Christopher Rousseau is the Hydro and Renewable Energy Market Leader at J.F. Brennan Company. Prior to joining J.F. Brennan, he was Manager of Renewable Business Operations for hydro and biomass at Minnesota Power. In this capacity, he was responsible for managing and mentoring union and non-union staff, coordinating capital investments, and O&M budgets. Prior to joining Minnesota Power, he was a Vice President of MSA Professional Services with regional responsibilities for the State of Minnesota. His work at MSA was focused on Municipal Engineering with special emphasis on water and wastewater systems.
During his career, Rousseau has held various positions within the engineering and hydro industries. He has enjoyed the opportunity to see the construction industry from a variety of viewpoints, including: Engineering Consulting (from Project Engineer to Vice President), Asset Owner (from Senior Engineer to Manager of Renewable Business Operations for Hydro & Biomass at Minnesota Power, and Construction (current role with J.F. Brennan Company). This diverse background has provided him with specialized experiences in contracting, strategic planning, alternative project delivery, legislative affairs, public policy, project management and project financing.
Beyond his professional work experience he has been engaged in volunteer professional service his entire career. Since 2000, Rousseau has been active in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) beginning with Section level leadership. He served on the Duluth Section board in all roles (president, vice president, treasurer and secretary). He has also participated on several ASCE National level committees including the State Government Relations Committee and the Public Policy Committee. He served two terms as ASCE Region 3 Governor representing engineers from the states of Minnesota and North Dakota prior to being elected to the NHA Board of Directors in 2019. He is currently in his third year of Chairing ASCE’s national Infrastructure and Research Policy Committee. He was advanced by ASCE to the membership grade of Fellow in 2019.
Rousseau graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1996, with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and is a registered Professional Engineer in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
