July/August 2024 - 9

Executive Director
Theresa Engler | tengler@dfi.org
Nicole Robinson | mageditor@dfi.org
Executive Editor
Managing Editor/Advertising Manager
Faye Klein
Karol Paltsios | magads@dfi.org
DFI Executive Committee
Gianfranco Di Cicco
Graphic Design
President
J. Erik Loehr, Ph.D., P.E.
Vice President
James O. Johnson
Lori A. Simpson, P.E., G.E.
Treasurer
Past President
Other Trustees
Paul Axtell, P.E., BC.GE
John A. Anderson
Allen Cadden, P.E., BC.GE
Peter Faust, Dipl.-Ing.
Conrad W. Felice, Ph.D., P.E.
Anne Lemnitzer, Ph.D., P.E.
Franz-Werner Gerressen, Dipl.-Ing.
Lucky Nagarajan
Dan MacLean, P.Eng.
Morgan NeSmith, P.E.
Howard A. Perko, Ph.D., P.E.
Silas Nichols, P.E.
Kathryn Petek, Ph.D.,P.E.
Martin G. Taube, P.E., P.G.
Editorial Board 2022-2025
Vanessa Bateman, P.G., P.E., BC.GE
Jonathan Bennett, P.E., BC.GE
Aaron Gallant, Ph.D.
John Deeken, P.E., M. ASCE
William Ryan
Kwabena Ofori-Awuah, P.E., BC.GE, ENV SP
David Paul, P.E.
Michael H. Wysockey, Ph.D., P.E.
Secretary
THERESA ENGLER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Reaping the Rewards of Investing
in the Future
With so many passionate DFI leaders and members as well as generous donors
supporting the DFI Educational Trust, we are always growing stronger and deeper
roots in both the field of deep foundations and in educational programs that teach
and train the future leaders of our industry.
As you may know, the Trust - originally an idea spawning from a small
Sustaining Members Fund and the Paul DeBruyn Memorial Student Scholarship
Fund - was established by DFI around the same time I became executive director. I
have had the pleasure of watching the Trust's funds grow exponentially since its
inception in 2006, while simultaneously providing more than $2 million in total
awards to bright students who may be one of your employees now or in the future.
So much has changed since then, specifically the increased need for well-trained
professionals, from academics to engineers, as well as field personnel, from mechanics
to superintendents. DFI provides young professionals with quality programs to
assist them in expanding their knowledge base in the many geotechnical techniques.
Our team is working hard in preparation for one such learning opportunity, our
upcoming S3: Slopes, Support and Stabilization conference being August 6-8 in
Aurora, Colorado (see p. 39). On the other hand, training for field personnel to ensure
they learn the skills specific to our industry is something we are just venturing into as
you will read in President Gianfranco Di Cicco's message on page 7.
If you have ever attended a conference, contributed to a committee, published or
presented a paper, or participated in other ways, you should be proud of your contributions
to DFI and the industry, which needs a proficient workforce more than ever.
At the Trust, we are also making a difference, which we know based on our
DFI
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Deep Foundations
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efforts to track the career paths of our scholarship recipients. Once we add our 2024
scholarship recipients' results, we will have 10 years of data to look at related to
graduation rates and career outcomes. DFI and the Trust are thrilled to see that, on
average, among student recipients surveyed between 2014 and 2023, 71% have
graduated while the rest continued their studies. Further, an average of 76% of those
who graduated secured a job with the others attending graduate school and 64% of
those with jobs were employed by a deep foundation related company. I find the
breakdown of employment types interesting as these employment rates account for
jobs in academia, contracting, design and more. The full report of career tracking
can be found in the recently released 2023 DFI Educational Trust Annual Report.
I encourage you to read the Annual Report, available online at www.dfitrust.org,
to learn about the growing impact we are making in the lives of students, catch a
glimpse of the fundraising successes last year and see our highly appreciated list of
contributors who are making it possible for us to do what we do. Please also consider
donating to the Trust online at
www.dfitrust.org to make an impact yourself!
As always, I thank you for your amazing support of both organizations through
your volunteerism and philanthropy.
DEEP FOUNDATIONS * JULY/AUG 2024 * 9
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPDATE

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July/August 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July/August 2024