Without the efforts of our hardworking volunteers, our programs and events wouldn't happen. Meet the incredible members who work behind the scenes to ensure Texas civil engineers are leaders in their communities:
Mr. Attanasio brings his 20 year professional experience currently serving as a Senior Civil Engineer for the City of Burleson Public Works-Development, which is south of Fort Worth in Johnson County, Texas. He is also the ASCE Texas Section President, the Texas Section being the largest Section in ASCE with over 10,000 members. Prior to his current engagement he was the first full-time City Engineer for the City of Haslet from 2016-2021 and also worked with several private consulting engineering firms ranging in employee size from 6 to over 500 employees with projects across many States. This career path has led Mr. Attanasio to understand the infrastructure needs of Texas from both a private investment point of view and the demand of public needs in differing regions and environments. Mr. Attanasio holds a B.S. degree in Engineering – Civil Specialty from the Colorado School of Mines graduating in 2002.
Kimberly Cornett PE, CFM, F.ASCE
President Elect
Kimberly K. Cornett, PE, F.ASCE, is the Regional Stormwater Manger for Lockwood, Andrews, and Newnam, Inc. (LAN). She has more than 20 years of experience in the water resource infrastructure industry and handles all phases of a project from analysis to design. She is responsible for connecting North Texas communities with innovative solutions for their stormwater requirements.
Ms. Cornett has been active in ASCE since 2002 and served the ASCE Texas Section in a variety of roles. She has served as President of the San Antonio Branch and the Section Director for the Fort Worth Branch. She was the recipient of the Texas Section Professional Service Award in 2018.
During her career and time with ASCE, she has been actively involved in STEM-related activities engaging students to get involved with engineering. She has presented on the Hydrologic cycle and the water / wastewater cycle to students from kindergarten to high school. As a hydrology major, she recognizes how much society takes water resources for granted and believes it is important children understand at a young age that water is a privilege and not a gift.
Ms. Cornett graduated with Bachelor of Science in Hydrology and Water Resources from Tarleton State University and Master of Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her spouse, Cameron, and son, Kayden. She is currently a University of Houston Cougar supporter, where her daughter, Taylor attends. As a fun fact, she loves to sew in her spare time.
Patrick M. Beecher PE
Past-President
Patrick Beecher PE is a Senior Principal with Terracon Consultants, Inc. He serves as the Geotechnical Department Manager for Terracon’s Houston office. Patrick is a licensed Professional Engineer in Texas with over 19 years of experience providing geotechnical engineering consulting for a variety of projects in Texas.
Patrick received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1997 and 1999, respectively. He is married and has two girls. He has been a member of ASCE since 1994 and currently serves as a Section Director for the Houston Branch. He is actively involved in Kinsmen Lutheran Church, Heatherwood swim team, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Lutherhill Ministries.
Heather Guillen PE, ENV SP
Vice-President for Educational Affairs
Heather Guillen P.E., ENV SP, LEED AP BD+C is a Principal in the civil engineering services group at Walter P. Moore & Associates, Inc. in Houston, TX. She has over 20 years of experience in civil engineering and project management. She has worked on a variety of infrastructure projects, including planning and design for educational, institutional, healthcare, commercial, and park projects. Ms. Guillen is a licensed Professional Engineer in Texas.
Ms. Guillen has been an active member of ASCE for over nine years and currently serves as the Student Activities Committee Chair for the Texas Section. She has previously served as the Houston Branch VP Administration, Treasurer and Secretary. She also served as Communications Director for the Texas Civil Engineering Conference CECON.
Ms. Guillen has also been active in community organizations. Heather is alumni of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE) Professional Engineer Leadership Institute (PELI) Class 6 and Leadership Houston Class XXXIII. Heather currently serves a board member for the City of Sugar Land Parks, Art, Recreation, Culture, and Streetscapes Board (PARCS). She is also involved with the University of Houston as a member of the advisory board for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Ms. Guillen is a graduate of the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. She received the 2016 Rising Stars Award from Civil + Structural Engineer and was selected into ENR Texas & Louisiana 2016 class of Top 20 Under 40. Ms. Guillen and her husband Wesley have been married for over 16 years and have three sons, Jordan, Jonah and Jalen. They reside in Sugar Land, Texas.
Julia P. Clarke PE
Vice-President for Educational Affairs Elect
Augustine Verrengia III PE
Vice-President for Professional Affairs
Augustine Verrengia is the Market Leader in the Civil Engineering division at WGI’s Austin office. As a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas, Augustine has experience in civil engineering design, project management and construction administration duties gained through a wide range of assignments including mixed-use, residential, commercial, aviation, industrial, municipal, commercial and master planned projects.
Andres Salazar PhD, PE
Vice-President for Professional Affairs Elect
Andres Salazar is the Director of Water Resources Engineering for Walter P Moore. He is a water resources engineer with more than 22 years of experience in steady and unsteady modeling, river basin and reservoir operations, and water resources planning. He is an expert with planning and feasibility studies for drainage and water supply projects. He joined Walter P Moore in 2009 and is a resident of Pearland, Texas. His education includes a Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Civil Engineering from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia and a Doctoral Degree from Texas A&M University in Water Resources and Environmental Engineering. He is a professional engineer licensed in four states. Dr. Salazar was the first chair of the EWRI Houston Chapter and has served in the Board of the ASCE Houston Branch and the ASCE Texas Section as VP of Technical Affairs.
Mark K. Boyd PhD, PE, D.WRE
Vice-President for Technical Affairs
While working as Principal Engineer of LCA Environmental, Inc since 1998, it has been Mark’s pleasure to serve ASCE in many formal and informal leadership roles supporting worthy branch and section missions, including the Section’s Centennial Celebration and the past four eventful years on the Dallas Branch Board of Direction. Curiously, Mark started life a very long way from my ASCE friends and colleagues in Texas. Born in Lahore, Pakistan, he is always so close but never right at the end of the line at ASCE leadership training distance competitions!
Mark lives in Richardson with his family. He gets through every day with the loving support and unending patience of his sweet wife of 34 years, Monica Fatima. He gets life inspiration and takes great pride in his daughter Natalie Nassim (newly graduated with an MBA from UNT) and son Stephen Hickel (Eagle Scout, SMU Economist, and Finance Officer extraordinaire!).
Christopher J. Nance PE, ENV SP
Vice-President for Technical Affairs Elect
Christopher J. Nance, P.E., M.ASCE, ENV SP is an Associate and Project Engineer for Parkhill, Smith & Cooper’s Water Resources Sector. Since joining PSC in 2004, he has focused on hydraulic analysis, master planning, and wastewater treatment for small communities. He has developed expertise in GIS, asset management, CIP development, and water distribution and wastewater modeling. Chris is a licensed professional engineer in Texas and New Mexico and is an Envision Sustainable Professional.
Chris is a Past President of the ASCE El Paso Branch and has served on its board since 2011. He was recognized by the branch and named Young Civil Engineer of the Year in 2013. During 2019’s E-Week, Chris was recognized by ASCE as an outstanding volunteer for Region 6.
In 2018, Chris was selected for and completed the El Paso Chamber’s Leadership El Paso program. Chris also participated in PSC’s Leadership Academy in 2014, facilitated by the CrossGroup, which has served as a template for NSPE-TX’s Leadership Institute. An El Paso native, he holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where he graduated in 2003.
Glenn A. Goldstein PE, PMP
Treasurer
Glenn Goldstein PE, PMP began his ASCE journey as an undergraduate on the student steel bridge team and competed at the regional level for two years. He joined the Austin Branch in 2002 and was active with local leadership for ten years. During his tenure, Glenn chaired several committees and was a branch board member for seven years, including roles as Younger Member Director, Treasurer and President.
Glenn is a structural engineer and project manager within RS&H’s procurement engineering practice in Austin. He serves as an owner’s representative supporting the planning, procurement and implementation of TxDOT alternative delivery projects under design-build (DB) contracts and comprehensive development agreements (CDA) and partners with others states on public-private partnership (P3) projects. He provides risk management support for various states including FHWA risk and CSRA workshop facilitation, mitigation strategies, and risk based cost estimating for traditional and alternative delivery projects. Glenn also manages a subconsultant contract for a local government’s General Engineering Consultant (GEC) program.
Glenn received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech and a Master of Science in Structural Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Glenn and his wife, Beth, have two children and he enjoys playing water polo and being a foster for displaced labrador retrievers. Glenn is a native Floridian but has called Texas home for over 20 years.
Marita Moya PE, CFM
Senior Director at Large
Marita Moya serves as a water resources engineer at Halff Associates in Austin, Texas. After completing her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering at Texas Tech University, she moved back to Austin to join the Halff team in early 2017.
For the past five years, Marita has been engaged in a broad range of water resources projects. She has performed watershed-wide risk evaluation studies, analyzed local drainage needs, designed transportation drainage infrastructure, and assessed and designed flood mitigation projects in Central Texas. Living in Central Texas, many of the surrounding communities face complex flood challenges due to the intense rainfall events that frequently occur the area, giving it the nickname Flash Flood Alley.
Marita values working as a civil engineer to serve these growing communities and to help community leaders be prepared for intense rainfall events. She sees the importance in determining and communicating flood risk and exploring mitigation solutions to protect lives and property.
Jenni Peters, CAE
Executive Director (Ex Officio)
Jenni Peters is the Executive Director of ASCE Texas Section. In this full-time role, she is devoted to the advancement of the civil engineering profession, the leadership of the Section, and passionate about growing the engagement and membership of the Section’s 15 Branches. She regularly works with the Section’s leaders on the Board of Direction and Executive Committee to implement the strategic plan and ensure the Section continues to be one of the most active sections within ASCE.
Jenni’s responsibilities include:
Supporting activities resulting in the budgeting, planning and execution of the annual Texas Civil Engineering Conference (CECON) and the annual Student Symposium;
Identifying, reviewing, and developing non-dues related revenue sources;
Providing key communication and coordinating with the Local Branches, Student Chapters and Committees;
Establishing and strengthening partnerships with Texas state agencies;
Providing key communication and coordination between the Texas Section, Region 6, and Global ASCE;
Promoting Texas Section and Branches initiatives;
Representing the Texas Section before other Professional and Governmental bodies inclusive of the State Legislature;
Ensuring the Texas Section provides nominations for ASCE National and Regional Awards and programs;
Communicating established ASCE policy to the media and the public;
Promoting membership growth and retention within ASCE; and
Managing the Section office.
More About Jenni
Before joining the ASCE Texas Section team, Jenni has worked with associations for more than 6 years, and before that in the for-profit world, more than 15 years focused on marketing, sponsorship, and event promotion in mostly the telecommunications industry, also dabbling in personalized license plates (MyPlates.com). Fulfilling a goal set in college to return to the community service sector, her career led her back to her alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin, where she began her work with non-profits/associations, coordinating membership for an international higher education trade association. It was with his amazing, passionate staff team that she decided to take the leap into making association management her new career path, which lead to a move to managing marketing, membership, and communications for a statewide pharmacy society.
“In getting to know the ASCE Texas Section members and our colleagues within the civil engineering industry, I continue to be inspired and humbled to be a part in helping them build a better quality life for our communities,” said Jenni. “I am honored to lead the Section as we further engage and grow our amazing membership community.”
Jenni graduated with a BS in Sociology and Communications from UT Austin and has earned her CAE (Certified Association Executive) designation. She also “earned her ears” completing two semesters in the Disney College Program, as well as earning Disney Institute’s Approach to Leadership Excellence Certificate and completing their Leadership Essentials: Collaboration course.
She is a native Texan, growing up in the Houston area as an Astros and Oilers fan (you cannot beat a baby blue oil rig). As a Texas Ex Life Member, she will forever bleed orange. Jenni is also a life member of Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed community service organization. Jenni, her husband Jonny, and their daughter June (the JPs as they call themselves) are avid Disney fans and try to vacation at either Land or World at least once a year.
“I am always open to receiving feedback and encourage all members to reach out with suggestions and hurdles you are currently facing in your professional activities that the Section may be able to offer assistance.” – Jenni
Mike Sosa
Secretary (Ex Officio)
Mike’s responsibilities include:
Data collection, entry and dissemination of local association contacts
Downloading regular membership data available from ASCE Global and preparing monthly reports
Assessing information requirements; creating and modifying tables, forms, queries and reports; and refining the end-user experiences of data and reference materials tailored to multiple stakeholders
Managing overall end-user experience and account permissions of web-based association management system (AMS) or Membership Management System (MMS)
Planning, scheduling, and executing teleconferences and monthly webinars
Coordination with the local Branches, Student Chapters, and Committees
Assisting in the planning of Board of Direction and Executive Committee meetings
Assisting ASCE Texas Section members (volunteers) during the planning and execution of the annual Texas Civil Engineering Conference (CECON) and the annual Student Symposium
Assisting in management of accounts receivable, accounts payable, and general ledger; in coordination with the Section accountant and bookkeeper, under the direction of the Executive Director
Assisting in preparing annual tax returns, annual reports, and grant applications
More about Mike
Mike Sosa joined ASCE Texas Section as the Data Coordinator in June of 2017. He is very detail-oriented and has experience working with member-driven associations. He enjoys interacting with members of the Section and helping them benefit from the Section’s resources.
Prior to joining ASCE Texas Section, he spent time working as an executive assistant for companies located in Columbus, OH and San Diego, CA. He is a 2010 graduate of the College of Business at Ohio University with a B.S. in Sport Administration. Before that, he was raised in sunny San Diego and spent the vast majority of his free time on a baseball field or at the beach.
Shortly before joining the team at the Section Office, Mike relocated to Austin from Columbus, OH with his girlfriend, Keah, and their adorable Pitbull/Lab puppy, Nollie. Since moving to Austin, they have expanded the family by adopting a two-year old Australian Cattle Dog named Ziggy.
Outside of work he enjoys finding new places around town to try unique craft beer, catching a baseball or football game on the weekend, exploring local parks and trails with his dogs, and playing slow-pitch softball or a round of golf on a nice Sunday afternoon.
Mike is also an avid fan of the San Diego Padres, San Diego Chargers (he knows they moved, but he refuses to acknowledge the change), New York Yankees, Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball team.
Anna Olveda
Assistant Treasurer
Anna Olveda is VP of Engineering for Wafflemat in Grapevine, TX. In the past 8 years of her Engineering career, she has worked on numerous commercial and residential projects across the state of Texas that vary in size and complexity. She received her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with a minor in Mathematics from Texas A&M University in Kingsville, TX (TAMUK) in 2013 and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering (TAMUK) in 2015 with an emphasis in Structures.
Anna’s involvement with ASCE began in 2012 with the ASCE TAMUK Student Chapter (sponsored by ASCE- Corpus Christi Branch) and has continued her commitment to the organization throughout her professional career. She has served on the ASCE Board in San Antonio since 2015, where she previously served as the ASCE- San Antonio Branch President, as well as a volunteer for the ASCE San Antonio Branch Scholarship Committee. She has also been published in the ASCE-AEI Journal (2017) for her continued research in floor vibrations.
When she is not busy with work, learning, or volunteering, she enjoys traveling the world with her supportive and extremely patient husband.
Marita Moya PE, CFM
Senior Director at Large
Marita Moya serves as a water resources engineer at Halff Associates in Austin, Texas. After completing her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering at Texas Tech University, she moved back to Austin to join the Halff team in early 2017.
For the past five years, Marita has been engaged in a broad range of water resources projects. She has performed watershed-wide risk evaluation studies, analyzed local drainage needs, designed transportation drainage infrastructure, and assessed and designed flood mitigation projects in Central Texas. Living in Central Texas, many of the surrounding communities face complex flood challenges due to the intense rainfall events that frequently occur the area, giving it the nickname Flash Flood Alley. Marita values working as a civil engineer to serve these growing communities and to help community leaders be prepared for intense rainfall events. She sees the importance in determining and communicating flood risk and exploring mitigation solutions to protect lives and property. Marita has served on the ASCE Austin Younger Member Forum (YMF) the last four years fulfilling a variety of roles including social media chair, secretary, vice president and president. ASCE has given Marita the opportunity to grow professionally and to engage with people who are similarly passionate about making an impact in the communities we serve. She is currently serving as the Webpage Chair for the Austin Branch Board.
When she is not engineering, Marita is passionate about volunteering in her community and is active in the youth group at her church. In her free time, she enjoys reading, crafting, and going for a run.
Michael P. Gurka PE
Second Year Director at Large
Michael Gurka is a Professional Engineer licensed in the State of Texas and resides in the Greater Houston Area. He holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio, Graduating Class of 2010. He has been a member of ASCE since his undergraduate studies at UTSA and is active with the ASCE Houston Branch. Michael served as the Younger Member – Sandcastle Chair (ASCE Houston Branch) for several years and was a committee chair on the Houston Branch and Texas Section Infrastructure Report Cards.
Professionally, Michael has ten (10) years of experience in Water and Wastewater Industry while providing design and construction oversight on $80+ Million Dollars of public infrastructure projects while at Jones|Carter. Michael serves as a Manager of the Permitting Division, responsible for stormwater, municipal, and industrial wastewater permits. His secondary role as Senior Project Manager in the Water Practice is focused on large diameter water and wastewater projects. He also serves as District Engineer for two Municipal Utility District’s in the Houston Area providing on call civil engineering services and support. His experience as a project manager and lead designer includes the following project types: surface water canal systems, distribution and large diameter transmission waterlines, wastewater transmission and collection lines, lift stations, reclaimed water systems, water and wastewater utility relocation and rehabilitations, water distribution system modeling and analysis, asset management and capital improvement planning. Michael specializes in water and wastewater utility rehabilitation projects. He has designed and overseen construction valued at $10M on 25 miles of underground water and wastewater utility rehabilitation projects over the past few years.
Personally, Michael is married to his wife Kristina and they have 2 children. They recently welcomed a baby girl into this world in October 2021. Michael enjoys spending time with his family and enjoying the great outdoors.
Rebecca L. Cummins PE
First Year Director at Large
Rebecca L. Cummins, P.E. is a geotechnical engineer within Terracon’s Conroe office. She is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Texas and has 7 years of experience providing geotechnical engineering and consulting services for public works and transportation projects in the greater Houston area. Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Science (2014) and a Master of Engineering (2015) both in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University. Rebecca has been a member of ASCE since her undergraduate program at Texas A&M University, where she first became involved with the steel bridge team. Since graduation, she has been an active member of the ASCE Houston Branch and the local Geo-Institute chapter and has served ASCE in various committee positions at the Branch level. Rebecca has also volunteered in the annual Texas-Mexico and Region 6 ASCE Student Symposium as a competition judge since 2017. In her free time, Rebecca enjoys spending time outside gardening or hiking and camping with her husband.
Victor Murillo PE
First Year Director at Large
Austin Messerli PE
Austin Branch Section Director
Austin Messerli is a Senior Engineer/Project Manager with K Friese & Associates. Originally from Oklahoma, he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma. Relocating to Central Texas over four years ago and is now happy to call it home. He has over nine years of experience with Municipal, County, and DOT transportation projects across Texas, Oklahoma, and the surrounding States.
The most exciting part of this work is seeing all the various components of transportation projects come together to form a positive and lasting impact on the public. Austin is an active member of ASCE, first participating in the University of Oklahoma Chapter, where he eventually became president, then holding various positions professionally across Oklahoma and Texas.
He serves as Austin Branch Section Director and Texas Section Infrastructure Report Card Co-Chair. Previously, he served as Government Affairs Chair/Co-Chair for Austin Branch and Texas Section, helped Chair the Highway and Roads Committee, assisted the Parks and Rec Committee with the 2021 Texas Infrastructure Report Card, and participated in the National Legislative Fly-In, the Texas State Drive-Ins, MLRC, and student mentoring programs for UT.
Robert Lys Jr. PE
Brazos Branch Section Director
Surya N. Bhandari EIT
Dallas Branch Section Director
Sergio R. Mendez Jr. PE
El Paso Branch Section Director
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High Plains Branch Section Director
Sarah Alvarez PE, CFM
Houston Branch Section Director
Sarah N. Alvarez, P.E., CFM, has over ten years of experience as a hydrologic and hydraulic engineer working on transportation projects in both the public and private sector. Sarah obtained her Bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and her Master’s degree from University of Houston. She has been in leadership roles with the ASCE Houston Branch since 2014 and has been on the board of direction since 2016. She has previously volunteered on committees and as a committee chair with the ASCE Texas Section.
David D. Stanley PE
Northeast Texas Branch Section Director
David Stanley, PE has been an active member of ASCE since 2013. He currently serves as the Northeast Texas Branch Section Director and Practitioner Advisor for LeTourneau University. David has previously served under all Officer positions at the NET Branch. His degrees include a BS in civil engineering from LeTourneau University and a BA in political science from the University of Texas at Austin.
David is an Associate and East Texas Group Leader for CP&Y, Inc. and has over eight years of experience in civil engineering design and construction oversight for multiple facility types including water distribution systems, water and wastewater treatment plants, spillways and dams, and well sites. His experience includes new construction, rehabilitation and improvements, inspections, hydraulic analyses, and environmental permitting for municipalities and utility districts, as well as industrial clients and private developers.
David and his wife, Sarah, live in Kilgore, Texas where they are both active members of their community serving on various non-profit and municipal boards
Humberto Lopez PE
Rio Grande Valley Branch Section Director
Amy Stone PE
San Antonio Branch Section Director
Amy Stone is a licensed Professional Engineer registered in the state of Texas with more than 20 years of experience as a structural engineer. She specializes in providing multi-faceted design and assessment services to clients. Ms. Stone is an active member and officer of American Society of Civil Engineers, San Antonio Branch.
I have been a member of ASCE for approximately 15 years and an active member of the San Antonio Branch for almost 10. It has been my pleasure to serve in disparate roles from Newsletter Editor to Past President. As Section Direction, I will endeavor to connect our Branch with other Branches and with our Section.
Ms. Stone’s experience spans all phases of projects from recognizing and assessing need, to design, to construction phase, to close out. She has provided proposals, reports, recommendations, and estimates as work products during these phases. Her primary responsibilities at M&S are to communicate with clients and oversee projects while confirming client standards are met and their expectations exceeded.
Liv M. Haselbach PhD, PE
Southeast Texas Branch Section Director
Dr. Liv Haselbach is a professor and chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Lamar University in Texas. She authored the McGraw-Hill book, The Engineering Guide to LEED- New Construction, Sustainable Construction for Engineers, served as an Associate Director of the USDOT University Transportation Center for Environmentally Sustainable Transportation in Cold Climates (CESTiCC) and was the 2015 Fulbright/Alcoa Distinguished Chair in the Environmental Sciences and Engineering in Brazil. She previously was an associate/full professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Washington State University, an assistant professor at the University of South Carolina, and a lecturer at Yale University.
She has authored numerous papers on sustainability related to site issues, concrete carbon sequestration, metal mitigation technologies, life cycle assessment and low impact development. Her degrees include a BS with Distinction in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell, an MS in Chemical Engineering from UC Berkeley, and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Connecticut. Liv is a licensed professional engineer and a LEED AP (BD+C). Prior to her academic career she founded an engineering consulting company in the New York – Connecticut area, which specialized in permitting and site development for major US companies.
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West Texas Branch Section Director
Travis N. Attanasio PE, CFM
Office and Personnel Committee Chair
Mr. Attanasio brings his 20 year professional experience currently serving as a Senior Civil Engineer for the City of Burleson Public Works-Development, which is south of Fort Worth in Johnson County, Texas.
He is also the ASCE Texas Section President, the Texas Section being the largest Section in ASCE with over 10,000 members. Prior to his current engagement he was the first full-time City Engineer for the City of Haslet from 2016-2021 and also worked with several private consulting engineering firms ranging in employee size from 6 to over 500 employees with projects across many States. This career path has led Mr. Attanasio to understand the infrastructure needs of Texas from both a private investment point of view and the demand of public needs in differing regions and environments.
Mr. Attanasio holds a B.S. degree in Engineering – Civil Specialty from the Colorado School of Mines graduating in 2002.
Susan Roth PE
Past Presidents Council Committee Chair
Lawrence Goldberg PE
Nominating Committee Chair
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Branch/Section Relations Committee Chair
John N. Mudd PE
CECON Planning Committee Co-Chair
John has more than 23 years of diversified experience in planning, design, program management and construction management for both public and private clients to support utility infrastructure improvements. In these markets, his water and wastewater experience include the planning and design of distribution, transmission, and conveyance projects as well as pump stations and storage facilities. His knowledge and experience in the construction of these types of projects, is instrumental to provide clear and consistent designs that are constructible, cost effective and safe.
John currently works for HR Green in Houston and works to assist with the group’s growth and execution of water and wastewater projects. He works with his team to execute the strategic plan for growth and build the vision for its future across the region. Part of his role is to recruit and mentor new and existing staff to develop leadership, grow and expand client relationships, and nurture strategic partnerships within the engineering community.
John has a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Houston and is apart of several engineering organizations including ASCE, APWA, CMAA and ACEC. He is a Texas Registered Professional Engineer and serves as the 2nd-year Co-Chair for the Texas Section’s flagship conference CECON.
Stephen Archer
CECON Planning Committee Co-Chair
Stephen Archer is the COO for GeoSolutions Inc., the largest wholesale distributor of geosynthetic solutions in the states of Texas and Oklahoma. He is based at their Grand Prairie, TX locale where he started this role in 2017. He started his professional career in 1993 as a technical sales engineer at Contech Construction Products. Stephen grew in his knowledge of the geosynthetic industry during his 17-year career at the Tensar Corporation where he served in various roles including sales, marketing, sales management, and key accounts. He was a major contributor to the commercialization of Tensar’s TriAx Geogrid in the United States in 2008, when he served as the company’s product manager.
Stephen is a 1993 graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering. Stephen is a registered professional engineer in the State of Tennessee.
Stephen has extensive experience in designing with geosynthetics for pavement applications on highly plastic clays and saturated silts common to Texas & Oklahoma. He has published white papers on the applicability of geosynthetics over expansive subgrades as well as the value of performance-based specifications for geosynthetics in pavement applications.
Marita Moya PE, CFM
Editorial Committee Co-Chair
Marita Moya serves as a water resources engineer at Halff Associates in Austin, Texas. After completing her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering at Texas Tech University, she moved back to Austin to join the Halff team in early 2017. For the past five years, Marita has been engaged in a broad range of water resources projects. She has performed watershed-wide risk evaluation studies, analyzed local drainage needs, designed transportation drainage infrastructure, and assessed and designed flood mitigation projects in Central Texas. Living in Central Texas, many of the surrounding communities face complex flood challenges due to the intense rainfall events that frequently occur the area, giving it the nickname Flash Flood Alley.
Marita values working as a civil engineer to serve these growing communities and to help community leaders be prepared for intense rainfall events. She sees the importance in determining and communicating flood risk and exploring mitigation solutions to protect lives and property. Marita has served on the ASCE Austin Younger Member Forum (YMF) the last four years fulfilling a variety of roles including social media chair, secretary, vice president and president. ASCE has given Marita the opportunity to grow professionally and to engage with people who are similarly passionate about making an impact in the communities we serve. She is currently serving as the Webpage Chair for the Austin Branch Board.
When she is not engineering, Marita is passionate about volunteering in her community and is active in the youth group at her church. In her free time, she enjoys reading, crafting, and going for a run.
Michael P. Gurka PE
Editorial Committee Co-Chair
Michael Gurka is a Professional Engineer licensed in the State of Texas and resides in the Greater Houston Area. He holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio, Graduating Class of 2010. He has been a member of ASCE since his undergraduate studies at UTSA and is active with the ASCE Houston Branch. Michael served as the Younger Member – Sandcastle Chair (ASCE Houston Branch) for several years and was a committee chair on the Houston Branch and Texas Section Infrastructure Report Cards.
Professionally, Michael has ten (10) years of experience in Water and Wastewater Industry while providing design and construction oversight on $80+ Million Dollars of public infrastructure projects while at Jones|Carter. Michael serves as a Manager of the Permitting Division, responsible for stormwater, municipal, and industrial wastewater permits. His secondary role as Senior Project Manager in the Water Practice is focused on large diameter water and wastewater projects. He also serves as District Engineer for two Municipal Utility District’s in the Houston Area providing on call civil engineering services and support. His experience as a project manager and lead designer includes the following project types: surface water canal systems, distribution and large diameter transmission waterlines, wastewater transmission and collection lines, lift stations, reclaimed water systems, water and wastewater utility relocation and rehabilitations, water distribution system modeling and analysis, asset management and capital improvement planning. Michael specializes in water and wastewater utility rehabilitation projects. He has designed and overseen construction valued at $10M on 25 miles of underground water and wastewater utility rehabilitation projects over the past few years.
Personally, Michael is married to his wife Kristina and they have 2 children. They recently welcomed a baby girl into this world in October 2021. Michael enjoys spending time with his family and enjoying the great outdoors.
Sofia Carrillo EIT
Government Affairs Committee Co-Chair
Sofia Carrillo works in Austin, Texas for Halff Associates, Inc on the Public Works Team. She is passionate about helping the public through engineering and public policy.
Michael Bloom PE, CFM, ENV SP
Government Affairs Committee Co-Chair
Michael provides sustainability and resilience consulting services with 5engineering, LLC. located in Houston, Texas. Since 1991 he has helped restore environmentally impacted sites, plan and design resilient public infrastructure facilities, and helped communities deliver projects with enhanced economic, social, and environmental project outcomes. He became an Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) in 2013, an Envision Verifier in 2014, and an Envision Trainer in 2019. Since spring of 2019 Michael has provided ENV SP credentialing training to over 240 professionals in the Harris County / Houston region of Texas, after Harris County officials decided to move forward with the use of Envision. As a consultant for the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, Michael verified five projects under Envision Version 3.0.
He serves as the project ENV SP for Kowis Street Improvements in Harris County Precinct 2 and for another public sector project in the Houston region pursuing Envision verification. Michael serves on the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s Envision Review Board, he is a Certified Floodplain Manager, a Board-Certified Environmental Engineer, and a Professional Engineer in Texas and seven other states. Michael serves on the ASCE Committee on Sustainability and has held Vice President positions in the Houston Branch of ASCE.
Melinda Luna PE, CFM
History & Heritage Committee Chair
Melinda Luna, PE, GISP, CFM has been a civil engineer for almost 30 years. A graduate of Texas A & I University, she has been interested in Texas history since childhood. She has been very active with the American Society of Civil Engineers serving as the History and Heritage chair for 17 years as well as serving as local branch officer, scholarship committee member, National committee member on the Environmental Water resource Institute History & Heritage committee, and volunteering her technical skills to solve questions.
She shares her research in Texas civil engineering via a History column – Texas Civil Engineering History in the Texas Civil Engineer magazine. She also gets contacted by the public for help answering questions and is helpful to authors, genealogist, ASCE members, and others interested in Texas Civil Engineering history. Along with being a Professional engineer, Melinda has other certifications as a Geographic Information Systems professional and a Certified Floodplain manager.
Stephen Crawford PE, CFM
Honors Committee Chair
Patrick J. Williams PE, LEED AP
Membership Committee Chair
Patrick Williams serves as an associate vice president and southwest regional leader for Urban Engineers. He is responsible for growing the firm’s success in each of the firm’s market and service lines in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
A 2004 graduate of Drexel University, his college proudly named him among the esteemed Top 40 Under 40 Professionals from the countless alumni around the world.
He was also a recipient of the Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top Professionals 20 Under 40 recognition for the Texas and Louisiana Region. After this honor, the publication continued in the evaluation of Patrick’s qualifications and also named him the coveted ENR Top Professionals 20 Under 40 for the entire nation.
Kenneth M. Struzyk PE
Evaluation & Repair of Residential Foundations Committee Chair
MILITARY SERVICE
• U.S. Air Force, Administration Specialist, November 1977 – May 1981
• U.S. Air Force, NCOIC Personnel Management, May 1981 – November 1981
• Honorable Discharge – November 1981
EDUCATION
University of Texas at Austin B.S. Architectural Engineering, 1985
1989-1991 W.E. Simpson Company Structural Project Manager
1991-1998 HDR/ Simpson Group Vice President- Forensics
1998-Present AccuTech Consultants Firm (No. 007) Principal
REGISTRATION
Professional Engineer – State of Texas No. 69704
Robert F. Pierry PE
Residential Foundations Oversight Committee Chair
Bob Pierry P.E. has been the President and principal owner of Pierry Consulting, Inc., a firm specializing in evaluating existing residential and light commercial foundations since 2005. Bob’s other experience includes 23 years in the foundation repair contracting business, preceded by 6 years with an asphalt paving contractor. Bob earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Duke University in 1976.
Bob has been an active member of ASCE for many years. In addition to his current role as Chairman of the Residential Foundations Committee for the Texas Section, he has served as Chairman of the Texas Section Geotechnical Committee, which became the Texas Chapter of the Geo-Institute during his tenure, as well as Section Vice President – Technical. Bob has also served on two national ASCE technical committees.
Bob currently volunteers regularly for Habitat for Humanity of Denton County, formerly serving on the Board of Directors as both Treasurer and Vice President. Bob has been very happily married for nearly 43 years, and has 2 sons and 2 grandchildren. He enjoys traveling and scuba diving.
Phillip G. King PE, D.GE
Foundation Investigation & Design Committee Chair
Carlos Martinez PE
STEM Committee Chair
Angie Fealy PE
Strategic Planning Committee Chair
Angie has worked at Jacobs for the past 6 years. She recently transitioned into a team lead role for mission critical projects for multiple confidential clients, before that she was working on large scale federal civil site projects on Army and Air Bases internationally. When Angie is not diligently working in the office (or from the comfort of her home) she can be found rock climbing, hiking with her dog (Bernoulli), and paddling for the national dragonboat team. You can find her outside or at many of the local and statewide ASCE events.
Shannon Jungman PE
Student Competition Coordination
Eva Schexnider EIT
Student Activities Committee Chair
Eva Schexnider, EIT is a Project Engineer in the H&H Division at Elevation Land Solutions. She has 3 years of experience in hydraulics and hydrology in Houston and the surrounding areas. Eva earned a Bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering with a focus in water resources from Texas Tech University.
Open
Diversity Equity & Inclusion Committee Co-Chair
Austin Messerli PE
Infrastructure Report Card Co-Chair
Austin Messerli is a Senior Engineer/Project Manager with K Friese & Associates. Originally from Oklahoma, he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma. Relocating to Central Texas over four years ago and is now happy to call it home. He has over nine years of experience with Municipal, County, and DOT transportation projects across Texas, Oklahoma, and the surrounding States. The most exciting part of this work is seeing all the various components of transportation projects come together to form a positive and lasting impact on the public. Austin is an active member of ASCE, first participating in the University of Oklahoma Chapter, where he eventually became president, then holding various positions professionally across Oklahoma and Texas. He serves as Austin Branch Section Director and Texas Section Infrastructure Report Card Co-Chair. Previously, he served as Government Affairs Chair/Co-Chair for Austin Branch and Texas Section, helped Chair the Highway and Roads Committee, assisted the Parks and Rec Committee with the 2021 Texas Infrastructure Report Card, and participated in the National Legislative Fly-In, the Texas State Drive-Ins, MLRC, and student mentoring programs for UT.
Geoffrey D. Roberts Jr.
Infrastructure Network Resilience Committee Chair
Geoffrey D Roberts, Jr. has 38 years of global experience in the energy, water and wastewater field. His career includes technical and commercial experience with NextEra (formerly FPL), Shell Oil, Enron Corp. and Entergy, including international leadership assignments developing and operating energy infrastructure and building and managing energy origination and trading businesses in North America, Europe, South America and Asia. During the past 16 years, Geoff has served as a Board member for 8 different private equity sponsored portfolio companies, including 7 as Chairman of the Board, in the energy, infrastructure and environmental space. These companies included Innovyze, Synagro Technologies, Contanda Terminals, Midland Cogeneration Ventures, Entegra Power and Primus Green Energy. Geoff has served as president of RRRR Investments LLC, an private investment entity focused on energy, water and the related infrastructure space since 1999. This company is currently commercializing a wastewater technology company based in the UK and developing an off-premise sign company in the southeastern United States.
Geoff has a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Miami in 1982, an MBA from Florida Atlantic University in 1986 and is licensed by TCEQ as a Class A wastewater treatment operator. He is currently completing an executive certificate in Strategy and Innovation from MIT Sloan.
Geoff has been a long-time member of ASCE, but only recently became active in the Texas branch, serving as a sub-committee co-chair of the energy sector for the Infrastructure Report Card. He is currently ASCE Texas Committee Chair for the Beyond Storms task committee focusing on winter storm Uri. Prior to becoming active as a volunteer with ASCE, Geoff was an active volunteer coaching youth sports and serving on the Board of Theatre Under The Stars. Geoff recently became a founding member of the Zero Pollution Network (ZPN), based in the UK.
Geoff has been married to his wife Barbara for 35 years. They have two daughters, Elizabeth and Abigail, both of whom are Texas A&M graduates. In his spare time Geoff is a magician member of the Academy of Magical Arts in Hollywood, California and is a student at the Moy Tung Ving Tsun Kung Fu Academy in Houston.
Chad M. Ballard PE
Flood Mitigation Advisory Committee Co-Chair
Chad Ballard P.E. is a licensed Civil Engineer holding a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering and has experience using a variety of hydrologic and hydrodynamic solvers and modeling platforms. In both an advisory and consulting role, Mr. Ballard has helped hundreds of engineering firms around the world apply different numerical modeling solutions to their specific projects. Currently, he works as a consultant at Plummer Associates as well as a previous adjunct faculty member teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in hydrology and hydraulics.
He is a past board member of the local chapter of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) and is involved currently with EWRI at the national level as part of the Calibration/Validation of Free-Surface Hydraulic Models Task Committee. Mr. Ballard also has been involved as a previous board member of a professional chapter of Engineering Without Boards (EWB) as well as being involved with other non-profit flood modeling work in developing countries. He currently lives in Dallas-Fort Worth area with his wife and five daughters.
Lee von Gynz-Guethle PE, D.WRE, CFM
Flood Mitigation Advisory Committee Co-Chair
Mr. von Gynz-Guethle, P.E., D.WRE, CFM is a Sr. Project Manager with WEST Consultants. He has 17 years of experience as a technical lead and project manager applying advanced hydrologic and hydraulic modeling to understand and mitigate flood risk. He has worked throughout the US and internationally and is currently based in Houston, Texas.
Joe W. Alvarez
Younger Members Committee Chair
Joe Alvarez has been active in ASCE since his freshman year at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. While in school, he was on the steel bridge team that qualified for nationals in Salt Lake City, UT, as well as a member of the concrete canoe team and eventually serving as student branch president. In 2008 and 2009 he helped the Corpus Christi Branch and Rio Grande Valley Branch as they hosted the Spring Section Meetings. He served under Keith McBride and coordinated all registration and secured all facilities associated with the concrete canoe competitions that occurred during and in conjunction with those section meetings. In addition, he served in a similar role for the 2013 Spring Section Meeting and Centennial Celebration. Upon graduation, he has served the Corpus Christi Branch in various roles and is currently the Younger Members Committee Chairman of the Texas Section and the Section Director for the Corpus Christi Branch.
Joe is currently employed with the Texas Department of Transportation. In his spare time, Joe serves in roles for other civic organizations in the South Texas area.
Environmental & Water Resources Institute Chapter Co-Chair
Russell Erskine serves as the co-chair of the Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) for the ASCE Texas Section and has served in this position since 2017. He is an active member in the Dallas Branch of ASCE.
For over 20 years, Russell worked for the consulting engineering firm of Halff Associates, Inc. where he worked on floodplain reclamation projects, performed floodplain reviews for several communities in the Dallas area, and served as District Engineer for several levee districts in the Dallas area. A little over a month ago, Russell went to work for the City of Plano where he will serve as their floodplain reviewer, a Community Rating System contact, and help with drainage and stormwater related issues.
Russell graduated from Tarleton State University in 1995 with a B.S. in Hydrology and Water Resources. Russell went back to school in 2001 and graduated from Colorado State University in 2004 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering.
In his free time, Russell enjoys camping and fishing on property that he co-owns with his brother down in Central Texas, dove hunting, playing pool, playing golf, model railroading, planting a vegetable garden, traveling, attending Texas Aggie football games with his family, and watching his CSU Rams play.
Curtis B. Beitel PE, CFM, ENV SP
Environmental & Water Resources Institute Chapter Co-Chair
Curtis Beitel has been active in ASCE since he graduated from Texas A&M University in 1993. In 1996 he served as the Continuing Education Chair of the Fort Worth ASCE Branch, organizing several CPD classes on HEC-RAS and Bioengineering. He continued to serve the Fort Worth Branch in several officer positions including Branch President in 2001-02. Curtis served as the Water Resources Chair of the Texas Section from 1999 to 2001 and was Vice President-Technical in 2002-2003. He continued to serve on the Texas Section Board as the Section Director from the Fort Worth Branch from 2003 to 2005. He was the Budget Chair for Fall 2007 Meeting of the Texas Section in Fort Worth, and served as the General Co-Chair of the Texas Section/CI/ICSDEC Fall 2012 Conference in Fort Worth.
Curtis received the Fort Worth Branch’s Young Engineer Award for Professional Achievement in 1998. He is also active in the Texas Floodplain Management Association, serving as their Newsletter Editor since 2004, and is a member of the Society of Military Engineers. To help community leaders understand the risk that flooding poses to their local economy, Curtis conceived and led the development of the FloodManager game for the ASFPM Foundation, and teaches the “Experience a Town At Risk” classes at various conferences. The ASFPM Foundation presented him with an award for Outstanding Contributions in 2010. HDR presented him with a Pathfinder Award for External Client Service in 2013.
Curtis is currently the North Texas Water Resources Program Manager for HDR Engineering, and was named a Professional Associate of the company in January 2013. He is leading the development of the Bexar County Flood Warning System for the San Antonio River Authority, and works on projects for public clients across Texas. He has been married to his wife Leanne since 1996 and they have two daughters – Katherine and Ellie.
Marcelo F. DaSilva PhD, PE
Structural Engineering Institute Chapter Chair
Marcelo DaSilva PhD, PE is a Senior Structural Engineer for Burns & McDonnell, a top 10 ENR Design Firm and one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For. He started his career in the oil and gas industry then had a short tenure in the façade design (glazing/building) industry, and he is now fully engaged in the transportation industry as a bridge engineer. With nearly a decade of strong technical experience and background, Dr. DaSilva has become a national resource to Burns & McDonnell for delivering complex analyses and innovative solutions to clients across the nation.
He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and a Master and Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil. He has been a licensed professional engineer in the state of Texas since 2015.
He has been a member of ASCE since 2013 and recently he is serving as co-chair with Austin Chapter on the “UT Austin Mentoring Committee” as well as being a mentor to UT students himself. Dr. DaSilva is also a reviewer for the ASCE Structural and Bridge Engineering Journals. Some of his previous volunteer work includes participating in the ASCE K-12 outreach program, showing UNL’s structure laboratory to K-12 students, building bicycles with CYCLE Houston, and helping cyclists during MS 150. He embraces the chance to chair the SEI-TX section as an opportunity to increase his leadership skills while contributing to his community and peers.
In his free time, Dr. DaSilva enjoys cycling, pump workouts, playing soccer, watching sports, enjoying a sunny beach, and spending time with his future wife and two sons.
Surya Bhandari EIT
Transportation & Development Institute Chapter Chair
Bobby Nagel PE
Utility Engineering & Surveying Institute Chapter Chair
Bobby has over 39+ years of combined experience in subsurface utility engineering (SUE) investigations (Quality Levels D-A), civil engineering, and construction management services. He coordinates all required permitting; secures all necessary access rights; schedules Texas811, surveying, traffic control, hydro and air excavating, restoration, and cleanup resources; and ensures all required field information is captured and provided to the Engineers within the required schedule. Bobby has strong skills with regard to scheduling and communication with his project team. He has completed hundreds of SUE projects throughout the States of Texas and New Mexico for the respective Departments of Transportation (DOT), numerous municipalities including the City of Austin, contractors, and private utility companies. Bobby has given numerous presentations on the cost effectiveness of SUE to various agencies, including TxDOT, METRO, and the Cities of Houston, Conroe, Sugarland and Austin. He has also served on a State Highway Research Panel for developing better methods to locate stacked and deep utilities. All projects were completed in compliance with American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)/CI 38-02 and appropriate DOT standards.