2017 40 Under 40: Africa Welch-Castle, PE, CEM, CDSM, LEED GA; 39

Project Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

By Jack Smith, Content Manager, and Amara Rozgus, Editor-in-Chief May 15, 2017

Africa Welch-Castle, PE, CEM, CDSM, LEED GA; 39

Project Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Huntsville, Ala.

BS Mechanical Engineering, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston

MBA Project Management, Walden University, Minneapolis

Welch-Castle is a project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Huntsville, Ala. She has more than 15 years of diverse engineering experience, ranging from hydraulic pedestal crane design/manufacturing to roadway/hydrologic designs for the Texas Department of Transportation to mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design. She has been working for the U.S. Army for nearly 6 years. During that time, she has been instrumental in teaching, implementing, and taking an innovative approach to energy. For 5½ of those years, Welch-Castle was an energy manager for Fort Hood, Texas, Directorate of Public Works (DPW) Energy Management Branch, where she served as a professional engineer responsible for coordinating and developing energy-conservation projects for solicitation of energy funding. As an energy manager, she directed, coordinated, and analyzed energy data; existing conditions; and conducted engineering studies, surveys, audits, and special studies to optimize program efficiencies and determine feasibility and adequacy of projects. She also provided advice and recommendations on matters concerning energy management. Her methods helped structure and build relationships at Fort Hood, which improved the existing energy program and helped it to grow. Welch-Castle now serves as the strategic development lead for the Energy Division of Huntsville Center and participates with many other energy and professional organizations. She also is a Civil Engineer Corps officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. She enjoys spending time with her sons—attending their football games, watching them play video games, and watching movies together. She also likes to travel with friends and family. But most of all, she enjoys relaxing at home, listening to music, and cooking.