Elena Sossenkina, P.E.

Based in our Denver office, Elena specializes in geotechnical engineering and risk assessment for dams and levees. Her expertise includes portfolio risk management, potential failure modes development, estimation of risk and uncertainty, risk facilitation, and geotechnical investigations of complex sites. She has worked on hundreds of projects for federal agencies, state and local governments, flood control agencies and utilities, including several award-winning dam rehabilitation projects across the country. 

Elena is passionate about working with professional organizations to strengthen relationships between the dam and levee community of practice and particularly young professionals in the industry. Since 2015, she has organized the United States Society on Dams 5K races to raise awareness and promote the Student Scholarship. To date, the fund has raised more than $30,000.

Elena has authored more than 20 dam/levee risk analysis reports, completed levee risk screening for 12 levee systems, and provided decision-making support to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, California Department of Water Resources, Tennessee Valley Authority and National Park Service, as well as several non-government clients.

Elena is an active member of the Association of State Dam Safety since the early 2000s and serves on the USSD levee safety committee, having published several papers on dam safety evaluations. She also serves on the American Society of Civil Engineers dam instrumentation committee and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission committee.