Summit Design and Engineering Services

Congratulations to Melissa Countryman, PE, PTOE, on graduating from the 2026 ACEC/NC Future Leaders Program.

Over the past eight months, Melissa joined a select group of architecture and engineering professionals from across North Carolina for leadership development focused on the practical demands of our industry.

Melissa has more than 14 years of transportation and traffic engineering experience, including traffic signal systems, safety investigations, temporary traffic control, and project delivery. Before joining Summit, she supported public agencies across Los Angeles County. Most recently, she has supported the NCDOT Division 5 Traffic Services Office in Durham, coordinating with signal maintenance staff and contributing to traffic safety improvements.

Her graduation reflects both her experience and the growing leadership of women in engineering. We are proud of the knowledge and sound judgment Melissa brings to Summit and the communities we serve.

Congratulations, Melissa, and thank you for everything that you do!

We had a great time gathering for our Pinnacle Picnic to catch up with colleagues and celebrate our Q1 and Q2 Pinnacle Award winners.

These awards celebrate employees who go above and beyond to support their teams, serve our clients, and live out Summit's values every day. We are grateful for their hard work and dedication.

Congratulations to all of our award recipients, and thank you to everyone who joined in on the fun.

Learn more about life at Summit: summitde.com/careers

Summit is excited to partner with the City of Greensboro Water Resources Department on a feasibility study for Ryan Creek, an urban stream corridor that presents an opportunity to reduce flood risk while improving water quality, habitat, and community resilience.

As our first task order under the City's competitive on-call contract, this study will evaluate nature-based solutions to restore portions of the existing stream and reconnect the floodplain. Our team will use field investigations, HEC-RAS 1D and 2D hydraulic modeling, conceptual design, and stakeholder coordination to develop practical, long-term solutions for the corridor.

This project represents an important milestone for Summit as our first project focused on using natural flood infrastructure to address flooding while delivering ecological and community benefits. It also builds on our recent resilience planning work, including the Town of Hillsborough's Flood Resilience Roadmap, and reflects our continued investment in helping communities become more resilient through innovative water resources and stormwater solutions.

Thank you to the City of Greensboro for the opportunity to support this important initiative.

𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘌𝘚: https://res.us/

Summit is proud to be attending this year’s ACEC North Carolina Summer Conference in Asheville.

Bill Hood and Wendy Bruss will be representing Summit, and Melissa Countryman will also be there as she graduates from the ACEC/NC Future Leaders program.

Summit has had a long-standing involvement with ACEC/NC, and we value the role the organization plays in bringing engineering leaders together across our state.

This year’s conference will cover important topics for our industry, including workforce trends, economic growth in Western North Carolina, emerging technologies in disaster response and recovery, federal and state policy issues, and developments affecting engineering firms.

We’re looking forward to the conversations, the industry updates, and the opportunity to connect with colleagues and friends from across North Carolina.

Link to Event: https://www.acecnc.org/events/annual-summer-conference

Our teams are made up of professionals at every stage of their careers who understand that engineering, inspection, planning, and project delivery have a direct impact on the communities we serve. The work is detailed, complex, and often demanding, but it contributes to something bigger than any single project.

We value people who bring technical strength, integrity, accountability, and steady problem-solving to the table. People who care about doing the job well, supporting their teams, and serving clients and communities with professionalism.

As Summit continues to grow, we are looking for motivated people at any stage of their career who want meaningful work, real responsibility, and the opportunity to help shape the places where people live, work, and travel.

If that sounds like the kind of team you want to be part of, we would be glad to hear from you.

Summit is proud to serve as a Smokestack Sponsor of the 2026 APA Virginia Annual Conference, taking place July 26-29 in Danville, Virginia.

This year’s theme, “High Stakes and New Horizons: Planning with Purpose for Virginia’s Communities,” reflects the practical and important work happening across the Commonwealth as communities plan for growth, resilience, infrastructure, and long-term quality of life.

Anne Darby and Will Teeples will also be presenting and speaking at the conference, bringing Summit’s planning experience and field-informed perspective into the conversation.

We look forward to connecting with local government leaders, planners, and partners from across Virginia in Danville.

Link to Event https://na.eventscloud.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=880089 #

Halfway through the summer, our 2026 Summer Intern class is already making a strong impression.

Back in May, Summit welcomed a group of nine interns across business development and marketing, architecture, transportation structures, maintenance management, transportation design, construction materials testing, Traffic/ITS, corporate administration, and several other areas of the firm.

Some are returning to Summit, and others are getting their first look at the work we do every day. Together, they have brought curiosity, energy, and a willingness to learn from the teams around them.

Please join us in recognizing and celebrating our 2026 Summer Intern class:

Alexys Chisley
Alexandra Garcia
Alex Lee
Logan Jones
Nathan Nieters
Lewis Thurber
Jessie Torres Fraire
Isabella Panek
Emily Womble

We’re glad to have each of you with us this summer and are excited to seeing the experience you carry forward.

As communities grow and temperatures increase, heat is becoming an important design consideration across the AEC industry. Architects, landscape architects, planners, civil engineers, transportation engineers, and other design professionals work together to:

- Preserve and expand tree canopy
- Design climate-responsive buildings
- Incorporate green infrastructure
- Select materials that reduce heat absorption
- Plan walkable neighborhoods with shaded public spaces
- Balance growth with long-term resilience

By considering heat alongside safety, mobility, sustainability, and long-term performance, AEC teams can help create communities that are more comfortable, durable, and functional for everyone.

Robbie Prezioso and Jon Arnold will represent Summit at the 2026 AASHTO Committee on Maintenance National Conference, July 19-23 in Westminster, Colorado.

This marks the second year in a row Robbie and Jon have attended the event on Summit’s behalf, and this year’s conference is taking place just a short distance from our Denver office.

The annual meeting brings together transportation leaders, agency officials, and industry partners focused on the maintenance, preservation, and operation of highway systems and transportation assets.

The work of maintenance is where long-term infrastructure performance becomes real. It takes practical engineering judgment, strong coordination, and a clear understanding of how assets perform over time.

We’re proud to have Robbie and Jon in the room again this year, continuing the conversations that help strengthen transportation systems across the country.

Link to Event: https://web.cvent.com/event/84c62c4f-b374-45e5-ba44-7c61df1c7eeb/summary

Summit Design and Engineering is built on the belief that our people are the heart of the company.

That belief shapes how we invest in training, professional development, and opportunities for our employees to keep growing in their fields. From industry conferences and technical learning opportunities to in-house training designed around the work we do every day, we want our teams to have the knowledge, confidence, and support they need to succeed.

Professional growth does not happen by accident. It takes time, coordination, and a company-wide commitment to helping people build their skills, share what they know, and stay connected to the standards our clients and communities depend on.

By investing in our employees, we strengthen our teams, our work, and the long-term foundation of Summit.