About Paula Hart, PE

Paula Hart of St. Louis, principal and owner of Hart Engineering, earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Missouri S&T in 2000. After working for several St. Louis area firms, she founded Hart Engineering, LLC in 2007. The company has expertise in a variety of aspects of civil engineering design and has successfully completed many projects in the St. Louis area for a variety of clients, including MoDOT, municipalities, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, Missouri American Water Co., developers and individual residents. Hart Engineering’s culture was featured in a December 2019 APWA Reporter article titled “A Workplace Revolution: Creative Employment at Any Stage of Life.” Hart is quoted saying “an entire demographic of employees exists out there with underutilized skills.” She has created a unique culture – a workforce comprised of primarily part-time employees who seek flexibility with balancing work and personal life. Her creative organizational model provides for a diverse workforce and inclusive environment. Hart carries her desire to lift people up into her volunteer activities by tutoring, mentoring, coaching and serving her profession through active involvement in the American Public Works Association, Engineers Club of St. Louis, and Missouri S&T. She was named Young Engineer of the Year by the Engineer’s Club of St. Louis in 2012 and the Missouri S&T Civil Engineering Exemplary Young Alumna in 2019. She received the Exceptional Performance in Diversity Award by the National American Public Works Association (AWPA) in 2020, was named Professional Engineer of the Year for Missouri APWA in 2020 and currently serves on the St. Louis County Planning and Zoning Commission. Hart and her husband, Shawn, a 2001 Missouri S&T civil engineering graduate, have two teenage children.