President's Message

Steven Crook, SE

2024-2025 SEAOC President

“Alone a youth runs fast, with an elder slow, but together they go far.”

-Luo proverb

“I cannot do all the good that the world needs. But the world needs all the good that I can do.”

-Jana Stanfield

I won’t say it’s been a good year (those fires…), but I will say it has been a year of good work. When Steve Spence first called me up in 2021 to ask me to serve as your President, I said “no.” I said “no” the second time, too. I can’t do all that SEAOC needs. I am not the best of this group. Steve assured me that I would have help. The third call, I said maybe. The fourth call was me picking up the phone to tell Steve “yes." As I reflect on this past year, I can confidently say that I was right: I can’t do all that SEAOC needs a President to do. But Steve was also right: my time is bookended by greatness, and I have had an amazing front row seat to see the great work that you all have done.

In addition to hosting a webinar to help prepare candidates for the new CBT exam, our Licensure committee was instrumental in helping us as an organization to navigate a difficult national conversation around the future of SE licensure.
Continuing Education and Wind Committee hosted the Wind Design Charette bringing together building officials and practicing engineers.
You lifted each other up in response to the SoCal fires. In addition to the acts of kindness, you came together across regions and with experts from a variety of committees to put forth recommendations on the re-use of foundations.
Kelsey put together a great program for the mid-year retreat. Not only was this a chance for the committees to meet individually, but it was also an opportunity for us to interact and collaborate around shared interests.
We continued to ask ourselves how we could best serve our members. Each member organization sent volunteers to the SEAOC 3.0 discussions, and we’ve taken a hard look at the costs and benefits.

I could not do all that SEAOC needed, but the greatest among you made sure it got done anyway. Speaking of the year’s successes, a whole lot of you showed up for Convention earlier this month. It was the highest attendance on record, and I hope you all had a good time. Chad Closs and Ryan Smith: I am grateful for your hard work, vision, and leadership. To all who served on the Convention Committee with Chad and Ryan, I say “well done!”

If you saw me on stage in Portland, you already know that public speaking isn’t my strong suit. But at this year’s Convention, I was excited to get up on stage, because I had the great honor of presenting awards for Emerging Leaders and Service. Please join me in congratulating these four individuals.

Emerging Leader Awards:

Ryan Smith: This honor is given in recognition of your work on the Convention and Licensure Committees, as well as your participation in our SEAOC 3.0 working group. I’ve enjoyed seeing you as an emerging leader in our local organization, but that pales to how satisfying it has been to watch you represent San Diego at the state level. You’re amazing. Your energy and attitude are inspiring, and we are grateful for the positive impact that you continue to deliver.

Megan Vandervort: This honor is given in recognition of your work on the Convention and Pathways Committees, your participation in our past ad-hoc group for SEAOC Student Outreach efforts, your contributions to the SEAOC 3.0 working group, as well as your service as SEAONC YMF Chair. Your willingness to show up and volunteer is inspiring to all. Your volunteer spirit embodies the very best of SEAOC’s heritage and future.

SEAOC Service Awards:

Carl Josephson: This award is given in recognition of your longstanding dedication to the advocacy of licensure for Structural Engineers. In particular, the transition to computer-based testing and the fallout from the first rounds of tests have been challenging. As an organization, we have benefited from your ties to our partners at NCEES and NCSEA. Your calm, thoughtful demeanor was essential in helping the Board navigate a situation that demanded both action and diplomacy. Thank you for helping to secure the future of our profession. Your hard work and dedication have made a remarkable impact, and we are so very grateful for your contributions.

Michael Parolini: This award is given in recognition of your work on the Licensure Committee. This has traditionally been a very quiet committee, and unfortunately your time in taking over leadership happened to coincide with the rollout of the new computer-based testing. With that first round of results (and the ensuing backlash), we very much needed collaborative, positive, quick-thinking leadership. Some other organizations took a combative posture, but you helped us to navigate the messaging in a way that preserved relationships that took years to establish. You delivered more than we had a right to expect. Thank you for helping to secure the future of our profession through your work with the Licensure Committee.

Your contributions have been invaluable, and we are truly blessed to have your leadership.

From left: Parolini, Vandervort, Josephson, Smith

While those awards are given for recent service to SEAOC and our mission, induction into the College of Fellows is acknowledgement of a career of leadership and good work. Welcoming these inductees onto the stage was a personal highlight for me.

Marshall Lew (posthumous), SEAOSC

David Friedman, SEAONC

Steven Hiner, SEAOCC

Ashraf Habibullah, SEAONC

Ron LaPlante, SEAOSD

Kenneth O’Dell, SEAOSC

While listening to the welcome speeches and the inductee speeches, I had a fair amount of time on my hands. Time to reflect on…time. Sometimes in the day-to-day grind of RFI’s, change orders, and other conflicts, I admit that I think longingly about getting to retirement age. But sometimes I listen to the stories of the impact that our Fellows had on the community and the profession, and it makes me think “what can I do with however much time I have left?”. I listen to your stories and think “I want to be a structural engineer."

Speaking of Fellows and stages, I also had the joy of passing the gavel to your new President (and future Fellow) Kelsey Parolini. Kelsey is soft-spoken and deferential but carries the gravity of goodness that makes you want to do more and do better. I have at times been so upset at my own shortcomings and failures in this role that I nearly let the intrusive thoughts win. Kelsey just quietly appeared when needed the most, with inspiring suggestions, insight, and good old fashioned hard work.

Pictured above, from left: Hiner, O'Dell, LaPlante, and Habibullah

2025 SEAOC College of Fellows Meeting & Reception

Pictured at the Fellows Reception: Emily Guglielmo (SEAONC), Michelle Kam-Biron (SEAOSC), Doug Thompson (SEAOSC), Joyce Fuss (SEAOCC), Rawn Nelson (SEAOSC), Steve Kerr (SEAOSD), Mel Green (SEAOSC), Chris Kamp (SEAOSD), Janah Risha (SEAOSC), Carl Josephson (SEAOSD), Ken O’Dell (SEAOSC), Maryann Phipps (SEAONC), Jesse Karns (SEAOSC), Bob Bachman (SEAONC), John Weninger (SEAOCC), Jim Malley (SEAONC), Rafael Sabelli (SEAONC), David Cocke (SEAOSC), Tim Hart (SEAONC), Kevin Moore (SEAOSC), John Coil (SEAOSC), Steven Hiner (SEAOCC), Wayne Low (SEAONC), Jeff Ellis (SEAOSC), Norm Scheel (SEAOCC), COF Dean Kelly Cobeen (SEAONC)

Kelsey, I can’t repay you for all that you gave this past year, but you inspire me to do all the good that I can.

I serve at the pleasure of the President.

Once again, special thanks to the 2025 Convention Committee:

Chad Closs

Ryan Smith

Brianna Hartner

Christine Drummy

Craig Finch

Gaetano Bologna

Hannah Johnson

Heather Caya

Kyle Wilson

Matt Hamby

Naeem Nemati-Raad

Nicole Caudana

Ryan Swenson

Zach Bettner

And the 2025 Student Volunteers:

Aiden Mangohig

Amy Peralta

Carlos Navea

Katie Benitez

Nathan Law

Paul Quinter

Reah Mae Sahagun

Ryan Lovejoy

Sierra Grace Lieske

2025 Structural Engineering Excellence Awards (SEE)

On Thursday, September 4th, Convention attendees gathered to recognize and celebrate the key role that structural engineering plays in our built environment. The projects that were recognized all received excellence awards from their respective Member Organizations, representing the best of the best. From research that pushes the industry forward to resilient, environmentally friendly spaces where people to live and work, to adaptive reuse that gives new lift and purpose to historic buildings, the SEE Awards celebrated a wide range of accomplishments. This year’s SEE Awards were emceed by Meaghan Halligan and Sikandar Porter-Gill, co-chairs of the SEAOC Communications Committee

This year’s award winners selected by our jury, who donated their time, expertise and thoughtfulness in a lively exchange of opinions and ideas. With the high quality of submissions, it was no easy task in deciding this year’s winners.

We’d like to thank:

-Max Snook, KPFF, SEAOSD Jury Chair

-Mackenzie Diaz, Precision Construction Services

-Tanya Buchanan, KPFF

-Georgios Tsampras, Ph.D, UC San Diego

-Brianna Hartner, KPFF

-Jackson Pedrick, T&S Structural

This year’s winners:

Special Use Structures:

The Calling from Nous Engineering – Merit Award

Historic Preservation:

The City of San Diego Balboa Botanical Building by Degenkolb – Award of Excellence

Retrofit/Alteration:

UCLA Hammer Museum Seismic Retrofit by John A. Martin & Associates – Award of Merit

Millennium Tower by Simpson Gumpertz & Heger – Excellence Award

The San Diego Symphony Jacobs Music Center by BWE – Excellence Award

New Construction Under $80 Million:

Fresno City College Science Building by Lionakis – Award of Merit

Channel 24 by Miyamoto International – Excellence Award

New Construction Over $80 Million:

500 County Center, the San Mateo County HQ by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill – Award of Merit

West Hollywood Aquatics and Recreation Center, by LPA Design Studios – Excellence Award

2025 Project of the Year:

Millennium Tower by

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger for the Millennium Tower

For more details on this year's winners and to view their boards, click here>>

Want more from this year's Convention? See below to view photos from the event.

Conference Photos

Friday Night Photo Booth

CSI Photos

SEAOC Moves Ahead

By Don Schinske
Executive Director, 2011-2025

This month marks my formal farewell to SEAOC and alas, you all deserve more of a thank you than I could convey here. Part of that owes to knowing I'll be around for few months, finishing projects, writing down passwords, and helping to orient my wonderful successor, Krystinne Mica, to the workings of SEAOC and the labyrinth of industry acronyms. Also, I've worked with and learned much from so many admirable humans over the past 14 years that in singling out some, I'd embarrassingly omit others. Simply, I’ll miss you all, and when I linger there my eyes start to sting. I'll leave it at that.

For SEAOC, I see brightness ahead. With the SE Pathways program, and in the various YM groups, and in the enthusiasm of, say, our Sustainable Design Committee, you can almost see the organization and profession change in real time. Interestingly, the jurors for our state SEE awards this summer were all under 40. They worked briskly, cheerfully, with 100-percent focus on the task. Late Millennial/GenZ energy is real, and we boomers should be thrilled to give up the car keys.

Furthermore, SEAOC is currently blessed with a cohort of strong veteran leaders on its board and many committees. The SEAOC Board over the past several cycles has been stacked with doers. Meetings have become frequent, efficient, and task oriented. Organizational priorities get set and re-calibrated with intention. And your leaders, with no discounting of SEAOC's rich traditions and history, have fixed their eyes on the horizon. How can SEAOC improve the experience of members and better meet their professional needs? How can SEAOC grow? How can SEAOC, at a time of economic pressures and great technological change, better advocate for the health of the profession?

This is where I do my own bit promoting the reorganization of SEAOC, aka the SEAOC 3.0 initiative. We all know that over the decades our decentralized structure has served members well in many ways. Regional independence has ensured that members can engage with local colleagues, with full agency over what those engagements look like Indeed, any reorganization of SEAOC will only work if the regions can continue to set their own events, retain local industry and civic relationships, and connect with local engineering programs.

With that stipulated, there are wide areas of activity — all currently owed to SEAOC members — that likely would improve if SEAOC could speak with one voice, operate with shared goals, and be administered through a more efficient infrastructure. To my mind, these activities include continuing education, state advocacy, member recruitment, sponsor relations, input on codes and standards, and relationships with other statement entities. Others might have longer or shorter lists. But here's the thing: most everyone can easily come up with a list, and all lists would contain many of the same items. Please, I urge you all to proceed with the reorganization, providing input, taking part at every step.

Luckily, much of the challenge can be met as an engineering issue, which suits SEAOC perfectly. It will also require imagination, trust, and equanimity. SEAOC has flexed all those qualities too, throughout my tenure. It's how I know it will get where it's going.

Be Part of the Data that Drives the Profession

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