UCA of SME Executive Committee

8389 Pointe Dr.
Park City, UT 84098-4633
(385) 234-1474
mike.rispin@dynonobel.com

Resume of Mike Rispin
Mike Rispin has been involved in the tunneling industry for 33 years. He is an experienced senior executive, a great manager of people, an industry diplomat with a bias for action and decision making, and a wonderful advocate of safety for all involved in our industry. He currently serves as Senior Vice President, Market Operations for the Normet Group where he has had held several senior positions since 2009. Some of his previous positions include serving as the Head of Mining for UGC International in Zurich, Switzerland; Divisional Manager, Canadian Division, Admixtures; and as a Mining Manager for master Builders, Inc. He has a Bachelor of Engineering, Mining from the McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He has recently completed two terms as a member of the UCA Executive Committee and was very active during the planning and execution of WTC 2016 in San Francisco. Besides the UCA of SME, he is a member of PEO, ASA, CIM, ASCE and ISEE.

Moonin Associates
8405 Starstruck Ave
Las Vegas NV 89143-1393
(702) 822-3342 (home)
erikamoonin@gmail.com

Resume of Erika Moonin
Ms. Erika P. Moonin, P.E., D.WRE, is a licensed professional engineer in the states of Nevada and California. She graduated from the University of Nevada – Las Vegas in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. After graduating, Erika started her career working for an engineering consulting firm has gained more than 20 years of experience for the Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD) /Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA).

Ms. Moonin served as the Engineering Project Manager for the SNWA’s Lake Mead Intake No. 3 program totaling $1.4 Billion. The new intake system will ensure a safe and reliable water supply for the greater Las Vegas community under severe drought conditions. She was responsible for leading an integrated team of professionals and for managing the planning, procurement, design, and construction of the Lake Mead Intake No. 3 contracts. The contracts involved complex underground construction, heavy civil construction, alternative delivery methods, and custom high capacity deep set submersible pumps. Currently she is the owner/principal for Moonin Associates.

12999 E Adam Aircraft Cir
Englewood, CO 80112-4167
(303) 948-4210
kanagy@smenet.org

Resume of Dave Kanagy
Since joining SME in 2004, Kanagy has been largely responsible for the Society’s success. Focusing on growth, innovation and opportunity, SME has become the world’s largest mining related organization. He is the recipient of two prestigious awards including the Colorado Society of Association Executives’ Professional of the Year award and the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America’s Gold Medal award. He has a B.S. degree in industrial education from the University of Maryland, a M.S. degree in technology education from Eastern Illinois University and is a certified association executive by the American Society of Association Executives.

406R Lakeview Ave
Edgewater, MD 21037-4829
syanagisawa@laneconstruct.com

Resume of Shane Yanagisawa
Shane Yanagisawa graduated from Rice University in 1979 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and then went to work for a structural consulting engineer in Houston. Upon obtaining his Professional Engineers license in Texas, he went to the University of Texas at Austin and graduated in 1986 with a Masters of Engineering in Construction Management. He started in the tunneling business in 1988 and has always worked for tunnel contractors as an engineer or manager.

He's written for numerous publications on the practical aspects oftunnel construction. He was the primary author on the chapter on tunnel concrete in the book Concrete for Underground Structures edited by Robert Goodfellow. He's also written on the subjects of tunnel ventilation and conveyor belts. During the last NAT in Washington D.C. he presented at the seminar on tunnel linings and hosted a tour to the factory that was making segments for the Northeast Boundary Tunnel. He has worked for Losinger/Ebasco, S.A. Healy, Frontier-Kemper, Kiewit, and now Lane.

400 N 34th St Ste 100
Seattle, WA 98103-8636
(206) 695-6794
rar@shanwil.com

Resume of Robert Robinson
Robert “Red” Robinson has over 40 years of experience on geotechnical assessments and design for over 400 tunnels throughout Central and North America. He has participated in the design and construction of a wide variety of tunnels constructed in soil and rock and ranging from 3-ft diameter directionally drilled utility lines to the world’s largest diameter soft ground tunnel at 83-foot O.D. for Interstate 90 in Seattle. He has published over 60 technical papers on various aspects of design and construction for tunneling and has been active on several U.S. and international tunneling committees, including RETC, UCA, AEG, and ITA. Currently Red is involved with a variety of transportation and utility tunnels including: the 58-ft excavated diameter Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel in Seattle, Regional Connector and Westside Corridor Tranist in Los Angeles, and the Lower and Middle River Des Peres CSO Project in St. Louis.

18013 Cleveland Pkwy Dr Ste 200
Cleveland, OH 44135-3235
(216) 406-3053 (mobile)
(216) 535-3652 (WORK)
michael.vitale@mottmac.com

Resume of Michael Vitale
As Senior Vice President and North American Tunnel Practice Leader for Mott MacDonald, Mr. Vitale has extensive, diversified experience in underground design and construction for water/wastewater and transportation projects. His areas of expertise encompass geotechnical engineering, rock engineering, conventional tunnels and lining systems, EPBM tunnels, segmental linings, microtunnels, and underground structures, shafts, and braced excavations. He has served as Design Manager for some of the largest CSO projects in the United States and Overseas, several of which have won national and international awards. Mr. Vitale has designed tunnels in all types of soil and rock around the world from extremely soft, sensitive clays to the hardest basalts. He is active nationally on many boards, technical committees, and organizations and was one of the primary authors of the ASCE Standard Guideline for Microtunneling and the History of Tunneling in the United States.

302 S 36th St Ste 400
Omaha, NE 68131-3845
(213) 922-3084
tony.odonnell@kiewit.com

Resume of Tony O'Donnell
Tony O’Donnell, PE, has 30 years of work experience. He has been with Kiewit for 23 years. He has a Bachelor of Civil Engineering (BE) with honors and a Master of Engineering Science (MSC) with honors, both from University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. He is a member of the Institute of Engineers of Ireland and the American Society of Civil Engineers. At Kiewit as the Get Work Area Manager, Tony is responsible for the identification, proposal preparation, designer and partner selection, contract negotiation for all Underground District pursuits in North America. In addition, he is currently charged with expanding the Kiewit Underground footprint within Canada. His job responsibilities also include direct oversight through the startup phase for all Design-Build, ECI and nontraditional contracts.

100 Stickle Ave
rockaway, NJ 07866
973.627.2100 x 269
pschmall@moretrench.com

Resume of Paul C. Schmall
Senior Vice President and Chief Engineer for Moretrench, a nationally renowned specialty geotechnical contractor. Responsible for the technical oversight of the company’s soil stabilization, grouting, ground freezing, groundwater control and environmental remediation for underground construction, tunneling, and CCR stabilization. Expertise include dewatering, ground stabilization with jet, permeation, compaction and compensation grouting; and ground freezing for excavation support/groundwater control. Extensive experience with emergency response for geotechnical “failures” such as major ground loss events and forensic investigation of deep excavation and tunneling ground loss events. Co-author of the third edition of Construction Dewatering and Groundwater Control, published in 2007.

2253 130th Ave. NE Ste. 200
Bellevue, WA 98005-1759
(425) 283-7825
michael.bruen@stantec.com

Resume of Mike Bruen
Mike Bruen is a Vice President with MWH, now a part of Stantec, and has served in various roles including Senior Project Manager, Senior Tunnel Specialist, and Engineering Geologist specializing in tunnels and underground engineering and construction for wet infrastructure, hydropower, and dam projects. Mike has more than thirty-five years of experience working in North America, Central and South America, Asia, and the Middle East. He has been involved in over 50 tunnel projects, totaling more than 100 miles of tunnels and up to 33 ft in diameter, more than 60 shafts, and caverns worldwide. Recently he was the lead author for the chapter on Water Tunnels for the UCA of SME book, the “History of Tunneling in the United States”. He has a bachelor of science degree from the University of New Hampshire and a master of arts degree at SUNY Buffalo in geology. He is a member of AEG, UCA of SME, ITA, PMI, USSD, and the DRB Foundation.

500 7th Avenue, 17th Floor
646.253.8559
516.807.2249
Mark.johnson1@jacobs.com

Resume of Mark Johnson
Mark has more than 25 years of specialized experience in tunnel and underground engineering. He is currently Jacobs Engineering’s Global Director for Tunneling & Ground Engineering, leading a group of nearly 900 tunnel and geotechnical engineers located around the world. Mark’s experience covers tunnel projects in the U.S., UK, Canada, Malaysia and Singapore, including a significant number of design-build projects. He recently served as the Project Director for the design team that delivered the Blue Plains Tunnel in Washington D.C., winner of ENR Magazine’s 2016 “Best of the Best” Project Award.

12 Lt. Crawford Wheeler Ct.
Blauvelt, NY 10913-1244
(914) 738-0280
ljacobs@FrontierKemper.com

Resume of Leon Jacobs, P. E.
Leon Jacobs has over 30 years of New York metropolitan area heavy civil and underground construction experience. Leon began his underground career working for Joint Venture of McLean-Grove, Grow Tunneling and Kiewit in 1982 as a co-op student and then after graduation in several engineering positions on the New York City Third Water Tunnel. In 1988, Leon went to work for Perini as a project engineer on numerous transit and waste water projects in the New York City region until joining Frontier-Kemper in 1995.

Some of the projects Leon has constructed with Frontier-Kemper over the past 19 years include the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Water Tunnel Shaft 26B, the 26 Ward Water Pollution Control Plant Pilot Program, the New Croton Aqueduct Rehabilitation Project, the TBTA Queens Midtown Tunnel Rehabilitation Project’ and the NJ Transit Hudson Bergen Light Rail Weehawken Tunnel/Bergenline Avenue Station Project.

Leon’s professional responsibilities at Frontier-Kemper have covered all facets of heavy construction from project management to engineering and includes experience in design, schedule, cash flow, insurance, safety, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, estimating, budget production, risk management, quality control, change order negotiation, customization of equipment, design of specialized equipment, value engineering, human resources and strategic planning.

In addition to his work experience, Leon has served several industry associations and presented at numerous conferences. Highlights include serving on the George Fox Conference committee since 2007 including serving as its chairman in 2008 and 2009. He is currently beginning a second two-year term as George Fox Conference chairman. He is a member of the UCA North American Tunnel Conference planning committee and has participating in organizing NAT’s 2012 and 2014 conferences. Leon will be the 2016 UCA North American Tunnel conference vice chairman when it is held in conjunction with the World Tunneling Conference.

Leon earned a Bachelor of Science cum laude in Civil Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston in 1985, and a Masters of Science in Construction Management from Brooklyn Polytechnic University in 1988. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the States of New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. He is also a member of the Civil Engineering Honor Society, Chi Epsilon, The Moles, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Underground Construction Association, New York State Society of Professional Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

9 Commercial St
Hudson, NH 03051-3907
(603) 889-4163
lworden@csigroup.com

Resume of Jon Klug
Jonathan Klug is the Vice-President of David R. Klug and Associates, Inc., the company provides international and national manufacturer representative services to the underground heavy civil and mine construction industries. The company specializes in the coordination of products and specialty services for precast segmental, NATM, soft ground and conventional tunnel construction inclusive of initial support systems, final lining reinforcement products, connectors and gasket sealing systems for one pass tunnel linings. Mr. Klug has over 14 years of industry involvement in many of the major tunnel programs constructed in the United States and Canada over this timeframe. In conjunction with his European clients he conducts industry outreach seminars to Europe to study their methods of tunnel construction and contract delivery methods on a regular basis. He has been involved in many UCA roles and activities, including committees for the WTC 2016 and NAT conferences and contributions to the History of Tunneling in the United States book. Mr. Klug also compiles and prepares the Tunnel Demand Forecast as published in the Tunnel and Underground Construction Magazine.

49 Stevenson St Ste 1200
San Francisco, CA 94105-2974
(415) 434-1822 (WORK)
wilson@mcmjac.com

Resume of Sarah H. Wilson, PE, CCM
Sarah H. Wilson, PE, CCMis a Principal and Vice President with the firm of McMillen Jacobs Associates in San Francisco, where she has worked in tunnel design and construction management for over 20 years. Ms. Wilson’s leadership experience and technical expertise stem from final design roles on transit, dam and water conveyance facilities, and construction management roles on numerous underground contracts in both soft ground and rock.

She has produced and managed design for Design/Build projects including the Upper Diamond Fork project for Obayashi (Central Utah Water Conservancy District), Tren Urbano for Kiewit/Kenny/Zachary, and the Blue Ridge Dam for Atkinson (Tennesee Valley Authority), as well as Design-Bid-Build projects: the MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel for MWRA, the Lenihan Dam Outlet Modifications Project for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and the Millennium Line Broadway Extension for TransLink in Vancouver, BC. Ms. Wilson served as Resident Engineer for the SFMTA’s Central Subway Tunneling contract (Barnard Impregilo Healy JV) from 2011 through 2013, and Resident Engineer of the SFMTA’s Union Square Market Street Station (Tutor Perini Corporation) from 2014 to 2017.

She received her BS in Civil Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was featured on the school’s “40 under 40” list in 2015. She earned her MS in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, where she is still a regularly invited lecturer.

She was an early supporter and participant in the UCA of SME’s Women in Tunneling group and has been featured by the group in their online media as well as in the McMillen Jacobs professional women’s group, WISE. She has authored numerous professional papers and articles on geotechnical and construction management topics, and she edited the Second Edition of Recommended Contract Practices for Underground Construction, which is based on a wide base of industry input and was published by the UCA of SME in 2019.

She has five years of board service for McMillen Jacobs Associates, where she is currently serving as Board Chair. She served six years on the board of the American Rock Mechanics Association, and two years as its president. She is a CMAA-certified construction manager and a registered professional civil engineer in California. Ms. Wilson currently leads the Construction Management Practice for McMillen Jacobs Associates, and is serving as Project Lead for a pedestrian bridge the firm is undertaking, in partnership with Traylor Bros. and Bridges to Prosperity, in Uganda.

401 S Jackson St
Seattle, WA 98104-2826
(206)398-5438
Matthew.Preedy@soundtransit.org

Resume of Matthew Preedy
Matthew Preedy has been delivering Public Works contracts for over 25 years. While working for WSDOT, Mr. Preedy served as the Construction Director and Deputy Administrator for the SR99 Alaskan Way tunnel project in Seattle, WA. Currently, he heads the Construction Management Division of Sound Transit, involved in delivering multiple light rail and commuter rail projects exceeding $65B, including the recent planning effort for a new light rail tunnel and stations under downtown Seattle.

1500 Illinois St Mining Engineering Dept
Golden, CO 80401-1887
(303) 384-2498
mooney@mines.edu

Resume of Mike Mooney
Mike Mooney is a Professor and the Grewcock Chair in Underground Construction & Tunneling (UC&T) at Colorado School of Mines. He leads the university-wide interdisciplinary Center of Excellence in Underground Construction & Tunneling and serves as Director of the UC&T graduate degree program at Mines. Mike is a registered professional engineer and has 20 years of academic and consulting experience in civil engineering and construction. He received a BS in civil engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, a MS in civil-structural engineering from the University of California-Irvine and a PhD in civil-geotechnical engineering from Northwestern University. Mike’s expertise lies in soft ground tunnel design and construction, instrumentation/monitoring of construction systems and equipment, nondestructive imaging techniques and intelligent geoconstruction processes. He has been the principal investigator for more than 30 geoconstruction-related research projects and has authored more than 100 technical publications.

Mike teaches courses in tunnel design and construction, support of excavations/earth retaining structures, instrumentation and monitoring, nondestructive evaluation and intelligent geosystems. He has mentored more than 25 MS and PhD students to completion of their theses, and currently advises numerous graduate and undergraduate students pursuing industry-focused applied research projects in UC&T. In addition to the UCA Executive Committee, Mike serves on the ASCE underground engineering committee, the ISSMGE underground construction in soft ground committee, and the ITA committee on education and training. He is a member of ASCE and the UCA of SME. Mike is married and has three children.

3900 Euclid Ave
Cleveland, OH 44115-2506
(216) 701-7045
gabrield@neorsd.org

5021 Seminary Rd
Alexandria, VA 22311-1930
(202) 787-4729
moussa.wone@dcwater.com

14280 23rd Ave N
Minneapolis, MN 55447-4910
(612) 872-1900
jhuh@re-systemsgroup.com

14527 Mirasol Manor Ct
Tampa, FL 33626-3309
(813)285-2287 (Home)
vargas.grover@us.sika.com
www.Fibermesh.com

Resume of Grover Vargas
Grover has been working in the Tunneling industry since 1997. He is currently Business Development Manager for SIKA-STM a business unit with focus in Shotcrete, Tunneling and Mining. Grover earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from UMSS in Bolivia in 1989, and a Masters Degree in Business at the Florida International University – USA in 2003. Grover began his career with an Engineering firm, during 7 years he gained experience in various Civil Engineering related projects, he later worked in the construction chemicals industry, with focus in shotcrete for tunneling and fiber reinforcement for Underground Construction and Pavements.

Since 1999 Grover has been spreading the benefits of Macro Synthetic Fiber Technology, mainly for UGC in Latin America, not only in Mining, but also in Tunneling Projects. For 20 years, Grover was part of Propex/Fibermesh, a Global manufacturer of fibers for shotcrete/concrete, he was Regional Manager for Latin America. Grover is a member of UCA of SME, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Concrete Institute, and the American Shotcrete Association.