Gabriene Kaechele, P.Eng. is a Design Engineer and Staff Manager here at Binnie. She attained her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2007.
Gabriene hails from the other side of the border. Luckily, Gabriene found an undeniable adventure and beautiful city in Vancouver, as well as her current partner who is originally from the Sunshine Coast. Today, she has two wonderful sons and has also added “mother” to her list of titles.
If you ever meet her, you’ll find her warm, amicable personality goes a long way when creating genuine connections, and is very much in line with her energetic, service-oriented attitude as a design engineer. As a Staff Manager, this goes a long way with collaborating with her team of 7 direct reports. Her team describes her below:
“She’s someone that genuinely cares about the well-being of staff inside & outside of the workplace. She goes out of her way often to make sure that everyone is doing well and has what they need to succeed and progress. A big part of what makes her a great staff manager is her ability to communicate with the people around her and develop genuine mutual trust.”
Another staff member mentions:
“Gabriene is fantastic. She’s very caring and supportive as a staff manager. In particular, she’s been very supportive of me as a young female EIT working on construction sites. She’s always been open to sharing her past experiences as she grew into her role. This makes me feel at ease talking with her about whatever I encounter on the job. Our one-on-ones have always felt like a safe space to discuss whatever is on my mind.”
Gabriene’s experience with consulting goes back to her first co-op in 2005. Civil engineering has taken her across North America, from North Carolina to British Columbia. Her specialties include water and wastewater utility design and construction. Further, her work has focused on project management and construction inspection and administration. She regularly provides hydraulic assessments for sewer design and supervision and inspection of water, sanitary, and storm sewer engineering. A typical day can consist of reviewing drawings, writing reports, responding to clients, and checking in with her team.
To date, one of her favorite and most impactful projects has been bringing reclaimed water (treated, but not to drinking water standards – saving the municipality a lot of money!) to a rehabilitated wetland. According to Gabriene, the restoration work was beautiful! See the picture to the left.
When it comes to her general advice for others, in true managerial fashion, Gabriene recommends:
“Ask questions, and don’t be afraid to ask why? – I also recommend doing a bit of research before asking questions.”
As for working for Binnie, Gabriene says she wouldn’t mind shadowing a day or two with our Water Resources Group. She says, “I think their work compliments the projects I work on, and I’m sure I would learn plenty of things to apply to my own designs.”
Thankfully, Gabriene also enjoys her role as much as we enjoy having her as part of our team. She says:
“I love the role I’m in. I love the company I work for. I love the people on my team, and I feel very challenged and inspired daily. I do wish I didn’t sit all day. They say, “sitting is the new smoking.” I need to find time throughout the day for movement.”
As part of her role at Binnie, she is the Co-Founder and Business Lead of RISE. The RISE initiative was launched to create a safe and inclusive space for members who identify with the female, queer, femme-expressing, and gender non-conforming experiences in the industry. RISE aims to raise those voices in a collaborative, goal-driven, and supportive environment where staff can connect, empower change, and build our business.
As Co-Founder and Business Lead of RISE, it was important to Gabriene to create an initiative driven organically by the staff of Binnie. She hopes RISE will create connections sparked from the unique individual stories and shared experiences of staff at Binnie. Ultimately Gabriene would like to see the knowledge and insight gained from leading women passed on to those forging their own path.
With all her enthusiastic initiative, we can’t wait to see where Gabriene’s leadership skills take her.