Lydia Birk has over 35 years working in the Oak Ridge / Knoxville region, she retired from the Oak Ridge Department of Energy (DOE) contractors’ / consulting business in 2019.

Upon retirement, she started working part time for S&ME, Inc. helping communities to redevelopment troublesome brownfield properties. She assists with funding opportunities, community outreach and brownfield environmental assessment. Ms. Birk’s work in Oak Ridge encompassed over 30 years in various capacities for DOE Contractors. She worked at all three Oak Ridge DOE sites in procurement, engineering, and project management; serving as the D&D Manager of Projects and then Reindustrialization Manager with Bechtel Jacobs at the East Tennessee Technology Park.

She received her Industrial Engineering B.S. degree from Virginia Tech and earned her MBA from the University of Houston.

Ms. Birk enjoys actively serving the community through volunteering, currently serving as Past President of the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club, Anderson County / Clinton City Schools Education Foundation Board member, Flatwater Tales Executive Committee, and as a FIRST Robotics Judge. She is an avid hiker and occasional backpacker. She and her husband are 900 + milers – having hiked all of the trails in the Great Smoky Mountains at least once. They have a daughter, son-in-law, and three school age grandchildren living in Chattanooga.