Meet the Board of Directors
Nate Powelson, PE (President) (E-Mail)
Nate is a project engineer at Thornton Tomasetti. He graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering from Clarkson University in 2007 and a MS in Civil Engineering with a concentration in Structural Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2010. He has worked on projects throughout the country. His experience includes failure investigation, repair and rehabilitation design, bridge design, property condition assessments, and structural analysis and evaluation. He currently lives in Gorham with his family. He is an active member of Structural Engineers of Maine and ASCE.
Nate Strout, PE (President Elect) (E-Mail)
Nate is a 2011 graduate of the University of Maine, where he earned a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Nate joined S. W. Cole Engineering, Inc. in 2008, initially as a seasonal technician while attending the University of Maine. He is currently a senior geotechnical engineer and branch office manager of the firm’s Bangor office. Nate’s engineering responsibilities include coordination and monitoring of subsurface exploration programs, geotechnical analysis and design, and the preparation of engineering reports and proposals.
Justin Yaitanes, PE (Vice President)
Justin spent most of his life in Massachusetts and relocated to Portland, Maine in 2018. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering and the University of Massachusetts, Lowell in 2015 with a Master’s Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a concentration in structural engineering. He started his career at MassDOT as a bridge engineer and transitioned to HNTB in 2013. Outside of the office he enjoys the great outdoors and all the great things Maine has to offer with his family. He has been a member of the Boston and now Maine ASCE sections since starting his career and looks forward to becoming more involved.
Lynn Frazier, PE, PTOE (Treasurer)
Lynn is a traffic operations engineer who splits her time between James W. Sewall Company and sister-company Frazier Signal Technologies. She graduated from the University of Maine in 2006 with her BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Lynn has 16 years’ experience focused in Maine with the majority of her time spent on signal design, construction phasing and operational analysis. This is her 2nd year serving as the Treasurer and she is also a Past-President of the Maine Section. Lynn is originally from Medway and currently resides in Enfield with her husband, Charles, and their two children.
Jayson Haskell, PE (Secretary) (E-Mail)
Jayson was born and raised in Saco, Maine. Graduated from the University of Maine in 2007 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is now a Professional Engineer working for a site/civil engineering firm on projects all over the state. He lives in Biddeford with his wife and son. He enjoys camping, mountain biking and skiing during his time off. He hopes the time on the ASCE board will allow him to meet other engineers throughout the state and to outreach to younger members on the importance of civil engineering.
Ben Shaw, EI (Director Year 3)
Ben is a project engineer for Gorrill Palmer’s municipal group. He joined Gorrill Palmer after graduating from the University of Maine in Orono with a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2017. He has assisted in the design of many municipal projects including roadway and sidewalk design, pavement management plans, culvert replacement, sewer separations, and wastewater pump stations. Ben was a member of the ASCE through college and has continued attending meetings through his professional career. He looks forward to joining the ASCE board and learning what goes into planning and running the Maine ASCE Chapter. Ben favorite place to be outside of work is at his camp on Sebago swimming, boating, and playing with the dogs.
Ben Smith, PE (Director Year 2)
Ben grew up in Old Town, Maine. He graduated from the University of Maine in 2017 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. During his time there, he was a member of the concrete canoe team and served as the vice president of the ASCE student chapter. He then continued at UMaine to complete a Master’s Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a focus in structural engineering and mechanics in 2019. During this time, he was a research assistant at the Advanced Structures and Composites Center, developing a hybrid thermoplastic composite and concrete deck system. Ben currently lives in Topsham, Maine and is a bridge engineer for the Falmouth branch of T. Y. Lin International.
Jenna Gilbert, EI (Director Year 1)
In 2019, Ms. Gilbert graduated from the University of Maine with a bachelor’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering focusing in water resources. She was a Student Chapter member of ASCE and participated in Tennis Club for four years at UMaine. She currently works as a civil engineer and project manager at Sevee & Maher Engineers in Cumberland. While Jenna is not working, she loves spending time outdoors, going hiking, practicing yoga, and snowboarding.
Heather Hayes, PE (Editor: The Informant)
Heather is a structural and project engineer at James W. Sewall Company. She graduated from the University of Maine in 2011 with her BS and 2013 with her MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Sewall Company has provided her the opportunity to work on a variety of projects to improve our local communities, including structural design, pavement scoping and quality assurance and project management. At the University of Maine she worked at the Advanced Structures and Composites Center doing research on the Bridge in a Backpack ProjectTM. Prior to working for Sewall, she worked Louis Berger for 5 years as a structural bridge engineer working on transportation projects in various states. She has been the Informant Editor since 2014.
Don LeBlanc, PE (Past President) (E-Mail)
Don LeBlanc is the president of DLVEWS, Inc. He started his career as a stormwater design engineer and has since focused his energies on culvert, manhole, and bridge rehabilitation. He has been in the industry for 15 years. Mr. LeBlanc holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Maine and is a registered Professional Engineer. Don enjoys slappin’ the bass guitar, skiing in the winter, and coaching his son’s baseball team in the summer. He is an active member of the culvert committee of the Transportation Research Board and a member of the ASCE Maine Chapter.