Kristie Franzmann, Branch Chief for the Denver Service Center Transportation Division

Kristie Franzmann

What is your name and job title? Kristie Franzmann, Branch Chief for the Denver Service Center Transportation Division.

What experience and education do you have? I have a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Oklahoma State University and an Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois. The Denver Service Center (DSC) hired me shortly after I graduated school and I have worked on a range of projects ever since. That includes the Canyon View Information Plaza at Grand Canyon National Park, the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, the Big Cypress National Preserve Swamp Welcome Center, and Turtle Beach at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, along with many road projects completed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration.

What is a typical day like? Like pretty much everyone else at DSC, there aren’t many typical days. I coordinate with both regional and our Washington headquarter program managers, consult with staff on project issues, discuss contracting status and issues with DSC Contracting Services, collaborate with the rest of the management team, and look for ways to make the project delivery process easier so the project teams can focus on technical issues more than process issues.

What career advice would you give to someone who wants to follow a similar path? Focus on doing a good job on whatever you are working on and never turn down an opportunity to help, regardless of whether you think the task is above or beneath you.

What is one of the bigger projects you are working on and what about that project might surprise people? I am working on a project reporting tool with others that will ideally automate much of the information needed to track project status by linking to various internal project systems. This will allow for project teams and management to get real time reports that accurately reflect the current state of each project. We have reached out to the other divisions in the hope that this could be a helpful tool for all of DSC. I think it may be a surprise to other divisions that the DSC Transportation project delivery process is the same as most any in DSC.