Gay Knipper

For nearly 25 years, Gay Knipper, National Project/Program Management Service Director for PB's Americas operations, has been responsible for the management, administration and financial controls of multimillion-dollar endeavors for clients throughout the United States. During this time, she has worked on such trademark PB projects as the Superconducting Super Collider in Texas, the Louisiana TIMED (Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development) program, and the firm's support of the Federal Emergency Management Administration's (FEMA) efforts in providing aid to California following the Northridge Earthquake in 1994 and major floods in the northern region in 1997.

With that kind of project experience, it's no wonder that in 2005 PB selected Gay to serve as Program Manager for one of the firm's most important internal efforts: the PB Institute, a comprehensive training initiative to enhance the company's overall educational and training opportunities, and to assist employees in maintaining professional licenses and technical certifications. It features PB-sponsored training courses that are certified for continuing education credits. Categories include project management; soft skills such as diversity, time management, and team building; and overall business skills.

Gay believes the PB Institute is an affirmation of the firm's commitment to expanding the knowledge of its employees. "PB has adopted a very aggressive technical training program that enables our employees to maintain their licenses without having to venture outside the firm," she says. "Not many companies place this kind of emphasis on the enhancement and sharing of technical knowledge."

Gay has been enhancing her own technical knowledge since she joined the firm in 1982, armed with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the University of New Orleans. Her first position was Project Administrator, which she said was a new role in the firm at the time. "I was allowed to define what the position would become," she said.

Gay defined her management and administration skills on projects such as the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar Rehabilitation Project, where she provided contract administration services; and the $650 million capital improvement program at New Orleans International Airport, where she served as Funds Manager. She also served as Manager of Finance and Administration for the Louisiana region.

Born and raised in Louisiana, Gay noted that she has taken pride in PB's work in the state—including the $4 billion TIMED program for the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development, where a PB-led joint venture is managing the acceleration of projects in the department's economic development program. However, Gay underscored the particular importance of the TIMED project in the aftermath of the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

"TIMED was already a tremendously exciting and very successful program prior to Hurricane Katrina," she says. "Its improvements to infrastructure throughout the state have now become even more important because this infrastructure is what will serve as the backbone of the region's reconstruction."

Looking back on nearly 25 years at PB, Gay says the firm not only provides its employees with the opportunity to work on important, high-profile projects, but to work with high-quality people—a tradition that the PB Institute will play a key role in maintaining. "PB is a company of conscientious, high-integrity professionals," she says, "which makes coming to work pleasant and professionally fulfilling."

Christopher Reseigh, Chairman of the PB Institute, says, "Gay is an outstanding individual who has been a major contributor to PB throughout her career. She set up and managed the financials and administration at the New Orleans International Airport joint venture and later for the TIMED project. Gay has been equally fantastic as Field Manager of project administrators and as a financial department troubleshooter and trainer. In addition to all of this, she has raised a family, obtained a master's degree in Business Administration, and dealt with Hurricane Katrina as a New Orleans native and resident. We look forward to Gay's role on the PB Institute and we believe she will have a positive influence on its success."