Pamela Yonkin Promoted to Transportation Sustainability & Resiliency Director

HDR’s Pamela Yonkin, ENV SP, has been promoted to a new role as the firm’s transportation sustainability and resiliency director. Located in Boston, Yonkin will refine and oversee sustainability and resiliency efforts that help clients plan for the future and make informed decisions, as transportation challenges continually evolve.

“Because our projects can take years to plan and build, and are expected to last for decades, forward-thinking is critical,” Yonkin said. “If we don’t think innovatively, we run the risk of obsolescence before we even cut the proverbial ribbon. As transportation professionals, it is our job to show clients new ways to address the issues they face — from aging infrastructure, inadequate funding and a need to show progress quickly, to climate change, growth challenges, incorporation of technology and quality of life enhancements.”

As a principal economist and section manager, Yonkin brings more than 20 years of experience in regional economic analysis, economic development impact studies and benefit-cost analysis. Whenever applicable, Yonkin has applied sustainability considerations into decision making. Among her career highlights are work with LA Metro and on the development of the Kansas City Streetcar. She also helped the city of Austin, Texas, to maximize citizens’ $720 million transportation investment as part of the city’s Austin Mobility Bond project.

Yonkin combines her data-driven expertise with a passion for elevating quality of life and creating strong infrastructure. Co-creator of HDR’s Sustainable Value Analysis, she helped develop a framework for valuing even hard-to-quantify social and environmental infrastructure impacts. She is also a certified environmental sustainability professional from the Institute of Sustainable Infrastructure. Yonkin graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges with a bachelor’s in mathematics and from the University of Virginia with a master’s in economics.

“I have been thinking about these sustainability and resiliency considerations through an economics lens for a long time, but HDR has so much more to offer in this space,” Yonkin said. “I plan to leverage that depth and breadth of knowledge to educate our internal and external clients on the importance of these factors, and then offer approaches they can use to incorporate these considerations into their projects.”

Yonkin is an active member of the Women’s Transportation Seminar, the American Public Transportation Association and the American Council of Engineering Companies.

“Pam will bring a balanced approach to sustainability and resiliency for issues our clients face every day — from aging infrastructure, inadequate funding and climate change to environmental impacts and community wellness,” said Cross Sector Development Director Janet Gonzalez Tudor. “Her vast experience will allow our teams and clients to incorporate forward-looking solutions to build resilient infrastructure and improve quality of life for our communities.”

About HDR’s Transportation Experience

Our award-winning transportation practice is known for solving our clients’ most complex mobility challenges across all modes of travel. We are helping with multi-billion-dollar programs ranging from managing the Council Bluffs, Iowa Interstate rehabilitation program and the San Diego Mid-Coast Corridor Transit project to designing the I-4 Ultimate P3 project in Florida and the new Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge in New York. In addition to planning and engineering, our experts help clients advance projects and programs across the infrastructure life cycle with strategic funding, economic analysis, public engagement, real estate services, program/project controls, risk management and operations, and maintenance.

About HDR 
For more than a century, HDR has partnered with clients to shape communities and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Our expertise spans nearly 10,000 employees, in more than 200 locations around the world — and counting. Our engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services bring an impressive breadth of knowledge to every project. Our optimistic approach to finding innovative solutions defined our past and drives our future.