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For more than 30 years, Christian Agulles has led teams in the design of innovative building systems for a broad range of complex building types including sports arenas, a U.S. embassy, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold and platinum corporate headquarters, high-rise mixed-use buildings, and affordable housing.

Agulles began his career in New York City and has expertise leading offices in major markets such as Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. As president and CEO of PAE, he focuses on mentoring future leaders and bringing regenerative design concepts to all its projects.

With a passion for supporting his community, Agulles leads the pro bono work that PAE provides through its partnership with Dignity Moves, an innovative nonprofit organization that uses California鈥檚 emergency building codes to build interim supportive housing communities on vacant land or parking lots for people experiencing homelessness.

Agulles earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in mechanical engineering at the New York Institute of Technology.

Laurie Allen serves as CEO of ACMS Northwest LLC. She has built a distinguished 30-year career in the industry. Allen has developed a reputation for cultivating professional talent, with many former contract employees she introduced advancing to leadership positions. She now frequently works with clients who were once her employees and encounters interview panels comprised entirely of professionals she initially placed in contract roles.

Allen鈥檚 leadership philosophy centers on leading by example and prioritizing team development. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to be passionate about what you鈥檙e doing if you want to be successful,鈥� she explained. 鈥淲e鈥檙e nobody without our people and I know from experience that when you take care of your people, they take care of you.鈥�

She maintains active involvement in multiple professional organizations, including the Oregon chapters of the American Public Works Association and Construction Management Association of America, the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs, American Council of Engineering Companies, Women in Transportation, Business Development Institute, Program Management Institute, and Friends of Trees.

Anna Backus joined KPFF鈥檚 Eugene Civil + Survey office in 2008. Renowned for her expertise in sustainable stormwater design, her work includes landmark projects such as Eugene鈥檚 new Downtown Riverfront Park and the University of Oregon鈥檚 PK Park and the Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact.
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Backus co-founded the KPFF JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) group to create a more inclusive environment for all employees. Her specialty in mentoring is her understanding of minorities and women in engineering. As a queer woman, she recognizes the importance of validating other minority engineers鈥� feelings and life experiences.

Backus鈥� contributions to the community include leading the civil engineering effort for Emerald Village, a tiny home cooperative that, like many other affordable housing projects, had a tight budget. With consultants鈥� budgets largely determining whether the project would move forward, she reduced fees and invested her own time into the project pro bono.

A member of the American Public Works Association, Backus earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree in civil engineering from Columbia University.

Kristen Ballou鈥檚 greatest career accomplishment grew from an opportunity to play a key role in managing and designing several projects as part of the听Tualatin Moving Forward听bond program, which funded transportation improvements aimed at reducing traffic congestion, enhancing neighborhood safety, and providing safer access to schools and parks.

鈥淲hile the projects generally had modest budgets and were not large or highly complex, it was rewarding to contribute to smaller improvements throughout the city that made a meaningful difference for local residents, whether by easing congestion at a busy intersection or enabling pedestrians to travel safely and continuously along a corridor,鈥� she said.

Ballou describes her leadership style as one that emphasizes transparency, accountability and responsiveness. 鈥淲hen leading multidisciplinary teams, I鈥檝e found that success depends on fostering clear communication and genuine collaboration,鈥� she said. 鈥淏y staying open-minded and actively listening to diverse perspectives, teams can develop stronger, more innovative solutions.鈥�

Ballou has participated in civil engineering organizations such as APWA and ACEC, volunteered with the Beaverton School District and taught elementary students about civil engineering.

Marc Brune, a principal at PAE Consulting Engineers for 17 years, has spent 25 years advancing sustainable design in the built environment. He has led engineering efforts on four pioneering zero energy buildings: the Bullitt Center in Seattle, the RMI Innovation Center in Basalt, Colorado, the Kendeda Building for Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and the PAE Living Building in Portland. These projects span diverse climates while achieving net-zero performance through dramatically reduced energy use and on-site energy production.

Brune鈥檚 leadership philosophy centers on engaging collective intelligence to drive innovation. 鈥淭he best ideas rarely come from one person 鈥� they emerge from creating an environment where everyone feels empowered to contribute,鈥� he explained.

At PAE, Brune focuses on sustainable design advancement and mentoring emerging engineers. He serves with Oregon Business for Climate, the Zero Coalition, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), and the International Living Future Institute, contributing to high-performance building initiatives nationwide.

Marc Butorac, vice president and board secretary for Kittelson & Associates, has spent more than 32 years transforming transportation systems and growing the consulting firm from fewer than 20 people in one Portland office to more than 400 people across 29 offices nationwide.

A civil engineering graduate from the University of Idaho, Butorac manages and leads transportation planning, engineering and research projects nationally and internationally while mentoring colleagues and driving innovation in transportation system safety, efficiency and resilience. He serves as president of Kittelson LLC, a transportation forensic engineering and expert witness consultancy, and sits on multiple boards including the Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Safety, Risk Management and Tort Liability and the American Council of Engineering Companies Education Advisory Group.

Butorac previously chaired TRB鈥檚 Committee on Access Management and served as past president of both ACEC Oregon and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Oregon section.