Josh Noble, MS is one of hundreds of skilled GAI professionals who help clients create better communities, transportation infrastructure, energy generation and delivery, and more from our office locations throughout the United States. Today we’ll find out a little about what makes Josh tick—the background, motivation, and methods that he brings to the table every day for GAI and GAI’s clients.
Q: Please tell us a little about how you arrived at your area of specialization.
Josh Noble: I am specialized in aquatic ecosystem evaluation and stream and wetland restoration, along with regulatory permitting and compliance for aquatic resource impacts and mitigation. I have been interested in aquatic ecosystems since I was a kid. My grandfather gave me National Geographic magazines, and one of the issues was about humpback whales and included a small vinyl record of whale songs. I was hooked (pun intended) on the aquatic world and I was—and am—fascinated by the world that exists under the surface of the water, below what we can see from above.
I began assisting university professors with their research while in college. After completing my master’s degree in 2002, I continued that work as a contractor to the Canadian government for a year. In 2003, I got a job as a Watershed Coordinator and I prepared a strategic plan for controlling water pollution in a State and Wild Scenic River watershed. It was in that role that I was first exposed to stream and wetland restoration and state and federal regulations for waters. My career has carried through in government and private consulting since 2005.
Q: What role do you play at GAI, and what sorts of projects do you typically contribute to?
Josh: I work almost exclusively on electric transmission projects. I serve as the project manager on most of these projects, which involve ecological reviews, threatened and endangered species coordination, erosion control planning, waterways permitting, floodplain coordination, transmission line and substation siting and permitting, and public outreach.
Q: What do you like most about your job, and how do you measure your success?
Josh: I have a fantastic team of technical, management, and support staff! They are dedicated and reliable and are the keys to our success. Also, I work with great clients. In consulting, the client you work for makes all the difference—and I am very grateful for the clients I am privileged to work with.
In consulting, the client you work for makes all the difference—and I am very grateful for the clients I am privileged to work with.
I measure success by how our clients rely on us for guidance. If I am in a project meeting and someone has a difficult question for the client project manager, they might then turn to me and ask, “Josh, how can we handle this?” or “What options do you think we have here?” This shows that there is a good deal of respect for both me and my team. When client staff ask us for guidance rather than simply giving us our marching orders, that shows me that they see GAI as part of their team.
Q: Why do you feel GAI is a good place to put your skills to work?
Josh: I came to GAI from a small consulting firm not knowing exactly what to expect or how I would fit in. But once I got settled, I realized that GAI was a good fit for me. I appreciate GAI’s culture of focusing on employee career development—the company provides many means for employees to expand their knowledge base and grow professionally. And I also appreciate that even though GAI is organized into distinct Groups and Business Sectors, the company’s employees are not restricted to one silo. People with unique skills can get involved in projects in any market in any part of the country.
Q: What inspires you, and how do you feel that the job you do at GAI benefits the community and the world?
My daughter inspires me most of all. I am passionate about my daughter, of course, but I am also passionate about nature and trying to get people to take a moment to consider the world around them. There is so much happening, but many people never take the time to look. In college I thought I was going to go change the world, as many think at that age. I’ve come to feel that what I am doing in my career indeed has a positive effect—it just may not be so obvious. The small changes all add up, and I am good with that.
Contact Josh at 234.203.0767 and find out more about what GAI’s environmental studies services—message GAI online and start the conversation about how our multidiscipline professionals can meet your unique project needs.
Josh Noble, MS has extensive experience in preparing federal, state, and regional environmental documentation and permitting and is adept at project coordination between agencies and clients. Joshua specializes in project management, field data collection, permitting, and design; his skills include supervising stream and wetland construction projects, and best-management practice design and implementation for stormwater management and erosion and sedimentation control.
