August 27, 2021
September Events
In This Issue

  • September *In Person/Hybrid Webinar* Event
  • ASCE Phoenix Branch Officers
  • ASCE National Award Winner - Patty Kennedy
  • Sustainability Committee Positions
  • State Conference
  • Sponsorship Opportunities
  • Sponsor Spotlight
  • Past Webinars
  • Practitioner Advisor and Vice President - Thank You
  • President's Note




Become a sponsor today!
See below for 2021 sponsorship opportunities
September 15th Dinner with the Branch
In-person and webinar event
Co-hosted with SEAoA, GI and APWA

Topic: Champlain Tower Building Collapse 2021
Registration Closes at noon September 12th

ASCE Phoenix Branch
Partnered with SEAoA (Structural Engineering Association of Arizona), GI (Geotechnical Institute) and APWA (American Public Works Association


Speakers:
Fred Nelson, P.E., S.E., F. ASCE, Vice President, Gervasio & Associates, Inc.


Join the ASCE Phoenix Branch, partnered with SEAoA, GI and APWA, as we hear about the unfortunate event of the collapse of the Champlain Tower in Florida from our own Fred Nelson. Fred has been a Structures Specialist with AZ-TF1, one of 28 FEMA Urban Search and Rescue teams since 1994, and a Structure’s Specialist of FEMA’s (National Leadership) Incident Support Team (IST) since 2010. He has been deployed as a Structures Specialist numerous times, including the Oklahoma Murrah Building (1995), Hurricane Rita (2005); the Oso, Washington mudslide (2013), Hurricane Harvey (2017 and, most recently, the Champlain Towers building collapse in south Florida where he was deployed as a Deputy IST Structures Specialist leading 20 plus structures specialists during the event. He will speak about the changing role of the Structures Specialist over the past quarter century and specifically the importance of the Structures Specialists during the Champlain Towers event, and will summarize the unfortunate events that led to the demise, and ultimate demolition of that building.


Time: Wednesday, September 15th, 5pm-6pm, Arizona
Doors open at 4:30pm

In-Person Location: Dave and Busters -
2000 E Rio Salado Pkwy Suite 1100, Tempe, AZ 85281
Virtual: via Teams

Cost: See registration page. Registration closes September 12th at noon.
PDHs will be provided

Webinar Access: The link will be provided in the registration confirmation email.

Fred Nelson
Fred has been Vice President and Forensic Director at Gervasio & Associates since mid-1989. Prior to that he spent time with Bechtel Power, Dibble & Associates and Hastain & Deatherage (Phoenix consulting firms). As a forensic engineer, he has walked through the debris of more than a thousand collapsed and distressed buildings, and has designed repairs to many of them. He has testified over 150 times. He obtained his bachelor's (Summa Cum Laude) and master's degrees in Civil and Structural Engineering from BYU in 1972 and has done graduate studies at ASU. In 1994, Fred joined Phoenix Fire’s FEMA US&R team (AZ TF-1) and was part of the response to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the 2001 WTC collapse and 2005 Hurricane Rita. He serves on FEMA’s national Incident Support Team (IST) as a structural alternate and on FEMA’s Structures Working Group and was deployed with the IST to the 2014 Oso, WA landslide that took 43 lives, to Hurricane Harvey in Houston in 2017 and to the Champlain Towers Collapse in 2021. Fred has been President of the ASCE Phoenix Branch and the Arizona Section, and was the Arizona Section Newsletter Editor and Historian. He is a past Region 8 Governor and Current Trustee of ASCE’s Foundation and member of ASCE’s Life Member Committee. He was the founding chair of the (Arizona) Structural Engineers Emergency Response (SEER) Committee and serves on ASTM committee E54 on Homeland Security Operations. He is a certified CALOES SAP (California Structures Assessment Program) instructor. In June 2019, he was selected as an Honorary Member of SEAOA (the Structural Engineer’s Association of Arizona).
ASCE Phoenix Branch Officers
We want to remind you that you can reach out to any of our board members with questions or to get involved!
Voting for next years officer's will be out shortly.
Please look out for the email and vote!

The Branch's leadership team:
  • President - Stephanie Templeton, PE
  • President-Elect - Skye Gentile, PE
  • Vice-President - vacant
  • Secretary - Brad Donais, PE
  • Treasurer - Kent Lall, PhD, PE
  • Younger Member Forum President - Cynthia Alvarez, PE
  • Outreach Chair - Andrew Chill, PE
  • Sustainability Chair - Michael Naber, PhD, PE, ISI ENV SP
  • Past President - Larry Hanson, PE
  • Practitioner Advisor to ASU ASCE Student Chapter - Ryan Circello, PE
  • Practitioner Advisor to ASU ASCE Student Chapter - Wesley Scatena, EIT
ASCE National Award Winner - Patty Kennedy, P.E.
2021 Government Civil Engineer of the Year Award
Patty Kennedy, P.E. -
Deputy Water Services Director
Wastewater Engineering
City of Phoenix
A HUGE congratulations to our own Patty Kennedy for winning the ASCE National level 2021 Government Engineer of the Year Award, for her significant contributions to Public Service Engineering.

As you may recall, Patty was nominated and won the local Phoenix Branch Government Engineer of the Year Award in March 2021, and her nomination was then submitted to be considered at the national level.

We are honored to have you in our membership and thank you for all you do for our community!
Sustainability Committee Positions
Are you looking to get involved with ASCE? Are you passionate about sustainability and want to help promote that in our community? If so, our newly formed Sustainability Committee is the place for you! Please see our Phoenix Branch Sustainability Committee Mission & Objectives here.

Please contact our Sustainability Chair - Michael Naber at mnaber@azland.gov for any questions and see how you can get involved!
Sponsorship Opportunities
Make sure your company is represented at ASCE
Would your company like to be advertised in all email blasts, events and luncheons? Become a sponsor today!
Take a look at our sponsorship flyer to see how you can promote your company and sponsor our Phoenix Branch of ASCE!

To get more information or any questions on how to participate and promote your company with the Phoenix Branch, please contact Stephanie Templeton, Phoenix Branch President, at stempleton@gfnet.com
Sponsor Spotlight
The ASCE Phoenix Branch thanks Gannett Fleming, Inc for their corporate sponsorship for 2021.
Recordings of Past Webinars
Recordings Now Available
Recordings of past Phoenix Branch "Lunch with the Branch" webinars and our Utility Engineering and Surveying Seminar are now being posted on the AZ Section website/Resources page, http://www.azsce.org/phoenix-branch-webinars/
Phoenix Branch Officer - Thank You!
On behalf of the ASCE Phoenix Branch, a huge thank you to two of our past board members:
Practitioner Advisor for Arizona State University, Anna Tuura, Roadway Engineer, TY LIN International and Vice President, Joe Dietrick, Managing Engineer at C&S Companies. All of your help the past few years has definitely been appreciated and we will miss having you on the board!
President's Note
Hello ASCE Phoenix Branch - I am so excited to have an in-person event with you all for September. I hope you will be able to join us, either in person or via virtual means for our upcoming event. Thank you all for being so understanding during this time of change and staying involved through these challenging times!

As October starts our new ASCE year, we will be transitioning officers starting October 1st. I want to thank you all for the incredible opportunity to serve as your branch president.

If you have ideas for future luncheon presentations, training opportunities, outreach events, or other ideas you would like to see implemented, please let our board members know. Reach out to any of the leadership team if you want to get more involved in the next year!

Thank you again and all the best!
Stephanie Templeton, P.E., M.ASCE
Gannett Fleming, Inc.
ASCE Phoenix Branch President