January 12, 2022

Environmental Science Associates

Cunningham

Environmental Science Associates (ESA), an environmental consulting, engineering, and planning firm, announced that Susan Cunningham will oversee the entire Northwest region in her new role as biological resources and land management business group director. Cunningham will be managing a team of 23 employee-owners across ESA's Seattle, Portland, and Bend offices. With a career spanning 31 years, Cunningham's natural resource, land use and regulatory compliance expertise spans multiple market sectors including water, aviation, energy, transportation, and natural resource management.

Serving as ESA's business group director in Oregon for the past six years, she has managed multidisciplinary teams to deliver complex infrastructure projects in the built and natural environments. Cunningham is skilled in preparing National Environmental Policy Act documents, biological assessments, permit application packages, and all types of natural resource assessments.

Cunningham's leadership has particularly focused on steering the complex land use and transportation infrastructure permitting challenges in Oregon and other jurisdictions. For example, as part of an 18-year contract with the city of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, she secured permitting and approval to stabilize two main sewer lines crossing the Willamette River while navigating an EPA Superfund site and Endangered Species Act regulations for listed salmon protection.

In her new leadership role for the Pacific Northwest region, Cunningham will integrate the team of fisheries and wildlife biologists, wetland scientists, conservation planners and water quality specialists throughout Oregon and Washington. She will support the team's ongoing work in transportation and airports, conservation planning and restoration design largely focused on salmon recovery, and pursue more opportunities in the energy and water markets. Cunningham has been recognized outside of ESA for her contributions to her field, including being named the Consultant of the Year in 2020 by the Oregon Airport Management Association for her work preparing an environmental assessment that encompassed several capital improvement plan projects at the Rogue Valley-Medford International Airport. She is also an active member of the Women Transportation Seminar. Cunningham earned her bachelor of science in biology from the University of Oregon.