FREESE AND NICHOLS ADDS SABU PAUL TO LEAD FEMA SUPPORT PROJECTS FOR EAST COAST, GREAT LAKES REGIONS

Freese and Nichols, Inc., has added Sabu Paul, PhD, PE, PMP, D.WRE, a water resource engineer whose experience spans local to international projects, to lead our work in a joint venture supporting FEMA’s efforts to reduce flood risk for the East Coast and Great Lakes regions.

As Freese and Nichols’ FEMA Program Director, Paul will leverage his experience working on large, complex flood mitigation and stormwater infrastructure projects, which includes promoting equity across diverse communities. He also has handled multiple Federal Emergency Management Agency Risk MAP projects for counties from Virginia to California.

Freese and Nichols is part of the Advancing Resilience in Communities Joint Venture (ARC JV), a team of consultants led by Michael Baker International to support FEMA’s administration of the National Flood Insurance Program. In 2021, the JV was awarded a five-year, $300 million maximum value indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to provide engineering services to help reduce flood risk across FEMA’s Zone 1, which covers 19 states in the Northeast and Midwest, as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

The ARC JV will provide technical expertise that includes generating/evaluating flood hazard and risk information, along with mitigation, planning, flood mapping and modeling activities.

“Sabu embodies the multidimensional abilities of our stormwater team,” said Krista Bethune Melnar, Freese and Nichols Principal and Stormwater Practice Leader. “His background reflects the wide-ranging expertise we bring to helping communities, from flood risk mitigation and modeling to local resilience planning and low-impact development practices.

Paul brings extensive technical and management expertise in areas that include:

• Resiliency and sustainability
• Hydrology and hydraulics
• Floodplain mapping and management
• Water resources and stormwater
• Watershed/water quality modeling
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Software Development
• Data Science and Innovation

He also understands municipal stormwater infrastructure needs through his role managing projects for the City of Alexandria, where Freese and Nichols has an office with a growing local team to support our FEMA work.

Paul received a PhD from Texas A&M University, a master’s degree from Indian Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s from Kerala Agricultural University in India. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and is a Project Management Professional and a Diplomate, Water Resources Engineer. He has served as second vice chair of the Water Environment Federation’s Watershed Management Committee for 2020-22 and will be vice chair after WEFTEC 2022.

Later this month, Freese and Nichols’ Alexandria office moves to a new location in the Old Town historic district. Effective Sept. 28, the new address will be: 1420 King Street, Suite 201, Alexandria, VA 22314. The phone number remains 202-938-0246.

Freese and Nichols, Inc., is a professional consulting firm serving clients across the Southeast and Southwest United States. Since 1894, we have planned, designed and managed public infrastructure projects with client-centered innovation in mind. We are the first engineering/architecture firm to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

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