May 2015
Associate Denise L. Richards, PE Wins 40 Under 40 Award
Not yet 40 and Denise Richards has already achieved incredible career goals. On the evening of May 19, 2015, Denise L. Richards, PE, an Associate at Keast & Hood was recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as a 40 Under 40 Award winner. Denise was joined by her family, friends, and colleagues.
Denise has differentiated herself as a creative engineer, a problem-solver who thinks critically and collaborates with multi-disciplinary teammates, and an innovator in structural techniques and technology. An Associate with Keast & Hood, one of the region’s oldest and most respected structural engineering firms, Denise manages significant projects, including the award-winning Statue of Liberty National Monument life-safety upgrades, new construction of the LEED Silver Certified 3711 Market Street in Philadelphia’s University City Science Center, and ongoing multi-million-dollar redevelopment design for The Gallery mall. As an active firm leader and a driving force within the firm’s top management team, Denise supports Keast & Hood’s professional reputation through insightful engineering, exceptional client service, and industry involvement. She has been integral in the firm’s adoption and standardization of BIM (Building Information Modeling) technology, advancing the firm’s use of BIM on new construction projects from less than 20 percent in 2009 to more than 80 percent in 2014.
Denise freely shares her professional knowledge within the design and construction industry, as a speaker and writer about engineering projects and structural solutions for organizations including the American Institute of Architects, American Society of Civil Engineers, Structural Engineers Association of Pennsylvania, New Jersey History and Historic Preservation Conference, and Design on the Delaware. She volunteers her time shaping future generations of design and construction professionals as a mentor in the ACE Mentor Program, leads a community group in effectively communicating with the city and residents for resolution of neighborhood issues, and balances all of her professional and community responsibilities with being a wife and mother of two children under the age of four and one on the way.
Congratulations to Denise and all of the 2015 40 Under 40 Award recipients!