VHB named Principal Chris Conklin, ENV SP, as managing director of its Tysons, Virginia office overseeing VHB’s activities in the national capital region. In this capacity, he will lead VHB’s efforts to accelerate the firms’ growth in one of the nation’s most vibrant markets. In addition to these responsibilities, Conklin will continue as the director of transportation systems for VHB’s six offices in North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia, managing transportation and institutional projects for public and private sector clients.
“Our nation’s capital is bustling with opportunities for improved transportation supported by industry-leading models of urban redevelopment,” said Michael J. Carragher, PE, president of VHB. “Chris has a proven reputation within the national capital region and within VHB for tackling a wide range of complex, time-sensitive projects for public agencies, private clients, and municipalities. His passion for innovation and technical excellence is critical to VHB’s growth strategy in the national capital region.”
Conklin joined VHB more than 20 years ago and has also worked in the firm’s Watertown, Massachusetts, Boston and Silver Spring, Maryland offices. During this time, he was responsible for delivering notable projects such as the Northeast Region Long-Range Transportation Plan for the National Park Service; Montgomery County, Maryland’s Context Sensitive Road Design Standards and Pedestrian Road Safety Audit program; the city of Rockville, Maryland’s Complete Streets Policy; George Mason University’s Transportation Master Plan; Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and rail station plans for Baltimore City; Princeton University’s 2046 Campus Plan and “Arts and Transit Neighborhood” Development; and a Transportation Demand Management Plan for the University of Virginia.
Currently, Conklin is supporting the Washington Union Station Second Century Development Plan; bicycle facility implementation projects for DDOT; the Arlington County Transit Development Plan; ongoing planning and engineering work with George Mason University; a Long Range Transportation Plan for the Southeast Region of the National Park Service; a study of improvements to Memorial Circle for the National Park Service; and the Virginia Tech Parking and Transportation Master Plan; among other projects in the region.
“I look forward to working with the strong team in Tysons and steering VHB through its next growth phase,” Conklin said. “For over a decade, the VHB team has worked with a broad base of local clients like VDOT; DDOT; MWCOG; WMATA; MDSHA; and Metropolitan Washington counties, including Loudoun, Fairfax, Arlington, Montgomery and Prince George’s, helping them to address their most pressing challenges. As VHB looks to further strengthen its capabilities in the region to help our clients with increasing needs, my priority is to build upon VHB’s core values, focus on technical excellence, and foster a relentless commitment to our employees, clients, and community.”
Conklin is a member of the George Mason University Civil Engineering Institute Board of Directors; a steering committee member of the Hays “Outside the Box” Innovation in Transportation Competition hosted by the George Mason University School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs; and a Transportation Research Board Transportation and Land Development Committee Member.
He earned a MS in Transportation and a MS in Technology Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. He lives in Rockville, Maryland.
