Chirag Patel, PE, VHB Senior Structural Engineer, completed the Professional Engineers of North Carolina (PENC) Leadership Institute, marking a milestone in his professional career. This program is recognized for growing innovative and forward-thinking leaders within North Carolina’s engineering community. Chirag’s participation demonstrates his commitment to enhancing his problem-solving, leadership, and strategic thinking skills.
Throughout the program, Chirag engaged with professionals from various backgrounds, gained insights on industry trends, and developed key leadership skills that will benefit his team and projects at VHB. Chirag’s biggest takeaway was that leadership takes intention.
“As engineers, our impact is in more than our technical work; it’s in how we communicate, build trust, support our teams, and help people work through complex challenges together,” said Chirag. “One of the most valuable parts of the program was meeting professionals from across North Carolina and hearing how they lead their teams, manage projects, and handle change in their organizations.”
The Institute gave Chirag practical tools and broadened his understanding of what it means to lead with intention. He completed the program motivated to be a better teammate, mentor, and problem-solver, implementing a people-first approach to his work at VHB.
Chirag has 10 years of experience in structural analysis, designing and performing inspections on projects involving various aspects of highway and railroad structures including bridges, culverts, and retaining walls. He also has played a key role in the Hurricane Helene bridge repairs, leading inspections and repair plan development.
To close out the PENC Leadership Institute, Chirag will present a 10-minute presentation on his culmination project at the Summer Conference June 11-13.
