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Engineering News-Record has selected 22 Top Young Professionals for its 2026 Mountain States & Southwest region. The class spans Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, with leaders working in construction, engineering, architecture, transportation, renewable energy, safety, talent and marketing. Each regional winner is automatically entered in ENR’s national Top 20 Under 40 contest.
The complete 2026 regional class
The honorees represent both technical and business leadership across the construction and design industry. Their positions range from bridge engineering and water treatment to semiconductor operations, airport redevelopment, solar construction and workforce development.
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| Honoree | Position | Organization | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logan Brandenburg | Vice President, Traffic & Transportation | Bohannan Huston | Albuquerque, N.M. |
| Kayla Briones | Director, Safety Compliance/Training | Ward Electric | Longmont, Colo. |
| Carlie Cook | Director of Semiconductor Operations | Rosendin | Tempe, Ariz. |
| Justin Cooper | Aviation Leader | Garver | Englewood, Colo. |
| Eric Gunderson | Vice President | Kimley-Horn | Colorado Springs |
| Kyle Haas | Managing Director | 1898 & Co. (Burns & McDonnell) | Englewood, Colo. |
| Ryan Hankins | Project Executive | Clayco | Phoenix |
| Chad Harris | Partner/Co-Founder | FH Construction Group | Denver |
| Adam Hester | Senior Director of Engineering | Primoris Services Corp./Primoris Renewable Energy | Aurora, Colo. |
| Michelle Hoysick | Greater West Transportation Business Development Director | AECOM | Denver |
| Tara Jones | Talent Acquisition Manager | JE Dunn Construction | Denver |
| Jane Lin | Senior Project Manager | Redmond Construction | Denver |
| Will McCord | Electrical Department Manager | Burns & McDonnell | Phoenix |
| Austin Mouw | Senior Preconstruction Manager | Adolfson & Peterson Construction | Johnstown, Colo. |
| Sunny Natekar | Water & Wastewater Treatment Technologist | Garver | Tempe, Ariz. |
| Matthew Nguyen | Senior Director of Operations, Solar EPC | Primoris Services Corp./Primoris Renewable Energy | Aurora, Colo. |
| Dhruv Patel | President, Renewable Energy Group | McCarthy Building Cos. | Phoenix |
| Amber Smith | Marketing Director | Kiewit | Lone Tree, Colo. |
| Zac Taylor | Bridge Engineer | Kimley-Horn | Salt Lake City |
| Sandy Thoms | Vice President, Traffic Engineering | WSP USA | Tempe, Ariz. |
| Stephanie Tjan | Project Manager, Environmental Engineer III | AECOM | Albuquerque, N.M. |
| Gayatri Umashankar | Southwest Region Based Manager, Digital Building Components | Digital Building Components | Phoenix |
Work that stood out to ENR
Transportation and multidisciplinary delivery
Logan Brandenburg manages operations for 18 engineers and designers at Bohannan Huston, trains project managers and has led New Mexico transportation work including the award-winning Sunport Boulevard Extension. His service includes mentoring through the American Society of Civil Engineers, the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the University of New Mexico.
Michelle Hoysick advised delivery and risk management for Utah’s US-89 progressive design-build transportation project and contributed to major Denver transit programs. ENR also selected her as a 2026 National Top 20 Under 40 honoree. Zac Taylor brings bridge-engineering expertise from Salt Lake City, while Sandy Thoms leads traffic engineering in Tempe.
#1 Best Overall
Energy, utilities and climate work
Kyle Haas leads the Denver office of 1898 & Co. ENR credits his experience with more than 20 gigawatts of generation development, $10 billion in utility acquisitions and more than $550 million in engineering, procurement and construction projects. He also supports utility investment planning and renewable-energy initiatives.
Adam Hester leads Primoris’ utility-scale solar and battery-storage market and contributed as a city engineering subject-matter expert to Denver’s 80×50 Climate Action Plan. Matthew Nguyen oversees solar EPC operations, and Dhruv Patel heads a renewable-energy group in Phoenix. The class also includes Will McCord, who manages an electrical department, and Sunny Natekar, a water and wastewater treatment technologist.
Major buildings and complex construction
Ryan Hankins has led manufacturing, hyperscale and colocation data-center developments. His project record includes the $2-billion Salt Lake City airport terminal redevelopment, a 360,000-square-foot USAA campus expansion and the 240,000-square-foot Hayden Library modernization at Arizona State University.
Rank #2
Jane Lin focuses on design-construction integration. ENR describes her oversight of $80 million of scope on a confidential technology-headquarters project and complex hospital infrastructure work completed without interrupting patient services. Chad Harris helped grow FH Construction Group to $25 million in annual revenue within its first 18 months and has worked on projects exceeding $2 billion in value, including the $120-million St. Francis InterQuest Hospital.
Gayatri Umashankar leads prefabrication strategy for health-care and mission-critical projects. On one health-care project, ENR credits her alignment of prefabrication and cost control with a 21% improvement to program revenue.
Business, safety and workforce leadership
Amber Smith built Kiewit’s infrastructure marketing group, supporting more than 1,000 requests each year across 45 North American districts and groups. ENR reports that the team pursued more than $50 billion in work and achieved a 71% win rate on 60 award submissions in 2024. Smith is also a 2026 National Top 20 Under 40 honoree.
Kayla Briones leads safety compliance and training; Tara Jones focuses on talent acquisition; Austin Mouw leads preconstruction; Carlie Cook directs semiconductor operations; Justin Cooper leads aviation work; Eric Gunderson serves as a vice president; and Stephanie Tjan combines project management with environmental engineering. Together, these roles show that ENR’s recognition extends beyond field supervision to the systems that make complex work safer, more buildable and better staffed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How ENR selected the regional winners
Under ENR’s 2026 rules, nominees must be under 40 on Jan. 1, 2027, and based in one of the 50 states, Washington, D.C. or Puerto Rico. Applications must demonstrate industry experience, leadership and community service. Judges score three areas:
- Industry experience and education
- Career and industry leadership
- Community service and involvement
Nominations opened April 8, 2026, and closed July 31, 2026. Applicants submitted a headshot and up to three work photographs, with an optional testimonial. Judges did not score applicants from their own firms or anyone affected by a conflict of interest. The regional judging team consisted of Lindsay Bruckal of Clayco, Daniel Jensen of Michael Baker International, Jennyfer LaBuff of Sundt, Yanling Leng of IMEG and Ethan Walton of McCarthy Building Cos.
Why the recognition matters for the region
The roster reflects the Mountain States and Southwest’s broad infrastructure workload: transportation expansion, airports, hospitals, data centers, semiconductor facilities, renewable generation, battery storage, water treatment and prefabricated building systems. It also highlights leadership functions that determine whether projects can be delivered—safety training, recruiting, preconstruction, marketing, risk management and design coordination.
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Because all 22 regional winners move into ENR’s national Top 20 Under 40 contest, the regional announcement is both a local recognition and a national stage for emerging industry leaders.
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