Leadership

Starting with Wooten as an intern, Gary ascended through the firm’s ranks over two decades. He now forges a new era of service and growth across the Carolinas and beyond. Gary is a staunch advocate for infrastructure at every level and serves as Vice Chair for ACEC National. As a teenager Gary learned from his grandfather about contemporary water disasters and – wanting to guard against them – decided to pursue an Environmental Engineering degree. After earning one from N.C. State, he continued there to complete his Master of Civil Engineering. Gary is interested in water on the weekends too, enjoying sports and activities in the river, on the lake, or at the beach. He lives in Wake Forest with his wife, Jess. They have four daughters and two dogs, Remi and Cash.

Brian has his finger on the pulse of every engineering project and valued client relationship across Wooten’s six offices. He was always drawn to science and math and has applied those principles over 25+ years to improve public welfare on a large scale. As a lifelong resident of the Raleigh area, Brian did not have to travel far to complete undergraduate and master’s programs in civil engineering at N.C. State. During those college days he met and then married his wife. Today they are proud parents of two children and have a small dog with a big personality. The Johnsons are active in their church and relish leisure time at the lake or the beach. Although he watches more than he plays these days, Brian loves golf as well as hunting and saltwater fishing.

Always ready to tackle a challenging project with a satisfying solution, Bob leads Wooten’s Building Systems Group. The team designs eco-optimized systems for education, government, and industrial facilities as well as the private sector. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Bob earned a BS in Architectural Engineering from the University of Kansas. Nearly all his 36+ year career has taken shape across the Carolinas, devoted to meeting clients’ expectations on schedule. Bob is a proud father of two sons.

After 25+ years of guiding Wooten’s Environmental Practice team, Charlie now leads the firm’s marketing and business development program. By age 13 he already knew he wanted to be an engineer. So when his answers to a career interest test at school didn’t point to the profession, he reconfigured his responses to yield the desired result and the rest is history. He gained both a BS and Master of Civil Engineering at N.C. State. When he isn’t reviewing proposals and plans or meeting with clients, Charlie is active in church and volunteers with Civitan, an organization that serves children with developmental disabilities. Charlie and Kimberly, his wife of 27 years, have two children. They love taking their Boykin Spaniel named Jett to Lake Gaston for fishing and relaxing on the boat.

Born in Raleigh, Don grew up in Charlotte before returning to the capital city to study and receive a BS in Civil Engineering at N.C. State. Working at a precast concrete plant during college guided his interest toward a focus on construction. Now with 24+ years in the engineering industry, Don heads a team that sees designs through to successful completion for Wooten clients. As a Scoutmaster of 18+ years, Don enjoys the outdoors backpacking, fishing at the coast, and working with his hands. Don and Lisa, his wife of 28 years, have two sons. One is a project manager with McKinley Building Corporation in Wilmington and the other is a graphic design major at East Carolina University.

Raised just south of the Triad in Asheboro, John is Wooten’s Western Division Lead and heads the Winston-Salem regional office team. In middle school he was fascinated by construction and decided to study civil engineering, earning a BS in the field from N.C. State. He brings 34+ years of experience, more than 20 of them with Wooten, to clients in central and western North Carolina. John is enthusiastic about ensuring communities have the resources they need to maintain essential utilities and a high quality of life. He is engaged in civic activity as well as active in church. John and his wife of 35 years raised a daughter and son and are proud to have a grandson – and two granddogs. After work, he loves to play tennis, appreciates a good bourbon, and squeezes in a few holes of golf when possible.

With more than 29 years of industry experience, Scott leads Wooten's Building Systems Division. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from NC State and gravitated towards developing expertise in HVAC systems here on earth. In addition to managing projects for clients in education, municipal government, and the private sector, he is also a devoted to mentoring aspiring engineers. When Scott is not in the office or the field, he is often in the pool as leader of two water polo organizations. He has three daughters and two grandsons.

A true native of the Carolinas, Lester was born in the small town of Ahoskie, North Carolina and once lived in the historic district of Charleston, South Carolina. He was always intrigued seeing the built environment take shape and grew up certain he wanted to work in a related field one day. So he earned his BS in Civil Engineering from N.C. State and further sharpened his acumen with an MBA from East Carolina University. As Central Division Lead, Lester’s 35+ years of experience are in service to clients in the greater Triangle area and communities north and south of the metro. He also serves as a board member of Preservation North Carolina. Lester has an adult son, plays tennis and golf occasionally, and sets a course for the coast any chance he gets.

In a survey career spanning more than four decades, it would be challenging to estimate how many geographic features Tim has quantified. As head of Geomatics, orchestrating and mapping precise computations is exactly what his team does for Wooten’s clients. A Triad area native, early life and work experience motivated Tim to study surveying at Guilford Technical Community College. Ever since he has found it rewarding to explore innovative ways to measure, map, and engineer the world. Outside of work Tim is an ardent reader – a Mark Twain fan – and enjoys saltwater fishing. Over the years he has relished watching sports, especially his kids’ play, including coaching indoor soccer. He is a proud parent of three sons: One lives in China, another is in medical school, and the youngest is a straight-A student.

Born in Rockingham and holding both a BS and Master of Civil Engineering from N.C. State, Will heads Wooten's Greenville Regional Office. His father's technical perspective in architecture and Will's experience in the Boy Scouts of America guided him towards a specific focus on water resources engineering. Having grown up in a small town, he is focused on promoting growth and prosperity while protecting the environment. Will and his high school sweetheart Heather are happily married with two kids. Through their church they are active in community events. In terms of hobbies, you might find Will woodworking or playing golf – skills he learned from his father and grandfather, respectively.

With lifelong ties to South Carolina, John heads Wooten’s regional office in the Palmetto State capital. He first gained an associate degree in Architectural Engineering Technology from Midlands Technical College before going on to earn a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of South Carolina. John joined Wooten in 2021 after the firm acquired the company he founded, Crescent Engineering, LLC. He brings 20+ years of industry knowledge to serve clients in Columbia and beyond and finds it rewarding to see the finished product of teamwork. John enjoys spending time with his wife, Melissa, and their two sons. You can also find him fishing, hunting, and playing sports with friends.