DOWL Announces Two New Water & Environmental Services (WES) Market Sectors Leaders
We are proud to announce the promotion of two long-time leaders within DOWL to key roles in our Water & Environmental Services (WES) practice area. Bradley Melocik, PE, PH, is the new market sector leader for Surface Water and Luke Tipton, PE, WRS, is the new Water and Wastewater market sector leader. They are following in the giant footsteps of Wade Irion, PE, who has been wearing multiple hats in the WES practice area and is a legend in terms of his contribution and influence at DOWL.
Luke is based in DOWL’s Reno office and has been with the firm since 2009. His career has predominantly focused on utility projects related to water and wastewater. He offers expertise in design, planning studies, rate analysis, connection fees, and master plans for end-to-end utility projects. WES Practice Area Leader Brent Farr, PE, considers him an obvious choice for this role. “He enjoys business strategy and has a vision for what the Water and Wastewater market sector can become. There is so much potential for the water resource industry in the Western US, it will be fun to see what this impressive group of professionals can do with Luke’s leadership,” said Brent.
Luke said he is thrilled to continue the relationship-building he’s already undertaken with others in the market sector. As leader, he plans to focus on supporting the needs of the group to help better serve their clients that provide critical infrastructure projects. “What we do matters,” said Luke. “The health, safety, and sustainability of our communities is at stake, and I look forward to working with the many talented professionals in the group to extend our reach to help better the lives of more and more people with the services we offer.”
Brad is in DOWL’s Anchorage office and has been with the firm since 2004. When Brad started here, we provided only ancillary hydrology and hydraulics work as part of transportation and site-civil projects. Over the last couple of decades, Brad has grown the group, its credibility, and its client-base to be one of the premier firms for hydrology, hydraulics, scour analysis, drainage analysis, sediment transport, and fluvial geomorphology in the state. Brent said that Brad has already demonstrated his great leadership skills and technical abilities, but points to his people skills as the main key to his success. “The Surface Water market sector is one of the highest performing sectors in the company, and I expect that with Brad’s leadership it will continue to shine,” said Brent.
Brad says he is lucky to step into a role where the technical experts in each region are well regarded and highly specialized in their respective markets. He says he’ll leverage their expertise to try to capitalize on these specialties. “I hope to build a team that crosses regional boundaries more regularly,” said Brad. “We have incredible technical experts throughout the firm, and with a little more coordination and effort, I am confident that we will be able to effectively market the expertise each region offers in other markets.”
Wade’s leadership is hard to summarize in just a few words. His tenure with the firm started in 1989 as a part of legacy firm HKM Engineering. Since then, he has had a profound impact, serving on the Board of Directors, as a practice area leader, and finally serving as the market sector leader for two large and busy market sectors. The titles and credentials don’t even begin to describe all the ways Wade has influenced the firm. Brent noted that Wade has coached and mentored so many people in this organization over the years, giving of himself to help others thrive. “I was always impressed with his steady and calm demeanor and his ability to make good decisions,” said Brent.
Fortunately, Wade isn’t leaving the firm yet and only stepping down from some of his leadership responsibilities to make room for the next generation of leaders.