A problem solver with a competitive nature, Kahli Cohran grew up with power tools in his hands.
As Business Report details in its new Executive Spotlight feature, whether he was building bike and skate ramps in his California neighborhood or helping his father, a carpenter, Cohran has always enjoyed finding and building solutions.
Now the president of his business, Civil Solutions Consulting Group, Cohran uses his extensive background in civil engineering and engineering management to provide clients with hands-on and effective resources to assist with the planning and management of municipal infrastructure.
While earning his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Southern University, Cohran discovered a newfound appreciation for the potential that lies within his trade.
“I began to develop a true understanding and appreciation of the potential role of a civil engineer, shaping the future of communities—not just through a technical, analytical and scientific perspective of the challenges of our world, but also having the capacity and appreciation of the social issues and challenges we face,” he says.
Still working to complete his master’s degree in engineering management with a focus on construction management from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Cohran set out to open his own consulting company—and did so—in January 2013. The firm is still young, but Cohran says that youthfulness lends some particular advantages, such as the amount of attention he and his four full-time employees can provide to each project and client.
Cohran developed a special interest in the FuturEBR plan and was appointed by Mayor Kip Holden to the Capital Region Planning Commission in 2014, which he calls an enlightening experience.
“I see potential to significantly improve communication across the region,” Cohran says. “This is paramount in addressing regional challenges faced in transportation and economic development as we compete nationally and globally as a region and begin to coordinate efforts to become a super region between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.”
Read the complete Executive Spotlight Q&A with Cohran. Here’s a sample of what you’ll find:
What is a great piece of advice you have personally received? Did you have occasion to put it to use?
“I never really paid attention to it, as I thought everyone thought the same as I did, but I was once told: ‘If you take a job, rather large or small, do it right or not at all.’ I often tell my son, ‘Do it the best it can be done, period.’ That’s just how I see it.”
