Samantha Bromberg, 27

Urban environmental reviews are often stressful, high-pressure acts. They require coordination with engineers, architects and other permitting teams to make sure that the documentation stands up to legal scrutiny — not to mention public scrutiny. And all of it usually done under tight deadlines. 

Samantha Bromberg is no stranger to these challenges. As a senior environmental planner at STV, she has overseen high-profile projects, including the replacement of the Draw One Bridge in Massachusetts. Not only does the commuter rail bridge out of North Station connect two major metropolises, Boston and Cambridge, but it’s also historic and next to busy Interstate 93. 

Bromberg had to balance the contractors’ proposed needs and methods while also minimizing the effects on the environment and community. Perhaps most difficult of all, the planning portion of the project had to be done before President Donald Trump took office and could imperil the project’s federal funding. 

“There can be pressure, especially when there’s a push to start construction soon,” Bromberg said. “But I like high-intensity jobs.”

Despite all the hurdles, the replacement project is proving to be a success — or, at the very least, Bromberg’s part is. Last year, the redevelopment won $472 million in federal funding, making it the largest federal award the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has received to date. 

Now Bromberg has moved on to her biggest project, which will be in New York. She can’t say much about it, but it’s proving to be exciting because the contractor is coming on board and construction will start soon.

“This is a big one, and one of the projects that’s nearest to construction that I worked on,” Bromberg said. “On a lot of environmental reviews, you can be planning for years before a project is ever constructed and there are boots on the ground. It’s nice to see a project through to completion.”