The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC)-Nebraska is proud to announce Jeff Sockel, Sr Vice President and Omaha Division Manager at Benesch, as the 2025 honoree of the Charles Durham Achievement Award. This distinguished award recognizes Jeff’s outstanding contributions to the engineering profession and his commitment to excellence in infrastructure development.
Jeff Sockel, PE, VMA, a Kansas State University graduate and licensed professional civil engineer in multiple states, has demonstrated exemplary leadership and expertise in civil engineering throughout his career. While he has spent a significant portion of his career focused on construction engineering and materials, Jeff has also provided technical services across a spectrum of areas including transportation design, intelligent transportation systems planning and deployment, traffic incident management, ADA compliance, asset management, and value engineering. For the last 32 years, Jeff has led and been part of project teams responsible for planning, designing, constructing and/or maintaining infrastructure improvements primarily for public agencies in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, and North Dakota. He has also authored local and national standards. In addition to his technical roles, he has managed Benesch’s Omaha Division for more than 15 years and currently serves on Benesch’s Board of Directors. His commitment to client service, engaging and developing students and young professionals, strong operations and project management, and identifying opportunities has helped Benesch to grow locally from 17 to more than 80 employees. Under his guidance, Benesch has added three new service lines locally and repeatedly delivered innovative and sustainable solutions that have benefited communities and significantly improved transportation networks and other infrastructure across the region.
Beyond his professional contributions to Benesch, Jeff has been deeply involved with ACEC-NE, serving as numerous Board positions including President and National Director, as well being involved in other professional organizations. Locally, he has chaired the Better Streets Better City Bond Initiative Committee and the Improve Omaha! Bond Initiative Committee. His first industry contribution came as a member of the ACI Nebraska Board of Directors. Today, he remains active in ACEC Nebraska and currently serves as the Secretary for the ACEC/Nebraska PAC Board of Trustees. Jeff’s involvement continues at the national level also, serving as 1 of 5 consultant members on ACEC’s National Education Advisory Group, helping to shape future ACEC national conferences and educational programs. Jeff was recognized as a Midlands Business Journal’s 2010 ’40 Under 40′ for his business and community contributions.
The Durham Award is presented annually by ACEC NE to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional service to the engineering profession, exemplifying the highest standards of integrity, technical excellence, and leadership.