Meet Our People: GAI Bridge Inspection Professional Hannah Parsons

Hannah Parsons 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 Hannah tick—the background, motivation, and methods that she brings to the table every day for GAI and GAI’s clients.

Slide Name: Hannah Parsons
GAI Office Location: Charleston, WV
Hometown: Crystal River, FL
Education: Bachelor of Civil Engineering Technology, West Virginia University Institute of Technology Hobbies/pastimes: Traveling, fishing, outdoor activities
On staff at GAI since 2021

Q: Please tell us a little about how you arrived at your area of specialization.

Hannah Parsons: I have been a Construction Inspector for 11 years, specializing in bridge construction projects. I originally went to college for accounting, and after one semester I decided it was not for me. So, I sought out a degree that combined my love of being outdoors with my lifelong fascination with how bridges, dams, and other structures were built.

Q: What role do you play at GAI, and what sorts of projects do you typically contribute to?

Hannah: My title is Construction Manager and I work on transportation projects out of GAI’s Charleston, WV office. I have made contributions to many projects in my 11 years including Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant (ADA) sidewalks, paving, bridge maintenance construction and rehab, new bridge construction, yearly bridge safety inspection, new road construction, and more.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

Hannah: This is difficult to specify because I enjoy so many aspects of my job. I enjoy meeting new people and clients. I also enjoy the challenge of reading plans and building things. I enjoy the challenges of giving the public a better roadway system to drive on with the satisfaction that I’m helping improve mobility and safety for all who travel these roads.

Q: How do you measure your success?

Hannah: I try to set goals and I welcome any suggestions to better myself. I keep an open mind, I’ll  try anything that comes my way, and I strive to achieve my goals on time or ahead of schedule. I set goals based on my age and my years of experience—for example, I always told myself that I wanted to have all of my WVDOH (West Virginia Division of Highways) and WV Transportation Engineering Technician (TRET) certifications by the time I was 30. Well, I completed these goals by age 27, 3 years ahead of the goal I set. That approach gives me an objective way to gauge that I’ve been successful.

Q: Can you share something about yourself that people may be surprised to hear?

Hannah: I am pretty much an open book, but one thing that might surprise people is the fact that I had a reading disability. I struggled from about second grade through high school and college.

I worked diligently and sought help learning how to improve my reading. When my parents realized I was struggling, they put me into tutoring—when I started tutoring in sixth grade, we found out that I read at a third-grade level.

I am proud that I overcame my disability to the point that I was able to graduate college Cum Laude and was inducted into the honors society. Life can be a struggle, but it helps having people who encourage and support you through it—and I believe that my fellow GAI employees offer support every day.

Q: Why do you feel GAI is a good place to put your skills to work?

Hannah: GAI has a talented team of employees with many different experiences, and I always believe there is more to learn. That being said, I learn something new every day from my colleagues and the work we do. The staff at GAI offer guidance and encouragement to help me better myself, and I feel that I can bring my expertise to the table to help others as well.

Contact Hannah Parsons at 681.245.8855 and find out more about GAI’s bridge inspection services—message GAI online and start the conversation about how our multidisciplinary professionals can meet your unique project needs.


Hannah Parsons draws on extensive experience to provide GAI clients with construction oversight services for bridges, resurfacing, and buildings, inspecting concrete, caissons, rebar, asphalt, soil and stone compaction, and soil and rock core classification. She is skilled at performing calculations and different testing such as liquid/plastic limits, concrete air and slump, cylinders, compressive strength of cylinders, beams, cube, block and prisms, compaction, specialty laboratory testing, sieve analysis, hydrometers, fire proofing testing, and proctors.

Learn More.

CONNECT WITH GAI