25-Year Anniversary

SynTerra celebrates the vision and leadership of Ruth Albright.

Posted January 15, 2021

Ruth Albright, SynTerra Vice President of Engineering, is known for innovation and her ever-present moral compass.

SynTerra is celebrating 25 years of Ruth Albright’s determination, leadership, and compassion. Considering her attention to detail, it’s fitting to say precisely when she came aboard: January 15, 1996. She started that day as a project engineer and earned leadership roles over the years. Ruth has been SynTerra’s Vice President of Engineering since 2012 and has served as the firm’s Corporate Secretary since 2009.

Ruth reflects on her years so far at SynTerra:

Reaching my 25th anniversary working here at SynTerra and soon to see my 35th anniversary of graduating from Clemson University, it seems appropriate to reflect on the events of these years.

It seems unlikely that I would have left an employer with almost 55,000 employees to go to work for a company with about 10 employees, but that is what I did. Over the years, we’ve done some innovative things, as well as the things that just kept clients, and our business, operating.

We bought, operated, and then sold a centralized wastewater treatment business.
We bought out the principal owner of this company and rebranded as SynTerra.
We sold a significant amount of the company to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) Trust to provide a mechanism through which employees could earn retirement income from their employment without investing their own wages.
We landed a whale of a project and then shot up from about 40 employees to more than 100 in less than two years.
We acquired other businesses, hoping to grow our business footprint.

All along the way, I believe we’ve been true to our intents, which was to build a business that allowed science and engineering professionals to build their careers based on their interests.

Ultimately, all intents are aspirational in nature. We are never able to fully meet our vision because we each see something slightly different when we describe our wants for the company. Hopefully, the intents shine through, and both our clients and our employees see the opportunity and promise in our collective work.

Not to bring religion in, but a minister I used to know ended each sermon with the words, “Let us go now, into the day. For this is the day we are given. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. May it be so.” My hope for each of you is that you seize each opportunity for personal growth and see the hope and joy in our work.

Accolades and admiration

Ruth’s forward-thinking optimism has been contagious. Words flow when teammates cite her innovative spirit and leadership-by-example. Here’s a sampling:

Mark Taylor, senior consultant and long-time SynTerra teammate: “Ruth is a person with a big heart and a strong sense of right and wrong. She has been a moral compass for the firm, a consistent voice for those who might be overlooked or neglected, and the person who kept things straight. In her role as Corporate Secretary, she has tracked our growth, kept us legal in all the various states and local jurisdictions where we work, and maintained the company records in excellent condition. She deserves much of the credit for shaping SynTerra as it is today.”

Carlton Owen, SynTerra board member: “Ruth’s commitment, along with that of others in the company, to buy out the founder is the foundation on which SynTerra is built. For a quarter of a century, she has continued to give her all to make the venture successful. Servant leadership and all-in actions foretell a bright future for the company and its employee owners.”

SynTerra President Steve Precourt: “While I’ve known Ruth only for a few months, as opposed to the years many at SynTerra have known her, it’s been a real joy. I truly admire her hard work and commitment, and I envy her intellect and memory. I’m very honored to have been able to work with Ruth and congratulate her on this impressive, and nowadays rare, accomplishment.”

SynTerra is uniquely privileged to benefit from Ruth Albright’s expertise, leadership, and faithfulness over 25 years. We thank Ruth for her enduring service and for helping to make SynTerra an organization where doing the right thing matters most.

Kathy Webb, P.G.

Senior Market Leader | Principal

Kathy Webb, who co-founded SynTerra (then known as The Fletcher Group) in 1992, has completed remedial investigations and regulatory compliance projects associated with Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) facilities, state and federal Superfund sites, solid waste landfills, brownfield redevelopment, utility coal combustion residual (CCR) management units, and regulated industrial facilities. She has supported litigation as an expert witness related to chlorinated solvents, metals, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Kathy is known for her practical assessment strategy with the perspective of the client’s business objectives. She routinely evaluates groundwater corrective action systems for effectiveness and progress toward achieving compliance objectives. She has co-authored a trade journal paper with case studies of low-impact remedial strategies. Kathy is a licensed Professional Geologist in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Mark Taylor, P.G.

Principal

Mark has worked more than 40 years in natural-resource based industries. His expertise includes mine geology and mine engineering, hydrogeologic and geotechnical investigations, solid and hazardous waste management, and regulatory negotiations. He has published peer-reviewed papers about coal geology, ore geochemistry, mineralogy, and solid waste management. He is a leading expert in mining and environmental permitting for litigation support.

Mark is licensed as a Professional Geologist in South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Washington. He serves on the boards of the Upstate Red Cross and Upstate Forever. He served on the South Carolina Board of Registration for Geologists for six years. Mark holds a Master’s degree in Geological Sciences from The University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Science from Harvard University.

Andrea Kehn, P.E.

Vice President of Engineering | Principal

Andrea Kehn, leader of our Civil & Environmental Engineering Business Unit, has 28 years of experience in chemical manufacturing and environmental consulting. She leads and supervises staff professionals on multidisciplinary projects for a variety of industrial clients. Andrea’s vast experience and expertise includes: air quality construction and operating permitting; air quality modeling; air permit record-keeping and reporting; Oil Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP); NPDES permitting; water quality modeling; process safety management; risk management compliance and auditing; and RCRA compliance.

Andrea is registered as a Professional Engineer in South Carolina. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Ruth Albright, P.E.

Vice President | Principal

Ruth has led projects for major industrial facilities throughout the Southeast and beyond. She built her knowledge of environmental regulations and their application to manufacturing operations while working for the second largest chemical manufacturing company in the United States. At SynTerra, she has expanded both her knowledge and reputation working for chemical manufacturing operations of all sizes. She has also worked extensively with other manufacturing operations, including pulp and paper, industrial equipment, pharmaceuticals, food, and automotive parts and assembly. Her experience includes air and wastewater permit compliance, solid and hazardous waste management, solid waste construction permitting, hazardous materials transportation, wastewater treatment systems, air pollution control equipment operations and maintenance, and ambient air monitoring systems.

Ruth is a professional engineer registered in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Michigan, Arkansas, and Kentucky. She is an active member of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Environmental Technical Committee and serves as the chair of the water subcommittee. She has previously served as the program and committee chair for the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce Environmental Affairs committee. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University.