Brent Nagen, Portfolio Manager, NPS Denver Service Center

Brent Nagen on the Brooklyn Bridge. NPS photo.

For Engineers Week, the National Park Service talked with Brent Nagen, a portfolio manager in the Design and Construction Division of its Denver Service Center. Nagen's answers are summarised here.

How it started

Nagen has designed and built roads for an entire career. In 2009, just after starting at Central Federal Lands, Nagen was told of an assignment to Yosemite to reconstruct 26 miles of road — said yes with enthusiasm, then, once alone, had to search online to find out what and where it was. A year on that project, learning "the NPS way", began a fascination with the park service. Nagen went on managing projects at various park sites, and after working in Death Valley decided to work only on NPS projects, and set out to become an NPS employee.

"Welcome to the Future": seawalls

Seawall (marine) projects are Nagen's passion. All of them fit the Engineers Week theme, "Welcome to the Future", because they use new technology and design requirements that account for sea level rise, so they will last for future generations.

Engineering for conservation

Engineering lets a project meet the NPS's conservation and heritage goals: the requirements are set early, and good engineering lets the NPS design and build what is best for each site.

Advice

Listen, and communicate well. Engineering is one of many disciplines needed to deliver a park project, and miscommunication can derail it. Make sure everyone understands the story and the way forward, so all the disciplines reach consensus — and listening to them produces designs that meet everyone's needs.

Sources

• National Park Service, "Brent Nagen, Portfolio Manager, Design and Construction Division, Denver Service Center." https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/brent-nagen-portfolio-manager-design-and-construction-division-denver-service-center.htm
• Rewritten in hubnx's own words.