Urban is pleased to announce that Joan M. Miller and Michael Pearson have joined the firm’s board of directors as external members. Ms. Miller is an accomplished engineering and construction executive formerly with CH2M, while Mr. Pearson is a developer, entrepreneur, and community leader who is a partner at Iron Stone Real Estate Partners, as well as the principal of Michael K. Pearson Consulting and Manumission Real Estate Holdings, LLC.

“We are excited to add these phenomenal industry veterans to our board,” said Urban President and CEO Kenneth R. Fulmer, PE. “Joan and Michael have a wealth of professional experience – unique from one another and from our firm – that will allow them to provide exceptional perspective and help shape the direction of our organization.”

“Urban is an industry leader on the rise, with a growing national presence while maintaining close relationships with the local communities that they serve” said Ms. Miller. “I am thrilled to join the firm’s board and bring my broad A/E/C experience, particularly in the area of strategy development and growth to Urban Engineers.  

“I am honored to accept a seat on Urban’s board and be an entrepreneurial voice in the room,” said Mr. Pearson. “As a CEO, I look forward to bringing my executive perspective to the firm, and my personal ethos of giving back to the community aligns with those of this organization.”

Based in Denver, CO, Ms. Miller has more than 37 years in the engineering and construction industry assessing and managing complex marketing, sales, operational and financial issues, managing project pursuit and delivery risks, and inspiring team members to perform at the highest levels. Her operational and sales acumen fostered company growth and brand enhancement. Ms. Miller’s previous board experience includes positions with CH2M’s Board of Directors, the Engineering and Construction Contracting Association, the Civil Engineering Advisory Board for Purdue University, and the Women’s Vision Foundation.  In 2003, she founded the CH2M Women’s Network, creating a more inclusive culture that actively supports the attraction, development, and retention of women. The firm was a $6 billion, global leader in full-service engineering, construction, and major program management for infrastructure, energy, environmental, water and facilities projects working with Federal, state and local government, as well as private sector clients before it was acquired by Jacobs Engineering Group in 2017.

Ms. Miller was a registered Professional Engineer throughout her career and received her undergraduate degree in civil engineering with High Distinction from Purdue University. The university recognized her with the Purdue Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award, and she was inducted into the National Academy of Construction in 2018.

Mr. Pearson is a partner at commercial real estate development company Iron Stone Real Estate Partners. He also runs his own consulting company, Michael K. Pearson Consulting, and is a principal of Manumission Real Estate Holdings, LLC. A successful entrepreneur, Mr. Pearson created Union Packaging in 1999 from a business plan he had developed three years earlier while living in Philadelphia. The company is a Yeadon, PA-based earth-friendly foodservice and Quick Service Restaurant (“QSR”) single-use paperboard packaging maker. He sold the company in 2019 after a successful 20-year run.

A former United States Army officer who served in the Persian Gulf War, Mr. Pearson is a Philadelphia Regional Port Authority commissioner and currently serves on the executive boards of the William Penn Foundation, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and chairs the Philadelphia Health Management Board. A widely respected leader with more than 23 years of social entrepreneurial experience, Mr. Pearson serves on the many additional non-profit boards. He possesses a personal ethos of giving back to the community and works to instill those values into those around him.

A recipient of many awards, Mr. Pearson has been named an “Outstanding Board Director” by the Philadelphia Business Journal, and he and Union Packaging were recognized by the Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council as “MBE Advocate of the Year.” The company employs and develops people from Metro-Philadelphia’s African-American, Asian-American, and Latino neighborhoods, and partners with non-profits to create career opportunities for public school graduates with learning differences, ex-offenders, and documented new arrivals from more than 15 nations.