TROY, MI Ashley Prescott Lesser, PE, LEED AP, EP, Environmental Engineer in the Environmental Assessment Services Division at Testing Engineers & Consultants, Inc. (TEC), has been selected as ESD's 2016 Young Engineer of the Year and will be honored at the upcoming annual awards dinner at the Henry Ford Museum.

Lesser, a licensed Professional Engineer (PE), LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP), and Environmental Professional (EP), joined TEC in 2011 and is experienced as a civil and environmental engineer. Her seven years of expertise includes environmental due diligence, remediation design, regulatory compliance, and construction management. She completed her master's in environmental engineering at Wayne State and holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Princeton University. She is also a recent graduate from the Larson Center for Leadership Program through the Urban Land Institute (ULI). The Larson Center is a curriculum-based program designed to train, mentor, and inform emerging leaders as to the transformative dynamics emerging within Michigan's built environment, and to promote their engagement in the process.

She is a member in good standing of the Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). In addition, she is Chair of the ESD Affiliate Council, which fosters cross-disciplinary cooperation and communication among the 130 professional societies that are members of ESD. Further, Lesser is a recipient of a Community Service Award for her work in securing new outreach opportunities for the Society of Women Engineers - Detroit Professional Section (SWE-D).

Lesser also lends her time and expertise to many outside endeavors that promote engineering and education by assisting in curriculum development with ESD's Engineering SMArT program, serving as an Future City Competition mentor, volunteering with the annual Construction Science Expo in Detroit, Michigan, and other outreach activities with school-age children. On a personal level, she still finds time to take on leadership roles and participate in a local concert chorale and community makerspace.