ASCE Philadelphia Recognizes Villanova Engineering Alumna

Kristin Leese

The Philadelphia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has cited

Kristin Leese as our Young Government Engineer of the Year for 2016. This award was presented to Ms. Leese at the Section’s annual Spring Social, which was conducted on May 5.

Ms. Leese serves as Program Director Structures Production for the National Passenger

Railway Corporation, also known as Amtrak, and has held this title since December. In this capacity she is directly responsible for the development of the annual program for the Structures Production Department and management of individual projects through their various phases of implementation. She has been with Amtrak for the past six years and was a Senior Engineer for Structures Production prior to her promotion to Director. She handles a number of capital construction projects along the Northeast Corridor south of New York as well as the Keystone and Empire Corridors. Several of these undertakings are part of Amtrak’s plan for expansion of high-speed rail service.

Ms. Leese received her Bachelors degree in civil engineering from Villanova University in 2006 and remained at Villanova for her Masters degree two years later. She has been extremely active in the Section’s Younger Member Forum, where she currently serves as Social Chair, and in the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association. She also volunteers with the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence.  She lives in the Old City section of Philadelphia.