My name is Anthony Severy and I am this year’s ASCE San Luis Obispo Branch President. I’m a Senior Project Engineer at Cannon in the Public Infrastructure division and have been with Cannon for over 8 years. I’ve had the pleasure of working in almost all divisions while at Cannon; from Surveying, to Instrumentation and Automation design, and Oil Field Design and Onsite Demolition Inspection/Safety.
I grew up in the Central Valley and attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I like to say I was one of the lucky few who was able to stick around after graduating. I’ve always loved the Central Coast, and I feel very fortunate to be able to call this place my home.
I’ve been involved with ASCE for 6 years now. I started out as Assistant Newsletter Editor, then worked my way to Treasurer for 3 years, then President-Elect, and now President. I love being involved in my community and networking with others working in Engineering Industry. In addition to all the benefits ASCE has to offer, ASCE has been a great instrument in helping with the transition from student life to working life.
Outside of work, I enjoy being with my family. I have a 5 year old son named Ethan and an almost 2 year old daughter named Lilly. I also enjoy outdoor activities such as camping, snowboarding, and swimming. Let’s keep our figures crossed for a great snow season this year! I’m also a huge classic/muscle car enthusiast. I have a 1965 Ford Mustang coop that has been my project sense high school. I look forward to someday finishing it.
Cara Martinez, President Elect Cara is a Senior Civil Project Engineer in the Public Infrastructure Division at Cannon. She became involved with ASCE after graduating Cal Poly four years ago to help expand her professional network and keep current with local projects. Starting out as Historian, Cara continues to work her way up the member board ladder and is thrilled to fill the President shoes next year. She values the professional community and all it has to offer and hopes to give back by serving on the Board. Cara has headed the local ASCE student outreach program for the past two years and loves spreading engineering knowledge among today’s youth. She and her husband just welcomed their first child, daughter Remi, 2 months ago. Aside from enjoying motherhood, Cara loves biking, running, and any adventure she can jump on.
Carolyn Berg, Past President Carolyn received a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2008. She has worked for San Luis Obispo County Public Works Department in various positions since 2006. As a Water Resources Staff Engineer, she focuses on long term water resources planning, interagency coordination, and program management. Carolyn has been an active ASCE member since 2003, and has served on the Branch Board in various roles for six years. Her mentor, John Hollenbeck, described the importance of being active in professional organizations (especially ASCE) and encouraged her to become an officer. Carolyn followed his advice, and looking back, can see how pivotal that choice was. She loves ASCE for the connectivity it fosters between members, the opportunities to help change our local and global communities, and the personal and professional growth. Carolyn spends her free time traveling, taking photos/ painting, hiking and volunteering with various education and arts organizations.
Steve is the Director of Water Resources at Wallace Group. Steve has been working in the water resources arena, specializing in water, wastewater and recycled water projects, from planning through design and construction, for 29 years. Steve has a master of science degree in civil engineering from California State University, Long Beach. He moved to the San Luis Obispo area in 2000 and has been employed with Wallace Group for 14 years. In his spare time, Steve enjoys the outdoors and fishing.
Ryan Hayes, Treasurer Ryan is a project engineer for Rick Engineering in San Luis Obispo. He joined ASCE initially after attending periodic lunch meetings and enjoying the opportunity to meet and connect with fellow engineers in a relaxed, only semi-work related environment. After a few years Ryan recognized that he was getting a lot of benefits from ASCE both through the local meetings and the national organization, and figured he could probably spare a few hours a month to help out and have a say on the direction of the group. (And some mild coercion by the incoming President at the time helped as well.) Until the fall of 2010, Ryan spent most of his free time with his wife, Camille, out surfing, backpacking, fly-fishing or running. He now has no need for those activities, as he gets the majority of his exercise when he gets home, attempting to wrangle his three children, all under the age of four.
Diana is a Cal Poly grad, currently working in the Public Works Department for the County of San Luis Obispo. She enjoys being involved with ASCE as a way to connect with the professional engineering community in the area, and joined the Board because her friend (Past President) Carolyn Berg suggested it was a great way to get even more involved (thank you, Carolyn! We are delighted that Diana has joined us!) Diana likes to stay active, participating in races, triathalons, adventure races skydiving, and has even taken a trapeze class!
Ben is a Transportation Engineer at Wallace Group. He enjoys the camaraderie and professional development available through ASCE , ever since he decided to pursue a career as a Civil Engineer in college. – He has participated in other branches of ASCE, and he especially enjoys the tight knit and friendly atmosphere of the SLO branch. Ben has recently relocated with his family to SLO from Boise, ID, and they are enjoying getting to know and appreciate the SLO area. His passions include his Family, Civil Engineering, and Cycling (if you couldn’t tell from the bike helmet in his photo!). Now that he’s in California and has access to a beach, he is also realizing his lifelong dream of learning to surf, and says “It’s tougher to learn than I imagined but am stoked every time I get out into the water!”
Rebekah Oulton, Newsletter Assistant EditorRebekah is a second year Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cal Poly, teaching water resources engineering and water and wastewater treatment. She was a member of ASCE years ago when she worked for Cannon, but she took an extended hiatus while she went to graduate school to earn her PhD. She is excited to be back in SLO and reconnecting with local professionals through ASCE. She appreciates her involvement with ASCE not just so she can keep current in the engineering profession, but also so she can bring interesting project examples and opportunities back to her classroom to share with the next generation of civil and environmental engineers. When she’s not on campus, Rebekah can often be found hanging around local theaters – she does theatrical lighting design in her (limited) free time.
Jazz is a Structural Design Engineer at Cannon and currently the Public Relations Officer for the SLO Branch. He attended Cal Poly for his bachelors and masters in civil engineering with an emphasis on structural engineering. Throughout college he was heavily involved with the student chapter, holding many officer positions (including president). Because of the value he sees in professional development and maintaining a strong professional, and social, network of fellow engineers, he chose to stay involved with ASCE after his fairly recent graduation (June 2013). Jazz loves to remain active in his free time; playing soccer, road and mountain biking, snowboarding and skiing, and traveling are a few of his favorite hobbies. He has traveled to more countries than his current age and doesn't plan on stopping any time soon; feel free to ask him for travel recommendations!
Kyle is a principal engineering designer in the water resources group at Rick Engineering Company where he has been for the last two years. He is involved with a variety of water resources related projects including hydrologic and hydraulic analysis, drainage studies and design, and water quality analysis and design. Kyle enjoys being involved with ASCE because it gives him an opportunity to network with other members of the civil engineering community. In 2011, Kyle founded the SLO YMF group as a way to encourage younger civil engineers in our community to be more involved with ASCE. In his free time, Kyle enjoys running or cycling with his wife, mountain biking, and ultimate Frisbee.
