Engineers Nominated by the American Society of Civil Engineers

Avery Bang

Avery Bang worked with Engineers Without Borders Founder and National Academy of Engineering member, Bernard Amadei, while completing a master’s degree at The University of Colorado. Following graduation, Avery was hired by Bridges to Prosperity (B2P), an international non-profit organization that builds cable-stayed pedestrian bridges around the developing world. With design, program development and construction experience in nearly a dozen countries, Avery has contributed to the significant growth of the operation since being brought on staff and currently is serving as the Executive Director of the organization.

Avery is also the Founder of the B2P University Program, providing design-build opportunities and support to engineering students who select to work on bridge projects as augmented capstone course projects. She co-authored an American Society of Engineering Education conference paper on the educational benefits of the program, proving alignment with ABET accreditation standards. Avery also works with industry partners, providing similar experiences for professionals and hopes to inspire the next generation of socially conscientious engineers.

avery@bridgestoprosperity.org

Monica Louie

Monica Louie is a full time track engineer for Parsons Brinckerhoff while also pursuing a masters in Water Resources and volunteering her remaining free time to provide engineering services for developing communities. She is the current secretary and a strong advocate for the Engineers Without Borders New York Professional Chapter. She has been actively working to make the organization even more successful. She most recently went to Balang, Cambodia to work on a Water Dam Project that is now providing water for irrigation for over 9,000 residents. She presented this past September on the technology utilized on the project at the Science, Technology, and Innovation Forum held during the UN General Assembly as well as a Water Resources conference in Chennai, India in 2010. Since the completion of the project, she has become involved on the design and construction of a Health Center in Matunda, Kenya that aims to provide clean water to the community’s only health provider in the region.

MLOUIE623@GMAIL.COM

Jami Bjornstad, E.I.T.

Jami Bjornstad, E.I.T., and LEED AP, joined the Port Authority of NY & NJ in 2007 as a Materials Engineer. Jami is currently working at the World Trade Center site, where she is involved in the testing and inspecting of construction materials, and helps develop drawings and specifications for new site projects. Outside of work, Jami is an active member of Engineers Without Borders and a strong advocate of sustainable engineering. In 2007, Jami helped design a pedestrian bridge to resolve accessibility issues for a small village in El Salvador. Currently, Jami is part of EWB Northern New Jersey Professional Chapter, working to provide the Kenyan village, Kipingi, with clean and accessible drinking water.

jbjornstad@panynj.gov

Lee von Gynz-Guethle, P.E.

As a member of ASCE, Lee von Gynz-Guethle, P.E., worked on the Illinois Dams Infrastructure Report Card, assessing the condition of Illinois’ dams and safety program and was active in his student chapter, serving several positions. He currently works with Engineers Without Borders to determine the causes of flooding in a Guatemalan town of 17,000 people, and is often tasked with presenting at floodplain management conferences on topics related to understanding and managing floods.Lee received two Department of the Army awards for his work assessing flooding from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. In Illinois, he has assisted in developing safety plans for run-of-river dams, which claim lives annually, and has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop flood models of downtown Chicago. Currently, he is working in California to understand how flooding may occur behind levees in the Sacramento Valley.

lee.vongynzguethle@aecom.com

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