Employee recognition awards
L&B sincerely appreciates the dedication, hard-work, and commitment that our employees exert each and every day.
The L&B Employee Recognition Program acknowledges outstanding contributions, achievements, efforts, and enthusiasm within our company, in a meaningful way.
Soar Awards — 2026
Quarterly Soar Awards formally recognize exemplary achievement. To receive a Quarterly Soar Award, the recipient excels in the following areas:
Job Excellence - Exemplary Achievement and Performance - Client Interaction - Teamwork
Sarah Strom
Sarah Strom is recognized for her outstanding support of our key pillar of commitment to employees. Sarah consistently demonstrates exceptional commitment and leadership while successfully managing multiple proposal efforts. She consistently keeps proposal efforts on track, meets demanding deadlines, and always maintains a high standard of quality. Sarah's positive attitude, strong work ethic, and ability to deliver under pressure deserve to be recognized.
Katie Hawkinson
Katie Hawkinson is recognized for her outstanding support of our key pillar of commitment to employees. Katie goes above and beyond every day. Katie’s ability and willingness to work with others serves to foster collaboration within L&B. She is viewed as a trusted internal advisor and can always be relied upon to step up when needed.
Carl Buddin
Carl Buddin is recognized for his outstanding support of our key pillar of commitment to clients. Most recently, Carl developed a new and innovative method to determine the AOA gate requirements as part of the IAD AOA Gate Master Plan study. His approach provided a sound, reliable, and repeatable method that can be used not only for the IAD project, but can also be marketed to other existing clients, as well as future clients. Carl’s new approach is complex but was presented in a clear and straight-forward manner that was very well-received by the client.
Dirk Anderson
Dirk Anderson is recognized for his outstanding support of our key pillar of commitment to clients. Dirk has been consistently managing a challenging workload and delivering exceptional services for clients including PHX, RNO, and BOI. He developed a detailed financial model for the PHX West Terminal Program, which greatly assists the client’s decision-making process.
Michelle Maitland
Michelle Maitland is recognized for demonstrating commitment to our key pillar of running a resilient and efficient business. Michelle’s partnership with Project Managers drives contract compliance, risk mitigation, and project success while actively monitoring budgets, reconciling subconsultant costs, and recommending proactive corrective actions.
Soar Awards — 2025
Quarterly Soar Awards formally recognize exemplary achievement. To receive a Quarterly Soar Award, the recipient excels in the following areas:
Job Excellence - Exemplary Achievement and Performance - Client Interaction - Teamwork
Abdullah Hamza
Abdullah Hamza is recognized for outstanding leadership, commitment to clients, and overall drive to succeed as a core contributor to the SAN T2E project. Abdullah brings teams together with his positive attitude and collaborative approach, helping everyone stay aligned and work efficiently.
Cody Meyer
Cody Meyer is recognized for exceptional dedication, leadership, and technical acumen. Cody serves as Deputy Project Manager for the BNA Master Plan, balancing complex deliverables and demonstrating organizational leadership that has earned the trust and confidence of our client.
Sarah Farsalas
Sarah is recognized for her performance supporting the Chicago Department of Aviation client. Excelling as Project Manager providing on-site technical support across planning, environment, and facilities, Sarah has become a trusted client advisor.
Juan Pablo Duran Zacatecas
Juan Pablo is recognized for his strong work ethic and proactive support of the Quiport client during the 2025 Master Plan Update for Quito International Airport, consistently ensuring responsiveness and excellence in delivery.
Brianna Moyer
Brianna Moyer is recognized for exemplary dedication and execution in client-facing roles. Praised for early task completion and training junior team members on technical analysis, Brianna also contributes to the community coaching youth sports.
Marie Topputo
Marie is recognized for performance above and beyond expectations, tirelessly preparing office space for subtenants, liaising with contractors, and providing essential local IT and equipment support for regional staff.
Jay Zhao
Jay Zhao is recognized for significant contributions to the SAN project team. Goal-oriented and dependable, Jay consistently meets key client milestones and fosters team collaboration.
Lisa Schafer
Lisa is recognized for meeting demanding deadlines for international clients and fostering team morale. She is the company’s go-to resource for runway exit and length technical analyses.
Sam Thomas
Sam is recognized for his contributions to the San Diego International Airport T2 East Project Description Document and his leadership in terminal and airside bridge analysis.
Luke Yu
Luke is recognized for unwavering accountability and problem-solving across urgent deliverables, ensuring thorough client touchpoints and critical technical rigor.
Employee of the Year
The Employee of the Year Award is the highest level of formal recognition given for exemplary achievement. L&B’s Matthew H. Lee Employee of the Year Award recognizes an employee’s achievements that embody the dedication to L&B and the aviation industry that Matt Lee has demonstrated for over 40 years.
Cody Meyer
Cody Meyer is recognized as the L&B 2025 Employee of the Year for exceptional dedication, leadership, and technical acumen. Serving as Deputy Project Manager for the BNA Master Plan, Cody consistently delivers high-quality work, balancing heavy responsibilities with poise and strengthening client confidence across key aviation initiatives.