Feb 19

WTS Charlotte Metro Lunch and Learn - Recovering After Helene: Update from NCDOT Leadership

Join us as we hear from distinguished speakers from NCDOT including Chris Peoples, Chief Operating Officer; Lamar Sylvester, Chief Engineer; Mark Gibbs, Western Deputy Chief Engineer; and Alyson Tamer, State Value Management Engineer. Our speakers will delve into the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which caused extensive damage in western North Carolina, including over 3,000 washouts and the need for 300 bridge replacements. They will discuss NCDOT’s comprehensive approach to statewide disaster recovery and the innovative delivery methods employed to rebuild the affected infrastructure.

Northeastern University–Charlotte
2151 Hawkins St, Suite 800, Charlotte, NC 28203
View on map

Feb 19, 2025 11:30am - Feb 19, 2025 01:00pm

Chris Peoples, PE

Chief Operating Officer

Chris became chief operating officer for NCDOT in October 2023. As chief operating officer, he directs and manages the Division of Highways, Ferry Division, Aviation Division, Rail Division, the Integrated Mobility Division, Division of Planning & Programming, Human Resources and the Communications Office. Peoples is a registered professional engineer and has worked at NCDOT for more than 28 years in several field engineering positions, including state materials engineer and director of field support. He became deputy chief engineer in 2019. In June 2022, he started his previously held role—chief engineer—directing the engineering and program activities of NCDOT’s 14 highway divisions, Transportation Mobility and Safety Division, the Central Units and the Technical Services Division. Peoples is a 1993 graduate of N.C. State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. He has served as chair of AASHTO’s National Transportation Product Evaluation Program, or NTPEP. He lives with his wife, Robin, and their two children in Raleigh.

Lamar Sylvester, PE

Chief Engineer

Lamar currently serves as Chief Engineer for NCDOT. Lamar began his NCDOT career in June of 1995 as a Transportation Engineer Associate after graduating from N.C. State University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He served as an assistant resident and resident engineer in Division 5 and had a brief stint working for Raleigh before he returned to NCDOT as an airport project manager for the Division of Aviation. Lamar returned to the Division of Highways in 2005. He has held positions as estimates and claims engineer in the Central Construction Unit, state roadway construction engineer, and state construction engineer before joining the chief engineer’s office in 2020 as the director of field support and then deputy chief engineer.

Mark Gibbs, PE

Western Deputy Chief Engineer

Mark has served as NCDOT Western Deputy Chief Engineer for Divisions 7 and 9-14 since May 2022. Mark began his NCDOT career in 1994 and has held positions in Divisions 13 and 14 to include Assistant District Engineer, County Maintenance Engineer, District Engineer, Division Maintenance Engineer and Division Engineer.

He received his B.S. in Engineering from North Carolina State University in 1993 and is a registered Professional Engineer in North Carolina. Mark proudly served in the North Carolina Army National Guard from 1994 to 1999 as a 1^st Lieutenant in the 505^th Engineering Battalion. He resides in Henderson County with his wife, Donna and four sons, Joshua, Jordan, Jacob and Jeremiah.

Alyson Tamer, PE, CPM

State Value Management Engineer

Alyson graduated from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Engineering. She has been working with the North Carolina Department of Transportation for over 21 years in various roles supporting construction, maintenance, design and project delivery. She is the State Value Management Engineer and oversees the Value Management Office supporting the entire department through cost, risk, constructability, quality and knowledge management programs. Alyson is a member of the AASHTO Committee on Knowledge Management and the AASHTO Innovation Community of Practice. Alyson is a licensed Professional Engineer in NC and a Certified Public Manager. As of October 2024, Alyson currently serves as the WNC STRONG Program Support Manager solely focused on recovery and rebuilding of Western NC after the devastation of Helene.

This event will be hosted on the Northeastern University-Charlotte campus located directly on the train line (Blue Line) in South End. More details on how to get to the event are provided below. Registration and networking will begin at 11:30am with the lunch program running from 12:00pm to 1:00pm. Lunch will be provided with registration. Please RSVP by Friday, February 14th.

Engineers attending this program could earn 1.0 Professional Development Hours. WTS Charlotte Metro has coordinated with APA to qualify this activity for Certification Maintenance (CM) credit. The link for this program is: https://www.planning.org/events/eventsingle/9302758/ More information about ACIP's CM program can be found at www.planning.org/cm.

Traveling to Northeastern University-Charlotte Campus

By Train (Blue Line):

From Uptown Charlotte

Take train South towards 485 (Not towards UNC Charlotte)

Get off at the East/West Station

Walk south down Camden Rd towards 2151 Hawkins St. That address will take you to the front of the building on Hawkins St.

Take the lobby elevators to the 8th floor.

Campus entrance is directly past the security desk.

By Car:

Campus Address is 2151 Hawkins St, Charlotte, NC, 28203

Take the garage elevators or 1st floor lobby elevators to the 8th floor.

Campus entrance is directly past the security desk.

Free street parking is available in the area.

There is a public parking deck for the building, located at 2151 Hawkins Street.

-Building garage parking Monday - Friday is $5 each ½ hour with a daily max of $28.

--If you enter after 4pm Monday - Friday or anytime on weekends, the flat-rate price is $10 for the day

---We validate building parking up to 4 hours at a discounted rate.

----Bring the ticket you receive when entering the garage to scan when entering campus.

-----Parking rates with validation are highlighted below.

The flat lot across the street from 2151 Hawkins Street is $12 for 4 hours and $15 or 8 hours.

Please see the map below that highlights the free street parking areas in red.

If you are taking an Uber/Taxi:

Campus Address is 2151 Hawkins St, Charlotte, NC, 28203. That address will take you to the front of the building on Hawkins St.

Take the lobby elevators to the 8th floor.

Campus entrance is directly past the security desk.