At Arcadis, we take pride in our people improving quality of life around the world, so we are bringing these experts closer to you. Today we sat down with Karyn Matthews who was recently named one of the Top 100 Influential Women in Georgia by Engineering Georgia magazine to talk about what motivates her and how she has helped improve mobility and the transportation industry in Georgia.
KARYN MATTHEWS, P.E.
Senior Transportation Engineer, Arcadis
At Arcadis, Matthews currently serves as a project manager for Cobb County Department of Transportation’s (Cobb DOT) Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) program. She has overseen numerous award-winning projects. Matthews also serves as Cobb DOT’s District 2 Engineer, providing a point-of-contact for the district commissioner and the public. Matthews has received multiple awards for her work and volunteer efforts, including American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE) Georgia Young Member of the Year and Section Volunteer of the Year honors; selection for Leadership Cobb; and a place on Engineering News Record’s 2016 Top 20 Under 40 list. Matthews also serves on the 17-person board of directors for the American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia.
Why are you passionate about the work that you do?
My passion stems from seeing ideas come to life — particularly infrastructure projects that benefit so many people. I also really enjoy what I do because every day we are faced with different challenges and I enjoy working through them.
How has your work changed Georgia for the better and improved quality of life?
Metropolitan Atlanta is a fast-growing area and traffic is one of our great challenges. Many of the projects I have worked on help our citizens get to and from work and school faster and easier.
The I-75 at Wade Green DDI interchange project was the first design-build project where Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) allowed a county to use federal funds and take the lead on project management and construction. Together, we established procedures for this type of partnership to be used in other municipalities.
When the Atlanta Braves announced they would be moving out of downtown Atlanta to Cobb County, several critical and transformative transportation projects were required in an incredibly quick timeframe — just three short years — to enable traffic to move in and out for games, accommodate pedestrians, and connect the new stadium and surrounding development to existing hotels and commercial developments. I became Cobb County DOT’s point person for the $42 million in transportation projects that included a new bridge spanning I-285 and changes made on Interstate North Parkway, Windy Ridge Parkway, and Circle 75. And we delivered the program on time for first pitch in 2017.
What role did you play in these projects?
As a project manager, my role is to push the project through the process from conceptual idea to physical reality, with minimal impacts to the traveling public. I work with engineers, environmentalists, surveyors, right-of-way acquisition agents and utility companies to ensure the construction process goes smoothly and quickly.
As district engineer for one of Cobb County’s commission districts, I interact with the public to communicate project plans and solicit their input for our work in their community, and coordinate with the Board of Commissioners, cities, Community Improvement Districts (CIDs,) homeowners’ associations, businesses and numerous public agencies to ensure we deliver projects that meet the needs of our community.
What drew you to a career in the AEC industry?
As a child, I was always good at math and schoolwork came easy for me. At first, I thought I would go into business and maybe be a CEO; but, in college, I discovered physics and found myself at Georgia Tech studying Civil and Environmental Engineering. I worked for GDOT in the Geotechnical and Subsurface Environmental Engineering Group but eventually moved into project management, which is where I have really found my calling. With GDOT, I worked on projects all over the state — from rural highways, to urban interstate interchanges, to even a culvert on an island only accessible by ferry.
What drew you to work for Arcadis and what do you like about the company?
It was a seamless transition for me to go from working for GDOT to the Cobb County DOT on behalf of Arcadis, who has a long-standing relationship with the county. I immediately embedded myself in the client’s offices. Everyone at Arcadis has supported and encouraged me to pursue the career track that’s best for me.
How have your efforts outside of your job (i.e. volunteer or otherwise) helped improve quality of life?
I have enjoyed being a member and board member of several organizations in our community, including the Georgia chapter of the American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE). In addition to providing technical programs and networking, ASHE provides a forum to interact with my peers and industry partners to help solve common problems and promote a safe, efficient and sustainable transportation system.
What does it take to be successful as a woman in a significantly male-dominated field?
My recommendation to women in this industry is to speak up. Don’t be shy when you have an idea or thoughts about a subject. And try to stay in-the-know about industry trends and the political winds for your community so, when tough subjects arise, you can speak knowledgably and confidently.
Congratulations, Karyn, and thank you for your insight.
Learn more about how Arcadis provides transportation solutions for state and local governments and citizen-centric solutions for cities.