Joel A. Paulson , P.E.

Mr. Paulsen is a licensed civil engineer with over 20 years of experience in stormwater management, flood control, and resilient infrastructure design. He currently serves as a Senior Managing Consultant at Engineering Systems Inc. (ESi), where he leads forensic investigations and advises public agencies and private clients on complex water infrastructure and flood risk projects across the country.

Prior to joining ESi, Mr. Paulsen served as the Executive Director of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority, where he successfully led the $3.2 billion Fargo-Moorhead Flood Diversion project, the first U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Public-Private Partnership (P3) of its kind. His leadership included land acquisition, permitting, climate resilience planning, and large-scale BMP integration across municipal boundaries.

Mr. Paulsen is a Certified Floodplain Manager and an expert in the application of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), construction-phase BMPs, and regulatory permitting under Minnesota’s MS4 and CSWGP programs. He frequently works with watershed districts, local governments, and developers to address erosion control, stormwater reuse, and long-term system maintenance. He has also served as a municipal elected official and continues to advocate for integrated, cost-effective stormwater solutions that benefit both infrastructure and the environment.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from North Dakota State University and resides in Moorhead, Minnesota.