Dear Members,

We often use this line as an icebreaker at SEAOSC leadership meetings, "What was your introduction to SEAOSC - why did you first join?" For me, the answer is technical expertise. As an emerging engineer working for a small design firm, I found SEAOSC to be the place where I could find the technical knowledge that was "of the moment" and that I could not get anywhere else. I would drive down from San Luis Obispo early on a Saturday morning to attend a full-day technical seminar at the Long Beach Grand Event Center. I would often run into fellow alumni from my college program, meet welcoming and experienced engineers (including the speakers), and listen to some old-timers question the state of structural engineering. I would leave with a head full of new knowledge, new networking relationships, and a sense of my own expertise enhanced with the day of learning.

In that sense, SEAOSC has maintained its technical excellence over the years. We are still providing the excellent training of our current and emerging professionals, leaving attendees with heads full of knowledge and expertise, and still being a welcoming place for networking with the leaders in our field. We held our first technical dinner meeting in many years last month, and we will round out the year with two more opportunities for highly technical presentations. I hope you will join us at the Orange County breakfast on November 13th and at the half-day Winter Technical Program on December 11th on the campus of Cal State LA. Both events will leave you filled with knowledge, enhanced in your expertise, networked with new professional connections, and inspired by your day of learning.

Garrett W. Mills, S.E.
SEAOSC President 2024-25

Dear Members,

Fall is fully here! This is my favorite season of the year as for me it brings a big reset to regularity in my life. School started back up and my home schedule is in the regular rhythms and routines of my kids' school and after school activities. The work week finds my coworkers and me more regularly in the office. Weekends are spent mostly at home working on the house and following football (and fantasy football) instead of traveling.

Fall is also the kickoff of so many of our SEAOSC activities. Committees are reshaped and reformed with new members, with new charges and goals, and with attending our annual Committee Showcase event just last week. Our student groups start their academic year with new officers, new members added to our roles, and with new opportunities for SEAOSC to stay connected with our campuses. This year, fall brings back the fondly remembered in-person dinner meetings that we hosted regularly pre-pandemic. That's right - dinner meetings ARE BACK and you really should sign up right now for October 9th in downtown LA.

As you settle into the regular rhythms and routines of this fall season, I hope to see you connecting with SEAOSC regularly and routinely!

Garrett W. Mills, S.E.

SEAOSC President 2024-25

Recent increases in seismic activity in Southern California remind us all of the importance of earthquake readiness and preparation. As professionals dedicated to safeguarding our communities, it’s crucial for structural engineers to be prepared to respond to our families and communities in the next large event. Here are some key steps to ensure we’re ready to respond:

• Get certified: Consider enrolling as a Cal OES SAP evaluator or renewing your status if expired. Ensure you have obtained your digital SAP ID via the VEOCI program. SEAOSC will be hosting a SAP evaluator training in October.
• Educate clients: Remind your clients about the vulnerable building types they may own or work on. Offer informational resources on retrofit opportunities and ordinance measures, such as our SEAOSC Safety Fact Sheet and SEAOC Seismically Vulnerable Building Fact Sheet.
• Review emergency plans: Review and re-familiarize yourself with your firm’s emergency response plan. If your firm does not have an emergency response plan, now is the time to put one together.
• Promote preparedness: Join the upcoming Great ShakeOut earthquake drills on Oct 17 and encourage your network to participate.
• Engage with SEAOSC: SEAOSC has a variety of committees that offer further opportunities to get involved and support your community. View the list and how to join at seaosc.org/Committees. Not sure which is best for your interest, email us, and we’ll find the right one: seaosc@seaosc.org
• Sign up for alerts: Sign up for an Earthquake Early Warning alert system, provided through various sources. Here is one resource that is being used by some of our members: myshake.berkeley.edu

Let’s stay vigilant and prepared to protect our families and communities.

Dear Members,

This week, our members head to Portland to attend the annual SEAOC Convention; the place for networking, development, and technical knowledge opportunities all condensed into a few days. I think back to the very first convention I attended back in 2010 in Indian Wells, which I attended from a generous younger member grant provided by Nabih Youssef. I left that week amazed at having connected with many other structural engineers from around the state - firm leaders, mid-career engineers, and young members alike - I had found my people in the conversations I had that week. I was also impressed by the technical seminars and the access I had to learn about current studies within the forefront of structural engineering. This week, SEAOC continues to carry the charge to provide grants to young engineers in our profession through the Pathways program and now I get to be a Pathways Partner and see the development of our younger members from that lens. If you are attending this week’s convention, I look forward to connecting with you in person.

Convention, however, is not the only place to have these networking and technical knowledge experiences and we at SEAOSC are working to provide several such opportunities this year. Two upcoming events are worthy of a special note this month. September 25th will be our Committee Showcase event where you can connect with committee chairs and hear their pitch for the work they plan on doing this year. And October 9th brings an in-person dinner meeting where we will hear about the changes in ASCE-22 to geotechnical provisions that will affect our structural design. Both of these events are opportunities to connect with other engineers - to find your people - and I hope to see you there.

Garrett W. Mills, S.E.
SEAOSC President 2024-25

For several years now, SEAOSC has been working on our public messaging following hazard events – an effort that has been picked up by our state partners at SEAOC and our national partners at NCSEA for larger events – but that remains local for smaller events. Yesterday’s 4.4 magnitude earthquake falls below the threshold for triggering our messaging, however, the epicenter being very close to downtown Los Angeles deserved a response. Many of us members and certainly many Angelenos felt the shaking and we thought about how our buildings responded and how they would respond in a much bigger earthquake. SEAOSC issued a statement to local media outlets directing the public to contact their local structural engineer for building evaluations and damage assessments using the Find an Engineer page on our website and directing the media to contact one of our named media relations members for interviews. If you as a member find yourself receiving inquiries from the media for a response from a structural engineer, we would encourage you to send them our way by contacting mediarelations@seaosc.org.

Dear Members,

The new SEAOSC year is now officially in full swing.

This past week launched our new SEAOSC year with two big events. The first was a kickoff retreat with our new Board of Directors and committee chairs - where a room full of our dedicated volunteer leaders spent the day celebrating the work that we have done together the past several years and exchanging ideas about the work ahead of us. The second was our golf tournament on August 5th - the first member event of the new SEAOSC year. Both events were a tremendous success.

SEAOSC’s committees remain the most vital part of the association. As we look forward to the restart of the academic school year, we also restart our committee goals and rosters for the year.

Just like the member that played their first round of golf at the SEAOSC tournament, we as association leaders want to help break down the intimidation barrier that may prevent someone from joining a committee. To that end, committee meetings are open to anyone to attend as an observer and I encourage you to consider which committee would be of particular interest to you. I personally was much further in my career and involvement at SEAOSC before I realized that I could enrich my experience by taking part in committee work. Even as a young engineer, I had plenty to add and I would have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge from just being in the room. I hope you will take a moment and review https://seaosc.org/Committee-Pages and find the committee that most interests you - you definitely belong and have plenty to add!

Garrett W. Mills, S.E.
SEAOSC President 2024-25

Dear Members,

It is the 30th anniversary of the Northridge earthquake and 2025 will bring the 100 year anniversary of the Santa Barbara earthquake. These anniversaries give us unique opportunities to promote structural engineering in our communities.

Our safer cities initiatives are up and running. This year we will continue the work of advocating for sensible legislation with our policy-making partners. We expect to partner with two or three more cities this year that will be enacting retrofit ordinances.

We also look to bolster our relationships with our partners in academia, both faculty and students, as we in Southern California drive research that has local, state, national, and global impacts.

We have a full calendar of events through the rest of the year, and you can mark your calendars now for the 2nd Wednesday of each month to attend a SEAOSC event.

Our regular slate of events over the course of the year includes the Golf Tournament, the SEAOC convention in Portland, our Committee Showcase, Gingerbread Challenge, Trivia Night, Emerging Engineers Night, SEE Awards, and June Technical Summit.

The upcoming year also brings back the in-person Career Fair, the Leadership Symposium, in-person dinners and a winter technical day.   In addition, Structured Connections events throughout the year are being reimagined as partnership events with industry partners like AIA and ICC as we continue to strengthen those relationships.

I am grateful for your involvement in the Association, in your committee work, in attending and planning events, in being mentors and advocates for our emerging professionals, and in promoting and elevating the profile of our distinguished profession. You are truly inspiring, and I look forward to serving you as your President.

Garrett W. Mills, S.E.
SEAOSC President 2024-25

Join us for an inspiring webinar series, "Structural Engineer Spotlight Series: Something from Nothing" featuring the incredible journeys of members from the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California (SEAOSC). This series is created by the esteemed filmmaker Dilip Khatri and showcases the personal and professional stories of SEAOSC members as they navigate their paths from humble beginnings to becoming influential figures in the field of structural engineering.

This series dives deep into the lives of structural engineers who have overcome various challenges to achieve remarkable success. Each episode highlights a different member, exploring their unique backgrounds, career milestones, and the pivotal moments that defined their journeys. These stories not only celebrate their achievements but also offer valuable insights and inspiration to aspiring engineers and seasoned professionals alike.

Episode #1 July 19th at 12:00 CST : Tells the story of Lorena Arce, and her journey, struggles and steps to becoming the engineer she is today followed by a live Q&A session with Lorena. Register here.

Episode #2 August 16th at 12:00 CST : Tells the story of Adena Geiger and her journey from Iran, through a rigorous education process to a graduate with her Masters in Civil Engineering. This will be followed by a live Q&A session with Adena. Register here.

Episode #3 September 20th at 12:00 CST: Tells the story of Daryl Frigillana and his journey towards becoming a structural engineer followed by a live Q&A session with Daryl. Register here.

Thank you to Dilip Khatri for producing and creating this film series.

This event has been brought to you by the NCSEA Foundation. Donate to the Foundation.

This June, SEAOSC hosted its annual Safer Cities Breakfast where building officials and city leaders from across Southern California joined SEAOSC leadership to discuss how they can work together to make buildings safer and more resilient.

Attendees discussed soft story retrofitting strategies and the main challenge they’re running into to get these programs adopted and in place. Many cities discovered that they’re facing the same challenge: educating their local communities (and leaders) about the need to invest in long-term safety for older buildings. As a result, SEAOSC is now developing communication materials for local governments and communities to raise awareness and spur action.

As it continues to work with local leaders to make Southern Californian cities safer, SEAOSC plans to engage on additional issues like reoccupation strategies post-earthquake as well as other emerging issues where SEAOSC’s collective expertise can advance these critical priorities.

SEAOSC is delighted to announce that Traci Wong, PE, Principal at Miyamoto, will join the SEAOSC board for the 2024-26 term. Traci’s extensive experience and passion for structural engineering make her an invaluable addition to the board, and we look forward to her contributions in the coming years.

Traci’s relationship with SEAOSC began over 25 years ago when she joined the student chapter at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). Her decision to join was inspired by the collaboration and fellowship she observed among structural engineering professionals at various stages of their careers. Traci reflects, "I’ve stayed a member because I’ve been enriched by many of my colleagues who have become friends, resources, teachers, advocates, and industry leaders. I believe that when we elevate and support each other, we strengthen and evolve our profession. I will continue as a member in hopes that I can give back the support and integrity I was lucky enough to experience and grow from."

Traci’s path into the structural engineering industry was ultimately motivated by the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. She recalls, "My school bus stop on Olympic and Barrington in West Los Angeles was directly in front of the 6-story L- L-shaped concrete frame Barrington Building. Before it was quickly demolished, I spent some time looking at the collapsed 2nd story, the prominent X-cracks in the columns, and the crushed corner columns and exposed rebar. The building was not much older than me and I was fascinated by the “why” and how a newer building could sustain that extent of damage. My friend’s house slid off the foundation and another’s apartment was unsafe to return to. I witnessed the impact of the devastation and wanted to be part of a solution, so I chose structural engineering as a major and never looked back."

As Traci steps into her role as a SEAOSC board member, her drive to contribute to safer, more resilient buildings and communities will undoubtedly enrich SEAOSC and the broader structural engineering community. We are excited to welcome her and we look forward to the positive impact she will make during her term.