KCI welcomes Sonal Ram, PE, to the firm as vice president and Water Resources regional practice leader based out of the Mid-Atlantic region.
In this role, Ram will support the growth of the practice across the region and nationally, overseeing a wide range of water resources engineering, alternate delivery projects and watershed services.
Ram brings to KCI extensive experience from a successful career spanning more than three decades with the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA). Most recently, she completed her tenure as Director of the Office of Environmental Design, delivering key environmental programs that support transportation capital projects and operations. While working with SHA, Ram accumulated an extensive portfolio of accomplishments, including leading the strategic planning, development, and implementation of the NPDES MS4 permit program, launching a revolutionary delivery contract with a “Pay for Performance” model to meet bay restoration targets, and establishing the first Wetland and Stream Mitigation Banks and Forest Conservation Banks.
“Sonal’s exceptional experience and dynamic energy will serve to guide the vision and evolution of our Water Resources practice into the future. She is the perfect complement to our existing team and will play an important role in driving our growth across the region and the U.S.”
James Deriu, Water & Environment Service Line Leader
Ram earned her bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from Gujarat University and her master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Maryland. Additionally, she is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Maryland. She completed SHA’s Advanced Leadership Program in 2003 and served as a Program Sponsor from 2015-2020. She is a graduate of Leadership Maryland – Class of 2018 and was named Women in Transportation’s (WTS) Woman of the Year in 2016.
Alongside her extensive achievements, Ram has served on various committees, including the Steering Committee for the AASHTO Committee on Environment and Sustainability, the Maryland Green & Blue Infrastructure Policy Advisory Commission and the Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Pooled Monitoring Group Advisory Committee.
