Raeanna Thiele, PE, Selected as Finalist for National Young Professional Award

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We’re proud to announce that Raeanna Thiele, PE, Vice President and Geotechnical Engineering Department Manager at Thiele Geotech, Inc., has been selected as a finalist for the ACEC National 2026 Young Professional Award!

Inspired by her grandfather’s 39-year career in public service, Raeanna has built her career around the belief that engineering is ultimately about people. As the first woman in her firm’s 30-year history to serve on its Board of Directors and lead a department, she is creating new pathways for future leaders while investing in the next generation through mentorship, STEM outreach, and industry leadership.

Earlier this year, Raeanna received our ACEC Nebraska Young Professional of the Year Award. She is now one of five national finalists who will be celebrated in Phoenix at the ACEC National Fall Conference in October.

2026 Young Professional of the Year | ACEC Nebraska

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Aaron Buettner

State Director

Aaron Buettner, PE, CVS leads Benesch’s Nebraska structural group, bringing more than 27 years of experience in structural engineering, project management and value engineering to every project he touches. His work spans highway, railroad and pedestrian bridges, and he has delivered public and private projects across the country involving a wide variety of materials and structure types.

Aaron’s technical depth covers the full project lifecycle, from structural design and in-service inspection to forensic evaluation and construction administration. He is proficient in multiple structural design and analysis software platforms and has a keen understanding of load paths and constructability. As a Certified Value Specialist (CVS), Aaron’s Value Engineering work has generated tens of millions of dollars in potential construction cost avoidance for clients ranging from state DOTs to transit agencies.

Notable projects include the Lincoln South Beltway, where his team designed 10 of 21 bridges on the freeway corridor; the N-12 Emergency Bridge Repairs in northeast Nebraska, where biddable plans for three flood-damaged structures were delivered in just three weeks; and the Penny Bridges Replacement in Lincoln, where value planning produced a context-sensitive solution that earned broad community support.

Aaron also serves as a Structures Specialist on Nebraska Task Force 1 (NE-TF1), which is one of 28 FEMA Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) teams located throughout the United States. In this role, he supports the search and rescue mission by assessing damaged structures, recommending structural hazard mitigation within those structures, and monitoring the structure for condition changes during rescue and victim recovery operations. During his tenure with NE-TF1, he has deployed ​on numerous missions within the state of Nebraska and around the nation to assist communities that have been impacted by emergencies or disasters.

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