2022 Engineer of the Year

Holly Rybinski, P.E.

2022 Young Engineer of the Year

Nicholas Dean, P.E.

Holly Rybinski, P.E.
Holly Rybinski is a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer and a licensed Professional Engineer in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. She was first inspired to pursue traffic engineering at the University of Delaware. She further developed her academic roots at the University of California at Berkeley, where she had a small role in shaping the architecture of US intelligent transportation systems (ITS).

Holly founded Rybinski Engineering ten years ago. The company’s mission is to create safe, efficient, and sustainable transportation solutions by fostering an exceptional environment for its team of experts to perform at their best. Her persistence and assertiveness in helping teams achieve project goals – as well as her dedication to animal rescue – took form in her company’s logo, which shows a bird dog on point. Holly's fascination with team building and professional relationships has built a unique work environment at Rybinski Engineering. Employees work from home, enjoying a shorter work week and a flexible work schedule.

For more than ten years, Holly developed and taught traffic and ITS course material for the University of Delaware. She has continued to teach as a consultant for DelDOT’s Transportation Management Center. In recognition of her academic influence, Holly was awarded the 2018 Outstanding Alumni Award by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UD.

Holly enjoys working on all stages of projects, from research to planning to design, construction, and operations. She has served as traffic engineer and/or project manager for dozens of engineering projects in Delaware, including some of the state’s first roundabouts on Choptank Road in southern New Castle County, traffic studies in all three counties—multiple times in the past 20 years—and helping the City of Wilmington and DelDOT manage traffic during the I-95 Restore the Corridor project that is currently under construction. Today, as Rybinski Engineering’s President and CEO, she still enjoys contributing her technical expertise to solving transportation challenges.

Nicholas Dean
Nicholas Dean is a Project Engineer with the Bridge Design section at the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT). Nick was born and raised in Frederica, Delaware and graduated from Polytech High School in 2005. Nick earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Delaware in 2010 and 2018, respectively. He has been a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Delaware since 2016.

Nick began his career at DelDOT in 2012 as a Project Engineer in the Bridge Design group. He was promoted to the position of Supervising Engineer in 2018, where he led a group of engineers and consultants from project initiation through project completion. In 2021, Nick elected to return to the role of Project Engineer to pursue his passion for design.

At DelDOT, Nick has been instrumental in advancing the Department’s Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) program and ensuring that Delaware is at the forefront of innovation. Nick was the lead designer on Bridge 1-438 in New Castle County, Delaware’s first all-prefabricated bridge. This project utilized precast bridge elements and Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) joints to accelerate the construction timeline from the typical 75 days to 31 days; it also employed Delaware’s first, and the nation’s second, application of a UHPC overlay. In addition, Nick was the lead designer of one of two overpasses replaced as part of the I-95/SR-141 Interchange Project, where the Department employed precast columns and pier caps, and prefabricated steel superstructure modules, which resulted in a time savings of over 250 bridge construction days. Currently, Nick is managing a CM/GC project involving a proposed lateral bridge slide, and he is also the lead designer on a bridge replacement project involving Delaware’s first fully precast approach slab, precast sleeper slab, and precast deck bulb tee beam. Because of his work with innovative ABC techniques, Nick has been invited to present papers at conferences like the National Accelerated Bridge Construction Conference, International Bridge Conference, International Interactive Symposium on UHPC, and the World Steel Bridge Symposium.

Nick is also involved in a number of outreach programs aimed at developing an interest and excitement for civil engineering. Along with his colleagues, Nick helped to develop a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) outreach program to teach Delaware students (2nd-12th grades) about civil engineering concepts through presentations, career fairs, and hands-on activities. In 2015, Nick was honored as a State of Delaware Employee of the Year in recognition of his student outreach efforts. For the past five years, Nick has managed DelDOT Bridge Design’s STEM outreach initiative, spearheading an effort to extend the reach of the program throughout the state. He has encouraged other DelDOT Bridge Design engineers to participate, allowing them to share their own unique experiences while continuing to further develop the initiative. Prior to 2020, Nick and his team gave over 40 presentations and reached over 2,000 students per year; since then, DelDOT Bridge Design has continued its outreach efforts virtually. In 2021, Nick and a colleague received the “Rookie of the Year” Award from Junior Achievement USA, a non-profit that inspires and prepares young people for success, in recognition of their accomplishments in student outreach.

In 2018, with the support of his supervisor, Craig Stevens, Nick initiated the Delaware Bridge Design Competition. This event is a hands-on engineering competition geared towards students interested in the math, science, and engineering fields, and is designed to encourage middle school and high school students to address real-world problems and inspire them to consider careers in transportation and civil engineering. In its first year, the competition consisted of 11 teams from five schools; under Nick’s leadership and with the help of DelDOT Bridge Design and other staff, the competition swelled to 81 teams from 25 schools in 2019. Returning for its third year, 72 teams will complete virtually in the 2022 Bridge Design Competition.

Nick currently resides in Frederica, Delaware with his girlfriend, Alex. He enjoys playing golf, exercising, coaching baseball at Polytech High School, and spending time with family, friends, and dog.

2021 Engineer of the Year

Scott Rathfon, P.E.

Scott Rathfon, P.E. is a Professional Engineer licensed in multiple states throughout the mid-Atlantic region. He has over 40 years of comprehensive engineering experience in various areas of the civil engineering field as well as project and program management. Scott has been employed by Century Engineering in the Delaware office for over 33 years and has been involved in numerous projects throughout the State.

Scott grew up in the Georgetown, Delaware area and graduated high school from Sussex Central High School in Georgetown. He received an Associate in Applied Science degree from Delaware Technical and Community College (Owen’s Campus) in Architectural Engineering Technology. He then attended Pennsylvania State University (Harrisburg Campus) where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Structural Design and Construction Engineering Technology. While working in Virginia, he went on to receive a Master of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering from Old Dominion University.

In addition to the lifelong learning that goes along with being an engineer, Scott also successfully completed the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Senior Executives Institute program. This is an intensive leadership training program that spans over 18 months and includes leaders of Engineering firms throughout the US.

Scott began his engineering career working for Perdue Farms in Salisbury, Maryland as a Field Engineer Intern responsible for various facility improvements. After one year at Perdue Farms, he learned about some amazing work opportunities at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia through several of his college roommates that went there right after graduation. Scott and his wife Lynn (married between his Junior and Senior year in college) decided to uproot from Delaware and give Newport News, Virginia a try. He took a position with Newport News Shipbuilding in the Piers and Drydocks Division as a construction inspector and quickly rose through the ranks to become a Project Engineer. He was involved in several large design and construction projects improving the facilities around the Shipyard.

After seven years in Newport News and the birth of their first child, Scott and Lynn decided it was time to move back to Delaware and get closer to family. He credits Lynn with aggressively pursuing a job posting she saw for a company getting ready to open a new office in Dover, Delaware and reaching out to his future new boss (James T. Johnson, Sr.) before he even had a chance. They moved back to Delaware in 1987, where Scott became one of the initial six employees of Century Engineering – Delaware, when they opened the Dover office. Thirty-three years later, Scott serves as an Executive Vice President overseeing the Delaware operations (over 160 employees) and is part Owner in the company. He also serves on the corporate Board of Directors where he helps guide the direction of the overall company.

Scott has guided the Delaware operations for over 20 years and has been involved with various design and construction projects throughout the State of Delaware, as well as surrounding states. He has been involved in some of the largest infrastructure projects in the State including the SR1, US 13 Relief Route project and the recently completed US 301 project. One of the highlights of his engineering career was having the opportunity to work on the management team for the design and construction of the cable-stayed bridge over the C&D Canal. Many of the projects he has been involved with over the years have been recognized in the state for their excellence by his peers.

Scott has also been involved in the broader community of Delaware through various activities. He is the current President of the Greater Kent Committee, an organization of Kent County business leaders that tackle issues that are important to the local community such as driving the economy and improving the quality of life for everyone in Kent County. He is an Honorary Commander for the Civil Engineering Squadron at Dover AFB. He is also on the Advisory Committee for the Del Tech Owens campus Engineering program. He has served on the ACEC Board of Directors promoting the importance of engineering companies in Delaware and the use of the Qualification Based Selection (QBS) system. While his daughters went through the Little League program he coached and served on the Milford Little League Board of Directors for over 15 years. One final note of accomplishment, in 2001 Scott was recognized by Delaware Technical and Community College as a Distinguished Alumni and received a star on the Del Tech walk of fame.

Scott lives in Lincoln, Delaware with his wife Lynn. They have two adult daughters, Dana (a Professional Engineer that recently joined Century Engineering) and Jenna (who lives in Milford, Delaware with her husband Brandon and two children, and works as an elementary school teacher in Milford). Scott and Lynn adore time spent with their two amazing granddaughters (Maisy Mae and Remi Lynn Dodd). They also thoroughly enjoy spending time with family and friends (pre-Covid and soon to be post-Covid), camping trips, and vacationing at Disneyworld as Disney Vacation Club members.

2021 Young Engineer of the Year

Jennalee Fede, P.E.

A University of Delaware graduate who obtained her BS in Environmental Engineering in May 2011. She has worked for Duffield Associates for over 10 years and began as an intern back in May 2010. Currently a project manager in Duffield’s Environmental Division, she splits her time between the Wilmington, DE and Philadelphia, PA offices. She has worked on various projects throughout the Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey, involving environmental investigations, permitting, remediation, and regulatory compliance for various residential, commercial, and industrial sites. Her clients have varied from private developers and realtors to government and utility companies. She takes pride in each project she works on, looking to provide value to her client while also making a positive impact on her community.

She is active in various professional organizations, secretary of the Delaware Section of the American Water Resource Association (DEAWRA) and active member of the Society of Women Environmental Professionals (SWEP), Delaware Real Estate Women (DREW), and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE). She is also active in her community, participating in the Christina River Cleanup (15+ years), Adopt-A-Highway Cleanup (8+ years), and various food and clothing drives. She has also assisted the Delaware Association of Professional Engineers (DAPE) with mentoring and presentations regarding the importance of professional licensure to undergraduate future engineers attending the University of Delaware.

In the past few years, Jennalee has dedicated herself to Duffield and her environmental team, working to improve internal and cross-division communications and furthering professional advancement of her staff and peers through education and creating new professional pathways. She is always looking for a new project to challenge her and hopes to serve as a role model to other engineers and women in scientific fields.

2020 Engineer of the Year

Ted C. Williams, PE, FACEC has been selected as the 2020 Engineer of the Year. Mr. Williams serves as President of Landmark Science & Engineering, a multidisciplinary site/civil and environmental sciences consulting firm. He has 43 years of comprehensive experience with land development, transportation and traffic studies for large mixed-use construction projects. Ted is heavily involved in technical and professional organizations representing the Delaware engineering community. Some of the organizations where Mr. Williams currently serves is ACEC Delaware where he is the New Castle County Partnering Chair, Delaware Council on Transportation where he is Chair, and Committee of 100 where he is President. Mr. Williams has been a tireless advocate for engineering and business within the State of Delaware and nationally through these organizations. He is well known throughout Delaware’s State and Local Legislatures, Councils, and agencies for his support of improving Delaware’s Infrastructure. He has also been involved in the broader community of Delaware through activities such as coaching and advocating for STEM-based education for all of Delaware’s middle and high school students. He has been a dedicated advocate for efficiency in public school construction projects and has been instrumental in developing a model for future school development based on a full-school campus design.

2020 Young Engineer of the Year

Mr. Brendza graduated from the University of Delaware with a BS in Civil Engineering in 2008. Shortly after graduation he began working in the field of water and wastewater engineering for Hydraterra Professionals in Chester County PA. At Hydraterra Professionals he spent the majority of his time performing construction inspection and design services for wastewater and drinking water facilities. In 2013, Mr. Brendza began his career at Johnson Mirmiran and Thompson in their water and wastewater group. During his time at JMT he has worked for various government agencies and utilities throughout Delaware such as City of Newark, New Castle County, and Kent County. Chris has also led various design projects for regional authorities and government agencies in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and children, and volunteering in his community.