Upper School STEM Speaker Series Welcomes Engineers from Whiting-Turner

As part of the Upper School STEM Speaker Series, we welcomed three engineers from The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company: Will Tannebaum ’21, Irene Knott, and Brandon Hurlburt. Tannebaum, Knott, and Hurlburt- all of whom hold different positions at Whiting-Turner currently- introduced the company through their own personal career experiences and illustrated how different paths from high school lead to rewarding careers in construction. Students were given an inside look at what engineers and builders do each day, and shown impactful Whiting-Turner projects around Baltimore. This STEM Speaker Series also discussed the challenges faced on the Friends Lower School Transformation- a project completed through Whiting-Turner- while simultaneously balancing the schedule, cost, quality, and safety of the transformation. 

Each year, Friends School's STEM Speaker Series hosts guests from a variety of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields who share their professional journey and details about their research and work with interested students. Fields represented include astronomy, engineering, medicine, neuroscience, genetics, biology, and a variety of other disciplines.

About Will Tannebaum ’21:

Will is a 2021 graduate of Friends School of Baltimore and a 2025 graduate of Syracuse University, where he earned a dual degree in cybersecurity and business management. Tannebaum held an internship with The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, where, in the summer of 2024, he worked on the Lower School renovation at Friends School. As a “lifer” at Friends, Tannebaum found this a very rewarding project to be a part of, as he got to go back and revisit earlier classrooms and teachers, and help to build new spaces for future Friends students. Will now works full-time at Whiting-Turner as a project engineer.

About Irene Knott:

Irene Knott earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Delaware and a Master of Administrative Science from Johns Hopkins University. Knott worked as a project manager at The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and Riparius Construction, Inc., then as the vice president of M.B. Kramer Interiors, Inc., before returning to Whiting-Turner, where she has served as the vice president for over two decades now.

About Brandon Hurlburt:

Brandon Hurlburt earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2016 from Clarkson University. Since then, Hurlburt has worked as a Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) Manager at The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, where he has led the virtual build process across a variety of industries, including laboratories, healthcare facilities, and campuses.