GZA’s Adrienne Dunk named as a 2024 Environmental Business Council “Ascending Leader”

GZA announced today that Adrienne Dunk, a Project Manager in GZA’s Ecology and Natural Resources practice, has been named a 2024 “Ascending Leader” by the Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC). Now in its 8^th year, the EBC Ascending Leader Awards recognize “professionals in the energy and environmental sectors demonstrating exceptional leadership and industry involvement early in their careers,’’ according to EBC.

A specialist in state and federal permitting and planning, community engagement, technical reporting, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data mapping and visualization, Adrienne joined GZA in its Fairfield, N.J., office in 2018 after serving as a fisheries technician and biologist for the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service in the western United States. She moved to GZA’s Springfield, Mass., office in May 2020, taking on growing leadership roles and responsibilities in the work of GZA’s Natural Resources and Permitting Department, and has earned certification as a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance Program Delivery Manager.

GZA President and CEO Patrick Sheehan said: “On behalf of all her colleagues throughout GZA, I want to extend our congratulations to Adrienne on this prestigious and well-deserved honor from EBC. She is a significant contributor to developing a wide range of effective and innovative planning and permitting solutions for our clients, not only in New England but across all 32 GZA offices.”

Adrienne is currently completing her M.S. degree in Environmental Conservation with a focus on Wetland and Watershed Management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. As part of her graduate studies, she has conducted thesis research quantifying impacts to wetlands from removal of obsolete dams, in support of streamlining dam removal regulations. 

The EBC, a nonprofit organization, was established in 1990 by environmental and energy company executives who began meeting on a regular basis to exchange ideas and share experiences. The EBC was the first organization in the United States established to support and foster the development of the environmental industry, with the goal of enhancing business and job growth of both established and emerging environmental and energy businesses.