Current Members

Mr. Kevin Cheng is a Product Strategist/Product Manager at PlanGrid, Inc., a cloud-based, mobile construction productivity app/software technology company based in San Francisco, CA. He brings to PlanGrid over 13 years of construction knowledge and experience from numerous markets including, Advanced Technology, Biotechnology & Life Sciences, Corporate/Commercial, Manufacturing, Education, Healthcare and Housing/Mixed Use. He also serves as the Practitioner Adviser for UC Berkeley's CEE Honor Society, Chi Epsilon. He is passionate about technology and innovation and is fostering these to bring change in the way we build and manage in construction.

Dr. Rula Deeb is a Senior Principal at Geosyntec Consultants (Oakland, CA). She has over 25 years of experience in private practice and academia addressing the cross-media fate and transport of contaminants and the remediation of complex soil and groundwater sites. She served as a member of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board Environmental Engineering Committee between 2016 and 2019. She is the recipient of the 2008 Berkeley Engineering Innovation Young Outstanding Leader Award, the 2010 Industry Recognition Award for outstanding contribution as a member of the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council’s Remediation Risk Management team, and the 2019 Association for Women Geoscientists President’s Award. Rula received her doctorate in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley and was recently inducted into Berkeley’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni in 2019.

Mr. Disney is the founder and CEO of Disney Construction Inc., an Engineering Construction firm primarily focused on complex heavy civil construction projects which require a higher level of creativity, engineering and insight. Our construction strategy is designed around teaming up early with each project's Owner, creating a collaborative environment that fosters creative and efficient solutions to every aspect of the construction process. Disney Construction has received numerous awards recently including APWA’s Contractor of the Year 2014, AGC Build Award 2015, and Caltrans Excellence in Partnering 2016.

Since 1992, Mr. Eliahu has led ENGEO to become a preeminent provider of geotechnical and environmental engineering in California and New Zealand. He provides expertise for complex projects and has won multiple awards, including the ASCE SF Chapter’s Engineer of the Year Award in the Private Sector in 2009. He is a Founding Director and current President of the California Association of Geologic Hazard Abatement Districts (GHAD).

Mr. Friedman is the immediate past President and CEO of Forell/Elsesser Engineers, and current Board chair. He has served as Project Principal on a variety of new design and retrofit projects including community and civic facilities, university complexes, research laboratories, and transportation facilities. Currently, he serves as the lead engineer on the seismic retrofit of California Memorial Stadium. He also serves as a trustee of the UC Berkeley Foundation.

Ellen Greenberg leads Caltrans' work in advancing zero emission vehicles, reducing vehicle miles traveled, and progressing toward transportation equity. She has over 30 years’ experience working with cities, transportation agencies and non-governmental organizations to guide transportation, development, and conservation decisions. Prior to joining Caltrans, Ellen was a Principal at Arup, working in SF and London on major urban planning and infrastructure projects. Ellen is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Ms. Labonte is a Senior Vice President at HDR, an employee-owned engineering and architecture firm with 200 offices around the globe. During her career, she has led the implementation of water infrastructure programs valued at more than $20 billion, including some of the largest and most complex programs in North America. In 2013, the American Society of Civil Engineers recognized Julie with the Government Engineer of the Year in the U.S. Award. She is a past national board member of the Construction Management Association of America. As part of Water For People, she has led multiple teams of technical volunteers in Africa.

Ms. Leal focuses on the delivery of potable water and treatment of wastewater as challenged by climate change and the increasing population. She has served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, served as Treasurer of the City and County of San Francisco, and was the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. She is co-author of Running out of Water: The Looming Crisis and Solutions to Conserve Our Most Precious Resource.

Ms. Maclise has worked on new construction projects and retrofits that include multi-family housing, laboratories, and athletic facilities. Possessing exceptional knowledge and passion on the subject of sustainable design, she has lectured and written numerous papers about the structural engineer’s role in sustainable design. She was recently named an EERI Housner Fellow. While a student at Berkeley, she competed at the varsity level in Track & Field, NCAA Division 1.

Ms. Maffei is the Chief Mitigation Officer of the California Earthquake Authority. She has worked in the earthquake engineering industry for over 30 years, both in the design of new structures and in the seismic strengthening of existing structures. Ms. Maffei is past-president of the Northern California Chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, EERI. She also serves on the Board of Directors of EERI National.

Mr. Malley has over 30 years of experience in the seismic design, evaluation and rehabilitation of building structures, and is involved in the peer review of numerous tall building projects. He was responsible for the analytical and testing investigations performed as part of the SAC Steel Project in response to the Northridge earthquake damage.

Dr. Nader is a Vice President at TY Lin International and is their Bridge Technical Director. With over 25 years of experience in long span bridge design, he the Project Manager for the SF Oakland Bay Bridge Self Anchored Suspension Bridge. He serves as chair of the Cable Supported Bridges ASCE Committee and is a member of the TRB Steel Bridge Committee. Dr. Nader is the 2004 recipient of the Arthur M. Wellington ASCE award.

Bio to be added soon.