Parkhill Celebrates New Firm Principals

Our Board of Directors is pleased to announce that René Hawklee, PE, and Michael Strain, AIA, have been selected as Parkhill’s newest Principals. Both René and Michael have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to excellence throughout their careers. Each embraces our mission of Building Community and consistently models our values. Parkhill is thankful for their contributions to the firm, to our clients, and as thought leaders in design and knowledge. We look forward to seeing their continued success at Parkhill and within the communities we serve. Congratulations to René and Michael. 

René Hawklee, PE, is the Stormwater Team Leader in the Site Development Practice. René has served as project manager for drainage systems such as detention, street drainage, major storm lines, and channels at Parkhill since 2010. Before joining Parkhill in 2010, René served nearly 20 years with the City of Midland, holding several positions including City Engineer.

René currently serves as a regional director for the Texas Floodplain Management Association and has served in all offices for the West Texas Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers. She was named Young Engineer of the Year by the Permian Basin Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers.

She has a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Rice University. Throughout her career, René has sought to deepen her expertise and competence while maintaining a high standard of character. She is an excellent example of deepening credibility for all of us.

Michael Strain, AIA, is a member of the K-12 Education Practice. Michael brings 16 years of experience and expertise in the research-based design of educational facilities. He and his project teams are developing school facilities that take an active role in the conveyance of education by embedding dynamic, immersive content throughout the physical space and creating specific areas of discovery that implement student interaction through computer vision and augmented reality.

Michael has a master's degree in architecture from Texas Tech University. Some of Michael's recent projects include Liberty High School, Lubbock-Cooper ISD's new high school campus, and Lubbock ISD 2018 Bond Carmona-Harrison Elementary School. Michael continually exhibits a contagious passion for education as he helps clients develop groundbreaking flexible spaces to support traditional teaching and other learning modalities, leveraging technology and student interaction.