{"id":19602,"date":"2025-05-28T11:44:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T15:44:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/?p=19602"},"modified":"2025-06-12T09:58:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T13:58:02","slug":"people-spotlight-meet-aimee-ruiter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/people-spotlight-meet-aimee-ruiter\/","title":{"rendered":"People Spotlight: Meet Aimee Ruiter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our People Spotlight<\/em> series<\/a> gives you an inside look at our technical experts around the world. This week, we are highlighting a project manager from our Environment business line in the U.S. East and Latin America region and providing an insight into her inspiration and work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aimee Ruiter is a licensed civil engineer and sustainability professional with 24 years of experience in environmental remediation consulting. She specializes in sustainable remediation and leads multidisciplinary teams through complex remediation design projects. Her experience spans the full lifecycle of remediation \u2013 from site investigation and remedial alternative evaluation to design, construction, and site closure. Over the years, she has focused on the remediation design of former industrial sites, including manufacturing facilities, manufactured gas plants, railyards, and petroleum refineries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A passionate advocate for sustainability, Aimee is an Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) and holds a professional certification in Sustainability from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She plays a key role in advancing AECOM\u2019s sustainable and regenerative remediation program. Her work includes development of internal guidance, tools, and training to support sustainable practices throughout remediation.  She also advises clients on updating their sustainability frameworks to align with evolving industry standards and business goals, making them more accessible and actionable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I originally majored in civil engineering with a focus on transportation. But my interests took a new direction when I read A Civil Action<\/em>, a book about a 1984 lawsuit in Woburn, Massachusetts, where a spike in childhood leukemia was linked to industrial contamination of the local water supply. The case led the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require two companies to fund what became the largest toxic cleanup in the Northeastern United States at that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That story hit close to home. The book also mentioned the McKin Company Superfund Site in Gray, Maine, my hometown, where a waste storage and disposal facility had contaminated residential wells with industrial solvents. That personal connection made the issue feel urgent and real, and inspired me to shift my academic focus to remediation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around the same time, I attended a presentation where environmental scientists were collecting sediment samples from a boat on a beautiful sunny day. Like environmental detectives, they used forensics to discover that there were actually two distinct contaminant plumes requiring cleanup. The project combined my love for the outdoors with complex problem-solving. It looked like fun and meaningful work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After college, I joined AECOM and began working in environmental remediation, and I\u2019ve been here ever since, for nearly 24 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\n That personal connection made the issue feel urgent and real, and inspired me to shift my academic focus to remediation. <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is your favorite AECOM project that you\u2019ve worked on and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than a single project, I\u2019d like to highlight a current initiative that I believe will lead to many of my future favorite projects: embedding sustainability into our remediation practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, I\u2019ve become increasingly passionate about sustainability and climate action in my personal life. I\u2019ve volunteered with the Citizens’ Climate Lobby<\/a> and serve as chair of my small town\u2019s energy committee. Naturally, I wanted to bridge that interest with my professional work at AECOM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the incredible support of my supervisor, Kris Carbonneau, I was able to realign my career to better reflect my evolving goals. She encouraged me to pursue further education, and earlier this year I completed a Professional Certificate Program in Sustainability from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also connected me with John Bleiler, our global remediation lead, who has been championing a framework and tools for embedding sustainability into our remediation work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the concept of sustainable remediation has been around for over a decade, I hadn\u2019t truly appreciated that connection, and I know I\u2019m not alone in that. Remediation projects are uniquely situated to make a meaningful impact, as they intersect with land, air, water, and communities. For the past year and a half, I\u2019ve been in a new role in which I\u2019m working closely with John and a steering committee to help drive a cultural shift at AECOM \u2014 one where sustainability is embedded into every stage of remediation practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of our key accomplishments is the development of our Foundational Standard: Sustainable Remediation Guidance<\/em>, a practical \u201chow to\u201d guide. We encourage project teams to incorporate sustainable remediation best management practices (BMPs) and conduct lifecycle analysis to evaluate key performance indicators (KPIs). Many of the recommended practices are simple, cost-effective, and impactful –  such as optimizing excavation volumes, reducing soil transport distances, or using rail instead of trucks to lower greenhouse gas emissions. We\u2019re also advocating regenerative remediation, which integrates ecological and community uplift into site restoration, transforming formerly blighted properties into valuable assets for both clients and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AECOM\u2019s sustainable remediation team has developed several internal digital tools to help practitioners incorporate sustainability into their day-to-day work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n