Leaders in Stormwater: GINNY SNEAD, PE, CFM

This LEADER IN STORMWATER was involved in stormwater legislation passed by the VA Virginia General Assembly, and wrote the first MS4 permits that included Chesapeake Bay TMDL requirements - Ginny Snead, PE, CFM, Director of Environmental and Water Resources with AMT Engineering (AMT).

Ginny began her career in the stormwater industry 30 years ago and has dipped a toe into each of what she calls the environmental “3-legged stool” - government, private, and nonprofit work. She says, “All three serve roles in furthering positive movement for water resources, and it is important for [them to] thrive and collaborate together when possible.” Ginny has worked in smaller and larger engineering firms as well as in state government. These experiences have brought her to a place of appreciation for the opportunity that her current role with AMT brings. AMT - a mid-sized civil engineering firm specialized in stormwater, floodplain management, and resilience - gives her team a flexible platform to handle a variety of clients and project types. In addition to the day-to-day collaboration, she oversees industry committees and workgroups, and manages focused client support. Occasionally, she’ll also find herself in the field to stay connected to her projects.

Ginny says, “The stormwater field is a playground for applied science [as it is] so varied and our understanding is ever evolving.” Ginny’s interests are piqued by stormwater complexities and how the industry continues to learn more on how to best manage it. She stresses stormwater resilience is an important priority in need of our attention - resilience to climate change and its effects on increased frequency and duration of rain events and the impact on property, infrastructure, water quality and implemented BMPs. And she is drawn to engineering solutions that maximize natural systems, using infrastructure to best allow those systems to function over time.

Ginny has immersed herself in nonprofit work throughout the span of her career. Early on, she spoke at the Race For The Baltic’s Scandinavian conferences, comparing efforts here in the Chesapeake Bay to those in the Baltic Sea. She also served on the board of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay for many years - working with watershed residents to achieve clean streams and rivers. And more recently, she’s spent time on the board of VIRGINIAforever, a diverse coalition advocating for increased water quality and land conservation funding. Throughout her stormwater career, Ginny has been inspired by Jim Lape, her first boss who diligently worked to move the needle forward in the industry and always stressed that “the relationships with the people we work with are the most meaningful part of what we do.” 

Ginny and her family live in downtown Williamsburg, Virginia, in the home that her great-grandparents built. When home restoration projects aren’t taking up their time, they enjoy outdoor sports, traveling, and quality time with their dog, Libbie.