From March 2-4, CMA President Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, FACEC attended the ASCE Legislative Fly-in. Every spring, ASCE holds its Legislative Fly-In in Washington, DC, an exclusive and intensive two-day event providing participants with professional development in honing their skills in the public policy process and advocacy, as well as valuable peer-to-peer networking with fellow ASCE influencers. ASCE members had an opportunity to meet with their Members of Congress or their senior legislative staff and advance the Society’s collective policy priorities while learning beneficial leadership skills they can bring back to the workplace.

CMA Principal Engineer Michael Albert, P.E., and Senior Engineers David Cowan, Jr., P.E., ENV SP and Laura Vogel, Ph.D., P.E., ENV SP are participating in the 2022 Florida Engineering Leadership Institute (FELI). Part of their class projects is to raise money and construct beds for those who are not fortunate enough to have a bed to sleep on.  On February 19, several members of the class built beds for Vita Nova Village, a housing development for disadvantaged youth in the City of West Palm Beach. The teamed with NUCA and Xcel worx on the build. The team not only built 20 beds but worked with youth to learn how to use tools in construction – helping them to develop skills to join the trades, get jobs and better their situation.  The program runs from November 2021 to August 2022.  For more information, or if you are interested in supporting the project check out:  https://www.fleng.org/general/custom.asp?page=FELI

In recognition of National Engineers Week (EWeek) February 20-28, CMA will be highlighting some of our women engineers throughout the week!

Sathvika Ramaji, E.I. is an associate engineer in our Miami office with five years of experience. Sathvika graduated from University of Miami with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering and a master’s degree in civil engineering. We asked Sathvika to share some information about why she became an engineer.

Why I chose civil engineering: I chose to become an engineer because I have always wanted to be a problem solver. I enjoy coming up with unique solutions for each project. To me, civil engineering is an essential part of civilization, and I am glad to be able to contribute to society through engineering. Initially, I studied environmental engineering because I liked chemistry in high school, but became very involved with the student chapter of ASCE starting in my sophomore year at the U. Through ASCE, I learned about CMA and met some local CMAers. I pursued an internship at CMA and started on my path to becoming a civil engineer.

Fun fact: I studied abroad in Italy and earned a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Bologna, one of the oldest universities in the world. I have also visited 27 countries. https://www.nspe.org/

On February 18, CMA Director of Water and Sewer Daniel Davila, P.E. accepted one of the Grand Awards for the City of Fort Lauderdale Emergency Bypass 48” Forcemain project at the 2022 ACEC-FL Engineering Excellence Awards Banquet! CMA President Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, FACEC was also in attendance and thanked the City and ACEC-FL for the opportunity. The fast-tracked emergency, design-build project was led by Murphy Pipeline Contractors and David Mancini and Sons with CMA and A&P Engineers as lead consultants. CMA was responsible for the design, permitting, and construction observation of the replacement of the City’s north transmission line. Eight Grand and seven Honor awards were presented to engineering firms for their innovative applications and elaborate projects.  The Grand Award was the highest award given that evening for the overall best engineering project in the state of Florida for the Water & Stormwater category. The event was held at the JW Marriott Orlando Grand Lakes and several CMA staff were in attendance: Jose L. Acosta, P.E., F.ASCE, Robert Best, P.E., David Castro, P.E., Shahin Hekmat, P.E. and Jason Sutton, PLA.  Congratulations!

In recognition of National Engineers Week (EWeek) February 20-28, CMA will be highlighting some of our women engineers throughout the week!

Daniela Martinat, P.E. is an associate engineer in our West Palm Beach office. With five years of experience, Daniela graduated from FAU with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. We asked Daniela to share some information about why she became an engineer.

Why I chose civil engineering: I chose engineering because I have always loved math. I loved the idea of pursuing a career that required constant learning and wasn’t a typical female job. I was inspired by my uncle and father who are also engineers and admire their very practical and analytical way of problem solving.

Fun fact: My husband is also an engineer who proposed on Pi Day (3/14). https://www.nspe.org/

In recognition of National Engineers Week (EWeek) February 20-28, CMA will be highlighting some of our women engineers throughout the week!

Thy Duong, E.I. is an electrical engineer in our Jacksonville office. Thy has been with the CMA family for nearly three years. We asked Thy to share some information about why she became an engineer.

Why I chose civil engineering: I am from Vietnam and have been in America for over six years. I earned my first bachelor’s degree of business administration in marketing in Vietnam, then I moved to the U.S and graduated summa cum laude from UNF with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a minor degree in mathematics in 2020.

When I was in high school, I exceled in science and math classes. I think I inherited these traits from my dad who was a physics and math teacher. After finishing high school, I had to decide what career to pursue. My dad and others advised me not to choose any major relating to engineering because it is a male-related field, which means it would be impossible for me to find a job as a female engineer. There is a fact that in Vietnam they usually require only men for engineering positions, so I gave up and chose a different major. I chose business, which was supposed to be more suitable for a girl. However, when I had a chance to move to America and attend school again, I decided to pursue what I gave up before because I believe that in America, women have the same opportunities as men to obtain jobs or be promoted. I believe it was probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life because I am doing what I like and what I am good at – engineering.

Fun facts: The first picture was taken when I graduated from UNF. Due to the pandemic, I had a virtual graduation ceremony instead of an in-person ceremony, but nothing was able to prevent me from celebrating my four-year effort. In my cap and gown, I went to school with a mask on and took pictures so that I would never forget what had been going on that year. The printed circuit board was supposed to be installed in our senior design project but we have not gotten a chance to come back to the lab to place it

The second picture was taken when I attended the Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) Energy Connections Conference & Trade Show in Orlando with my CMA staff members in November 2021. https://www.nspe.org/

In recognition of National Engineers Week (EWeek) February 20-28, CMA will be highlighting some of our women engineers throughout the week!

Madeline Batey, E.I. is an associate engineer in our Orlando office with two years of experience. Madeline graduated from UCF with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. We asked Madeline to share some information about why she became an engineer.

Why I chose civil engineering: I decided to go into the engineering field because I wanted to help shape my community and the world around me. I also enjoy being able to apply my engineering knowledge and give back to the community.

Fun fact: Recently, I had the opportunity to volunteer with the Florida Trail Association. I hope to inspire others to give back and show how awesome engineering can be!  https://www.nspe.org/

In recognition of National Engineers Week (EWeek) February 20-28, CMA will be highlighting some of our women engineers throughout the week!

Jennifer (Jen) Smith, P.E. is a senior engineer with CMA and works out of our Fort Lauderdale office. Jen started her career at CMA in 2005 as an intern and now has nearly 16 years of experience in civil engineering. We asked Jen to share some information about why she became an engineer.

Why I chose civil engineering: I was introduced to civil engineering in high school after the 9/11 tragedy. Our senior engineering class decided to build a memorial on campus. We designed and built a pentagon shaped seating area, and two towers with a flag pole. This memorial still stands today (photo below)! It was an honor to be involved in the creation of a historic landmark for our school and this project taught me the fundamentals of civil engineering.

Fun facts: I joined ASCE in college and was asked to row in the concrete canoe event because our university (FAU) didn’t have enough girls to participate in the conference. I continued to be involved with the society, serving as president of the student chapter, president twice at the branch level and currently serving as vice president of the Florida Section.

I especially love giving back to the community. Below is a photo of me speaking at a local high school STEM event. One student was so interested in civil engineering that she proceeded to study it then reached out to me a year later and became an intern in our Fort Lauderdale office.

I hope to continue inspiring others, including my daughters, to the beauty of civil engineering. https://www.nspe.org/

On February 12, CMA staff members David Cowan (and Beth Cowan and family), Suzanne Dombrowski (and Elizabeth Dombrowski), Amanda Foor, Nickolas Musick and Brent Whitfield (and Nora Whitfield) volunteered their time by picking bell peppers with representatives from Cros Ministries Gleaning. The event took place at a field in Delray Beach donated by Bedner Farms.  The gleaned food is then distributed to various food banks throughout Palm Beach and Martin Counties.  Gleaning is a produce recovery program partnering with local famers to recover food that would otherwise go to waste. Cros Ministries Gleaning programs include seven community food pantries, six pantries that are located in community partner buildings and one mobile “pop-up” pantry distributing food in six different locations. https://www.crosministries.org/gleaning

Happy Valentine’s Day from CMA!