Bio

With over 22 years of experience, I have expertise in cold-formed steel design, coordination, manufacturing, pre-fabrication, and installation. I also have extensive experience with exterior building envelopes and building fire/acoustic requirements. My passion is ensuring that the cold-formed steel framing on a building not only meets the applicable building code and architectural requirements but is also easy to manufacture and install. During my five-years at a start-up cold-formed steel pre-fabrication company, I led the structural engineering group, developed a QA/QC process acceptable to OSHPD, and obtained IAPMO product certification for the framing members, sheathed panels, and pre-finished exterior panels. In addition, I handled most of the building architectural responsibilities, including fire/sound ratings, construction type implications, and coordination with the project architect. I was also involved in developing pre-finished exterior panels, including EIFS and rain screen systems. A registered civil and structural engineer in California, my experience covers the design, management, and construction administration of over 250 projects. These projects have been of varying sizes, from minor tenant improvements to 990,000 square foot hospitals and a dorm project that included nine multi-story CFS load-bearing buildings totaling 800,000-sq-ft. Working on projects across the United States, I have experience with design-build, design-bid-build, and design-assist projects. In addition to cold-formed steel design, I also have experience designing and detailing other materials, including concrete, steel, masonry, and wood. I thrive on challenging projects and have successfully overseen many projects through the rigorous DSA and OSHPD approval process. I am a mom to two children and strongly feel that being a mom has made me a better engineer. Being a mom has given me more opportunities to participate in one of my favorite activities, exposing school-aged girls and boys to the field of structural engineering using hand-built models, toys, and interactive activities. In addition to presenting to kids, I have presented to engineers, contractors, architects, and owners on various topics, including cold-formed steel design, effective use of drift joints, exterior façade coordination, pre-fabrication, and architectural building requirements relevant to cold-formed steel buildings.