M/E Insider: Recent New Hires and Promotions – 2007-01-25

By Consulting Specifying Engineer Staff January 25, 2007

Syska Hennessy Group , Los Angeles, named Ann Banning-Wright, LEED AP , managing director of its Los Angeles office. In her new position, she will oversee more than 160 employees. Banning-Wright also serves as the firm’s chief strategy officer, and serves as a member of Syska Hennessy’s Management Advisory Council. The firm also announced the formation of a Green Critical Facilities Committee . The committee plans to incorporate sustainability and environmental awareness within data centers without sacrificing reliability. Members include : Cyrus Izzo, P.E., SVP and director of the National Critical Facilities Group; Terry Rodgers, CPE, ASHRAE TC9.9 , committee chair of the National Commissioning Group; David Callan, P.E., LEED AP , vice president of Sustainable Design and High Performance Building Technology Group; Christopher Johnston, P.E. , vice president and Syska chief engineer for critical facilities; Steve Escalante, P.E., critical facilities, west; Jeffery Kirchner, P.E. , technology design group; Patricia Pearson , critical facilities, southeast; Carlos Petty, P.E. , critical facilities, northeast; Vali Sorell, P.E., ASHRAE TC9.9 , critical facilities, southeast; Whitney Stone, P.E., LEED AP , critical facilities, west; Carol Walker , corporate strategic planning, marketing and communications.

The city of Santa Clarita Transit Maintenance Facility , designed by St. Louis-based HOK , has been certified LEED Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council. This facility is one of the first LEED straw-bale buildings in the world. The straw bales have a lime plaster layer on both the interior and exterior, which offers an efficient, insulated building perimeter to complement the large day-night temperature swings of the surrounding desert climate. The building includes a 22,000 sq. ft. administration building, 25,000 sq. ft. maintenance building, bus wash facility, compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling island for city buses, and publicly accessible CNG fueling station. The $20 million project accommodates more than 150 buses and nearly 160 employees, with room for expansion.

Richard D. Kimball (RDK) , Andover, Mass., added four senior staff members to its firm. Agustin Feliciano has been named senior plumbing/fire protection engineer at the New Brunswick, N.J., office. Feliciano has 18 years of experience in designing and drafting plumbing and fire suppressions systems for educational, institutional and business facilities. Alzal (Zal) Heusen has been appointed senior mechanical engineer at the Andover facility. Heusen has more than 35 years of experience in design and supervision of mechanical, fire protection and plumbing systems. The firm appointed Thomas Watson as a plumbing engineer, also in the Andover office. Watson has 10 years of experience in the field. In the Boston office , Robert Reale has been named project manager and senior electrical engineer. He has 30 years of experience.

Andre M. Santiago, P.E. , joined Greenman-Pedersen Inc., Babylon, N.Y., as an electric engineer. Santiago has more than 15 years of experience in the industry.

HDR , Omaha, Neb., acquired Daniel Frankfurt PC , an architecture-engineering firm based in New York City with offices in Hartford, Conn., and Newark, N.J. Daniel Frankfurt employs 135 people. The new corporate structure calls for senior vice president Neil Lucey , former Daniel Frankfurt president, to manage the metro area transportation practice.