Kodi Jean Verhalen, P.E. (MN), Esq. (MN, WI, OH), F.NSPE served as NSPE President in 2016-2017, the youngest Professional Engineer in this position since the Society’s founding in 1934. Ms. Verhalen is a partner in the Energy Practice Group at the law firm of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP (Taft Law) where she works with many Professional Engineers, Engineers-in-Training, and engineers on large energy infrastructure projects both from a regulatory and an environmental perspective. Prior to joining Taft (formerly known as Briggs and Morgan, PA), she was an environmental engineer for a Minnesota electric utility company.
Since 2001 she has been an active member of both the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers (MnSPE) and NSPE. She started MnSPE’s first student chapter at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2004. In 2005, she was elected to the MnSPE Executive Committee advancing to the position of MnSPE president in 2010. Her leadership roles with NSPE have included membership on the Board of Directors and House of Delegates, chair of the Membership Committee, the Bylaws Review Task Force, the New Professionals Risk Management Committee, and the Position Statement and Professional Policy Development Task Force. Honors and awards include the Omega Chi Epsilon Chemical Engineering Honors Society—Beta Zeta, MnSPE’s Young Engineer of the Year, Minnesota Lawyer Up and Coming Attorney (2018), Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal 2021 Women in Business Honoree, Minnesota Super Lawyers Rising Star (2017-Present), American Bar Association On the Rise Top 40 Young Lawyer (2018), University of Minnesota Duluth - Swenson College of Science and Engineering Academy Inductee (2018). In 2012 she was named a Fellow of NSPE. In addition to professional organizations, Ms. Verhalen is also active in her community serving on the planning committee for FashionFest for University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital.
Ms. Verhalen received a BS with honors in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and a Juris Doctor cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. She is licensed to practice law in Minnesota state and federal courts, and Ohio and Wisconsin state courts, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Minnesota. She continues to mentor students and young engineers on the value of engineering licensure and the importance of giving back to their profession.