Former Systems Engineer, NASA
Co-Founder and Construction Manager, PATH Foundation

AE 1968

Ed is a Georgia native and Aerospace Engineering graduate from Georgia Tech. He worked for NASA and Martin-Marietta Corp on the Skylab project supporting the astronauts with stowage management during space flight.

Ed built his own home in 1973 and enjoyed the experience so much, he resigned his position at Martin-Marietta in Denver, and entered the construction industry where he built over 1000 new homes from 1974 to 1986.

Ed volunteered as Planning Commissioner in the city of Englewood Colorado during the early 1980’s. The Greenway Foundation was building the South Platte River trail through Englewood at the time and asked Ed, as the Commissioner and an avid cyclist, to participate in the planning and design of the trail.

Ed returned to Atlanta in the late 1980’s where there were few sidewalks, no bike lanes, and certainly no trails for enjoying his favorite past time. When the Olympics were announced for Atlanta, Ed and a few of his friends realized that in order for Atlanta to be an adequate host, there had to be pedestrian and bicycle facilities around and between the Olympic venues. In 1991, Ed helped form the PATH Foundation, a nonprofit organization with a mission of connecting the Atlanta region with a network of trails for commuting and recreating.

Under Ed’s leadership, PATH has built over 235 miles of trails throughout the region. He has persuaded cities and counties to allocate over $100 million while helping his board raise another $50 million from private sources to build trails. He has inspired scores of additional jurisdictions nationwide to form public-private partnerships for the purpose of advancing trail construction.

He has served on the Transportation Enhancement Advisory panel, the Congestion, Mitigation, and Air Quality project selection committee , and other statewide selection committees that guide distribution of federal and state funding to worthy trail projects. He has helped many jurisdictions establish trail master plans and design specifications to guide trail development. Ed was recently awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Urban Land Institute for his work at PATH.

Ed also serves PATH as a construction manager where he oversaw development of the Silver Comet Trail, one of the longest paved trail system in the U.S, the Island Trail system in St.Simons, Ga, the Spanish Moss Trail in Beaufort S.C., and the Carrollton Greenbelt in Carrollton, Georgia.

Ed was Treasurer of the DeKalb Development Authority for six years, is an instrument rated pilot, a certified Scuba diver, a certified kick boxing instructor, and an active cycling instructor at LA Fitness in Atlanta. He has taught group fitness continuously for 39 years. He serves as a mentor for Georgia Tech students through the Georgia Tech Student Alumni Association.