CMA held its Women’s Alliance Inaugural event on September 16 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Winter Park. The goal of the event was to encourage and empower our female staff members given our challenges in our industry. The event was led by Annetta Wilson, a certified mastery coach, certified trainer and speaker. The event included opening remarks by CMA Principal Engineer Safiya Brea, P.E., LEED AP and a welcome video from CMA President Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, FACEC, followed by interactive group exercises that covered the topic ‘The Art of Networking.’  Following a lunch break, the afternoon session consisted of breakout sessions that covered the topic ‘Navigating Difficult Conversations and Elements of Dynamic Communication.’  CMA staff members who attended the event were Madeline Batey, E.I., Dominique Bethel, Jazmin Cruz, Melissa Dannelly, Melissa Deltoro, Jessica Diaz, P.E., Suzanne Dombrowski, P.E., ENV SP, Charmaine Emanuels, E.I., Maritza Figueroa, Daniela Martinat, P.E., Yulet Miguel, P.E., Karen Rachles, Jennifer Smith, P.E., Stephanie Williams and Johanna Zona.

CMA Executive Vice President Jose L. Acosta attended the 2022 Zweig Group ElevateAEC Conference & Awards Gala in Las Vegas September 14 – 16. CMA ranked number 56 on the Hot Firms list, an annual ranking of the 100 fastest-growing firms in the architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting industry, up from #83 in 2021. We placed #16 Best Firm to Work For in A/E/C in North American in the 100-199 Employee Category, up from 17th in the 50-100 Employees category.  CMA also placed #31 in the Multidiscipline Firm Category for the Best Firms to Work For in North America, up from #38 in 2021. Congratulations to the entire CMA Team! https://www.zweiggroup.com/ 

The CMA community service team recently planned school supply drives for all offices to support local school drives. The Jacksonville office supported the Duval County School Drive, the Fort Lauderdale and Miami offices contributed to Voices for Children of Broward County Back to School Drive, the WPB office collected school supplies which benefited Palmetto Elementary School and the Orlando office participated of the ASCE YMF School Supply Drive for the East Central Branch.

Congratulations to our CMA team who received the Project of the Year Category I award at the ASCE Miami-Dade Branch Officer Installation Dinner! CMA staff received the award for the North Miami Beach NE 183^rd Street Bicycle Lanes and Water Main Improvements project. We served as the prime consultant for civil engineering. In addition, CMA Senior Engineer Nicholas Karpathy, P.E., ENV SP was installed as Treasurer and CMA Principal Engineer Yulet Miguel, P.E. was installed as Director of the branch. The event was held on August 24^th at the Rusty Pelican in Miami and CMA served as a platinum sponsor. The event also included a birthday celebration for ASCE FL Section President Dave Crombie. CMA staff in attendance were Jose L. Acosta, P.E., F.ASCE, Shahin Hekmat, P.E., Ben Lehr, P.E., DBIA, LEED AP, Patrick Kaimrajh, P.E., Nick Karpathy, P.E., ENV SP, Gregory Mendez, P.E., Yulet Miguel, P.E. and Laura Vogel, Ph. D, P.E., LEED AP  https://www.miamidade-asce.org/

CMA staff members Daniel Davila, P.E., Patrick Kaimrajh, P.E., Nick Karpathy, P.E., ENV SP, and Gregory Mendez, P.E., attended a social networking event on August 4 hosted By Miami-Dade ASCE and the Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute held at Tank Brewing in Miami. CMA was an event sponsor. https://www.asce.org/communities/find-a-group/regions/region-5/florida-section/miami-dade-branch

CMA Executive Vice President Jose L. Acosta, P.E., F.ASCE and Principal Engineer Gregory Mendez, P.E. attended the CAACE Biscayne Bay Turn the Tide event on August 16 at Bayside Marketplace in Miami. Proceeds benefited the Biscayne Bay National Park Trust. Miami-Dade County leaders Hardeep Anand, P.E., Marisela Aranguiz, P.E., ENV SP, Irela Bague and Nelson Perez-Jacome, P.E. presented on future and ongoing plans to address water quality issues. https://c-aace.org/

CMA Senior Environmental Scientist Brian Voelker, M.S., SPWS, C.A., CLI, was recently elected to the Florida Urban Forestry Council (FUFC) Board of Directors. FUFC’s mission is to promote the value, enhancement, and sound management of urban forests through leadership, collaboration, guidance, and education. FUFC is an organization of organizations rooted in Florida’s urban forest industry. The management of urban, and peri-urban forests is complex and involves many professional disciplines. As an elected member filling the Private Arborist position, Brian will serve as the voice and conscious of an essential discipline within our industry. https://fufc.org/

CMA Director of Land Development Patrick Kaimrajh, P.E. graduated the ULI Southeast Florida/Caribbean Leadership Institute Class of 2022. The Leadership Institute is an immersive and engaging leadership program that educates emerging leaders and prepares them with the tools to solve South Florida’s most critical real estate and land use issues.

As part of the Institute, Patrick and teammates conducted a project evaluating the renovation and reconstruction of the Miami Shores Village Community Center and Recreation Complex, including a preparation of a report and presentation at a Miami Shores Village Council Meeting. Congratulations! https://seflorida.uli.org/