Little Known Fact:

I am a fifth generation San Franciscan, born at Mt. Zion hospital here in the City. My Grandma’s grandparents (on my Mom’s side) moved to San Francisco back in the 1880s from Scotland and Ireland. My family tracks back to France, Italy, Switzerland, England, among others, making me quite a mutt. I tell people when asked of my lineage that I am a pure-bred San Franciscan. My kids cannot claim to be sixth generation since they were born in Marin County, but pretty close!

Client or Design Philosophy:

Every project has many solutions; it is up to us to figure out the right one for everybody involved.

Virtues:

My infinite patience to go along with a mellow demeanor.

Vices:

Let’s see….sports, burritos, coffee, um, distractions…what was I writing about again?

Favorite Project Story:

It was almost Christmas and most of the office was on vacation. We got a call from a client that their rooftop transformer blew up and was in flames. I rushed out there only to find the entire downtown high-rise building was out of power. I guess I should have expected it since they said their transformer blew up! I had to walk up flight after flight of a pitch black stairwell with a weak little flashlight. When I finally got to the roof, I found the mechanical penthouse blackened and still smoking with firefighters keeping a close eye on any hot spots. The roof decking was melted and burned through and several steel beams were twisted like noodles. I had to perform a “crime scene investigation” to determine the extent of the damage. We had to later supervise a crane lift of a replacement transformer to the top of the building. Even the crane placement was a challenge as the BART tunnel ran right below the road in front of the building. It goes to show that you never know what you are going to work on next. A few months later at the same building, a drunk driver careened out of control and smashed into one of the exterior columns, shattering the architectural cladding surrounding it. Yes, we had to fix that too.

Special Interests:

Enjoying my vices (see above), spending time with my son and daughter Jordan and Lily, swimming, surfing, snowboarding, disc golf and regular golf, reading, commuting (yes, the bus is one of the more relaxing parts of my day). I also am avidly involved with the ACE mentor program to teach high school students about structural engineering, hopefully inspiring a few of them to pursue careers in the field.