TZL 1394 (web)

ON THE MOVE DEWBERRY ANNOUNCES PROMOTIONS IN FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA Dewberry , a privately held professional services firm, has announced the promotion of nearly 50 employees nationwide, including 15 in the firm’s headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia. The promotions coincide with Dewberry’s ongoing expansion of engineering, architectural, and consulting services in the D.C. metropolitan region, where the firm has practiced since 1956. These promotions include: ❚ ❚ Chris dePascale, PE, Jean Huang, PE, CFM, ENV SP, Stephen Kalaf, PMP, CFM, and Mathew Mampara, PE have been promoted to vice president. dePascale is a client manager for the mid-Atlantic site/ civil group. He earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Connecticut (1996). dePascale is a licensed professional engineer in Connecticut, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, and is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Huang is the program management director for the resilience solutions group. She earned both her bachelor’s (1998) and master’s (2002) degrees in civil engineering from Virginia Tech. Huang is a member of Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM), New York State Floodplain and Stormwater Managers Association, and the Project Management Institute (PMI). She is a licensed professional engineer in Maryland, New York, and Virginia. Huang

is also a certified floodplain manager and project management professional. Kalaf is the executive director of quality assurance leading the firm’s quality program and is a senior project manager in the resilience solutions group. He received his bachelor’s degree in geography from Frostburg State University (1978) and is a member of the American Society for Quality, PMI, and ASFPM. Kalaf is also a certified floodplain manager and project management professional. Mampara is the director of innovation for the resilience solutions group. He earned his master’s degree in water resources engineering from the State University of New York (2002) and his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Cornell University (1996). He is a licensed professional engineer in Maryland and is a member of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) and ASCE. ❚ ❚ Jean O’Toole, AIA, PMP, LEED AP BD+C, NCARB, has been promoted to principal. She is a business unit manager for a team of civic, federal, healthcare, and justice architects. O’Toole earned her Bachelor of Science in architecture (1990) and Bachelor of Architecture (1991) from the Catholic University of America and is a registered architect in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and New York. She is a member of the American Institute of Architects and PMI.

❚ ❚ Siamak Esfandiary, Ph.D., PE, and Robert Snow, PE, PMP, have been promoted to associate vice president. Esfandiary is a program manager in the resilience solutions group. He obtained his doctorate (2001) and his master’s degree in civil engineering (1997) from the City University of New York. Esfandiary earned his bachelor’s degree in irrigation engineering from the Isfahan University of Technology (1996) and is a member of the American Water Resources Association, Society of Risk Analysis, and ASFPM. Snow is a senior project manager in the federal group. He earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from University of Florida (2000), and is a licensed professional engineer in Virginia, as well as a licensed project management professional. Snow is a member of PMI and SAME. Dewberry is a leading, market-facing firm with a proven history of providing professional services to a wide variety of public- and private-sector clients. Recognized for combining unsurpassed commitment to client service with deep subject matter expertise, Dewberry is dedicated to solving clients’ most complex challenges and transforming their communities. Established in 1956, Dewberry is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, with more than 50 locations and more than 2,000 professionals nationwide.

SHIBANI BISSON, from page 9

of STEM to girls and women. One other finding from our research was that if women persisted in STEM at the same rate as men starting in Calculus I, the number of women entering the STEM workforce would increase by 75 percent. To provide the most impact, we needed to start changing that visual with school aged girls and boys. Our message was, “We need to see it to be it!” We developed two campaign messages, #SheBelongsHere and #GirlsCanBuildTheWorld, that illustrate to girls that someone who looks just like them belongs in AEC careers to help shift the narrative. The materials created included two YouTube videos and educational materials for students. Although there is still a lot of work to do, it feels good to take action and to support women within the AEC industry and our future female engineers. The ElevateHer experience was and continues to empower me and was the highlight of my 2020! I’m thankful that WSB was supportive of my involvement with ElevateHer and of this initiative. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion at WSB is something I’m proud to be part of. SHIBANI BISSON is a senior project manager with WSB. She has more than 20 years of experience as a municipal engineer for several communities. Contact her at sbisson@wsbeng.com . Editor’s note: This article was originally published on WSB’s website .

or clients make us feel that way, but it’s the unconscious bias and expectations of the traditional female role. These biases and stereotypes are improving, and we are making progress with diversity initiatives in the industry, but the statistics of the number of women entering the AEC industry is still not improving and we wanted to better understand why. “There is a leaky pipeline in the industry where girls interested in STEM are passively falling out of STEM because of biases and self-image ... We knew this was a narrative that needed to change and there were actions we could take to help open the world of STEM to girls and women.” From our research, there is a leaky pipeline in the industry where girls interested in STEM are passively falling out of STEM because of biases and self-image. Confidence levels in girls typically start dropping at the fourth grade level. We knew this was a narrative that needed to change and there were actions we could take to help open the world

THE ZWEIG LETTER MAY 31, 2021, ISSUE 1394

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