]. We listen to feedback through our employee engagement surveys, then pivot to address any areas of tension; this is a necessary practice as any organization grows.
In and around our project, we’ve put scalable solutions in place that create context and understanding about what our minimum expectation levels are, regardless of the client’s expectations. We also have very focused plans related to our market growth, either in our core markets or in a geographic area.
Key projects at a glance
Boise Airport Runway 10L-28R Rehabilitation includes advanced engineering solutions while maintaining smooth operations for commercial, military and general aviation users.
Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport East Terminal Expansion, Belgrade, Mt.it is the third piece of airport expansion efforts undertaken by RS&H over the past decade.
Salt Lake City International Airport, UV taxiways The improvements will promote connectivity and sustainability, helping SLC reduce costs and secure FAA funding.
North I-25 Express Lanes, Johnstown to Fort Collins, Colo.includes a $600 million design-build 14.5-mile corridor extension with 19 bridges and the state’s first medium-load bus rapid transit (BRT) hub.
“We’re leaning into how to harness and deploy AI in an appropriate, human-centered way.”
—Lisa Robert, CEO, RS&H
What about new technologies?
We are leaning into how to harness and deploy AI in a human-centered and appropriate way. Whether for research, internal processes within the organization or to contemplate what we deliver to our clients, we strongly believe [AI is] a tool that we take advantage of and not a replacement for that need for human interaction and supervision. While the models are becoming more powerful by the day, there is no replacement within our profession nor should there be a fiduciary responsibility and a stewardship responsibility to replace the engineering and architectural capabilities that protect public health and safety. It is part of our strategic plan to continue evolving in a responsible way.
What project trends can we anticipate?
The IIJA and the stability of funding it provided, which expires in September, really gave state agencies a chance to do long-term planning. I have incredible hopes that there will be a reauthorization of the IIJA, and at the same time, we know that time is running out for that to become a reality. We are very involved in national organizations that help keep this dialogue relevant and top of mind. Because of the markets we focus on in the Mountain States, a reauthorization or expansion will be critical in predicting the future. [We must realize that] the resources and the spaces we have to express our opinion about the importance of what this means for economic development, the relief of congestion and the mobility of users is one of our fiduciary responsibilities, not only from a business point of view but from the economic development of the region.
