Michelle knows it might sound like a sound bite, but she feels that her geotechnical engineering work in trenchless design—a less-disruptive construction method for installing new pipelines below existing highways, rivers and environmentally sensitive areas—truly makes the world a better, safer place. “It is important to be able to support the necessary infrastructure while protecting the environment,” she says, “and trenchless technologies can do this.”

Diverse projects like recent ones in Alaska, Louisiana, Utah and Pennsylvania take Michelle far afield. She has worked on a pipeline that went up an 80-foot slope, a 36-inch water transmission line that crossed four water bodies and a culvert replacement project that will need a 20-foot wide tunnel built under an active railroad track. Michelle says this range of projects and locations gives her a unique perspective on GeoEngineers. “I get to work with many of our offices and interact with a large group of great people.”

Much of Michelle’s leisure time revolves around her two kids. During the summer, they camp, BBQ and hike, and in the winter, the family hits the ski slopes. Michelle also likes to ride her red 2010 Harley Streetglide and scuba dive (“yes, even here in Washington where the water is cold,” she insists). Michelle doesn’t generally design pipelines or do trenchless consultation on the weekends, but admits, “I definitely do check out job sites when I drive by them. And my kids can tell you the difference between an open-cut project and a Horizontal Directional Drill!”