LEADING THE WAY: A ROUNDTABLE WITH SEAOC’S WOMEN FELLOWS

In celebration of Women in Engineering Day, the seven SEAOC Women Fellows delve into the experiences, challenges, and triumphs that have shaped their careers. This month’s President’s Address highlights their exceptional contributions and recognizes their role in driving the California structural engineering profession into the future.

What first sparked your interest in engineering?

I was good at math and science. In my senior year in high school, I was dating someone who was interested in architecture. We decided that I’d be a structural engineer and he’d be an architect, and that set my direction. This highlights the role that serendipity plays in our lives!! (Note: I broke up with this boyfriend a few years later…he probably has no idea how influential he was.)

Maryann Phipps │ SEAONC

It was a combined interest in math and art that stood out from other subjects for me (leaned more towards the math). I had a wonderful community college counselor who helped me find the program at Cal Poly and they had me at “Learn by Doing."

Joyce Fuss │ SEAOCC

I think that my mom’s desire to find a new house in the Oakland hills is the root of my interest in the built environment. I went with her on endless drives looking at potential houses all the while being exposed to the work of Bernard Maybeck, Julia Morgan, and others. I knew I wanted to be an architect beginning in the 4th grade. However, when I started at Berkeley in the architecture department, I discovered that the structural engineering required to build a building was challenging and hugely interesting. As an architecture major, I took enough undergraduate engineering electives to be accepted in the Civil Engineering Master’s program at Cal.

Janiele Maffei │ SEAONC

My parents were resourceful people and problem-solvers. My dad, an electrical engineer, performed all the maintenance and repairs on the house, ranging from electrical circuitry, plumbing, outdoor connections to wastewater and power, carpentry, and home remodeling and finish work. I didn't know how he knew how to do these things, so I just wanted to also be able to apply my knowledge in making my living environment better. I've always loved to solve puzzles. Later I learned that solving puzzles, or problems, with the power and knowledge of science is the basis of engineering, so this is how I formally entered the field.

Grace Kang │ SEAONC

I was originally an architect major at Cal Poly SLO and I didn’t know anything about structural engineering until I took the required lower division structural classes. I loved the logical, math and science side of engineering which was still in the architecture space but allowed me to use my creative side to develop structural solutions.

Michelle Kam-Biron │ SEAOSC

My interest was sparked when I found I could use math and science to solve real-world problems and impact the built environment. One of my ah-hah moments was the grade-school exercise of calculating the height of the school flagpole by measuring a distance off the base of the flagpole and the angle to the top.

Kelly Cobeen │ SEAONC

Michelle Kam-Biron, High School Field Hockey

If you could impart any piece of advice to individuals beginning their careers, what would it be?

Be a continuous learner. Work hard. Believe in yourself. Respect yourself and others.

Simin Naaseh │ SEAONC

Embrace your own unique journey, and the

opportunities that come your way. These can include projects, learning

from experiences and others, as well as leadership.

Joyce Fuss │ SEAOCC

Education doesn’t stop once you leave college. It’s a lifelong commitment if one wants to excel in their career. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Some of the best lessons are when you make a mistake and can pivot to try something new. Build a tribe outside of work. One that you can confide in, collaborate with, and celebrate with! Volunteer!! Volunteer at a professional association, for a non-profit to help the less fortunate, church or whatever yourinterest. Volunteer!

Michelle Kam-Biron │ SEAOSC

Over a career, the construction industry, the engineer profession and individual engineers go through cycles. These include varying amounts of work and varying personal and family needs. Don’t let the extremes of the cycles make you overly worried, because they will reverse over time. Do understand that it is okay to vary your involvement at work and in professional activities as personal and family needs dictate. The work and activities will still be there waiting when you want to engage again.

Kelly Cobeen │ SEAONC

Maryann & Estructure Team

What do you think are the most important skills to succeed in the Structural Engineering Profession?

There is no underscoring the importance of an analytical approach, a firm grasp on structural behavior, and understanding the fundamentals of earthquake engineering. Beyond that, it depends on your definition of success. Fortunately, there are so many ways to enjoy a rewarding career in structural engineering. For those who want to be leaders or firm owners, I think it is important to care deeply about the people you work with and for, live with integrity, communicate clearly, openly and honestly, and be humble. Hard work helps, too.

Maryann Phipps │ SEAONC

Creativity, enthusiasm, and communication.

Joyce Fuss │ SEAOCC

People skills. In this line of work, there are many people with engineering smarts but it’s the people skills that will help you excel in your career and are so important with teamwork, working with clients, being a leader in your company and the industry.

Michelle Kam-Biron │ SEAOSC

What is the most exciting thing about your job?

Being involved in a process that incorporates perspectives and collaboration from all the variety of team members and seeing a design through from initial concept to physical reality with all the interaction along the way.

Joyce Fuss │ SEAOCC

Sharing my technical and non-technical knowledge and experience with others and using that knowledge to collaborate with the team to develop innovative solutions to help Simpson Strong-Tie be leaders in the industry.

Michelle Kam-Biron │ SEAOSC

A best day for me is spent crawling around old buildings figuring out how they were constructed and how they work. Very often this leads to appreciation of the design engineers from past generations and clever solutions they used for complex geometries, connections, and the like. It is exciting to be able to do this work with co-workers and share observations and appreciation.

Kelly Cobeen │ SEAONC

Kelly Cobeen On-Site

After 44 years in this profession, I still learn every day. I enjoy the reciprocal learning as I work with our younger engineers.

Simin Naaseh │ SEAONC

What's the best career decision you ever made?

I left my first job after nearly 20 years to spend more time with my family. That decision altered my professional course considerably – much of which I could not have anticipated, and all of which I am incredibly grateful for. I left a large firm to work on my own, which eventually led to creating a small business with an awesome group of people. Because of our size, we can run our business differently. We prioritize taking care of each other over profits. Interestingly, I believe our profitability is a direct outcome of a strong team of people who care about one another and our clients.

Maryann Phipps │ SEAONC

The best decisions include stretching beyond my comfort zone many times, and deciding to join a multi-discipline firm (Lionakis) that focuses on quality of culture. I would have to add getting involved in SEAOCC and SEAOC!

Joyce Fuss │ SEAOCC

Sticking around at Forell| Elsesser Engineers!

Simin Naaseh │ SEAONC

To make decisions that are best for me and my family and what my instincts are telling me, rather than what is known as status quo in the industry. One example of that is moving from the private sector to join a not-for-profit wood industry initiative.

Michelle Kam-Biron │ SEAOSC

My best career decision was really a two-part decision. Twice in my career I left a position with a major consulting firm and opened up Janiele Maffei, S.E. The first time I launched my own practice was when I found the consulting practice of the 1980s ill-suited for a working mother. The second time was when changes to my workplace were no longer a good fit. Working for myself helped me find confidence in making decisions and exposed me to a huge network of architects, engineers, and other earthquake professionals. The experience of stepping outside of my comfort zone and my strong network allowed me to take the position I am in now, my dream job.

Janiele Maffei │ SEAONC

How do diverse backgrounds and experiences improve our profession?

There are better and more ideas and solutions to choose from, and we are developing new ways to do things. With these resources we can influence our industry to continue to advance in areas critical for humanity to thrive – resilience, sustainability and equity.

Joyce Fuss │ SEAOCC

In your experience, what does it mean to lead with inclusivity and authenticity?

From those who exemplified this it has been a wilingness to listen and accept contributions from team members and make us feel welcome. For myself it means learning to be make sure each of those working on a team have a voice and can stretch their wings.

Joyce Fuss │ SEAOCC

A true authentic leader is one that takes on ownership, accountability, and responsibility. With respect to inclusion, they have the responsibility to be inclusive and holding themselves and others accountable to make sure inclusivity is a culture within the company. In other words, rather than checking the boxes and promoting that they are a DEI company, they are walking the walk. They see that there’s a disparity and they help elevate those who are often underrepresented to levels of true leadership (decision makers) within the company. For some, the one big hurdle for being authentic is really understanding what inclusion means.

Michelle Kam-Biron │ SEAOSC

To demonstrate humility. To be genuinely curious about different backgrounds and perspectives. To allow safe expression of diverse opinions. To be comfortable with saying “I don’t know, but I want to know."

Simin Naaseh │ SEAONC

Simin in India

How has your work mindset shifted as you've advanced in your career?

Definitely, as the years have gone by, I’ve become bolder and more supportive of myself and appreciative of learning by experience – partly “the school of hard knocks” so to speak. There has been a definite shift from a technical focus and working with a predominantly solo mindset to a broader outlook to relationships, teamwork, and engagement in the profession and the industry to influence progress.

Joyce Fuss │ SEAOCC

My work has been about doing things that are aligned with my interests and that feed my curiosity. I don't think I've ever had just a "job." My definition of work is how I spend my time, whether it's in an office or doing specific tasks. I don't think I totally disconnect from my "work." My career interests have shifted from a lens on an individual building's earthquake performance to the impact of natural hazards on a region and community. As my life became fuller with having a partner, and raising a family, I needed to figure out how these aspects of my life would fit together, and I eventually realized that my career, work, and life are not a zero-sum game. I think of my career and life as a "pie," where there are many slices that represent different components of the whole, and the size of each wedge shifts during phases of my career. Some become smaller, some become larger, yet they all still exist at the same time. There are no losses, just more slices to enjoy!

Grace Kang │ SEAONC

What are your hopes for the future of Structural Engineering in California?

I am excited to see the next generations coming into the profession grow and take on the challenges and leadership of our firms and professional organizations. Things like the Pathways Cohort at our conventions and scholarships are accelerating this but there is still a lot more work to be done.

Joyce Fuss │ SEAOCC

I really hope that our industry changes and embraces diversity in addition to changing the way employees are managed. I hope that when you look at the leadership (the C-Suite) of structural engineering firms, you see diversity and that the industry isn’t replaced by AI.

Michelle Kam-Biron │ SEAOSC

I hope it remains a profession where creative people can find challenging and meaningful work that is fulfilling. Computer assisted design will need to be developed in a way that does not detract from fundamental understanding, the ability to exercise judgement, the satisfaction of finding a best solution, and the satisfaction of seeing it implemented.

Kelly Cobeen │ SEAONC

My hope for the future of structural engineering is that our profession evolves as fast as everything else around us. To stay relevant, we need to evolve on a different trajectory than we have in the past.

Simin Naaseh │ SEAONC

I hope that the structural engineering industry one day soon looks like the diverse community around us. I hope that we continue to strive to practice at the highest level of professionalism and ethics. I hope that we are successful in transforming our built environment into a resilient infrastructure that protects all of us, most especially our most vulnerable populations.

Janiele Maffei │ SEAONC

2016 SEAOC Board of Directors

SEAOC President Kelly Cobeen, SEAOSC President Michelle Kam-Biron, SEAONC President Kate Stillwell, SEAOCC President Krista Looza, SEAONC President Elect Taryn Williams

SEAOC Offers Webinar Series on NHERI TallWood Tests

SEAOC is pleased to offer a six-part webinar series on the testing of a full-scale10-story mass timber structure last year at UC San Diego as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded NHERI TallWood Project.

Webinars begin April 24 with an overview of the project by Drs. Shiling Pei and John van de Zindt of Colorado State University. Five ensuing sessions cover the findings and analyses from the more than 80 earthquake tests conducted in 2023.

The research team and their industry collaborators designed and constructed the building with goal of achieving resilient performance, which requires the building to be damage-free under design level hazard and quickly repairable for MCE events. The structural system of the building remained fully functional after the run of tests, with only repairable damage to non-structural finishes and stair handrails. This seminar series will reveal key innovations and details utilized in the NHERI TallWood building that made this resilient performance possible.

Background and major findings from the test program will be discussed first, followed by detailed presentations on the modeling and design methods for the mass timber rocking wall lateral system. Performance and design of the low-damage non-structural façade system and stair system will be presented, as well as a family of drift-compatible gravity connection system that hold the building up and plumb after repetitive earthquake attacks.

LEARN MORE & REGISTER

It's Time to Apply to SEAOC SE Pathways!

The SE Pathways Committee is thrilled to share the above documentary that they created in collaboration with filmmaker Anne Colton. This video highlights the impact SE Pathways is making in the structural engineering industry, particularly on students and early career professionals who have been traditionally underrepresented in our profession. Over the last few years, the committee has been actively cultivating experiences for students and early career professionals, starting with a special convention experience and continuing with reconnect events and integration into their local SEAOC MOs. This video documentary was the next step to expand the Pathways Program and reach a wider audience.

The video highlights the systemic issues within the industry and focuses on how the Pathways Program aims to address these challenges. The documentary gives not just one face - but many faces - to this incredible program. Through testimonials from the program founders and participants, viewers can feel the impact the Pathways Program is having on our industry. The committee has worked hard to establish the Pathways Program, and they are quickly gaining momentum. The best part is: this is still only the beginning.

Please take a few minutes to watch this insightful video, and let us know what you think! Feel free to share it with your colleagues and friends.

If you are interested in becoming a part of this year’s Pathways Cohort, the committee is now ccepting applications through April 1.

APPLY TO PATHWAYS

If you are interested in supporting the SE Pathways effort, explore sponsorship opportunities at SE Pathways Sponsorship.

SEAOC at Capitol for Licensing Board reauthorization

Every five years, a joint committee of the State Assembly and Senate Business & Professions Committee reviews the performance of the Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG) and comments on the issues the licensing board should be focusing on going forward. It's a chance for the licensee groups like SEAOC to weigh in too. On March 12, Executive Director Don Schinske testified at BPELSG's "sunset review" hearing as to two topics the licensing board should be discussing:

Continuing Education - As a matter of long-standing policy, SEAOC supports the concept of mandated continuing education for structural engineers. However, the formal adoption of a continuing ed requirement in California would, at the very least, require the support of all the engineering disciplines. SEAOC believes BPELSG is the suitable convener of such discussions.
Significant Structures - SEAOC believes that until California can adopt a separate SE Practice Act, it should amend the PE Practice Act to reserve the design of certain important, complex, or high-occupancy structures for licensed Structural Engineers. SEAOC urged BPELSG and the Legislature to continue explore a cohesive strategy SE title authority, which now applies by historical accident only to schools and hospitals.

SEAOC Licensure Committee continues to engage with BPELSG in pursuit of these efforts, as well as testing and other topics affecting SE licensure.

SEAOC Comment re. BPELSG

Seeking Structural Engineers for Public School Construction Collaborative

SEAOC is seeking two Structural Engineers interesting in serving on the Public School Construction Collaborate, an advisory group that meets periodically to advice the Division of the State Architect on matters relating to the design and construction of school facilities.

SEAOC has appreciates the dedication of two of our members, Joyce Fuss of SEAOCC and Rafael Sabelli of SEAONC, both of whom are stepping away from the PSCC after multiple years of service. Please contact the SEAOC office, dschinske@seaoc.org, if you have questions about the position or would be interested in SEAOC considering a recommendation for you. For more information, or to apply directly, please visit the PSCC webpage.