Jenkins, Debs Retire from RS&H Board

The RS&H Board of Directors will soon have a new chairperson, as two longtime RS&H leaders step aside. Current Chairman of the Board Leerie T. Jenkins and board member Joe Debs are retiring at the end of the month.

Jenkins has served as chairman of the board since he helped the architecture, engineering and consulting firm gain its independence in 1990. Debs, who once led RS&H’s Transportation Infrastructure Practice and ultimately served as executive vice president, is wrapping up his three-year board term after retiring from full-time work in 2017. Neither are standing for re-election.

“Both Leerie and Joe have served this Company so long and so well, it is hard to craft the right words to appropriately thank them for their years of service, dedication, mentorship and friendship,” said RS&H CEO Dave Sweeney, who will serve as the interim chair of the board until the board can elect a new chairperson later this year.

RS&H’s Board of Directors includes members of RS&H’s senior leadership team, as well as outside members with diverse business and leadership experience in the areas of government, transportation, finance, education, and technology. With the departure of Debs and Jenkins, the board includes:

• RS&H CEO Dave Sweeney (interim chair)
• RS&H Executive Vice Presidents John Bottaro, AIA, NCARB, Lisa Robert, PE, and Chief Financial Officer Holt Graves
• RS&H Senior Vice President Jim Hullett
• Maria Cino, Vice President of Americas and U.S. Governmental Relations for Hewlett-Packard Company
• David Gaboury, PE, Chairman of the board for Terracon
• Henry Puente, President of Ware Group, Inc.

The board advises, governs, and assists the RS&H leadership team in the management, general oversight, and promotion of RS&H in support of the firm’s growth, mission, and core values.

“The board is the ultimate governing body for our organization,” Graves said. “The role of the board is to represent the shareholders, to look at their best interests.”

The board was set up shortly after Jenkins organized a group of associates and investors to buy back RS&H from Hunter Environmental Services in 1990. The company is now entirely owned by associates.

Read more about the impact Leerie T. Jenkins and Joe Debs have made on RS&H.