2015 40 Under 40: Talya Santillan, PE, LEED AP BD+C, 38

Talya Santillan, PE, LEED AP BD+C, 38 Senior Associate, Kohler Ronan LLC, New York City BE Mechanical Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology

During her career, Santillan has designed mechanical systems for large institutions, universities, and commercial spaces in both urban and rural areas. She approaches each project with attention to detail, operational skills, and creative talent. Since joining Kohler Ronan’s New York City office, she has advanced several of the firm’s larger projects. While her responsibilities at Kohler Ronan are primarily mechanical engineering design and project management, she is increasingly contributing to the areas of business development and client interface. She is a great communicator with the ability to simplify complex engineering concepts and articulate them to nontechnical people. Santillan has helped hire, train, and mentor many engineers over the years. By providing them with key tools and being a role model, she has had the pleasure of seeing them blossom into great engineers. Her love of mentoring also extends outside of the workplace. She has coached basketball and participated in workshops to encourage young people to consider math and science as they plan their careers. She has tutored many students who were struggling with math. By taking time to explain the basic concepts and work through problems, she was able to help them improve. Since high school, she has participated in the NYC March of Dimes walkathon. She even includes engineering in her downtime. From gutting a master bath to digging holes for the foundation of a new deck, Santillan enjoys seeing engineering theories become "concrete" realities.

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