WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff names four to leadership positions

Pamela Townsend, Yassmin Gramian, Dale A. Brown and Jennifer Hall have recently been named to leadership positions at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff.

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff (WSP), a global engineering and professional services organization, has announced four new appointments within the company.

WSP named Pamela Townsend senior vice president and Southeast region business manager for its transportation and infrastructure sector.

Under her new role, Townsend will oversee strategic business development, client service delivery and financial performance for the company’s Southeast region while based out of its Raleigh, N.C., office.

Representatives say Townsend, a North Carolina State University alumna, brings more than 30 years of leadership skills, including program and project management experience working with federal, state and local governments. She has also worked with commercial and industrial clients throughout the Southeast.

Before joining WSP’s staff, Townsend held the position of senior vice president at a large consulting engineering firm with strategic planning and growth duties for all Southeast market sectors. She also moved through many roles in a 24-year timeframe at an international consulting organization.

The firm has selected Yassmin Gramian to serve as Northeast business development director for its transportation and infrastructure sector. A University of Michigan alumna, Gramian will work out of Philadelphia while managing the growth of WSP’s Northeast region.

Representatives say Gramian has more than three decades of experience in operations, business development and client services, along with project management and structural engineering skills. She has worked as a project manager and structural engineer, focusing on Pennsylvania-based transportation and infrastructure projects. 

Prior to joining WSP, she was a senior vice president overseeing Pennsylvania operations at a global architecture, civil engineering and construction management firm. 

Dale A. Brown has been named assistant vice president for transit and rail systems in WSP’s Atlanta office. His new position will require Brown to guide a team of systems and specialty engineers to handle project, safety and asset accountability requirements set forth by rail and transit agencies throughout North America. He is also expected to facilitate business process improvements to allow for the integration of transit and intelligent transportation systems.

A University of Western Ontario alumnus, Brown has more than 30 years of experience implementing systems engineering practices for complex rail and manufactured systems, including design and delivery of embedded control for specialty equipment and military and rail vehicles throughout North America, South America and Europe. Before joining WSP, officials say Brown held the role of systems engineering director for the transit and rail practice of a diversified international design, engineering and project management firm.

WSP has selected Jennifer Hall as the new project manager for its Murray, Utah, office. In her new position, Hall will oversee the design and management of drainage facilities for transportation projects.

As a project manager and senior drainage engineer, Hall is said to have “considerable experience” in the design and construction of railroad infrastructure. Before joining WSP, she was a senior drainage engineer based in Salt Lake City for an international organization, supporting civil infrastructure development of storm drain and utilities for roadway and rail transportation projects nationwide.

Hall earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Idaho State University.