Engineer Spotlight: Amy Morris

• By: Anna Seekins, J.D.
• On: 02/22/2022 08:29:18
• In: ACEC/MW Board Chair's Comments
• Comments: 0

Background

• Name: Amy Morris
• Company: T3 Design Corporation
• Title/role: President/CEO
• Hometown & Current town: Sugar Grove, Ohio & Fairfax Station VA
• Alma Mater(s): George Mason University
• Family/pets: Married, no children, with one dog and one cat who love my current hybrid work environment.
• Favorite DC-area restaurant: Coastal Flats
• Favorite DC tourist destination: When I have friends or family in town, I always take them to the Einstein Memorial by the National Academy of Sciences. I must have 50 pictures of me there with a host of out-of-towners.
• Favorite travel destination: Glacier National Park in Montana for its stunning beauty
• Favorite celebrity/brand to follow on social: Ryan Reynolds. The guy is hilarious.
• Favorite app: Words with Friends. I grew up in a Scrabble family, so I love being able to play from afar.
• Favorite movie: (Nerd alert) you can't beat Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• Currently binging on Netflix: Inventing Anna
• When I'm not at work you'll find me: Being outside: hiking with the dog, bicycling, jogging very slowly.
• Dream job: I'm in it. I love my little company and the people who make it go.

 

Let's Get To It……

• What got you into the engineering industry and what keeps you here? 

Engineering was a career change for me. I went to the Ohio State University for 4 years but did not finish. I left to make some money and liked doing that so much that I didn't return to college for 13 years. In the meantime, I worked as a bicycle messenger delivering packages and then at UPS where I drove a truck and delivered packages, before ultimately getting promoted into operations management. I found that I loved managing teams of people, and I was fascinated with transportation. When I went back to college to finish my degree, I changed to civil engineering because I was interested in learning how to solve issues that affect all of us who want to get from one place to another, quickly and safely. Which is of course, all of us!
 

• What is your area of expertise within engineering, and what drew you there? 

I specialize in traffic engineering. Because my background was in the delivery business, I was drawn to this field to apply engineering principles and problem solving to systemic traffic operational and safety issues. Whether that is for large, regional facilities or how to retime one traffic signal, what I do affects countless numbers of people, hopefully in a positive way. It still keeps me going, all these years later.
 

• When and why did you first join ACEC/MW, and what keeps you coming back?

I started attending ACEC/MW meetings as a way to network and develop relationships with industry colleagues. I keep coming back because this organization is vital to my business. It is the voice of our industry and pushes to ensure that the agencies we work for are fair in their business dealings with all of us. 
 

• What advice do you have for our newer ACEC/MW members about getting the most out of their membership?

Attend events and introduce yourself to people you don't know. Sit at a table with people you haven't met before. And get involved! This association runs on the volunteer efforts of individuals in our industry, so pick one committee and start attending to see where you can contribute. It is also an excellent way to deepen relationships with others in our industry.
 

• What has been your favorite ACEC/MW or ACEC event?
  • I love the topic-focused luncheons. It's a great way to learn more in a particular area, while seeing old friends and making new ones.

 

• What part of the ACEC/MW mission to Educate, Engage, and Advocate most resonates with you and why?

Advocate. All we ask for as a business is the ability to compete with an equitable playing field and to make a fair profit, but sometimes agencies have policies at odd with this very basic ask. ACEC has been the voice for all firms in these situations, so no one firm needs to single themselves out for any ill effects related to speaking out individually.
 

• What is your favorite ACEC memory?

Last summer, my firm was awarded the ACEC/MW small firm of the year, due to our involvement in leadership for committees. As a small DBE firm, we do not have the deep pockets to always be able to financially sponsor and contribute to the organization, but what we have is our skills, our talent, and our time that we are willing to devote to the efforts of ACEC. It was so gratifying to be recognized by those efforts.
 

• Best work-related advice you've ever received?

Search for the value in feedback or criticism. It is hard not to take feedback personally, and it is human to want to discount or even argue with someone who tells you something negative. In our industry, we continuously get feedback of some sort, even to the level of getting comments on design plans. Or getting criticism from an employee's exit interview. Learning to take criticism is vital to every professional, and looking for value in all of it is life transforming if you are willing to look at yourself and your actions from someone else's point of view, and even more crucially, if you are willing to change how you behave.