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Even as Teresa Elliott’s career in the public sector comes to a close, she is continuing to garner accolades.

Elliott has worked for the Portland Water Bureau for nearly 25 years, including the past five as chief engineer. She is preparing to retire, but recently was named the 2020 Government Engineer of the Year by the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Oregon Section. The honor, following a nomination by peers, recognizes distinguished work in public service and contributions to the community.

In 2020, when project teams oftentimes faced exceptional challenges, Elliott helped oversee completion of the massive Washington Park Reservoir. The 12.4 million-gallon, seismically resilient structure will serve the city of Portland in the footprint where an open-air reservoir sat previously.

That was just one of the numerous projects Elliott worked on in recent years to improve seismic strength of city infrastructure. Recently, she announced her plans to retire.

鈥淚’ve known Teresa for 17 years, and she is a force of nature and a role model for young women and gay and lesbian engineers,鈥� said Mike Stuhr, a retired Water Bureau administrator and the person who appointed Elliott chief engineer. 鈥淭eresa has added tremendous value to the entire metro area by managing huge projects 鈥� the new reservoirs at Washington Park, Powell Butte and Kelly Butte 鈥� to ensure that our water supply can be restored after the 鈥榖ig one.’ It’s really fantastic recognition for an engineer and a woman engineer in this state who has contributed to the community that we live in.鈥�

Elliott was unavailable for a full interview. However, via email she stated she was inspired by two former presidents.

鈥淚 am surprised, honored and touched by the people that believed in and nominated me for the award,鈥� she stated. 鈥淚 have been in public (service) for over forty years. I listened over the years to presidents John F. Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt asking not what the country can do for us, but rather what we can do for our country, community, etc., for the greater good. That translates to public service for me. That, along with the golden rule that I was raised by 鈥� do unto others as you want done to you and lead by example 鈥� are how I live my life.鈥�

In the 1990s, Elliott and Mary Ellen Collentine, now retired, were among the first women engineers to join the Water Bureau. They worked together on numerous projects, Collentine said.

Elliott 鈥渨as always very thorough in everything she did; (she was) technically astute,鈥� Collentine said. 鈥淪he had a way of making her opinion known and being able to advocate for her opinion but in a positive way. I would say when I first came to work for the Water Bureau, I don’t think there were any other women in the engineering group.鈥�

Over the years, both Elliott and Collentine rose through the ranks and helped the Water Bureau upgrade infrastructure that in many cases was built in the late 19th century.

鈥淭eresa has always had an interest in seismic resilience and emergency response, and we kind of shared that,鈥� Collentine said. 鈥淪he’s always been involved with ASCE, and she was on the committee that went and looked at the infrastructure impacts after earthquakes. She even went to Turkey to study this 鈥� and that was close to 20 years ago.鈥�

Collentine added that she got to know Elliott particularly well in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when the Water Bureau sent a crew to New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to help them recover.

鈥淭hat was kind of a bonding experience for us,鈥� Collentine said. 鈥淣o other water utility had done that. We were the first.鈥�

Out of that experience, she added, the national Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network was formed. It facilitates communication between public utility agencies following a natural disaster or other emergency. Oregon has its own chapter, and both Collentine and Elliott have played active roles.

Elliott was recognized by the 91视频 as a Newsmaker in 2016. This recent honor from ASCE is special, Collentine said.

鈥淚’m just so pleased she’s been awarded this by the Oregon section of ASCE,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think it’s well-deserved, particularly with her leadership on the reservoirs and her leadership as our chief engineer. I think it’s really great that her peers are recognizing her in the excellence she’s provided to the bureau and the wider engineering community here in Oregon.鈥�