In our last feature on Sally Riker, we explored her perspective on leadership, connection and the role infrastructure plays in shaping communities. Since that conversation, Sally was recognized with the first-ever , awarded at the . This honor is one of the Foundation’s highest honors, recognizing exceptional service and leadership in advancing its mission to develop the next generation of engineering leaders and strengthen the profession. More than a single moment, the recognition reflects a long-standing commitment to service, leadership and the broader mission of the (SAME).
For Sally, the recognition carries weight, but not for the reasons you might expect.
“It’s humbling,” she says. “But it doesn’t feel like something you achieve on your own. It reflects years of people working together. It’s shared.”
That sense of shared effort is not new for her. It traces back to the way she first became involved with SAME. Early in her career and fresh out of college, she attended a local Post meeting and found herself stepping into a leadership role before she fully understood what it meant.
“I was ‘voluntold’ to serve on the board,” she recalls. “I didn’t really know what I was getting into, but I said yes.”
What followed wasn’t a traditional path, but an experience that shaped how she approaches leadership to this day. Working alongside a small, committed group, she learned how to lead in real time, contributing where needed, building together and recognizing that everyone had a role to play.
That early experience has stayed with her, particularly the idea that leadership is less about waiting until you’re ready and more about stepping in and figuring it out along the way. It’s also what kept her connected to SAME as her career evolved, moving from local involvement to regional and national leadership, and eventually to her role on the SAME Foundation Board.
Previously, Sally reflected on how organizations like SAME, the Urban Land Institute and the Council for Quality Growth have influenced her approach to leadership. She described them as spaces to grow beyond the day-to-day work, places where leadership is grounded in service and shaped by mission-driven collaboration.
Through SAME, she developed what she describes as a deeper appreciation for partnership and purpose, an understanding that leadership means contributing to something larger than yourself. That perspective continues to guide her work with the Foundation today.
“It gives me a connection to something bigger,” she says. “You’re not just participating — you’re helping create opportunities for someone else.”
Those opportunities take many forms, including supporting scholarships, mentoring emerging professionals, advancing STEM outreach and contributing to leadership development programs that strengthen the profession over time. Much of this work happens behind the scenes, but its impact is long-lasting, shaping the pathway for future leaders across the industry.
One of the most visible examples of that work is the Soaring Eagle Award, a national recognition program Sally helped bring to life alongside a dedicated group of leaders. What began as an idea evolved over several years into something more significant, an effort to recognize a different kind of leadership.
“We wanted to highlight how people lead,” she explains. “Not just what they’ve delivered, but how they bring others along with them.”
That focus — on how leadership is practiced, not just what it produces — mirrors the values that have guided her own journey. It also reinforces a broader shift in how the industry defines impact, moving beyond individual accomplishments to the influence leaders have on the people and teams around them.
Receiving the SAME Foundation President’s Medal feels, in many ways, like a reflection of those same values. More than three decades after that first Post meeting, Sally still comes back to the moment she said yes and the opportunity it created.
“You don’t always realize it at the time,” she says. “But someone gave me a seat at the table early. And that changes your path.”
It’s a perspective she continues to carry forward, both in her work with SAME and in her role at 鶹TVվ. As Vice President of Strategy and Growth for 鶹TVվ’ Infrastructure South Atlantic Division, her focus remains consistent: building relationships, creating opportunities and thinking long-term about both projects and people.
In our previous Q&A, Sally described leadership as something that requires intentionality, listening, understanding context and leading with purpose. That same mindset is evident in how she views this recognition: not as a defining milestone, but as part of a larger, ongoing commitment.
“If you’ve had that experience,” she says, “you try to do the same for someone else.”
Read the full conversation
To learn more about Sally’s background, leadership philosophy and career at 鶹TVվ, explore our previous feature: The Industry Connector: Q&A with Sally Riker