Behind every light switch, skyscraper and freeway is an engineer who crunched the numbers to ensure safety and reliability. Despite their critical contributions to society, the work done by these professionals often goes unnoticed. Most people don’t think twice when an offramp is banked, even though an engineer carefully designed it that way to help cars navigate curves at high speeds.
That’s why the American Council of Engineering Companies Arizona (ACEC Arizona) works to build solidarity within the profession, supporting engineers with the training they need and advocating on their behalf at the state capitol so legislators don’t overlook the industry’s impact.
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AZRE magazine sat down with Chris Bridges, executive director of ACEC Arizona, to learn more about his background, why he took on this role and how the association supports its members. The following responses have been edited for clarity and length.
AZRE: Chris, can you tell us about your background?
Chris Bridges: I spent about 27 years in either land use or transportation planning, meaning I worked with local governments a lot. I was the executive director of the Central Yavapai Metropolitan Planning Organization for about 11 years and loved it. My wife and I lived in Prescott for about 22 years before she got a job in Avondale right before the pandemic — she was in the office for about a week before everything shut down.
AZRE: Is that when you moved to Greater Phoenix?
Chris Bridges: At first, the plan was to keep our house in Prescott and just have an apartment here. But I got a job with Gilbert and ended up being down in the Valley all the time. Our son had graduated high school, so we decided to live here full time.
AZRE: When did you make the move to ACEC Arizona?
Chris Bridges: After working for Gilbert, I ended up running the transportation division for the City of Goodyear. I’ve been in the state retirement system for a long time, and I figured I’d stay with the city until it was time to enter that part of my life.
But then I got an email about the executive director role for ACEC Arizona. I didn’t think much of it at first, but then another email popped up a few weeks later. This time, I decided to read the job description just to see what it was about and thought, “This is right up my alley!”
That was October of 2024, and after taking some time to consider it, I decided I’d be bored if I stopped working. I knew this opportunity would be different from anything I’ve done before, so I applied and was hired. I started on January 21, 2025 — just a couple weeks after I could’ve retired.
AZRE: You mentioned that leading ACEC Arizona is unlike any job you’ve had before. How has your previous experience helped you in this new role?
Chris Bridges: At first glance, transportation planning and association management are totally different things. But at their core, both are about building relationships — something I’m really good at.
For example, as a transportation planner, you might have to go in front of the Arizona State Transportation Board and ask for hundreds of millions of dollars to build a road. You’ll have a lot more success when you know the decision makers.
Now, instead of convincing people to allocate huge sums of money, I’m asking members of ACEC Arizona about how we can help. What can I do to make sure our members are taking advantage of the benefits we offer? How can we help you with training? It all boils down to relationships.
AZRE: Sounds like more fun than retirement!
Chris Bridges: It’s so much better. My wife told me, “It seems like you just talk to people and go to lunch.” I replied, “Yeah, that’s why I signed up.” Obviously, there’s a lot more to it than that, but I do get to go to a lot of lunches.
AZRE: For readers who may be unaware, what is ACEC Arizona?
Chris Bridges: The American Council of Engineering Companies is a national organization with 51 different state representatives. Rather than having chapters like other associations, ACEC is structured as a federation, and ACEC Arizona advocates on behalf of our 120 or so member companies.
By being involved, companies can attend conferences, go to monthly meetings with the City of Phoenix and the Arizona Department of Transportation and participate in trainings. The majority of our members are small businesses, and a big benefit for them is access to our business, health and life insurance, as well as the ACEC Retirement Trust.
AZRE: One of the premier events the association hosts each year is the Arizona Conference on Roads and Streets. Can you tell us a bit about that?
Chris Bridges: 2025 marked the 75th anniversary of the conference, which originally started at the University of Arizona. A few different organizations ran it for some time before ACEC took it over entirely.
It has grown into a huge event, with about 1,700 people attending this year. We had panels on all sorts of topics, but the big one was about transportation funding. I moderated the opening session with a panel of long-time transportation professionals — folks from MAG, Dorn Policy Group, a [Metropolitan Planning Organization] director, a state board member and an engineering company. The whole point of the conference is to get engineers, contractors and all levels of government together to talk about solving transportation issues.
We also have some fun too. This year’s theme was “Back to the Future” to coincide with the film’s 40th anniversary. There was a DeLorean on site, people dressed up in costumes and we had a pinewood derby. It’s a great way to build community, and I can’t wait for next year.
