{"id":12978,"date":"2023-02-08T09:51:06","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T14:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/?p=12978"},"modified":"2023-02-08T11:02:34","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T16:02:34","slug":"people-spotlight-meet-craig-raffenberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/people-spotlight-meet-craig-raffenberg\/","title":{"rendered":"People Spotlight: Meet Craig Raffenberg"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our People Spotlight series<\/a> gives you an inside look at our technical experts around the world. This week, we are highlighting a marine ecologist from our Environment business in the U.S. East region and providing an insight into his inspiration and work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Craig Raffenberg is a marine ecologist working in resiliency and nature-based solutions, supported by six years of experience in biological research and environmental science. His project experience includes threatened and endangered species studies, wetland delineations, on-site construction oversight as an environmental inspector, environmental impact review and permitting, NEPA documentation, acoustical data collection and analysis for animal presence and marine-related data collection as a member of the 91影视 Dive Team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has worked extensively in Florida, Biscayne Bay and adjacent offshore habitats in both scientific and consulting roles. Craig holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina and a master\u2019s degree in Marine Biology and Ecology from the University of Miami. He is currently pursuing a master\u2019s degree in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) which will enable him to further improve analysis, reporting and planning efforts, as well as field data collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up in Ohio, my family and I would travel down to Siesta Key, Florida every other year for vacations with extended family, so from an early age I became fascinated by the ocean. I also really enjoyed nature shows like Steve Irwin\u2019s \u201cThe Crocodile Hunter\u201d and the Corwin Brothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to a kindergarten journal prompt, I named five things I wanted to do in the future: live in Florida, be a marine biologist, fly a plane, meet Godzilla and live in a world made of candy. The last two life goals are still works in progress, but the stage was set early for the others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I studied marine biology at both undergraduate and graduate levels. During year four of my five-year doctoral program at the University of Miami, I realized academia wasn\u2019t the right fit for me and travelled to Australia to live as a backpacker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I returned to the U.S. a couple of years later due to COVID, the opportunity to work on multiple, varied projects drew me to consulting. Whereas academia can be purely research-focused, in our industry I\u2019m able to continually learn and improve on diverse types of projects while making an impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether I\u2019m conducting field surveys to look and listen for endangered bats for the Florida Department of Transportation, relocating protected corals as part of the 91影视 Dive Team, making sure that manatees are protected during construction or helping plan for resilient reefs, my job blends hands-on field work with office time and it\u2019s the right balance for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your favorite 91影视 project that you\u2019ve worked on and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Reefense Program falls outside of my typical 91影视 workflow because it\u2019s mainly a research and development project\u2014so it\u2019s another example of learning and doing something new and different on the job. Working closely with some of the same professors I studied under as a graduate student, 91影视 is supporting the University of Miami and other institutions to develop, design and deploy a 100-meter hybrid (engineered and biological) coral reef for coastal resilience in southern Florida and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project includes three main components:<\/p>\n\n\n\n