Susan Best

Susan L. Best, SWE Fellow and Life Member, has been an active in SWE since she joined the Society in 1975 as a civil engineering student at the University of Delaware in 1975. Her career took her to California and Illinois, where she was active in the Los Angelus and Chicago Regional Sections before coming to the Philadelphia area in 1984. She has served at the local, region, and national levels. Susan was Section Treasurer from 1991 to 1993 after which she became more interested in raising funds for the section than in documenting them and became Corporate Liaison from 1996 to 2000. In addition to serving as the section’s Engineers’ Week Liaison from 1987 to 2009 and the ETSCO (Engineering and Technical Societies Council) Representative from 1987 to 1989 and 1990 to 1993, she was a science fair judge and Certificate of Merit award presenter. After completing a term at the Society’s Tellers Committee Chair in 1989, Susan served as Region E Treasurer under four Region Directors. She was also the Region E By-Laws Chair. In 1984 she switched from chairing the national Membership Committee to the Procedures Committee, where she helped direct the preparation of operating procedures to implement SWE’s organizational change to a regional structure. She was elected to the SWE College of Fellows in 1996.

Susan Best grew up in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. She attended the University of Delaware and completed her degree in civil engineering with High Honors when she graduated in 1976. Her first job was at Bechtel Power Corporation in Los Angeles, which was conveniently near the University of California-Santa Barbara where her husband pursued his doctorate. While working full-time she completed her master’s degree in civil engineering at California State University in 1979, specializing in transportation and structural engineering. She left Bechtel when her husband completed his Ph. D. and she found employment in Chicago. During her three years in Los Angeles, she was active in the local SWE section, attending meetings and serving on various section committees.

Upon moving to Chicago, Susan continued her career as a structural engineer with American Can Company. She expanded her service to SWE and began taking a more active leadership role. She also began her trademark of volunteering to be treasurer of whatever organization she joined.

In 1980, she pursued her primary interest in transportation engineering by working for Barton-Ashman Associates, where she was quickly recognized and given her company’s President’s Award in 1981. A year later she became a member of the Metro Transportation Group within the company. During same year she became President of the Chicago Regional Section.

The following year marked the birth of her son, Andrew and her reelection as SWE president. She returned to work part-time, chaired SWE’s national Membership Committee, and continued in her role as church treasurer. Her leadership in the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) was also evolving and she served as Director of the Illinois Section.

In 1984, the family returned to the east coast and Susan found employment with Orth-Rodgers and Associates. She rapidly assimilated into the local engineering community, joining up with the local sections of SWE and ITE, as well as the Engineer’ Club of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley Engineers Council. Two years later, she was elected Treasurer of Temple Lutheran Church, a position she held for a number of years.

In 1985 she joined McCormick, Taylor & Associates, which gave her the opportunity to develop a traffic engineering group that, as manager, she grew to ten people. In the group she was responsible for the successful completion of the traffic and safety analysis for many environmental impact studies, and for highway and bridge traffic engineering. When she was promoted Manager of Technical Services in 1986, she became the highest ranking woman engineer at McCormick Taylor, a firm employing forty engineers with a staff of 110. In this position she reported directly to the company’s president. In 1989 she was honored by her company by receiving an Outstanding Achievement Award in Traffic Engineering.

In 1990, her engineering skills and community service were recognized by the Delaware Valley engineering community when she was named the first Young Engineer of the Year. Her involvement in ITE continued as she rotated through the local and regional offices. She was elected ITE District 2 President.

In 2002 she joined Urban Engineers and in 2005 was named Delaware County Engineer of the Year by the Delaware County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers.

As her son grew, Susan found another facet of life to embrace, and she began volunteering in various capacities with the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and the Havertown affiliate of the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education. Following the lead of her son, she started karate in 1989 and achieved a second degree black belt. She remains active at church and was acknowledged for her contributions with a Temple Honor.

Susan L. Best, holds professional engineering registration in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. She is an active member of the National Society of Professional Engineers. She is an active member of ITE, the American Society of Civil Engineers, The American Society of Highway Engineers and the American Consulting Engineers Council, Engineer’s Club of Philadelphia, and Delaware Valley Engineering Societies.

Throughout her engineering career, she has promoted engineering through her involvement with science fairs, career days and presentations to grade school students. Her active involvement in a variety of engineering organizations has provided many opportunities to give students a better understanding of engineering.

Sources:
SWE Fellow Citation
1990 Delaware Valley Young Engineer of the Year Write Up
Philadelphia Section Newsletters
Press Release, February 2005, http://www.urbanengineers.com/hmtl/news_2005/feb2005-susanlbest.html