Brown and Caldwell appoint vice president to accelerate Midwest growth

Seasoned leader Tracy Ekola brings 28 years of environmental engineering nous to expanding region

Leading environmental engineering and construction firm Brown and Caldwell announced Tracy Ekola has joined the company as vice president and senior director of client services for the Midwest region. The strategic hire highlights the firm’s continued expansion to better serve clients in the Midwest’s municipal and private water, wastewater and stormwater sector.

Ekola brings an impressive 28-year environmental engineering and construction background with a record of effective business growth and project team leadership in the Upper Midwest. She has held executive/regional leadership roles and served as a design-build board member in past organizations. Using her design, project management, environmental permitting, planning, and construction inspection and administration expertise, Ekola has led numerous high-profile environmental projects at municipal and industrial water, and wastewater treatment facilities.

Outside of project responsibilities, her significant professional association involvement has seen her undertake several roles at both state and national levels, including serving as an executive committee member of the Minnesota Environmental Science and Economic Review Board for the past decade.

Based in Saint Paul, Minn., Ekola will have operational responsibilities for Brown and Caldwell’s Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois operations. She will align municipal and private clients with the firm’s innovative, cost-effective technical solutions to solve the region’s most complex water-related and environmental challenges.

“I am pleased to welcome a highly respected leader of Tracy’s caliber to our established and expanding Midwest business,” says Brown and Caldwell vice president and Midwest area lead Tim Block. “Her technical acumen will be of much benefit to our clients as the region prioritizes integrated planning and watershed approaches to address nutrient management, emerging contaminants and infrastructure renewal.”

Ekola holds a bachelor’s in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and is an alumna of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Education Program. She is a licensed professional engineer in 11 states.