Kate Sharpe, AICP, ENV SP

I enjoyed writing and math in school—especially economics—and I have always been interested in an environmental career. While in college, I worked at the Penn State Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center. The experience had a definite influence on my career.

My entire 22-year career has been with Gannett Fleming. I started as an environmental planner and am now a principal economist and project manager. I work primarily on water resources projects but have also worked on transportation and land use projects during my career.

Although I joined the firm after graduating from Penn State with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in environmental economics and business, Gannett Fleming later supported me in taking a leave of absence and earning a master’s of professional studies in applied economics and environmental management from Cornell University.

I have had four children and lived in seven separate cities during my career at Gannett Fleming. The firm has always encouraged me to grow into leadership roles while affording me the flexibility I needed for our dual-career family.

I have two primary roles. I am the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) group manager for the Environmental Business Line, and I perform consequence analysis. NEPA applies when federal funding is used for a project. The federal agency or local sponsor of the project is responsible for considering the impacts of their actions on communities, human health, and the natural environment.

We provide our clients with support for NEPA regulatory compliance and all the NEPA-related statutes, such as the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and Executive Order on Environmental Justice.

I specialize in consequence analysis for water resources projects. For example, when an agency designs a flooding or ecosystem restoration solution, they come to me to evaluate the benefits and costs of the proposed project to downstream communities.

In communities where problems caused by flooding occur and a threat to public safety is present, our assessment modeling provides clients with the information needed to help them understand risk and develop resilient mitigation solutions.

The integral role that environmental management plays in infrastructure planning has become even more vital as we focus on the long-term sustainability and resiliency of projects. Also, during my career, federal agencies have required more robust benefit-cost analysis to demonstrate the gains provided by infrastructure investment and to make educated decisions about where and how to spend infrastructure funds.

I worked with the U.S. Department of State to prepare a master plan and Environmental Impact Statement to repurpose the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center into a foreign missions center. The project was complex because the campus was part of a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Being part of a large urban redevelopment project in our nation’s capital was very rewarding.

Watershed planning, which considers the problems within a watershed and identifies solutions to improve flood control, manage water supply, enhance irrigation, restore ecosystems, maintain water quality, and provide recreation.

The people with whom I work. The best part of working at Gannett Fleming is the deep relationships I’ve formed over the years.

Part of creating a better future is recognizing the importance of ecosystem services. An emerging trend in benefit-cost analysis is looking at projects from an ecosystem services framework.

We consider what services are being provided by a resource or ecosystem, such as flood control, recreation, water quality, or wildlife habitat. Some federal agencies are even monetizing these services and explicitly including them in benefit-cost analysis.

When I joined Gannett Fleming in 2000, benefit-cost analysis for watershed planning was not a significant service provided at the time. Collaborating with a colleague, we’ve grown benefit-cost analysis work for watershed planning at the firm to extend across 13 states and counting. We enjoy working in a diverse set of ecosystems and considering the needs of each system.

My willingness and ability to collaborate across the enterprise have come in handy. I love talking with all the different specialists at Gannett Fleming, and multi-disciplinary projects are a significant part of the environmental field.

Be present in the moment that you’re in. When you’re at work, give it your full focus. Likewise, when you’re with your family, turn off your email and give them your undivided attention.

My husband, a scientist with the U.S. National Park Service, and I have four children, ages 14, 11, 8, and 6, and a black lab puppy named Smokey. We love the energy that surrounds our lives.

Every August, our family enjoys traveling to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and relaxing on the beach.

Spending time outdoors in the Pennsylvania mountains with my family. Together, we enjoy hiking, camping, and kayaking.

I speak two languages—English and Spanish—and would like to continue to learn more. It’s a great way to explore other cultures!

I like to go for a walk or sit around the fire pit in the backyard with my family and listen to music.

I would like to have dinner with my grandfather, who passed away before I was born. From hearing stories, I know that he was in World War II. Imagine how different the world was during that time and the history he could share. That would be a meaningful dinner.

I have lived in many places—Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; upstate New York; and Spain. I’m very happy in State College. It’s a terrific place to raise a family and watch Division 1 sports.