NAPERVILLE – The American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois (ACEC Illinois) has welcomed a new slate of members to its board of directors as it continues to advance the interests of engineers, designers, architects and engineering companies across the state. ACEC Illinois is the only statewide association dedicated solely to advocating on behalf of consulting engineering firms and is currently made up of over 220 member firms, representing over 12,000 Illinois employees.
“As Illinois continues to modernize and upgrade its infrastructure, ACEC Illinois members are on the front line with innovative designs and processes to expedite delivery and transform our state,” said Kevin Artl, president and CEO of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois. “Our leadership is focused on collaborating with decision makers to make sure that our state’s vital transportation network and other civil infrastructure are funded, maintained and modernized. We are especially grateful to our departing directors, including past Board Chair Lou Gallucci, for their unwavering commitment and invaluable contributions.”
New members of the Board’s Executive Committee are:
Board Chair – Jerry Payonk (Clark Dietz): Currently the Chair of the Board at Clark Dietz, Payonk is the new Board Chair for ACEC Illinois. He is an Illinois registered professional engineer specializing in traffic calming and capacity analysis, environmental assessment, geometric design and streetscape and he brings a high level of technical expertise in every aspect of transportation engineering. After attaining his BSCE from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Payonk spent the next six years as a Project Engineer in the IDOT/District 5 Office of Planning and Design before joining Clark Dietz in 1990. He previously served on ACEC Illinois’ Board of Directors and the Risk Management Committee and actively supports his local Chamber of Commerce.
Chair-Elect – Laura McGovern (Benesch): McGovern is the Chief Process and Innovation Officer at Benesch and the new Chair-Elect. At Benesch, she leads firmwide efforts to optimize production processes and keep the company current with industry trends through technology initiatives, project management and company knowledge sharing. She previously led the Illinois division’s civil and electrical group at Benesch, working on high-profile projects including the Jane Addams Tollway reconstruction. For more than 30 years, she led the Illinois MathCounts Program, a national competition for middle school students. Through MathCounts, she enabled engineers and engineering firms to interact with students during the competition to encourage them to pursue the STEM curriculum. McGovern is also the board chair of the Illinois Engineering Initiative, which works to retain engineering talent in Illinois through scholarships.
Past Board Chair – Lou Gallucci (V3 Companies): Currently the President and CEO of V3 Companies in Woodridge, Gallucci is the Past Board Chair at ACEC Illinois, and he will continue to serve on the Board. He is a civil engineer with experience in transportation engineering, erosion control, stormwater control, highway construction and construction management. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Marquette University.
National Director – PJ Fitzpatrick (HR Green): A civil engineer with many years of experience in the consulting, construction and transportation industry, Fitzpatrick will serve as National Director. He is currently the Regional Business Development Leader at HR Green in Aurora and was previously the principal at Kaskaskia Engineering Group in Geneva, Illinois. He earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Bradley University.
Secretary/Treasurer – Amar Rajpurkar (Parsons Corporation): Rajpurkar is Vice President/Mid-Central Regional Manager at Parsons Corporation. He has more than 30 years of experience in the engineering and architectural industry, holding leadership positions in project design, project management, operations sales and office administration. Most of his career has been focused on the transportation field serving transit, rail, aviation and highway, while supporting the water, wastewater, and water resources practices in the greater Chicagoland and Midwest regions.
In addition to the new executive officers, ACEC also named 12 Board members from companies across the state to represent ACEC Illinois for the 2025-2026 term. They are: Harvind Kaur Singh (President at Singh & Associates, Inc. in Chicago); Stacie Dovalovsky (Transportation Division Lead at Primera Engineers in Chicago); John Clark (Executive Vice President and Co-Founder at Peralte-Clark in Arlington Heights); Paul Kovacs (Principal at Bowman Consulting in Lisle); Brad Riechmann; (Vice President and Assistant Business Unit Leader, Transportation – Illinois Region at Horner & Shifrin in O’Fallon); Jeff Large (Chief Structural Engineer at Crawford, Murphy & Tilly in Springfield); George Ghareeb (Senior Vice President at TERRA Engineering in Peoria); Jeff Ball (President at Hanson Professional Services in Springfield); Natalia Homedi (President & CEO at Atlas Engineering Group in Deerfield); Clinton Ferguson (Vice President at GFT in Chicago); William Klingner (Water Resources Engineer at Klingner & Associates in Quincy); and Michael Zorn (Vice President and Civil Department Manager at H.W. Lochner in Wheaton). Also appointed to the position of ACEC PAC Committee Chair was Tom Hein (Vice President and Area Manager for HDR in Rosemont).
About the American Council of Engineering Companies
Representing hundreds of companies, we are the voice of the engineering industry in Illinois. With roots dating back more than 100 years, ACEC Illinois represents more than 11,000 engineers, architects, land surveyors and other specialists. Our primary mission is to strengthen the business environment for our member firms through government advocacy, political action, and business education. For more information, please visit www.acecil.org.