Dewberry, a privately held professional services firm, welcomes retired Maj. Gen. Michael J. Walsh as director of water resources and coastal resiliency. Most recently in his position from 2011 to 2013 as deputy commanding general for civil and emergency operations U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), he was responsible for a $10 billion annual program supervising all civil works activities nationwide, and 24,888 employees who operate and maintain infrastructure valued at $232 billion.
A brief listing of his significant accomplishments include:
- Delivering the $10 billion hurricane storm damage risk reduction program for the New Orleans area in four years, meeting all cost, schedule, quality, and safety goals.
- Convening the first Mississippi River Watershed meeting, the America's Inner Coast Summit, which opened a dialog among a broad cross section of representatives from 20 states and 76 watershed partners to shape a sustainable future for the Mississippi River Watershed and establish a 200 year vision.
- Starting the first regional flood risk management fusion team, after the 2009 upper Mississippi River flooding that included five states and six federal agencies.
- Leading the multiple-agency governmental team to avert a catastrophic event during the 2011 Mississippi River flooding.
As commanding general, Walsh led the Mississippi Valley Division of USACE and was president of the Mississippi River Commission from 2008 to 2011. From 2006 to 2007, he served as commanding general, Gulf Region Division, for Operation Iraqi Freedom in Baghdad, Iraq; and from 2004 to 2006, Walsh was commanding general of the South Atlantic Division.
"With his experience delivering water resources solutions to our nation and responding to major flooding events, we know that Mike's strengths, accomplishments and leadership are a great fit with Dewberry's work history," says Donald, E. Stone, Jr., CEO. "He will help Dewberry expand its support of communities that have critical resiliency questions and water resources engineering needs, especially in the Gulf Coast and along the eastern seaboard."
"Mike has a passion for water resources and for engineering. His focus on helping build more resilient communities, especially along our nation's coasts will help grow Dewberry's service offerings in those areas" reflects Ted Van Kirk, Dewberry practice area manager of its consulting group.
"Mike brings significant experience in ecosystem restoration and comprehensive flood risk reduction systems for major U.S. cities to Dewberry," adds Bryon Griffith, vice president and director of Gulf Coast marketing. "I look forward to working with him to bring effective and enduring solutions to the resiliency challenges facing communities and industries across the Gulf Coast region."
"I am excited to join the Dewberry team," says Walsh. "They are large enough to deliver and small enough to still care."
Walsh served his country for more than 36 years. He received his Master of Building Construction degree from the University of Florida, and his Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of New York.