As I reflect on everything that has happened since the pandemic started, I recognize I have primarily been operating in a survival mode. For the past year, most of my personal and work-related decisions have been affiliated with day-to-day tasks and very short-term thinking.  There were months when I essentially stopped planning or working toward any long-term goals. This was because I was discouraged that the moment I thought I had a plan mapped out, the school teaching model would change, and my kids suddenly had two days off to allow time for the teachers to adjust. Or, a new CDC recommendation would come out, and plans to gather with friends or family were canceled. Planning for anything beyond a few days seemed futile, and I lost focus on any long-term goals. 

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On this month’s anniversary of the attack on 9/11, we remember the lives lost on that day and in the subsequent years while addressing the aftermath. We remember the shock and anger we felt when our world changed. We grapple with our role in preventing tragedies like that.

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Having been involved with NCSEA for the past 14 years, I have always admired and respected the leadership and unification that the organization provides to the structural engineering profession.  As a former NCSEA Summit Delegate and President of the Structural Engineers Association of Montana, I quickly started to integrate myself into the NCSEA Summit Committee, and – after a few years – reveled in the new energy and growth the Young Member Group Support Committee and SE3 initiatives infused into the organization. So, in the Fall of 2020, I jumped at the chance to join the NCSEA Board as a Director, soon realizing that I was joining at a promising time in the lifespan of NCSEA, following the establishment of the NCSEA Foundation.  

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CASE, NCSEA, and SEI, the three structural engineering associations that support this magazine, have various shared interests. Perhaps the most important shared interest is the promotion and support of licensure for structural engineers – the S.E. License. A Vision for the Future of Structural Engineering Licensure is a detailed paper outlining this common position. This paper, developed by the Structural Engineering Licensure Coalition, has previously been discussed in these pages and is something practicing structural engineers are encouraged to be familiar with.

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Like many in this COVID moment, I have reflected on life, pre- and post-pandemic. I have come to realize that, were it not for the particularly brutal, televised killing of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement, I would not be the Inaugural Chair of SEI’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. It was a personal and galvanizing call to action born out of my trauma that grew into a need also to be accountable as a professional.

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When I reflect on my experience as an association volunteer, I am honestly surprised that I now serve as NCSEA President. Ten years ago, I was on the Board of Directors for the Structural Engineers Association of Oregon (SEAO). At that time, I was relatively naive about NCSEA. Despite the great work that NCSEA was doing on behalf of the profession, I only knew them as being part of the group that published STRUCTURE magazine. Luckily for me, an amazing structural engineer, the late Sue Frey, intervened a couple of years into my term on the SEAO Board and drastically changed my perception and understanding of NCSEA. I realize now that this simple shift in perception was made possible by my willingness to drink some Kool-Aid.

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For the first time in nearly a year, my firm recently hosted an in-person employee gathering. It was a social event involving masks and social distancing. Everyone was quite happy and maybe a little relieved to be together again. I had the opportunity to talk at length with two recent hires, Shery and Jon. I had met Shery once, at her interview just before closing our physical office last March, and only knew Jon through his remote interview and videoconferences. Both were thrilled to meet their co-workers in person, and they shared their excitement at the prospect of one day soon joining them in an office environment. They were equally anxious to ask a nearby teammate the basic questions every new hire has. My experience at this company outing was the strongest confirmation possible that it was not a question of whether we should ever return to the office, but when and to what extent.

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Wow! COVID-19 and the challenges of 2020 have come out for an encore at the start of 2021. (I am writing this in January for publication in March.) Hopefully, this will be the only encore, and we will soon realize widespread vaccination against COVID-19 for movement toward a new normal for our businesses and livelihoods. …

When I was a kid in the 70s, there was a children’s TV show called Zoom. I wouldn’t say I liked it too much, and it didn’t last too long. It was reintroduced in the 90s and, again, didn’t stick. For understandable reasons, I suppose, this past year has had me thinking about that show and how little I suspected the word zoom would reenter my life in such a big way. A series of new software to install, learn, and make sure they are compatible with my hardware. The need to run many programs (Zoom, Hangout, Teams, Webex, Goto, Bluejeans, Connect) interchangeably depending on hosts. And a series of terms introduced into our vocabulary (zoom fatigue, zoom etiquette, virtual background, etc.). And now common phrases, “Can you see my screen,” “Can you make me the cohost,” and “Can you turn on your cameras so we can see you?” The current question in my mind is, where will this lead us moving forward? …

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) have gained substantial exposure in 2020. Unfortunately, it has taken recent events of racism and abuse of power to bring it to the forefront. I hope the pain and loss associated with these events will not go to waste but will result in positive change. I do not consider myself an expert on DEI and even feel a bit exposed to critique by merely writing this editorial. Still, given my position in my firm and the profession, I feel it is my responsibility to talk about DEI and address it. I believe we all need to consider how we can positively impact DEI as individuals, as firm leaders within our firms, and through our professional organizations. …