Since 2020, RK&K has partnered with the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering to offer our employees a graduate-level project management training program that teaches high-level leadership skills and techniques.
The program covers project management lessons from project start to close-out across 14 modules and is delivered virtually over 19 weeks, beginning in January and ending with an in-person session in May.
The 2025 Graduating Class of the RK&K/JHU Project Management Leadership Program
Over 120 of our team members have graduated from the program in its six sessions.
One of these graduates is Project Engineer Brandon Burris, PE, who completed the program this spring.
“The JHU Project Management Program came at the point in my career where I had started developing these skills daily, so it felt like a natural way to fast-track that development,” he said. He added that he enjoyed moving beyond just technical execution and plan production, developing the skillset and mindset needed to lead complex projects and project teams.
“I really enjoyed working hard on these skills in that controlled, lower-stakes setting, and the program has been a strong influence in how I approach both projects and people.”
Project Delivery Leader Tara Cutillo was one of RK&K’s first employees to complete the program in 2020.
She said her favorite aspect of the JHU Leadership Program was the opportunity for cross-office collaboration with RK&K colleagues from different locations.
“It allowed me to build meaningful connections with individuals I might not have otherwise worked with, and I’ve continued to maintain those professional relationships over the past five years.”
A graduate of the 2021 class, Technical Manager Jeremy Kraft, PE, agreed that the program was “a great way to meet and get to know other RK&K leaders and employees that I hadn’t worked with previously.”
He said the Project Management Leadership Program was an intense but effective and informative course on managing a technical project from the initial concept to delivery.
“It was interesting that the fictional project the class focused on, while still technical in nature, was outside of my field as a transportation engineer, so the assignments really required more thought, consideration, and collaboration with team members.”
Project Delivery Leader Justin Valentin, PE, CBSI, another graduate of the inaugural session of the program, said that in the years since his graduation, he has utilized the lessons he’s learned in his Transportation work across the firm.
“It took a significant amount of dedication to keep up with the workload; however, it was unquestionably applicable to the daily management of projects, and the skills gained continue to be a resource.”
Technical Manager David Beale, PE, who graduated this year, chose to join the program to acquire a better understanding of Project Management techniques and ways that it could be efficiently applied to his profession.
“One of the best parts of the program was exposure to not only other Project Managers around the firm but to the Partners and executives at RK&K and hearing the successful Project Management techniques that have been used around the firm.”
A standout lesson for David was focused on the project lifecycle and how critical it is to manage the triple scope of a project – scope, schedule, and budget.
Technical Manager Bradley Alger echoed these thoughts.
“The JHU Project Management Leadership Program equipped me with tools and insights to lead my projects and team more effectively, while laying a strong foundation for my ongoing career growth.”
