Fawn R. Cassel, PE
Fawn R. Cassel, PE Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Contract Management Services Manager has been selected by the Central Pennsylvania Engineers Week Council to receive the 2024 John H. McCormick Educational Outreach Award. Fawn currently holds a Director-at-Large position with the Women Transportation Seminar (WTS), Central PA Chapter, and is a member of the American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE) – Harrisburg Section and serves on many committees representing the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC).
Fawn was born on August 15, 1975, to Harold and Linda Blough. A lifetime resident of central Pennsylvania she was raised in West Hanover Township and graduated from Central Dauphin in 1993. In high school, she was a member of the National Honor Society, marching, concert, and jazz band, and played softball. Following high school, she attended the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (UPJ) and graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering Technology in December 1997. While at UPJ, Fawn worked as a math tutor providing out-of-class tutoring services to students. During the summer months, she worked with the Department of Education on the Summer Food Service program and with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) as a summer intern in construction. Fawn has nearly 26 years of experience in the industry and is a licensed professional Civil Engineer. Fawn and her husband, Rob currently reside in Landisburg, Perry County.
Fawn started her engineering career with Dewberry (formerly known as Goodkind & O’Dea), a civil engineering service company in Carlisle, PA, primarily working on PennDOT projects. From 2002 until 2009, she worked with various private firms in Land Development. In February 2009, she went back to working on public sector jobs with SAI Consulting Engineers where she reviewed HOP permits for PennDOT District 8-0, E&S and NPDES permitting, H&H analysis and prepared PS&E packages for many PennDOT projects.
In August of 2016, Fawn began her career with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission as an Engineer Project Manager in the Contract Management Unit. Her responsibilities included reviewing plans, specifications, and cost estimates for projects prior to advertising for bid. She was nominated to participate in the first Emerging Leaders Academy at the PTC. As her career continued to grow, she began serving on many committees within the PTC and representing the PTC on various committees outside the organization on workforce development. In November 2020, she was promoted to Contract Management Services Manager where she is responsible for the PTC’s letting schedule, specification updates, review of plans, specifications and cost estimates prior to advertisement and overseeing the procurement process for all the construction contracts across the system. Her team has delivered the first two sections of the Mon-Fayette Expansion project in Allegheny County, fiber optic installation projects and open road tolling projects across the state. In 2022, she led her team to deliver over $1.2 billion dollars in construction contracts.
In 2018, Fawn joined WTS Central PA Chapter and volunteered her time on the Transportation You (TYOU) committee. She joined the TYOU committee because it provided a platform to encourage and educate middle and high school young ladies to learn the importance of working in the transportation industry and the opportunities that were available to them. In 2019, she accepted the role of TYOU co-chair and had the opportunity to work directly with the STEM Club at Steelton Highspire High School. In 2020, a time of worldly change, rather than let the program go dormant, Fawn along with the TYOU committee developed and enacted a virtual STEM club. The idea was to continue to reach out to students even during the pandemic and continue the basis of a STEM education for them. In November of 2021, TYOU committee also successfully implemented a virtual STEM Day event. In November 2022 as the lead co-chair for TYOU, Fawn developed a full day, interactive STEAM Day program that was attended by over 70 young ladies from various school districts in Central Pennsylvania. The success of that program continued, and in 2023, over 140 young female students representing 16 school Districts in Central PA participated.
Outside of her professional life Fawn is an active member of Enola Sportsmen’s Club where she is involved with the children’s activities such as fishing derby, youth day, and various holiday parties. She enjoys spending time with her husband snowmobiling, hunting, and antiquing.
In support of her local community, Nexa has been active member in her church, serves as Discipleship Leader at the Christian Life Assembly (CLA) and the Toy Share program, providing 900 children in Cumberland, Dauphin, and Northern York Counties with Christmas toys. In 2018, after hurricane Maria devasted Puerto Rico, she served as a liaison between the Assemblies of God Church in Puerto Rico and her local church to send a construction team to help in the restoration of the local church in Corozal, PR. She participates in STEM fairs at her local high school and “Moving Forward With STEM” event series at Shippensburg University with PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. Nexa naturally draws people to want to participate and be active within organizations and she is a shining example of how to start and manage a group successfully.
