VHB has appointed Michael J. Jelen, PE, as vice president & managing director of its National Capital District, which includes locations in Tysons, Virginia, and Silver Spring, Maryland. In this role, Jelen will oversee VHB’s current and future projects for public and private clients, and help expand VHB’s services throughout the Washington metropolitan area.
Jelen brings 27 years of experience to VHB with a broad portfolio of projects from strategic planning to construction management. At VHB, he will provide high-level oversight of all VHB work in the Washington metropolitan area, including the Washington Union Station Expansion Project and Environmental Impact Statement, as well as multiple ongoing projects with key private sector and public sector clients including the Virginia Railway Express, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the District Department of Transportation, the Virginia Department of Transportation, the National Park Service, and the Federal Highway Administration.
“With the addition of Mike Jelen to our leadership team, we’re continuing to invest in the Washington metropolitan area—one of the nation’s most vibrant markets,” said Michael J. Carragher, PE, president & CEO of VHB. “Mike is a trusted leader who has proven success on some of the transformational projects in the metro DC area. He is a strategic thinker who understands how to weave together the mobility, community, and environmental stewardship elements of a project. We are excited to have Mike on our team.”
Jelen’s project experience includes the National Defense University campus expansion program; Rehabilitation of the 14th Street Bridges; Arlington Boulevard and Courthouse Road Interchange; Georgetown Waterfront Park; the Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, Sherman Avenue, Georgia Avenue, New Hampshire Avenue, P Street, 17th Street, Southern Avenue, LeDroit Park, and Downtown Leesburg streetscape projects; the DC Streetcar; and the Metrorail Silver Line.
Jelen has transitioned between public sector, private sector, and active military service several times since starting his professional career in the late 1980s. He has held leadership roles with some of the world’s largest engineering firms, three State DOTs, and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
“VHB is a prominent, full-service transportation, land development, engineering, and design firm with a proven track record of helping East Coast cities, from Boston to Orlando, grow smarter and move people more efficiently,” said Jelen. “My objective at VHB is to help our Nation’s Capital do just that.”
Jelen is active in many local and national industry organizations. He currently serves on the National Complete Streets Coalition Steering Committee, and as President-Elect for the American Council of Engineering Companies of Metropolitan Washington. He is an affiliate of the Transportation Research Board and a member of the Urban Land Institute, American Society of Civil Engineers, Society of American Military Engineers, American Public Transportation Association, and the American Planning Association.
