Council Mission
The mission of the SAME Young Professionals (YP) Council is to be an advocate for and engage young professionals in support of the SAME Strategic Plan through outreach, training, networking, and recognition. The council provides educational programming, hosts networking activities, promotes leadership and engagement opportunities, and emphasizes recognition of young professionals within the Society.
Annual Volunteer Opportunities: Engineering & Construction Camps. Each spring/summer, SAME’s Engineering &Construction Camps recruit volunteers to serve as mentors and camp counselors.
Learn more: Camps Mentoring.
Organization Structure
Communications Vice Chair: Cristen Sheppard, AICP, PP, mcfa
Conferences Vice Chair: Jaimie Wright, The Lewis Group
Credentialing Vice Chair: Wille Parks, RA, LEED AP BC+C, RRMM Architects
Programs Vice Chair: Sal Forgione, Associate AIA, PMP, HDR
SAME POC: Sarah Feighery, SAME National Office
Highlight your achievements or those of another YP in TME! Please use the following Spotlight Nomination Form to submit or contact the Communications Vice Chair with any questions.
Have a Post Event or YP Achievement to share in our next newsletter or across our social media platforms? Contact the Communications Vice Chair with any submissions.
The Conference Committee organizes networking events for Young Professionals as part of SAME’s two major national conferences, the Joint Engineer Training Conference (JETC) in May and the Federal Small Business Conference (SBC) in November. These include YP and Fellow networking events, Pre-Conference Connections, and support for reviewing and providing feedback to YPs submitting abstracts to speak at the conferences. YPs are also provided with an opportunity to apply to receive a stipend to attend the conference in the event they or their company are unable to afford to send them. Click the below ribbon for more information.
Rules/Information: Stipends to attend the 2025 Joint Engineer Training Conference and Expo (JETC) will be awarded to active SAME Young Professionals (YP) and Enlisted members who have demonstrated support of SAME at the Post, Regional, and/or National level and who might not otherwise be able to attend. Young Professional recipients must attend the YP Community of Interest (COI) meeting, and the Enlisted Members must attend the Enlisted Member COI meeting at JETC.
The stipends will provide complimentary registration, round-trip flights, and a hotel stay of up to four nights. Recipients will be accepted based on: SAME Participation; Professional Development; and Accomplishments. Questions on YP and Enlisted stipends can be directed to Sarah Feighery.
Applications will close March 7, 2025
Eligibility Criteria
- Young Professionals (Industry, Government, or Military) who are 39 or under at the time of 20254 JETC or Enlisted Members (Active, Guard, or Reserve)
- SAME member for at least 18 months prior to stipend application deadline date. Join Date before October 1, 2022.
- Active member of a SAME Post, Field Chapter, and/or National COI for the past years (as reflected in the application form)
- Completion of the online application form, which includes a short summary of SAME Participation, Professional Development, and Accomplishments
- A Letter of Endorsement from the Post or Field Chapter President or COI Chair supporting the nominee of a stipend.
*Note: Priority will be given to individuals who have never attended JETC or have not previously been awarded a stipend.
Stipend ApplicationSAME is invested in providing members with the tools and resources to develop and advance their careers within the A/E/C profession. The Credentialing Committee is working to help members understand the importance of credentials, what credentials apply to the A/E/C profession, and how to get and maintain them. Visit the Credentialing Opportunities webpage or contact the Credentialing Vice Chair with questions.
SAME believes the engineering community is strengthened when engineers and other practitioners obtain professional licensure and certifications. To assist this, the Credentialing Assistance Program is provided as a member benefit to reimburse anyone who obtains approved credentials. Reimbursement can apply to exam fees or study materials! For complete information, restrictions, and to find the application, visit the Credentialing Opportunities Webpage or contact the Credentialing Vice Chair with questions.
SAME believes the engineering community is strengthened when engineers and other practitioners obtain professional licensure and certifications. To assist this, the Credentialing Review Course (CRC) Program provides SAME members with free access to credentialing review courses of their choosing to help prepare for their professional certification exam testing. For complete information, restrictions, and to find the application, visit the Credentialing Opportunities Webpage or contact the Credentialing Vice Chair with questions.
The Programs Committee helps organize and review webinars focused on topics of interest to Young Professionals by finding presenters to participate in and support SAMEs robust national webinar opportunities.
Upcoming National Webinars
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Developing the Next Generation to Fill the Leadership Gap
Late Gen Xers and Millennials (professionals 41 and under) are the next generation of leaders, also known as natives in the tech world, and have a digital competence that translates to agility, flexibility, and collaboration producing better results. Leaders may be holding on to behaviors that might have worked before, but now stifle the talents of their employees. -
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- Webinar
Historic Legacy of Ft. Bliss
Fort Bliss was established in 1848 to protect settlers against Apache and Comanche raids. The Fort was designed and developed by Assistant Quartermaster Captain George Ruhlen, Chief Clerk Edward H. Offley, and architect/civil engineer F.A. Gartner. It is best known for its Queen Anne row of officer’s housing and its Spanish Colonial Revival barracks. -
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- Webinar
Understanding Other Transaction Authority in Use in the A/E/C Industry
Other Transaction Authority (OTA) is a special contracting mechanism that federal agencies can use to accelerate acquisition, and is not dependent on following the requirements within the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). This webinar will seek to demystify OTAs.
Related TME Articles – Young Professionals (YP) Council
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The Benefits of Defensive Wetlanding
The practice of strategically creating wetlands to enhance defensive terrain can have significant environmental benefits in addition to increasing defensive military advantages. -
Fortifying Energy Resiliency and Preparedness
At Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, the U.S. Army is achieving energy reliability through a partnership with the private sector on a commercial power plant that is capable of rapidly providing standalone, off-grid power to the base and which it has already proven in a real-world outage event. -
Mitigating PFAS at Naval Air Station Alameda
Historical firefighting training at the former Naval Air Station Alameda led to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance impacts in the groundwater, necessitating the installation of a 720-ft permeable adsorptive barrier. -
Leveraging Data for Better Stormwater Drainage
An extensive drainage study conducted for a pair of airfields in Oklahoma leveraged geospatial technology, stormwater modeling, and data analysis to develop tailored solutions that will help contribute to improved readiness at these key training installations. -
Atmospheric Water Generation to Support Indo-Pacific Operations
Decentralized atmospheric water generators can support agile combat employment in contested, resource-scarce environments by harnessing ambient humidity and temperature to produce water supply at the point of need. -
Building Partnerships and Warrior Mindsets
The multi-year construction and engineering missions conducted by Engineer Services Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 25, Marine Corps Forces Reserve, through the Department of Defense’s Innovative Readiness Training are significantly enhancing military capabilities and bolstering force readiness while providing vital support to underserved communities across the United States.
