Mile Two: Heading South
Road trips have a way of revealing how quickly a landscape can change. One moment you’re winding through quiet marshes and coastal farmland. A few minutes later, the highway carries you into growing cities, busy downtowns, and communities preparing for the next wave of growth.
Our next stretch of highway follows the Atlantic Coast, beginning in the quiet corners of southern Delaware before rolling through the Carolinas into Florida. Along the way, the scenery shifts from tidal waterways and historic waterfront towns to booming business centers and some of the country’s fastest-growing transportation corridors. Every stop brings a different story, but they all share something in common. They’re all places planning not just for today, but for decades to come.
The engineers, marketers, and leaders we’ll meet along this leg of the journey are leading the charge. They’re strengthening the infrastructure communities depend on every day, helping organizations tell better stories, and developing new ways to deliver projects that will serve millions of people long after construction crews have packed up.
The tank is full and the car is pointed south. Our next stop begins where the Delmarva Peninsula meets the Atlantic Ocean in a small coastal community with a rich history and an eye on the future.
The Foundations Beneath the Coast
Our first stop this week takes us to the southern reaches of Delaware, where the Great Cypress Swamp gives way to farms, salt marshes, and the coastal communities of the Delmarva Peninsula. Just beyond sits Lewes, proudly known as “The First Town in the First State.” Visitors come for its historic streets, waterfront views, and beaches. However, few stop to think about the infrastructure that keeps a growing coastal community like this running.
For Benjamin Hearn, that’s exactly the point.
As Vice President and Senior Project Manager at George, Miles & Buhr, Benjamine has built a career solving the engineering challenges that quietly support everyday life. His work focuses on the water and wastewater systems that protect public health, strengthen communities, and prepare them for future growth.
One of his most significant contributions came through the Lewes Water Main Canal Replacement Project. Designed to improve redundancy and expand capacity for the city’s beachside water system, the project took on new urgency when an unexpected water main break occurred during construction. Working alongside the Lewes Board of Public works, regulatory agencies, contractors, and project partners, Benjamin helped navigate complex permitting, tight site constraints, and emergency conditions to deliver a long-term solution.
His leadership also proved instrumental in the Western Sussex County Sewer Regionalization Project, which connected Bridgeville’s wastewater system to Seaford’s treatment facility. The collaboration helped local governments avoid costly independent upgrades while creating a more resilient regional system for the future.
Benjamin’s work rarely makes headlines, but its impact is felt every day. By strengthening the essential systems beneath Delaware’s coastal communities, he’s helping ensure they remain healthy, resilient, and ready for whatever comes next.
Every stop on this road trip reveals a different kind of leadership. As we leave Delaware behind and head towards Charlotte, North Carolina, we’ll discover that building stronger communities also means building stronger communicators.
Building Better Communicators
The miles between our first two stops tell the story of a region under constant change. The small coastal towns and farms gradually give way to growing suburbs, busier highways, and skylines that seem to rise out of nowhere. By the time Charlotte comes into view, it’s clear we’ve arrived in one of the country’s fastest-growing business centers. A city where innovation is shaping both the skyline and the future of entire industries.
Melanie Hawley has spent her career proving that great projects deserve great stories. As Senior Marketing Specialist at Little Diversified Architectural Consulting (Little), she has transformed the firm’s approach to awards, conferences, and thought leadership, which has helped elevate the firm’s national reputation while demonstrating how marketing can drive business strategy through intentional planning and measurable results.
She also helps shape the next generation of industry leaders through Little’s Spark Academy, where she helps educate architects and designers to become more confident presenters and storytellers. By helping bridge the gap between technical knowledge and a wider audience, she’s ensuring innovative work reaches the audiences who need to hear it.
Her influence extends beyond her firm through industry speaking engagements, mentorship, and outreach that encourages future generations to explore design and engineering. In a city known for developing business leaders, Melanie Hawley is proof that the AEC industry’s ability to create remarkable spaces is demonstratively improved by being able to communicate the ideas that bring them to life.
Leaving Charlotte behind, we head back toward the coast and into Florida. Before long, Jacksonville comes into view. It’s a city where historic neighborhoods, growing industry, and major transportation corridors converge. It’s the perfect backdrop for two Rising Stars helping shape how people move through and experience the built environment.
Keeping the Sunshine State Moving
Jacksonville has always been a city on the move. From ships navigating the St. John’s River to highways connecting Florida’s fastest-growing communities, movement has shaped the city’s history—and its future. That future is being built one corridor at a time.
As Associate Vice President and Area Leader as RS&H, Courtney Hance leads some of Florida’s most ambitious transportation initiatives. As Senior Program Director for the Florida Department of Transportation’s Moving I-4 Forward Program, she oversees multidisciplinary teams responsible for delivering one of the state’s largest infrastructure efforts. Her leadership has helped introduce innovative delivery strategies that accelerate construction while improving mobility for millions of Floridians.
Her influence can also be seen closer to Jacksonville through the First Coast Expressway, which is a corridor improving regional connectivity, supporting economic growth, and strengthening one of Northeast Florida’s most important hurricane evacuation routes.
But transportation is only part of Jacksonville’s story. As the city grows, so do the places where people gather, celebrate, and build community. That’s where Mallory Buckley’s work comes into focus.
As Project Manager and Engineer of Record for the Jacksonville Jaguars Stadium redevelopment, Mallory Buckley is helping transform one of the region’s most recognizable landmarks. Enhanced accessibility, expanded capacity, and innovative design features will create a better experience for the fans while ensuring the stadium remains a centerpiece of Jacksonville for decades to come.
Together, Courtney and Mallory are helping the region grow with purpose, creating infrastructure that moves people efficiently and destinations that bring communities together.
One More Stop in the Rearview
The best road trips aren’t remembered for how quickly they reach the destination. They’re remembered for the places that leave a lasting impression along the way. This stretch of the journey introduced us to communities preparing for the future in different ways.
In Delaware, Benjamin Hearn is strengthening the infrastructure that quietly supports everyday life. In North Carolina, Melanie Hawley is helping the AEC industry communicate its ideas with greater purpose and impact. And in Florida, Courtney Hance and Mallory Buckley are shaping how people move through and experience one of the country’s fastest-growing regions.
Different states. Different challenges. One shared commitment to leaving their communities stronger than they found them.
Our road trip isn’t over yet. Next time, we’ll stay in the Sunshine State a little longer before turning north toward Alabama and Tennessee where another group of Rising Stars is already helping write the next chapter of the built environment.
source https://zweiglist.com/mile-two-heading-south/
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