The Greeley and Hansen Nicole B. Spieles Memorial Scholarship
Nicole Spieles (1972-2020)
Nicole B. Spieles was born in Wiesbaden, Germany in 1972. She attended the University of Massachusetts (UMass) at Amherst, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering in 1994 and Master of Science degree in environmental engineering in 1997. Nicole met her husband, Kurt, while both were in graduate school at UMass. They married in 1999, and together they had three daughters, Vivian, Delphine and Calliope. The Spieles family lived in Chicago’s historic Hyde Park neighborhood and were active members of the Chicago community and the Greek Orthodox Church.
After graduate school, Nicole joined Greeley and Hansen, where she spent 22 years working in Detroit, MI, Chicago, IL, and Waukesha, WI. Nicole’s commitment to the communities in which she worked was evident as she was recognized by her colleagues, peers, and civic leaders, including the Mayor of Detroit who appointed her as a board member of the City’s Public Lighting Authority (PLA). Nicole was also dedicated to Detroit’s Water Action Volunteer Effort (WAVE), where worked with other volunteers and city officials to assist Detroit’s residents with paying their water bills. Nicole was also a member of American Water Works Association (AWWA) and Water Environment Federation (WEF).
Nicole excelled at building client relationships, leading project teams, and managing various major programs across the firm, ultimately dedicating her entire career to improving the environment, water and the quality of life for people around the world. In addition to being an adept leader and a client-focused project manager, Nicole was also a generous and positive mentor to many young engineers throughout her career. And, in 2014, at the age of 41, she was named by Greeley and Hansen as Principal — the first woman to be appointed in that role in the firm’s 100-year history.
Scholarship
The Greeley and Hansen Nicole B. Spieles Memorial Scholarship was endowed in FY22. Undergraduate, graduate, reentry, nontraditional, and community college students in civil and environmental engineering are encouraged to apply. Greeley and Hansen is a leader in developing innovative engineering solutions for a wide array of water, wastewater, water reuse, and solid waste challenges aimed at improving public health, safety, and welfare.
Renewable: 5 Years
