After 4 years of dedicated work and invaluable contributions to our team, we announce the retirement of Ken Dierks, effective April 26th, 2024.

Ken Dierks has been an integral part of Fernleaf since 2020, bringing his passion, expertise and a positive attitude to everything he does, leaving a profound impact on our team and company culture.

Ken joined Fernleaf with 40 years of experience in environmental regulatory work for municipal and regional governments. Prior to Fernleaf, he led a team focused on climate adaptation and community resilience at a national engineering firm. He played a crucial role in developing climate resilience plans for Charleston, SC and Norfolk, VA helping Norfolk secure $115 million for resilience projects through HUD’s 2015 National Disaster Resilience Competition. He also took part in the "Dutch Dialogue" program in Norfolk and South Carolina, which aimed to introduce the concepts of "Living with Water" to participating municipalities.

At Fernleaf, Ken led the business development team by crafting strategic plans, cultivating new relationships, facilitating collaboration, and fostering a culture of innovation to steer the company toward growth and success. As Senior Resilience Associate and Project Manager, Ken led our team in supporting a collaborative initiative to develop a new data analytics technique and methodology for more effectively integrating equity consideration in the Long Range Transportation Process in Hampton Roads, Virginia. This successful approach led to a subsequent project aimed at integrating equity into the transportation planning process for a seven county region in southeast Michigan, proving to be an integral part of Fernleaf’s road assessment analysis utilized today.

As Ken embarks on his well-deserved retirement, we extend our deepest gratitude for his time at Fernleaf and wish him all the best for the years ahead. We will miss his dedication and expertise, but we are excited to see what the future holds for him in this new chapter of his life.

Please join us in congratulating Ken Dierks on his retirement and thanking him for his incredible contributions to Fernleaf!