2021 Airport Business Top 40 Under 40: Rhea A. Hanrahan, Principal Consultant at Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc. (HMMH)

A physicist by schooling, Rhea Hanrahan is using her expertise to help clients with noise and environmental consulting. Working for HMMH for the past twelve years, Hanrahan’s physics background made her a quick study in the field of noise consulting.

“Having a physics background, airports are really what I had to learn when I came onto the job. I had the technical background and ability to take large amounts of data and parse it out for analysis and written reports. So, it's really been the learning experience of the aviation industry and airports as a whole that I got on the job training with, which has been very rewarding and interesting and not something that I was necessarily looking to do when I was going to school. I didn't even know the world of noise consulting was a career possibility ,” she said.

During her time with HMMH, Hanrahan has taken on increasingly challenging roles and now is a Principal Consultant managing HMMH’s two largest aviation contracts – multi-million-dollar task order-based contracts, with multiple subcontractors.

A couple of Hanrahan’s notable achievements include, with less than a week’s notice, relocating across the country for a months-long assignment with a key client and two years ago, she opened a new office for the firm in NYC, once again relocating across country. In her role as NYC Office Manager, Hanrahan has established relationships with many large clients and engineering firms doing some of the most exciting projects in the City.

“I have many different clients across the country and their needs change with the years. I get to help noise offices shape the programs that they want. I really like working with on-call type contracts because I get to work with my clients over the contract and be able to help shape, grow, and work with them and their communities to execute their strategies,” Hanrahan described.

Hanrahan also acts as an industry leader. She was 2020 Chair of the Airport Consultants Council (ACC) Young Professional Forum, pivoting to a virtual leadership role with the COVID-19 pandemic. Hanrahan currently serves on the board of the ACC Member Foundation. The ACC Members Foundation's goal is to offer financial support for educational and research activities that foster growth of airport development related services.