This message was sent to ##Email## Vol. 50 No. 29          Home  |   About Us  |   Membership  |   Resources  |   Events  |   Contact Us Subscribe  |   Archive    GBA NEWS 2021 Spring Conference Videos Available Now Those that attended GBA’s 2021 Spring Conference agreed that the presentations were educational, entertaining, and inspiring. Now you can watch, listen to, and learn from these speakers too, on your own schedule. These videos are available for all GBA members on-demand at your convenience. Gary T. Torosian: Business Snapshot Summary Guy Marcozzi, P.E., D. GE, LEED AP: Unlock the Future and Elevate Performance Expert Panel: BD & Marketing: Emerging Risks and Opportunities Lisa Napolitano: Strategic Client Management: The Key to Driving Growth & Competitive Advantage Kimball Olsen, P.E., DBIA: Design-Build Considerations: Helping You Manage Risk Expert Panel: We Were Hacked! Don’t Let it Happen to Your Firm! Erica Davis: The Changing Nature of Cyber Risk L. Tyrone Holt, Esq.: Pandemic-Forced Changes to Handling Professional Liability Claims Expert Panel: HR Leaders Share How They Maintain and Acquire Their Most Valuable Asset – Their People Jessica Rector: Ignite the Burn Out: How Leadership Inspires the Disengaged Steve Farber: Lead with Love: The Strategic Advantage for a Physically-Distanced World Watch Conference Proceedings: HERE President's Update: Initiatives for My Presidency Tom Blackburn — GBA President Recently installed President Tom Blackburn has committed to providing monthly updates to GBA members. “It is my way to better connect you with GBA’s leadership, provide some lessons learned, show you how we continue to make GBA better and improve your GBA experience.” In this update, Tom shares the initiatives he has chosen for his year-long term. Read President’s Update: HERE GBA Director Spotlight Teresa L Peterson, P.E., C.M.E., LEED AP O&M, ENV SP (Gannett Fleming, Inc.) Volunteers that serve on the GBA Board of Directors dedicate significant time and energy providing leadership to our Association. In this spotlight, read about Teresa Peterson’s motivation to enter the geoprofessions and her drive to excel. Read about Teresa Peterson’s career path of which included a little luck and a lot of pluck: HERE GBA Welcomes New Members! BLE BLE is a geotechnical, environmental, and construction materials engineering firm, but we’re much more. We’re a team of engineers and environmental professionals who relish technical challenges and strive for precision. We believe that the quality of our work sets the standard for every engagement and enhances its outcome. We approach each project with integrity and efficiency, ensuring that we deliver the best solution for you.  READ MORE Diaz·Yourman & Associates Diaz•Yourman & Associates (DYA) is a privately held geotechnical consulting services corporation, founded in December 1992 on the strong basis of 30 years prior geotechnical engineering experience. Since then, DYA has grown in size, capacity, and breadth of services to become one of the leading geotechnical firms in California. DYA has built its reputation by responsively serving our clients' needs and adding value to their projects with integrity and competence. Our technical hallmarks are applying the latest technologies, innovation, and construction knowledge to develop practical solutions for successful projects.  READ MORE Hull & Associates Hull & Associates, LLC is a project development and engineering consulting firm specializing in Environment, Energy and Infrastructure markets. We are located in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions with offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, St. Clairsville, Newark and Toledo, Ohio; Austin, Texas; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Our services are transportable nationwide.  READ MORE Somat Engineering, Inc. Somat Engineering, Inc. (Somat) is an award-winning infrastructure solutions provider, offering engineering, environmental, and management services to government and private clients. Founded in Detroit, Michigan in 1986, Somat also maintains offices in Ohio, Maryland, and the District of Columbia (DC). Somat Engineering of Ohio, Inc. and Somat Engineering DC, LLC are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Somat Engineering, Inc.  READ MORE GBA Provides Cybercrime Resources As cybercrime trends climb in occurrence and severity, it is important for GBA Members to understand the hidden risks and mitigate the threats from the dark web. These three resources explore cybercrime to help you understand how to manage risk and avoid business disruption, lost data, brand blemishes, and the potential of paying ransom to restore operations. Case History 109: We Were Hacked! Cyber Attack Causes Total Business Disruption Panel Discussion: We Were Hacked! Don’t Let it Happen To Your Firm Conference Keynote: The Changing Nature of Cyber Risk IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Our most popular article from our last issue of GBA NEWSlog. Best Practices: Avoid Taboo Words Connect with Your Peers! JOIN US! The GBA LinkedIn Group is growing. If you are not yet a member, please join others In the geoprofessions! GBA LinkedIn Group: HERE  EVENTS Future GBA Events: Mark Your Calendars Now Geoprofessional Contracts Workshop: May 19 & 26th, 2021 2021 GBA Fall Conference: October 21-23, 2021 - Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort 2022 GBA Winter Leadership Summit: January 28-30, 2022 – Hyatt Regency, Minneapolis, MN 2022 GBA Spring Conference: April 7-9, 2022 - Marriott Marquis, San Diego, CA For more information: GBA EVENTS CALENDAR  MEMBER NEWS Terracon Expands Locational Intelligence Technology Offering With Pivvot Acquisition Terracon Terracon is excited to announce that Pivvot and its 20 employees have joined our company, bringing together Pivvot’s industry-leading location intelligence with Terracon’s multidiscipline engineering consulting services and proprietary data solutions to enhance project delivery for energy-sector clients. Pivvot streamlines projects with geospatial location intelligence, including renewable energy siting and suitability, electric transmission and pipeline routing, environmental impact analysis, and custom data acquisition. The company primarily serves clients in the power generation and transmission, engineering and construction, and oil and natural gas markets. “Our clients demand innovative solutions that keep their projects moving forward quickly and efficiently,” said Gayle Packer, Terracon chair, president, and CEO. “Pivvot’s location intelligence solutions, together with Terracon’s own suite of technology products for site selection and project data management, allow us to leverage the power of data to accelerate projects and provide an unmatched client experience.”  READ MORE Majority Stake Marks New Partnership to Drive Transformation of Workflow, Data Integrity and Analytics for Engineering Services Industry Braun Intertec Corporation Braun Intertec Corporation (“Braun Intertec”), a leading engineering, environmental consulting and testing services firm, today announced a majority investment by New York-based growth private equity firm Long Arc Capital, LP (“Long Arc Capital”) in Agile Frameworks, LLC (“Agile Frameworks”), a leading provider of collaborative, cloud-based software solutions for project workflow, data management and analytics for the architecture, engineering and construction (“AEC”) services industry.  READ MORE GeoInsight Joins National Platform of Environmental Engineering Companies GeoInsight, Inc. (www.geoinsight.com, “GeoInsight”), a New England-based environmental and engineering consulting firm has joined Hull & Associates (Hull) Duffield & Associates (Duffield), and HSW Consulting (HSW), as part of a national platform of companies focused in the industrial, real estate, energy, technology, transportation, and government sectors. The combined platform now includes over 350 staff in 24 offices, across 12 states (Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and Texas). Gerry Salontai, CEO of the platform, explained, “GeoInsight brings additional leadership to the platform, a great culture fit and a complementary set of capabilities to further solidify our presence in the Eastern US, while adding a strong EHS practice to our business. This in turn will strengthen our value proposition to our clients as we continue to build a national environmental, water and civil infrastructure consulting business.”  READ MORE QK Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire Zumwalt-Hansen Associates, Inc. QK QK, a California based engineering, land survey, planning and environmental firm, is pleased to announce that they have entered into an agreement to acquire Zumwalt-Hansen Associates, Inc. (ZHA). The acquisition will combine ZHA’s operations with QK’s full suite of consulting disciplines. Founded in 1949 by C.J. McKee which was reorganized as McKee-Zumwalt & Associates in 1973 and then took its present name as Zumwalt Hansen & Associates, Inc in 1984, ZHA is a highly reputable firm with capabilities to provide Civil Engineering, Land Survey & Planning Services. ZHA is located in Hanford, California, and has 11 employees. “QK prides itself as a legacy firm serving the entire San Joaquin Valley region for nearly 50 years now. We are excited to bring on the talented and proven team at Zumwalt-Hansen Associates. Having worked together for years, we’ve always been impressed with their knowledge of the area, technical excellence and strong reputation,” said Ron Wathen, QK’s CEO.  READ MORE NAVFAC MIDLANT Contract Awarded to Weston & Sampson Weston & Sampson The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic (NAVFAC MIDLANT) recently awarded a Comprehensive A/E Services Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract to Weston & Sampson. The five-year contract has a ceiling of $30 million to provide planning, design, and construction services in support of sustainment, restoration, repair, replacement, demolition, modernization, and new construction and/or improvements to utility infrastructure, distribution systems, and facility infrastructure throughout the MIDLANT Area of Responsibility. “We are very pleased to have been selected to be of service to MIDLANT,” says Weston & Sampson Vice President and Program Manager Eric Reitter, PE, PMP. “Our 120+ years of engineering, design, and construction experience in public infrastructure lends itself perfectly to working with MIDLANT to provide their mission-critical services.”  READ MORE Carolann Wicks Joins Pennoni Board Pennoni Pennoni, a multidisciplinary consulting engineering firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Carolann Wicks, PE, to the firm’s Board of Directors, effective March 18, 2021. “Carolann brings extraordinary leadership and engineering experience to our board,” said C.R. “Chuck” Pennoni, the firm’s Founder and Chairman. "In addition to her wealth of experience, Carolann has established a vast network of contacts in the professional, business, and government communities. We look forward to having her insight as we look to the future of our firm.” Carolann served as Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) Chief Engineer and then as DelDOT Secretary of Transportation. She was responsible for the capital program, managing statewide transit services, motor vehicle services, revenue collections, and the maintenance and operation of 90% of the state’s transportation system. She successfully implemented multi-modal capital investments, statewide, through the six-year Capital Transportation Program. After she left DelDOT, Carolann served as Partner at RK&K where she was involved in setting strategic direction, managing the financial resources of the firm, supporting client relationships, business development and overall support for the firm’s transportation department.  READ MORE Scott Anderson, PE, Joins Kansas City Team GeoEngineers Last week, Scott Anderson, PE, began work as a principal geotechnical engineer in GeoEngineers’ Kansas City, Missouri office. Scott has more than 26 years of experience focusing primarily on dams, levees, earth-retaining structures, and infrastructure like and bridges and electrical transmission or cellular towers. He specializes in numerical modeling and how to use these methods in seismic-deformation analyses, seepage modeling and more. “I’m looking forward to adding my dam experience to the talented team at GeoEngineers and seeing where it can take us,” Scott says. From 1999 to 2006, Scott worked with GeoEngineers Senior Principal Engineer Steve Wendland. Now, the two are reuniting in Kansas City to serve clients in the region and beyond.  READ MORE Katelyn Foster promoted to Subsidiary Director of National & Regional Accounts for ECS Mid-Atlantic, LLC ECS Limited Katelyn Foster has been promoted to Subsidiary Director of National & Regional Accounts for ECS Mid-Atlantic, LLC. Katelyn previously served as National & Regional Accounts Manager. As the Subsidiary Director, Katelyn works to meet the goals of the company by mentoring and supporting the National and Regional Account Managers within ECS Mid-Atlantic offices. She will also be able to lead the pursuit of new relationships across the country, while continuing to manage a significant number of accounts herself. Katelyn assists in the execution of the proposal phase and workflow process to ensure clients meet their goals. “I am really looking forward to interacting more regularly with the National Account Managers who sit within our Mid-Atlantic region,” says Foster. “I am also grateful for the opportunity to pursue new opportunities to grow the success of our company, while also leading the up-and-coming class of National Account Managers within our footprint.”  READ MORE Nobis Group Awards 2021 STEM Scholarships Nobis Group Nobis Group recently awarded scholarships to two 2021 high school graduates. Now in its third year, the Nobis scholarship program was developed to further the company’s dedication to promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields to high school students. The scholarship is awarded to graduating high school seniors in New Hampshire and Massachusetts who have demonstrated an interest and are pursuing further education in STEM fields at a college, university, or trade school. Scholarship applications, essays, and transcripts are evaluated by an internal committee at Nobis comprised of scientists, engineers, and administrative professionals who are tasked with selecting students who best demonstrate a passion for STEM.  READ MORE Kleinfelder's West Division Bolsters Environmental Practice with the Addition of Diane M. Sanzone, Ph.D. Kleinfelder Kleinfelder, a leading engineering, construction management, design, and environmental professional services firm, is pleased to announce Diane M. Sanzone, Ph.D. has joined the firm’s West Division as Senior Program Manager, Vice President, Environment. Focused on driving excellence and growth within Kleinfelder’s environmental practice, Sanzone will direct and lead technical teams across the West Division to expand Kleinfelder’s portfolio of work and deliver innovative, forward-thinking solutions on complex, high-profile projects.  READ MORE G2 Places Top 10 in Drone Video Contest G2 Consulting Group In a heated contest for Civil + Structural Engineer Magazine’s annual drone video contest, G2’s video was voted in the top 10 out of 68 submissions taking the 9th place position. G2 provided drone services for longtime client Cunningham-Limp as they constructed the Cooper Standard World Headquarters in Northville, Michigan. Starting in December of 2018 and ending in February 2020, G2 team member Nathan Zaporski flew the drone a total of 22 times on the project site capturing the ground breaking all the way to the building’s completion.  READ MORE  INDUSTRY NEWS Did You Get My Slack/Email/Text? Erica Dhawan (GBA Fall 2020 Keynote Speaker) We are in the midst of a major transition from remote to hybrid work. As this shift is happening, it’s essential for managers to establish norms around digital communication with their teams. Having a detailed guide will help ensure that everyone on your team is on...more. Back when we were in the office, we all knew the unwritten rules of communication. If someone had large headphones on, they probably were focused on work, and didn’t want to be interrupted to gossip about the latest drama. Or if your team was about to have an important meeting with a client, you would quickly run through last-minute questions before walking into the room.  READ MORE Back in the Saddle Again Business Insider Changes you could see when you return to the office, from hot desks to more relaxed dress codes.  READ MORE Long working hours increasing deaths from heart disease and stroke: WHO, ILO World Health Organization In a first global analysis of the loss of life and health associated with working long hours, WHO and ILO estimate that, in 2016, 398 000 people died from stroke and 347 000 from heart disease as a result of having worked at least 55 hours a week. Between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths from heart disease due to working long hours increased by 42%, and from stroke by 19%.  READ MORE More for "Discovery": It's On Tape Forbes There are unexpected legal risks in videoconferencing.  READ MORE Justice Adjusting Risk and Insurance Our court systems are facing a backlog of civil cases due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements. Here’s how the courtrooms are adjusting to keep cases moving.  READ MORE Civil Engineering Failures That Led to New Technology Breakthroughs Ohio University Progress is rarely ever a straight, ascending line. More often than not, accidents will happen in the pursuit of higher technology and practices. Failure is something that engineers and scientists must be ready for and expect because it inspires many people to become better.  READ MORE Structural Thaw Flaw BBC The fragile future of roads and buildings built on permafrost.  READ MORE Not Going Away Bloomberg Law Industry eyeing EPA’s hustle to control ‘Forever Chemicals.’  READ MORE True North Strong and Free? MSN Russia is 'stealing' the north magnetic pole from Canada.  READ MORE Words of Wisdom "Great vision without great people is irrelevant." - Jim Collins  BOARD OF DIRECTORS President: Thomas W. "Tom" Blackburn, P.E., G.E., F. ASCE, F. ACEC (Blackburn Consulting / Auburn, CA), 530/887-1494 President-Elect: Leo J. Titus, Jr. P.E., (ECS, Ltd. / Chantilly, VA), 703/471-8400 Secretary/Treasurer: Christopher Matthew "Matt" Moler, P.E. (S&ME, Inc. / Greensboro, NC), 336/553-1245 Directors: Martin LaRoche, P. Eng, M.Sc. (Kiewit / Montreal, Canada) Guy Marcozzi, P.E., LEED AP BD+C, F. ASCE (Duffield Associates, Inc. / Wilmington, DE) 302/239-6634 Steve Wendland, P.G. Steve Wendland, P.E., R.G., D.GE (GeoEngineers, Inc. / Prairie Village, KS ) 913/475-5851 Teresa L. Peterson, P.E., C.M.E., LEED AP O&M, ENV SP (Gannett Fleming / Harrisburg, PA) 717/763-7211 Bradley M. Melocik, P.E., P.H. (DOWL / Redmond, WA) 800/478-3695 NEWSlog Connect with GBA Recent Issues | Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Web Version   GBA Staff: Joel G. Carson, Executive Director, 301-565-2733 (office) | 402-517-1819 (cell) Sara Menase, Program Manager, 301-565-2733  Phillip D. Pettway, Controller, 301-565-2733  Barb Nappy, Program Director, 301-565-2733 (office) | 727-457-2272 (cell) Geoprofessional Business Association 15800 Crabbs Branch Way, Suite 300  | Rockville, MD 20855 | 301-565-2733 | Contact Us  About GBA The Geoprofessional Business Association (GBA) helps its members and their clients confront risk and optimize business performance by delivering unique professional resources, programs, and services that make them stronger, smarter and more successful. Learn how to add us to your safe-sender list so our e-mails get to your inbox. 7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063