Woolpert Project Manager Rebecca Knolle, PE, PMP, LEED AP BD+C, has been awarded the 2017 Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Tudor Medal. The society of more than 30,000 international members awards the medal to one civilian member, 39 or younger, who has made outstanding contributions in engineering, design, construction, research and development or planning in the past three years, and has demonstrated and been recognized for leadership in project or organizational management.

Knolle is a former U.S. Air Force civil engineer officer who has worked at Woolpert for just over six years. Knolle earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Southern California and her master’s degree in engineering management from the Air Force Institute of Technology. She is a Professional Engineer and Project Management Professional, and gained LEED AP certification in Building Design and Construction. {module In-article}

Knolle was nominated for this honor by her immediate supervisor, Woolpert Senior Vice President and Military Market Director David Ziegman, AICP. Ziegman said Knolle is a force multiplier, who executes complex programs on behalf of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), Department of Defense Education Activity, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Air Force Reserve Command, European Deterrence Initiative and Defense Logistics Agency, to name a few.

“Rebecca manages a diverse portfolio of stateside and worldwide projects, providing the warfighter with the highest-quality designs and plans—on time and within budget,” Ziegman said. “Set apart by the extraordinary scale and breadth of her projects, Rebecca’s appetite for process improvement and technology adoption is evident in her advocacy of many of the technologies incubated by Woolpert’s research and development group.”

Ziegman cited technologies championed by Knolle at Woolpert that include cloud-based building information modeling (BIM), virtual reality technology, and cybersecurity practices and protocols. Woolpert Research and Development Facilitator Nadja Turek, PE, LEED AP BD+C, said Knolle never balks at introducing ideas and innovations to her culturally cautious clients.

“Rebecca is the kind of fearless leader who will accept the pain of implementing something new when she believes in the eventual benefit,” Turek said. “I recall approaching Rebecca about introducing the idea of resilient design to the command planner for AFSOC. It was not the trendy topic that it is now, but once I explained my rationale, Rebecca saw the benefit of resilient facilities and infrastructure to AFSOC’s tip-of-the-spear operators. Without hesitation, she supported me.”

Turek added that, true to her military roots, Knolle places “taking care of her people” above all else. She said Woolpert designers jockey to work on Knolle’s projects.

AFSOC Deputy Chief, Installations Division, Thomas E. Wahl said Knolle has a practical knowledge of AFSOC’s needs and workflows and this enables her to better facilitate projects to achieve optimum results.

“Rebecca is positively tenacious at holding her team and others accountable for action items and to the highest quality standards,” Wahl said. “She is responsive to our concerns, knows our weapons systems and requirements, and skillfully navigates otherwise costly and time-consuming obstacles to keep projects on track. I can’t say enough about her project management skills!”

Knolle said she is overwhelmed by the award and truly grateful to those who nominated her.

“I’m humbled by this recognition, knowing how many great professionals are out there doing tremendous things,” Knolle said. “I’m also very honored by those who took time from their busy schedules to document my achievements and put together an award-winning nomination package. For that, I am speechless.”

The 2017 SAME Tudor Medal will be among the honors announced at the Society Ball and Awards Gala at the SAME 2018 Joint Engineer Training Conference and Expo (JETC) in Kansas City, Mo., on Friday, May 25.