RESTON, Va. – Today, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is pleased to announce the newest members of the Committee on America’s Infrastructure (CAI). The CAI is responsible for the development of the ASCE Infrastructure Report Card, which evaluates infrastructure conditions and funding needs in the U.S. across 17 categories of infrastructure, including roads, transit systems, water systems, and the electric grid. The Infrastructure Report Card is released every four years and was last published in 2017. The CAI is currently developing the 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, which will be released in February 2021.
CAI is comprised of 31 civil engineers from across the country, each shouldering decades of experience and expertise across various infrastructure categories. The committee volunteers their time to assess all relevant data and reports and consults with technical and industry experts to assign grades using the following criteria: capacity, condition, funding, future need, operation and maintenance, public safety, resilience and innovation.
“ASCE’s Infrastructure Report Card paints a vivid picture of what is an out-of-sight, out-of-mind, issue for most Americans. We take for granted that drinking water comes out of the tap and the lights turn on when we need them. The Report Card is a valuable tool not only to raise awareness of our nation’s mounting infrastructure deficit but to spur action at all levels of government,” said Kristina Swallow, P.E., ENV SP, 2018 President, American Society of Civil Engineers and CAI Chair. “Thanks to the expertise and volunteer efforts of the Committee’s members, our 2021 Report Card will provide a comprehensive update on our nation’s roads, bridges, stormwater, wastewater and drinking water systems, electric grid and more, in addition to providing tangible solutions for policymakers.”
The new members of the ASCE Committee on America’s Infrastructure are:
Wes Oliphant, P.E., is a Principal and the Chief Technical Officer of Exo Group, LLC, an infrastructure asset inspection and remediation firm near Houston, Texas. In 2010, Wes was the recipient of ASCE/Structural Engineering Institute’s Gene Wilhoite Award for his contributions and body of work related to the design of electric transmission line structures and is currently Chairman of ASCE/SEI’s Committee of Electrical Transmission Structures. Wes will be working on the energy category for the 2021 Report Card.
Lt. Gen. (Ret) Jeffrey W. Talley, Ph.D., P.E., BCEE, D.WRE is an accomplished government, academic and business leader with over 38 years of experience in organizational leadership, global geopolitics, data/analytics and technology, research and development and the environment. Dr. Talley is Vice President, Global Public Sector, IBM. He is also a Professor of Practice at USC with appointments in Policy, Engineering and Business, and lives in Scottsdale, AZ. Jeff will be working on the ports category of the 2021 Report Card.
Dave Swallow, P.E., is Deputy CEO at the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Southern Nevada. He has been with RTC since 2001, previously serving as the agency’s Chief Engineering and Technology Officer. Dave has over 25 years of transportation-related experience. He will be working on the transit category for the 2021 Report Card.
Dave Lawry, P.E., was President of the American Public Works Association (APWA) for 2018‐2019. He is currently the Director of Municipal Operations for Chastain and Associates in Schaumburg, IL. Prior to Chastain, Dave had over 30 years’ experience with local government as a Public Works Director, where he focused on Asset Management and effective maintenance and operation of public infrastructure. He will be working on the bridges and roads categories for the 2021 Report Card.
Del Shannon, P.E., is Senior Vice President at Schnabel Engineering in Boulder, Colorado. He was the recipient of the US Society on Dams (USSD) Award of Excellence in the Constructed project and the Association of State dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) Rehabilitation Project of the Year awards. Del will be working on the dams and levees categories of the 2021 Report Card.
Celine Hyer, P.E., is the Water Conveyance Lead for Arcadis North America and is located in its Tampa Florida office. Celine has 30 years of experience in Engineering with 20 years that are directly related to asset management program implementations. She currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the AWWA Asset Management Committee, the Vice-Chair of the AWWA Water Main Condition Assessment Committee and the Chair of the ASCE Utility Engineering and Survey Institute Asset Management Division. Celine will be working on the drinking water and wastewater categories for the 2021 Report Card.
For more information on the Committee on America’s Infrastructure and for a full list of members, go to asce.org/asce_committees. For media availability and interviews with CAI’s new members, please contact Kevin Longley at [email protected] or (202) 701-8768.
