Brad Johnson, P.E., PTOE (M) is the director of Traffic and Planning with HMB Professional Engineers in Frankfort, KY, USA.
Brad has been involved with ITE for most of his career and has served as the Section President and a Section Representative to the Southern District for ITE Kentucky. I first met
Brad a few years ago at Southern District Board meetings. The Southern District had advanced some unique programs to help train ITE members in leadership where Brad was a participant. Through these programs, he was able to benefit in improving communication skills, building relationships with peers, and mentoring employees. The practical applications of this ITE experience helped Brad with meeting facilitation and becoming more comfortable with both formal and informal meetings and other public events. This is the power of ITE, a place where leadership skills can be explored and developed in a safe harbor and applied to help advance career trajectories.
One of Brad’s greatest leadership hurdles has been how to effectively work with challenging people. It’s an area many in our industry shy away from. Brad has approached these leadership challenges as an opportunity to learn and grow both personally and professionally.
Most of Brad’s career has been in transportation engineering, forecasting, planning, and impact studies. His path is not uncommon among many ITE members who, while being a licensed P.E., spend significant portions of their career performing planning work. Brad chose to combine a civil engineering undergrad degree with a business administration graduate degree from the University of Kentucky. This engineering/business blend is not common in our industry but very practical. It helped the ITE Kentucky Section in having a person that could step in as the finance chair of a large joint annual district meeting as Brad did with the Southern and Great Lakes Districts.
As we settle into more virtual ITE events, make sure to catch up with Brad either virtually or at upcoming meetings when we are able to gather again. You may find commonalities in your career journeys and be the beneficiary of his thoughtful insights. Brad is like many engineers, he’s analytical, an introvert, and devoted to his family. Often, we stereotype leadership qualities a different way, yet when you talk to Brad, it’s clear he’s worked hard to develop leadership qualities. A great conversation to strike up, unless you would like to chat about his love for anything Disney, the most recent Jimmy Buffett concert he attended, the latest in the stock market, or what book he is reading. One thing is for sure, he’s having fun along life’s journey in shaping our communities.