ORLANDO, Fla. – DRMP has hired Josh Norman to assume the role as Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Practice Leader to strengthen the firm’s disaster resilience, hazard mitigation, grants administration, and sustainability service offerings.
DRMP has long recognized the importance of incorporating resilience and sustainability principles into its projects. To achieve this goal, the firm instituted a Resilience and Sustainability practice to facilitate collaboration among its more than 700 professionals in delivering full life-cycle resilience services for public and private clients. With the Federal government, through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation (BIL), making historic investments in resilient and sustainable infrastructure, DRMP is poised to increase its participation in resilient and sustainable projects.
Norman will leverage DRMP’s collective experience and qualifications in Resilience and Sustainability to bring a concentrated effort for identifying and aligning Federal and State grants to the firm's clients’ highest prioritized infrastructure projects. By implementing strategic funding strategies, the firm aims to turn stagnant plans into a series of actionable projects.
For DRMP, resilience and sustainability mean delivering critical infrastructure projects that can withstand shocks and chronic stressors, adapt to changing conditions, and minimize environmental impacts.
“By participating in the planning, prioritization, and strategic funding of resilience-related projects we will be prepared to deliver complete projects that leverage multiple funding streams and maximize project effectiveness in reducing risk,” Norman said. “Through a complete and consistent relationship with our clients, we will be positioned to lead their most capital intensive, technically complex, and environmentally sensitive projects and programs.”
DRMP will provide end-to-end resilience services, covering resilient and sustainable design, planning, management, and grant administration. While prioritizing transportation and municipal markets, DRMP aims to broaden its client base.
“For years, DRMP has supported our clients in the Southeast to prepare for extreme weather events and recover from their impacts,” Norman said. “Increasing vulnerabilities our region faces from the combination of rapid urbanization and extreme weather events places DRMP in a pivotal role to foster resilience and sustainability in our natural and built environments.”
Norman spent 28 years in the field of Emergency Management, starting as a firefighter and EMT, holding specialized certifications in Hazardous Materials and Technical Rescue. His career in fire service led him to explore diverse ways to serve the public in responding to emergency situations and to a degree in Emergency Administration and Planning from the University of North Texas.
Norman has helped local and state municipalities prepare and respond to disasters with planning, grant writing, and project management services. Additionally, he owned and ran a small consulting business for more than 10 years before building a Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division for a mid-market international training company that specialized in organizational design and performance improvement. Most recently, he was a leader for Climate Resilience and Sustainability in one of the largest engineering firms in the world.
While the formation of a unique service line for resilience and sustainability services is new for DRMP, delivering these services in one form or another is not. Growth in the Southeast region will be highly competitive, but the volume of available work, due to recent hurricanes and state investment, creates increased opportunities.
“Standardized processes, repeatable tasks, and cross-functional training will allow our employees to apply their technical skills and ability to complex grant applications, rapidly mobilize for short-term initiatives, and transition into long-term recovery program support,” Norman said.
DRMP Chief Strategy Officer Jim Beck, PE, AICP, ENV SP, said having Norman on board represents a significant moment for the firm’s service offerings.
“Josh’s addition to the team is a game-changer for DRMP’s Disaster Resilience and Sustainability practice as he leads the team in delivering infrastructure projects that prioritize our client’s resilience, adaptability, and environmental responsibility needs,” Beck said. “With Josh at the helm, DRMP is poised to make a real difference for our clients, ensuring communities not only survive, but thrive, for generations to come.”
About DRMP
DRMP is a multi-discipline firm serving clients in the public, private and industrial sectors in the development of infrastructure and has been in business since 1977. DRMP currently employs 700 professionals in 24 office locations spread strategically across our service area. Today, DRMP is ranked among Engineering News-Record’s “Top 500 Design Firms” in the United States. For more information, please visit www.drmp.com.
