Leadership

Thomas Hand was named Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer in 2022. He first joined Volkert in 1995 and returned to join the management team in 2003. He leads the development and implementation of the firm’s vision and strategic plan and oversees corporate profit/loss and operations. Prior to this, he was appointed as the firm’s chief marketing officer in 2017, after serving in similar roles for Volkert’s Gulf and Central regions, overseeing double-digit annual growth in both regional and corporate marketing. In these roles, he has also facilitated the firm’s teaming in major alternative delivery projects, such as the Inner Harbor Navigation Channel MR-GO Surge Barrier and the Biloxi Bay Bridge. Thomas began his Volkert career as a resident engineer for multiple projects with the Alabama and Florida Departments of Transportation. Thomas received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Auburn University in 1995.

Leon Barkan was appointed to the role of President in 2022 and Chief Operating Officer in 2020. He joined Volkert in 2000 and led Volkert’s program and construction management practice, as well as emergency management services for 20 years. Leon is an expert in successfully managing complex, multi-project programs that require a high level of collaboration among multiple user groups and funding sources. Leon has a bachelor’s degree in managerial economics and Russian language from Hampden¬-Sydney College in 1993, as well as a master’s in building construction from Auburn University in 1999. He is a certified construction manager through the Construction Management Association of America and is a licensed general contractor in numerous states.

Mike Sampson was appointed as Chief Financial Officer in 2018. Prior to this, he served as vice president and controller at Volkert. For more than half of his accounting career, Mike has worked at Volkert in a variety of roles, including staff accountant, senior accountant, assistant vice president, and assistant controller. Mike received his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in accounting in 2000, and his master’s in the same field from the University of Miami in 2004.

Holly Gibney was appointed to Senior Vice President for administration in 2020, where she oversees Volkert’s human resources, IT, communications, safety, and fleet departments. Prior to her promotion, Holly successfully led Volkert’s human resources department for 15 years expanding Volkert’s workforce across multiple states and regions as well as growing Volkert’s benefits, employee programs, and service.

Keith Weakley serves as Senior Vice President of the Mid-Atlantic Region. He joined Volkert in 2010 becoming chief engineer of the region in 2014 before being appointed senior vice president in 2020. He brings more than 28 years of experience in the design, development, and management of transportation infrastructure projects. While at Volkert, Keith has played an instrumental role in the region’s expansion in DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Leading more than 140 employees, he manages multi-disciplinary teams to deliver collaborative, sustainable, and innovative projects successfully. Since joining Volkert, he has assisted VDOT in the development of its very first cost-estimating manual. Keith received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech in 1993 and his master’s degree in the same discipline from the University of Virginia in 2006.

Louis Mitchell joined Volkert in 2021, where he serves as the Senior Vice President of the Carolinas region. He has 28 years of experience with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), having last served as its Western deputy chief engineer, where he was responsible for overseeing seven transportation divisions. He also managed a staff of 4,500 employees, including 500 engineers and 2,100 transportation workers. In addition to his NCDOT career, Louis has also served for more than 30 years in the United States Army Reserve. He currently holds the rank of Brigadier General (BG) in the United States Army Reserve and is the Commander of the 94th Training Division. Louis’ Team is responsible for training approximately 19,000 Non-Commissioned Officers both active duty and reserve in the Personnel Services regiments. He served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and has received ten service medals (including the Bronze Star Medal), decorations, and badges during his tenure. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Clemson University and a master’s in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.

Randy Redmond serves as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Expansions, where he is in charge of corporate growth and expansion. Randy joined Volkert in 2016, serving as a regional vice president in Texas. He was promoted to Senior Vice President of the Texas region in 2018 after Volkert’s corporate initiative to grow marketing and operations in Texas, therefore creating a new region. The Texas region expanded to what is now the Southwest region in 2022. Before joining Volkert, Randy worked for the Texas Department of Transportation for over twenty-five years. He has extensive experience in planning, design, construction, operations, maintenance, and financial management.

William Adams joined Volkert in 2022 as Senior Vice President for the East Gulf region, which includes Alabama and Tennessee. William comes to Volkert following a 34-year distinguished career with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT). William began his ALDOT career in 1986 as a construction laborer and with a statewide survey crew. He received his Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Auburn University in 1988. After graduating, he was appointed as a Party Chief of a statewide survey crew. Throughout his career, he has served as a project engineer, location planner, and state bridge engineer, working with in-house engineers and consultants to locate and design major highways throughout Alabama. William was promoted to Assistant Chief Engineer for Pre-Construction in 2017, where he supervised the Design, Bridge, Right of Way, and Quality Control Bureaus. He served in this capacity until his retirement in May 2022.

Mark McConnell serves as the Senior Vice President of the West Gulf region, where he oversees the marketing and operations of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Mark joined Volkert in 2016 and was appointed vice president and Mississippi operations manager. He has served as regional VP since January 2020. Mark retired from the Mississippi Department of Transportation after 29 years of service in roles ranging from project engineer to deputy executive director – chief engineer, where he oversaw all MDOT engineering. He served on several committees within the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO). He was also awarded Mississippi’s Government Engineer of the Year in 2010. Mark earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Louisiana State University.

David McFarlin, PE, PLS, PTOE, rejoined Volkert in 2022 as Senior Vice President of the Southeast region, overseeing marketing and operations of Florida and Georgia. David’s career in civil engineering and management has spanned over 27 years and a broad range of disciplines throughout the southeastern United States, with a particular focus on the states of Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. David’s experience includes design, CEI, maintenance, environmental, water distribution, and alternative delivery. David began his engineering career in the traffic department at Volkert’s Chattanooga, Tennessee office nearly three decades ago in the traffic and roadway departments, eventually serving as department head for the traffic and roadway groups, as well as survey office manager. Following his tenure in the Chattanooga office, David was promoted to the position of Vice President over Volkert’s Georgia office and joined the Board of Directors. David holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Tennessee. He is a registered professional engineer in sixteen states, a professional land surveyor in two states and he holds a professional traffic operations engineer (PTOE) certification.

Jimmy Screen was promoted to Senior Vice President of Volkert’s program management region in 2022, where he oversees the marketing and operations of the national program and construction management practice. These programs encompass several disciplines including construction management, program administration, grant management, owner’s representation, and disaster services. He joined Volkert in 2020 with over 25 years of experience in both program and disaster management. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy with an M.B.A from LSU, Jimmy has worked in senior leadership roles in these services for industry leaders Atkins, and Shaw Group.

Jason Watters has led the Midwest region since 2020. Jason joined Volkert in July 2017 as operations manager for the Midwest region and served as a regional vice president while growing Volkert’s energy sector practice across the company. Jason spent the first eight years of his career with the Illinois Department of Transportation. He has been in consulting for the past 20 years, focusing primarily on the transportation industry and right of way acquisition. Jason holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and an MBA from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and is a licensed professional engineer in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Iowa, and Florida.

Travis Falls serves as Senior Vice President of the Southwest Region. He joined Volkert in 2014 as a Vice President of the former Texas Region, a role that expanded to Vice President of Operations for the Southwest Region in 2022 before he was named Senior Vice President in 2023. Travis has been a driving force in positioning Volkert as a major player in the Texas infrastructure landscape. His leadership is evident in his track record of delivering key projects for TxDOT. Under his guidance, teams have managed complex designs on multiple segments of I-35, including the $107 million SH 123 interchange through San Marcos and the $607 million Capital Express (“CapEx”) North segment in Austin, culminating in the recent selection to design the CapEx Central University section in downtown Austin—a project that is valued at an estimated $3 to $4 billion dollars. Travis’ dedication to quality, coupled with his proven ability to deliver outstanding results, positions Volkert for continued growth and leadership in the region. Travis received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University and is a licensed professional engineer in six states.

George Talbot serves as Senior Vice President for External Affairs. He provides corporatewide leadership in government and industry relations at the local, state, and federal level, and represents the company’s interests in policy and legislative circles. George has served as Vice President for External Affairs since 2023 after joining Volkert as East Gulf Director of Governmental and External Affairs in 2020. George came to Volkert from the Mobile (Alabama) city government, where he served as the Executive Director of Communications and External Affairs, a position he held in Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s administration since 2013. He previously served as the political editor for the Mobile Press-Register, a newspaper serving South Alabama, and AL.com, where he covered statewide political, business, and economic development news. He is a native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and he holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from  Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. He is also a graduate of Leadership Alabama and Harvard University’s Executive Education program.