TZL 1385 (web)

ON THE MOVE WGI HIRES MARCÍA ALVARADO AS TAMPA STRUCTURAL MARKET LEADER National engineering design and professional services firm WGI, Inc. is proud to announce the hire of Marcía Alvarado, P.E. as its new Tampa Structural Market Leader. Headquartered in West Palm Beach, WGI is a nationwide leader in providing sustainable, technology-based solutions for the planning and design of public infrastructure and private land-development projects. Tampa is one of WGI’s most significant locations and a pivot point for both Florida and WGI’s national presence. Marcía will be responsible for all aspects of WGI’s Structural engineering practice in the Tampa Bay region including client interaction, recruiting, and developing team members, while overseeing her department’s production and business operations. She provides a unique skill set including structural engineering utilizing the latest Building InformationModeling (BIM) for coordination as a project manager, along with 16 years of structural engineering experience and project management of new construction and renovation in healthcare, commercial, higher education, multi-story residential, federal, aviation, and parking garages. “I’m proud to joinWGI and apply my experience to its continuing expansion in the Tampa Bay region,” she says. “This is a major step forward for both WGI and me, and I’m excited to start building – both our team and projects.” Marcía is also experienced in restoration construction and forensic engineering investigations; analysis for existing buildings for seismic, wind, and AT/FP blast resistance; and progressive collapse upgrades, including National Technical Reviews for various FEMA

programs. She is licensed as a professional engineer in Florida, New York, and North Carolina. Arnaud Thibonnier, PE, SE and Director, Structures + Parking, says, “Marcía is key to WGI’s significant expansion of our Florida Structural and Parking platform, helping our focus on growth and synergy utilizing her high profile in the Tampa Bay region.” “Marcía’s wide-ranging experience and her activism are a perfect combination for WGI,” adds WGI Vice President/Buildings Shad Shafie. “Her commitment to mentorship, leadership, and inclusion are vital to WGI.” “One of our over-arching objectives is to be a great place to work for our associates,” adds Senior Vice President/Transportation Nancy Clements, PE. “To that end, Marcía will be among a select group of firm leaders who will renew and grow our diversity and inclusion efforts. Her DEI expertise will be a huge asset for WGI, and I’m really looking forward to working alongside her in those efforts.” Marcía is a graduate of Leadership Tampa Bay, and serves as its Diversity and Inclusion Chair for the Board of Directors. She served on the Board of Directors as President/Vice Chair for ACE Mentor Program of Greater Tampa Bay, and has been a part of the program since its inception. She received the University of South Florida (USF) College of Engineering Young Alumnus Award, and named a “Top 40 Under 40” by the Building Design + Construction , a national architecture, engineering, construction (AEC) industry publication, as an emerging design professional. She also created a consultancy geared toward Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consulting in 2020.

Marcía graduated from Florida Institute of Technology with a degree in Civil Engineering while playing collegiate basketball, and then started her career in structural engineering in New York City. She received her master’s degree from the University of South Florida. Marcía is also an advisor with Zweig Group’s ElevateHer program. ElevateHer is amovement and a commitment to Zweig Group’s mission to Elevate the Industry. ElevateHer is about the future of the AEC industry and Zweig Group’s commitment to embrace, promote, and ensuring equal opportunities for everyone in the AEC industry regardless of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. As a multidisciplinary solutions-providing consulting firm, WGI has 18 offices in eight states, serving an active client base in over 30 states, specializing in the following disciplines: geospatial and land surveying, traffic and transportation engineering, mobility planning, land development/municipal engineering, parking solutions, subsurface utility engineering, restoration and structural engineering, landscape architecture, environmental sciences and water resources, architecture, land planning, and MEP engineering. In 2020, ENR ranked WGI No. 187 – up 37 places – on its list of the Top 500 Design Firms, No. 43 on its 2020 Top Southeast Design Firms, and No. 18 in the Florida market. South Florida Business Journal ranked WGI in the top four on its 2020 Top 25 Engineering Firms – for the fourth consecutive year, and No. 59 in its 2020 list of Top 100 Private Companies.

At the end of the day, my job is to polish the story so that my colleagues have a story they’re proud of. One of the most rewarding aspects of my job as marketing manager is the excitement and sense of accomplishment my colleagues feel when their article is published, whether it’s on our blog, in our digital magazine, or in an industry publication. KATIE CRAWFORD is marketing manager at Genesis AEC. She can be reached at kcrawford@genesisaec.com. “Our technical staff wants to include the measurement of every road or pipe included in the project, while the reader wants to know what the social impact of those technical solutions means to them and to their community.”

KATIE CRAWFORD, from page 11

No matter what approach we take, the key is to think beyond the project scope at how the client or even the community will be impacted by the improvements our team is making. Determining the middle ground is often the most difficult part of the process. Our technical staff wants to include the measurement of every road or pipe included in the project, while the reader wants to know what the social impact of those technical solutions means to them and to their community. Once we have that impact nailed down, it’s a matter of providing details to tell the full story that will appeal to a wide audience , while still incorporating the technical detail that sets us apart as experts. Often, as soon as you start including details beyond the scope of the project, the story tells itself. How would the client get buy-in from other stakeholders about this project? Those details are just as important, and especially for clients where you have strong relationships. They will make themselves available and are anxious to be a part of the storytelling.

THE ZWEIG LETTER MARCH 29, 2021, ISSUE 1385

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