Celebrating Engineers Week at LaBella
Learn about the mentors who transformed the future of our engineers.
Engineers Week is a movement to show young people that engineering is creative, collaborative, and open to everyone. The celebration takes place February 22-28, 2026, and this year’s theme is: Transform Your Future.
To mark the occasion, we asked our engineers: Who transformed your future?
Below, you’ll read about the peers, teachers, family, and friends who inspired our engineers to pursue their careers. Thank you to all the mentors who have transformed the future of the engineers we are proud to call employees today!
Alyssa Burnell
Location: Poughkeepsie, New York
Title/Focus Area: Civil Designer, Municipal
Pierre Brissette of LaBella’s Municipal Engineering group in Poughkeepsie, New York, has truly transformed my engineering career. His patience with me is unmatched. No matter how many questions I ask or how basic they may seem, he always takes the time to explain things thoughtfully and thoroughly. He creates an environment where curiosity feels welcome (instead of intimidating), which has helped me build both confidence and competence. Because of him, I’m no longer afraid to dig deeper, challenge myself, and keep learning. His mentorship has shaped not just my technical growth, but he is the kind of engineer I aspire to become.
James Butron
Location: Buffalo, New York
Title/Focus Area: Civil Designer, Hydraulics & Hydrology
My uncle was a civil engineer in the Philippines and helped design the dam in my dad’s hometown. That dam was designed as a part of an irrigation project to provide water for hundreds of hectares of rice fields and has been doing so for over forty years. He also worked on a variety of projects across the Philippines and the Middle East. His story and experiences influenced me to study civil engineering and now I’m working in the hydraulics and hydrology field!
Michael Cocquyt
Location: Rochester, New York
Title/Focus Area: Senior Program Manager, Recreation Development
Tom O’Connor, the President of the Al Sigl Community of Agencies, introduced me to LaBella Associates by asking me to provide input on a Special Olympics Fieldhouse project. I didn’t feel I had much to contribute as a Physical Education Teacher and Recreation Director, but Tom did. I loved the experience and set out on a path to shift my career from education and non-profit work to engineering. I am so thankful for Tom’s mentorship over the years and for his foresight in guiding me to grow professionally, ultimately to my role here at LaBella Associates.
Liz DaBramo
Location: Glens Falls, New York
Title/Focus Area: Civil Engineer, Municipal
My dad transformed my future without ever once telling me to become an engineer. Growing up as the only girl on a small farm, he handed me train sets, tools, and pulled me into the real, messy, creative work of building and problem-solving right alongside him on the farm. I still remember the day he sat down and taught me square roots, not because it was on a test, but because he challenged me to stretch my thinking and believe in my own ability to figure things out. I credit him for giving me an unshakeable curiosity, a love of learning, and a deep sense that engineering is ultimately about serving others—making me a successful engineer today.
Margaret Fowler-McDowell
Location: Albany, New York
Title/Focus Area: Senior Lighting Designer
My mentors were: my Senior Professor in Interior Design at Texas Tech – Art Dept: She told me about this “new field” that was opening up in the design industry, Lighting Design. Jack Center & Jerry Baxter of Electrical Design in Augusta, GA: They took a chance on me. I started as a drafter and ended up designing Lighting, Power and Communications for them. Their office had a strong emphasis on lighting. Guy Meril of GE (retired): He taught me about different lamps and how lighting worked. Chuck Thompson: He was a lighting designer in Columbia, SC. He encouraged me and introduced me to IES (Illuminating Engineering Society). These are the main people, but there were so many along the way.
Johanna Heywood
Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Title/Focus Area: Program Manager, Due Diligence, Investigations, & Remediation
Dan Harpstead, PE / Kleinfelder: Dan hired me at Harpstead Environmental and gave me my first “real job” out of college. He taught me not just the correct way to do things – proposals, project work and client interaction, but WHY things were done a certain way. Standing outside the swing radius of the backhoe reach because the operator is focusing on his task not you, is one of my favorites! A couple years in, I was ready to go back to school. Dan encouraged me to consider an engineering degree and the importance of a license. Fast forward, he always returned a call and was a willing reference, career counselor, headhunter, and more. My career opportunities would have been different without the encouragement that I now try to extend to others.
Tyler Holmes
Location: Albany, New York
Title/Focus Area: Electrical Engineer
My biggest mentor that helped transform me as an engineer is my coworker and friend, Dan Valls. Dan is also an Electrical Engineer and, before becoming an engineer, he was a journeyman electrician for a decade plus. He has played a big role in my development as an engineer by teaching me how everything that I design on paper theoretically is actually physically applied in the field, which is extremely valuable information. I now have a lot more considerations when designing based on what Dan has taught me and I look forward to continuing to grow and learn from him in the future.
Gabriel Monck-Zweck
Location: Poughkeepsie, New York
Title/Focus Area: Civil Engineering, Land Development
My 8th grade drawing and shop teacher. He taught some basic engineering principles, orthographic drawings, and problem-solving skills. While working on orthographic drawings and designing my CO2 car, he told me how well I was doing and recommended I take the design and drawing class at the high school. I went on to take that class and really enjoyed it.
Gary O’Brien
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Title/Focus Area: Senior Civil Engineer/Civil Office Leader
Through high school, I wanted to be an architect. In the summers, I worked as a laborer for a construction firm that was owned by a close family friend. I loved the work and, after a couple of summers, I learned that he was actually a civil engineer. So, I decided to major in civil engineering and, as I approached college graduation, he introduced me to a friend of his who was a partner in a civil engineering consulting firm. I joined his company working part-time before graduation and then joined full-time after graduation. It was the beginning of a long and rewarding career.
Ajai Shankar
Location: Albany, New York
Title/Focus Area: Senior Electrical Engineer
The person who transformed my future and got me into the engineering field was my uncle. He worked as an Electrical Engineer at Grumman Aerospace, designing electrical components systems for the F-14D Tomcat and other Grumman aircraft, and later at Ford Motor Company, designing electrical systems for the Ford Mustang and other Ford vehicles. He saw I was good at math and science and would tell me stories about how he and his teams would work to develop ideas and solve problems at his job, whenever my family and I would visit. I was intrigued by the challenges he talked about and was encouraged by him to become an engineer. I became an Electrical Engineer and eventually a licensed PE with his guidance and support (along with my parents). I didn’t end up doing the same type of work he did, but I have been happily working as an engineer in the Building Design/Construction field for over 35 years.
