Anita Bandela Atkinson, P.E., F.ASCE, vice president and board member of Patterson & Dewar Engineers Inc., has been named a Fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
Atkinson leads the Engineering and Surveying division at P&D, headquartered in Norcross, Georgia. Her success at growing the civil department led to her most recent promotion, in which she leads the combined civil engineering, electrical engineering and surveying departments. She creates and executes the strategic direction for a team specializing in designing vital power delivery infrastructures for electric utilities.
Prior to her leadership at P&D, Atkinson developed and expanded the technical training program for Power Delivery Associates and taught utility engineering courses across the nation. As manager of the program, as well as an active instructor, she traveled extensively handling all aspects of training and sales. In the process she developed strong relationships and built excellent rapport with clients.
She began her career as a transmission power line engineer, engineering lines and foundations across the southeastern U.S. and honing her project management and client management skills.
Currently Treasurer of the ASCE Georgia Section (2018-2020), Atkinson began her involvement with the Section as hospitality chair for several years and then joined the board as internal director. She also served on the Board of Directors for ACEC Georgia and is currently on the Board of Directors as president for the Georgia Engineering Foundation.
As a volunteer at events such as Future City Competition and “Introduce a Girl to Engineering,” and in speaking to high school students, she enjoys educating young people on the opportunities in the engineering profession.
Atkinson won the Georgia Engineers Week award of Engineer of the Year in Private Practice (2020) and has received several awards for her leadership as a volunteer with professional and community organizations.
She graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2000 with a B.S. degree in civil engineering with an emphasis in structural engineering. She is a professional engineer in Georgia and six other states.