YMF

Table of Contents

• 07/2024 - Assunta Daprano
• 08/2023 - Kirsten Kennedy, PE
• 08/2022 - Tim Abel, PE
• 08/2021 - Dennis Wilson, PE
• 06/2020 - Katrina Lawrence, PE
• 05/2020 - Jesse Gormley, PE EVN SP
• 01/2020 - Jesse Gormley, PE, ENV SP
• 09/2019 - Jesse Gormley, PE, ENV SP
• 07/2019 - Jesse Gormley, PE, ENV SP
• 05/2019 - Eammon Farley, EIT
• 01/2019 - Eammon Farley, EIT
• 08/2018 - Eammon Farley, EIT
• 12/2017 - Nha Truong, PE, PMP
• 08/2017 - Nha Truong, PE, PMP
• 07/2017 - Nha Truong, PE, PMP
• 05/2017 - Kevin Brown, EIT
• 03/2017 - Kevin Brown, EIT
• 01/2017 - Kevin Brown, EIT
• 06/2016 - Kevin Brown, EIT
• 10/2015 - Christopher Renfro, EIT
• 01/2015 - Drew E. Sirianni, PE
• 07/2013 - Chris Gray, PE
• 02/2013 - Kazi M. Hassan, PE
• 08/2012 - Kazi M. Hassan, PE
• 12/2011 - Jeremy Chrzan, PE, PTOE, LEED-AP
• 08/2011 - Jeremy Chrzan, PE, PTOE, LEED-AP
• 10/2010 - Mike Wagner, PE
• 03/2010 - Cathy Farrell, PE
• 10/2009 - Cathy Farrell, PE
• 03/2009 - Don Gusic, PE
• 08/2008 - Don Gusic, PE
• 02/2008 - Joe Platt, PE
• 09/2007 - Joe Platt, PE
• 04/2007 - John Federico, PE
• 03/2007 - John Federico, PE
• 02/2007 - John Federico, PE

Dear Philadelphia YMF Members,

It is my pleasure to congratulate the 2023-2024 YMF board, led by Kirsten (Brown) Kennedy, for a fantastic year. We express our gratitude to Kirsten for her leadership and eagerly anticipate our continued collaboration as she transitions into the role of Past President. I am honored to serve as President of this year's ASCE Philadelphia YMF Board. My involvement with the YMF board over the past 7 years has been instrumental in my professional and personal growth, and I am enthusiastic about the year ahead.

I am delighted to welcome five new board members to our team: Hannah Booz (McCormick Taylor), Kris Melag (W.S. Cumby Construction), Alyssa Pizzi (J&M Preservation Studio), Gina Venuto (STV), and Katie Wade (JMT). Your roles are essential to the success of the YMF, and we are thrilled to have you on board. Congratulations on your appointment to the YMF board!

The dedication of our volunteers is what makes the YMF exceptional. From organizing social events to participating in cleanups and student outreach, our volunteers selflessly dedicate numerous hours to the betterment of our community, making this organization a true success.

This year, we will be launching a Member Pulse Survey to gather feedback from our membership. This survey will enable us to tailor events and programming to your interests and needs. The survey will be available in the fall, and I am eager to review your responses.

Whether you're new to the YMF or a seasoned member, I am looking forward to connecting with you this year. If you have any questions, ideas, or feedback, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Best Regards,
Assunta Daprano
ASCE Philadelphia YMF President

Project Manager
Goods Movement/Transit Rail, East Region
AECOM

Dear Philadelphia YMF Members,

In June we transitioned from the 2022-2023 ASCE YMF Board to the 2023-2024 Board. I am excited to see existing board members take on new roles and responsibilities and to welcome in our new board members: Emma Youngs (Gannet Fleming), Laurel Welch (Urban Engineers), James Stanton (TPD), Dan Bhaumik (Sam Schwartz), Ayesha Hassan (Michael Baker), and Tony Ableman (T&M Associates).

The ASCE YMF is such an amazing organization and I am excited to lead such an excellent board of 25 civil engineers.
As we look forward for the year ahead, my main goals are to:

1. Foster an inclusive environment for new friendships to form! The best part of networking is making real friends within the industry that we will grow and lead together throughout our careers.
2. Continue to feed the pipeline from the student chapters to the YMF. Adapt and change as member preferences change.
3. Make sure we are learning from each other and the projects we are working on, it is fun to nerd out together!
4. Collaborate with other professional development organizations to meet new people and share ideas.

1. Outreach Committee – Assist in planning outreach events, attend outreach events, provide ideas for outreach events.
2. Communication Committee – QC email blasts, newsletters, and the annual report. Provide ideas for social media campaigns.
3. Events Committee – Assist in planning events including contacting venues, event preparation and setup. Provide event ideas.
4. JEDI Committee – Help plan JEDI events and focus on creating an inclusive environment.

Dear Philadelphia YMF Members,

June marked the start of a new term for our Board. I am pleased to welcome seven new members to our 25-volunteer roster: Zach Abbas (Gannett Fleming), Kerianne Chen (Traffic Planning and Design), Alexis Gawelko (Gannett Fleming), Kevin Malley (Philadelphia Water Department), Elvira-Marie Mikhael (Traffic Planning and Design), Matthew Reese (Urban Engineers), and Anthony Rizzo (Pennoni).

It's a privilege to lead this team of A-listers, especially as we transition away from the virtual environment that branded our last 2 1/2 years of programming.

Our YMF’s core objectives are as follows:

• - To supplement activities of the ASCE Philadelphia Section in furthering the Society's aims and programs, particularly with reference to younger members.
• - To provide networking opportunities.
• - To foster social fellowship among younger members.
• - To interact with schools and the general public to promote civil engineering.
• - To enhance career development.

• (1) To increase our engagement with at-large members.
• (2) To develop diverse and inclusive programming.
• (3) To add to our student member initiatives.
• (4) To partner with local organizations sharing mutual objectives.

Dear Philadelphia YMF,

First off, I would like to congratulate the entire 2020-21 YMF Board under the leadership of Katrina Lawrence on a job well done in navigating one of, if not the most, difficult years in YMF history. Despite the global pandemic, we were still able to put together a complete slate of programming and service and provide value to our membership as well as we have before.

This year we have a Board of 24 members, including our four new members; Mohamed Asker, Nooraldean Dabdoub, Ben Deatrich, and Sabrina Mamo. I would like to personally welcome each of them and congratulate them on joining our team!

Though we remain in uncertain times, I look forward to the opportunity to lead the YMF through another period of transition as we move back to in-person programming. Over the past year, we have learned so much as to how we can reach our membership virtually. I know that we as a Board can continue to utilize those tools in combination with in-person events to reach a wider audience than ever before. Though challenging, these times have created unique opportunities, and I hope that we are able to take full advantage of them!

Additionally, I plan to focus on the relationship between student members and younger members. The Society has long dealt with a low transition rate from student member to professional member. Following a recent change to the ASCE dues structure, student members are now being automatically converted to professional members following graduation and will only pay 50% dues until the age of 29.

Students have always been the future of the Society and the profession. It is up to us, as younger members, to demonstrate the value of the Society to student members and newly transitioned younger members, to retain them within ASCE, and to encourage them to help us move the Society forward. I intend to work closely with the Student Chapter leaders of our area colleges and universities to make sure that we are delivering on this initiative and supporting their chapters in the best way possible.

Since I first became involved, I have looked forward to the opportunity to lead the YMF and am extremely excited to work with this group of leaders over the course of this year!

Stay safe, and I hope to see you all soon,
Dennis Wilson

President
ASCE Philadelphia YMF

Hello ASCE Philadelphia YMF Community,

This month marked the start of the ASCE Philadelphia Section YMF Board's new term, which I am privileged to lead. We are an all-volunteer board comprised of 23 dedicated and ambitious young professionals from various disciplines, firms, and public agencies. I am especially pleased to welcome our three new faces: Christian Antisell, Cory Bogas, and Kayla Nelson.

As the summer begins, we are planning to stay remote, but in true YMF form, we won't be quiet. Over the past few months, we have been busy developing virtual programming and social events. This year in particular, it will be vital that you stay connected to us through our newsletter and social media for programming, networking opportunities, and educational resources.

If you are not already connected, please follow our accounts!

LinkedIn - ASCE Philadelphia YMF
Facebook - ASCE Philadelphia YMF
Instagram - @ASCEPhillyYMF
Twitter - @ASCEPhillyYMF
YouTube - ASCE Philadelphia YMF

Please feel free to reach out if you are interested in becoming more involved. Additionally, we are always looking for ways to better connect and offer relevant programming to our membership, so we'd love to hear any ideas, feedback, or questions that you'd like to share.

Take care!
Katrina Lawrence

President
ASCE Philadelphia YMF

YMF Members,

This is a bittersweet letter. Not only is this my last communication as YMF President but, infinitely more bitter, we remain in the grips of a global pandemic. On behalf of the YMF, please know our deepest sympathies are with those who have suffered as a result of COVID-19, and our thanks remains with the essential workers and others who have put themselves at the frontlines of this battle. As we slowly return to normal (or some version of it) over the coming days, we encourage everyone to learn from this experience and continue to make safe and healthy choices.

Of course, tempering the bitter is some sweetness. Despite everything, the YMF enjoyed yet another awesomely successful year and accomplished a lot. A few specific recognitions:

• • We were able to successfully transition our Civil Engineering Club outreach program, in its 8th year, to operate under a new principal and two new teacher contacts. Thanks to Lindsay Chateauvert and Sean McCreesh for their time organizing the transition and leading the club.
• • We held our annual Winter Social at McGillin’s and somehow managed to improve it AGAIN! Props to Katrina Lawrence for her leadership.
• • We hosted the Multi-Region Leadership Conference for ASCE’s eastern regions here in Philadelphia this past winter. Popular consensus among attendees is it was the best one yet! A special shout-out to Joe Natale and Kevin Brown for spearheading the planning effort.
• • The YMF initiated two task committees this year to focus on important initiatives: the Diversity & Inclusion Task Committee, focused on ensuring diversity in many forms in the YMF’s operations and on keeping the YMF accountable in its inclusivity; and the Sustainability Task Committee, focused on identifying ways the YMF can function more sustainably in terms of its environmental, social, and economic impacts. Thanks to Sabrina Mamo and Tim Abel for leading these, respectively.
• • The YMF again acted as lead on the Philadelphia Section’s K-12 Outreach efforts and led numerous events and activities throughout the year. We are especially proud of the recent virtual offerings helping to fill the void created by the stay-at-home order. Thanks to Dani Schroeder and CJ Medora for continuing to keep our YMF a leader in K-12 Outreach.
• • The YMF’s Communications Committee, led by Dennis Wilson, also deserves a special shout-out for their seamless continuation of our communications. Though not as often in the spotlight, these folks—John Doyle, Jake Nichols, Assunta Daprano, Cricket Schreppler, and Kirsten Brown—work hard at a moment’s notice to keep everyone informed of all the YMF’s activities.

• • PRESIDENT – Katrina Lawrence
• • VICE PRESIDENT – Dennis Wilson
• • SECRETARY – Tim Abel
• • TREASURER – Lindsay Chateauvert

My fellow ASCE Younger Members,

Happy New Year! And what a year we have in store for you.

This year marks a truly special January for the YMF. We started things off right with our Annual Winter Social on January 13th, and it was another wild success! We had 180 people in attendance and raffled off over 20 prizes to help us raise money to support local charities and STEM initiatives. Thanks to all who came out and supported the event, a big thanks to all the companies and organizations that donated, and the biggest thanks to ASCE Vice President Katrina Lawrence and her team for organizing the event!

Coming hot on the heels of the Winter Social, the YMF has the privilege of hosting this year’s ASCE Regions 1, 2, 4, and 5 Multi-Region Leadership Conference here in Philadelphia. The conference is taking place on Friday, January 31st, and Saturday, February 1st, and will include the Eastern Regional Younger Member Council meeting, where delegates from Younger Member Groups throughout the eastern states will get together to discuss important happenings in ASCE and actionable ways the Society can be improved. A special thanks to Kevin Brown and Joe Natale for their leadership of the Planning Committee, as well as to all the committee members for their work these past several months.

Moving into February and March, we enter the busiest time of the year for the YMF, including some of our most popular annual events. We have started planning on joint socials, park clean-ups, K-12 outreach events, professional development seminars… and much, much more. So, though the days between New Year’s Day and Memorial Day tend to be bleak and run long, rest assured the YMF will be here to help keep you occupied, excited, and engaged!

On behalf of the YMF, thank you for your continued interest and support. I look forward to seeing you at an event soon, but please feel free to reach out to me at jgormley@pennoni.com anytime.

Stay Warm and Safe,

Jesse Gormley

President
ASCE Philadelphia YMF

My fellow ASCE Younger Members,

As the leaves begin to fall and temperatures (eventually) start to drop, let us take a moment to reflect on all the change that surrounds us and the opportunities that come with it. Change can be a frightening word, especially to engineers who rely heavily on stability and procedures to uphold public safety. And yet, there’s no denying that change is the basis for innovation and a brighter future.

With this in mind, it is my pleasure to announce that the YMF is launching several new initiatives in the coming months to invite much-needed change into our organization! First and foremost, is our new Task Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which will strive to define measurable ways that the YMF can continue to grow as a welcoming community for all of our members, regardless of creed, race, gender-identity, or background.

We are also forming a Task Committee on Sustainability that will put the YMF’s current practices under a microscope and identify new ways for us to reduce our environmental impact and streamline our operations for the future. This is one of our many responsibilities as civil engineers and stewards of the environment.

I look forward to reporting on both task committees in the coming months but, in the meantime, why not join us to celebrate another fun change? Colleges are back in session, and that means it’s time for our annual Welcome Back Students Event! We hope you can join us on Wednesday, October 23rd, at PEP Bowl in South Philly for a night of low-key networking and friendly competition. It’s sure to be a fun night.

On behalf of the YMF, thank you for your continued interest and support. I look forward to seeing you at an event soon, but please feel free to reach out to me at jgormley@pennoni.com anytime.

Stay Awesome,

Jesse Gormley

President
ASCE Philadelphia YMF

My Fellow ASCE Younger Members,

It is my privilege to welcome you to the new term of the ASCE Philadelphia Section Younger Member Forum, or "YMF" as we all know and love it. We have another strong slate of volunteers on this year's Board, each ready to contribute to the organization's continued ascent. I'm especially pleased to welcome four new faces: Darren Black, Tyler Farley, CJ Medora, and Marty Williams.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of the YMF. Our Board members are responsible for organizing the dozens of awesome events we run each year, for which they are owed a huge thanks. But in the end, it's you and all our member volunteers who make the organization a true success. Whether you spent a Monday afternoon with our Civil Engineering Club, showed up to a weekend Adopt-A-Highway cleanup, spent a few hours at a STEM night table, or even just showed up to vote this past May, thank you for your continued support and engagement!

On the other hand, if you're new to the area (or just new to the YMF), I would like to personally welcome you and invite you to get involved with the YMF. The YMF video that we recently released, which was graciously organized by past YMF President Kevin Brown, is a great sample of what awaits you with the YMF: fun and diverse people, developing together in their careers and lives, while making a positive difference in our community.

Regardless of whether you're a YMF veteran or a rookie, I'm looking forward to a great year working with you. Please reach out with new ideas, feedback, questions, or even just to say hi. I sincerely hope to hear from you.

See you soon,

Jesse Gormley

President
ASCE Philadelphia YMF

Dear YMF Members,

Yikes... is it the end of May already?! I cannot even begin to express how fast this past year has gone while serving as your YMF President, but I guess as the saying goes, "time flies when you're having fun". As my presidency comes to an end, I would like to share a recap of the past year (from my shoes of course). The past year was a busy one as we organized over 30 events which were all well attended, and we continue to expand our K-12 reach, as we impacted almost 1,000 students over the past year. In my opinion these types of things are integral to the future success of the civil engineering profession. At this year's ERYMC Awards banquet, which took place in Orlando, FL, the Philly YMF took home four of the seven Younger Member Council Awards which is amazing! Lastly, I cannot forget about the continuing success of our largest event, the Annual Winter Social. With the help of our donors and members who attended the event, we continue to raise our contributions to local non-profit organizations and STEM education initiatives. It is all these things and more which make me proud to not only lead this organization but be part of it.

I want everyone to know what an honor and pleasure it has been to serve as your YMF President the past year. The relationships and leadership skills I've garnered over the past year have been the biggest highlight of my career thus far. Looking back to 8+ years ago when I first joined the YMF board; I would honestly say that getting involved with the YMF board has been the best decision I've ever made. I look forward to remaining involved with the future YMF board by advising decisions and encouraging YMF involvement.

With thanks,

Eammon Farley

President
ASCE Philadelphia YMF

Dear YMF Members,

I first wanted to start off the new calendar year by stating, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to the new year. Hopefully everyone got a chance to relax and share some time with loved ones. I also would like to thank all of the YMF Board Members for their hard work and dedication during the first six months of my presidency. It’s easy to forget that these individuals volunteer an abundant amount of their personal time to ensure the success of the Philadelphia YMF. This success includes bridging the gap between students and young professionals, providing opportunities to network, offering technical and professional development opportunities, and of course giving back to the community.

As the New Year turns, it gives us all the opportunity to reflect on the past year and set goals to becoming your best self. As I dive into the second half of my YMF presidency, I look back at all of the exciting events we’ve had this past fall/summer as well as the events planned, or in the planning stage for this year. Our largest networking event of the year, the Annual Winter Social at McGillin's Olde Ale House, is currently accepting RSVPs along with donations for the event. Last year, these donations allowed our YMF to raise over $3,000 for local, non-profit organizations. As a thank you to donors, we recognized them during the event, on our Award-Winning website as well as YMF social media platforms, and last year we began to provide companies the opportunity to post a job opportunity on YMF social media platforms.

During my remaining time as YMF Philly President, it is my goal to focus on student outreach (from K-12 to graduating college students) and to promote the importance and demand of civil engineers. Our nation’s aging infrastructure calls for an increase in young innovative engineers to solve the problems many individuals face every day. Infrastructure is one of the most difficult problems to solve because it’s expensive, complicated, and often divisive. It plays a vital role in the economy, as roads, bridges, rail, ports and airports assure the transport of goods along with connecting people with jobs, medical facilities, schools, recreation, etc. I encourage everyone to join me in promoting our profession as well.

Lastly, please don’t forget to renew your ASCE membership and if you weren’t already a member, don’t miss out on the member benefits, and become a member today.

Thank you and I wish you all the best this year!

Eammon Farley

President
ASCE Philadelphia YMF

I want to start by mentioning what an honor it is to lead this year’s YMF board. Looking back on the past years I’ve spent on the board of this organization makes me realize how much I really owe my personal growth to it. When starting my first, post-college position, I was encouraged to stay involved with ASCE and thought to myself, “what can this do for me?” So of course, I did not immediately understand the importance of networking and student outreach. Although many of my collegiate friends were engineers, I can honestly say I had absolutely no clue how to network or what to even do at a networking event. Funny to look back on that now because networking events are my favorite to attend. I now understand that networking helps you find lasting personal friendships, industry colleagues, and mentors who help you grow and expand your horizon. In fact, many of the people I met through the YMF are now some of my closest friends. The value of these relationships is something I want to instill on everyone.

So, for those of you reading this, I challenge you all to step outside your comfort zone and get out to our events. Our events offer the opportunity to meet people you might not have ever gotten the chance to meet. I also pledge to do my best to meet or speak with each of you along the way.

Now for some areas I would like to concentrate on during my presidency. This year my goal is to not only continue the numerous programs we currently have but to expand on recent programs that began last year. Last year’s college chapter competition (#ASCEMadeMe College Challenge) and student mentorship programs can be expanded on this year. I focus on this because I think it’s important to engage and inspire engineering students. The #ASCEMadeMe College Challenge is set forth to not only motivate attendance but tasks students with submitting competition documentation in a timely manner. The mentorship program also gives individuals the opportunity to engage in more one-on-one conversations.

In addition to expanding these endeavors, it is also important to keep improving the other activities our board does. I plan on continuing to excel in K-12 student outreach (via CivE Club or school visits) presence, maintain quality professional development and technical events, expand our social media presence, and work closely with other societies.

Lastly, I need to thank past YMF mentors Kevin Brown, Chris Renfro, Kazi Hassan, and Jeremy Chrzan for paving the road to success for our Philadelphia Section and helping me grow personally and professionally through the organization.

Sincerely,

Eammon Farley, EIT
eammon.farley@mbakerintl.com

President
ASCE Philadelphia YMF

Happy Holidays! One of the best gifts of being involved with a volunteer board is the opportunity to work side by side with young leaders who are dedicated to having an impact on the local engineering community and development of future professional engineers. Together, board members and volunteers help to organize efforts that promote involvement within our community.

So far this year, the events that stood out the most to me were the college speaking panel visits held at all five (5) local university engineering programs. This effort was organized by our College Contacts Chairs, Belinda Lester and Jacob Nichols. The panel visits provided an opportunity for candid conversations between students and young practicing engineer volunteers on lessons learned throughout their college as well as professional careers. I had the opportunity to attend a few of them and sitting in front of the classroom, I felt proud to be a part of our organization where one of our main focuses is helping college students. Putting myself in the student seat, I reflected on some of the questions I would have asked. Thank you to our Board members and member volunteers on being part of the panels. Recaps of these events can be viewed here.

In the upcoming year, the YMF is planning on organizing many more events focusing on professional development, networking, and community outreach. Please visit our website and get to know our Chairs who are organizing these efforts. Also, be sure to keep up with our newsletter for more details on events, particularly the Annual Winter Social, led by Eammon Farley, where 175+ local engineers will gather at McGillin's in Center City to raise money for local charities through our raffle, with prizes donated by local engineering firms!

Lastly, ASCE membership dues, particularly the Philadelphia Section portion, assist with funding efforts that our volunteers organize to serve our local engineering community. Please remember to check the "Philadelphia Section" box as you are renewing your ASCE membership for this upcoming year.

Sincerely,

Nha Truong, PE, PMP
nha.truong@phila.gov

President
ASCE Philly YMF

Dear ASCE Philadelphia YMF members,

In our latest email blast, we introduced a new YMF initiative to establish a mentor program. As soon as this announcement was released, we received questions and comments from potential mentors and mentees alike expressing strong interest in taking part in the program. This feedback has been highly encouraging as we move towards the high arching goals of this initiative, which are as follows:

• Dream Big: The program is designed to connect every enrolled local student member with an industry professional in a one-to-one mentorship relationship.
• Start Small: Our commitment to establishing an effective mentor program builds from feedback of participants. Therefore, the program will kick off with a small group of students and a carefully selected group of mentors.
• Scale Quickly: In its pilot year, we will work with participants to streamline the mentoring process. From these lessons learned, we will expand capacity for more participants to meet our Dream Big goal.

• YMF Group Photo and Happy Hour organized by Ajin Fatima and Kristin Leese
• Wissahickon Devil's Pool Cleanup organized by Nick Kirn and Lauren Davenport

As I step in to the President role to further the success of our ASCE Philly YMF, I’d like to continue where our Past President, Kevin Brown, left off. #ASCEMadeMe.

The reason this phrase resonates with me is that it describes the results of being involved with ASCE and my journey so far. Throughout this journey, I’ve been fortunate to hold various board positions including organizing social events, coordinating the CivE club, and managing our budget, and have been extensively involved with professional development events and outreach opportunities. Through this involvement, I can confidently say that I am a much better friend and colleague, but most important, my career at this point has projected further than if I had not become involved with the YMF. Today, I strongly encourage you all to do the same.

As President of the ASCE Philly YMF, I could not ask for a more dedicated Board or Past President advisors who have held this position before me. It has been a privilege for me to learn from many of our Board members and grow with them in my professional career.

This year, the YMF Board will continue to provide our members and local engineers with impactful outreach opportunities and offer more technical presentations for many of the pioneer engineering projects happening in our City.

I look forward to meeting more of the local engineers this year. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have questions about ways to become involved.

Sincerely,

Nha Truong, PE, PMP
nha.truong@phila.gov

President
ASCE Philly YMF

ASCE Philadelphia YMF Members,

With only a few weeks left of my term as President it’s hard to believe that a year went by so quickly. I guess time does fly when you’re having fun, because I’ve had a blast. Whether it was attending an ASCE conference, presenting at an elementary school, networking at a social event, or even running a YMF Board meeting, I’ve had a great time doing so. In addition to having fun, I’ve come to the realization that we, the Philadelphia YMF, have a lot to be proud of. The student members are active within the YMF; Members are engaging the youth in civil engineering activities; the Board continues to work diligently to bring the membership worthwhile events; and students and younger members are being recognized locally and nationally for their service to the engineering community and their awareness of the initiatives that ASCE supports.

To me, being President wasn’t much different from the other positions I’ve held on the Board; I strived to be at most events, help fellow Board members when needed, and worked with students to help foster the transition from student to younger member. The major difference for me was perspective. From the perspective of the YMF President you’re in the position to see the interactions between Board members, YMF Members, and even student members. It’s cool to see the bonds formed between and within those groups and the organizational success and growth that stem from it.

It has truly been a pleasure serving as your President this past year. I look forward to advising the 2017-2018 Board as Past President (although I’m confident my advising won’t be needed) and I will continue to encourage involvement with the YMF. Five years ago, I was the introverted guy joining the YMF CANstruction team, now I’m about to log off as your President and there is no doubt in my mind that #ASCEMadeMe.

Sincerely,
Kevin Brown, EIT

ASCE Philadelphia YMF Members,

As you may know, some of the goals of the Philadelphia Younger Member Forum (YMF) are to provide its members with meaningful networking events and technical presentations that allow for the acquisition of professional development hours (PDHs), and to serve as a conduit to outreach and community service opportunities. What you may not know is that Younger Member Groups (YMGs) like the YMF have been formed all over the country with the purpose of bridging the gap between Student Members of ASCE and ASCE Members. The YMF College Contact Chairs have been doing a great job engaging the college students but I also have to commend and recognize the amazing work the Student Members themselves have been doing.

I can recall five years ago, when I was College Contact Co-Chair, how challenging it was to get students to understand the benefits of becoming more involved with the YMF and now we have students asking when our next events are and even inquiring about sitting in on YMF Board Meetings. Students have become so involved over the years that the Board welcomed two students to the Board right after they graduated.

This past February at the Multi-Region Leadership Conference for Regions 1, 2, 4, & 5 held in Newark, NJ there was representation from every school in the Philadelphia Section: Drexel, Widener, Swarthmore, Temple, Villanova, and the adopted TCNJ were in attendance. It was cool seeing all the student leaders interacting with each other and making new friendships, as well as making professional contacts which, for at least one student, led to an interview for a full-time engineering job.

What makes me so proud of our Student Members is not only that they’re more involved with the YMF but that I’m seeing so many of them emerge as leaders. We’ve recently had student leaders team up with the student leaders of ASHE to host Secretary of Transportation, Leslie Richards, at Widener University; students are emailing me looking to implement new programs within the Section; several students have been receiving local and national recognition for their achievements and leadership; and students are even submitting papers to ASCE National.

The point of this message isn’t for the students to read about how proud I am of them (because I already tell them all the time). The point is to make Members aware of the talent coming out of all the schools mentioned above and encourage you to make an effort to interact with the Student Members, because they very well may be an asset to your team.

Sincerely,
Kevin Brown, EIT

ASCE Philadelphia YMF Members,

While it’s a new calendar year, we’re about half way through the Philadelphia YMF year, which means I only have about six months left to serve as your President. I’m sure a lot of you have made New Year resolutions, and I’m hoping some of you can add one more to your list that would help me achieve one of my goals: outreach. One of my goals is to increase the number of volunteers of ASCE’s Civil Engineering Club™ and the YMF’s K-12 outreach initiatives so that both will continue to run smoothly.

I recently attended the Civil Engineering Club’s Fall Ceremony at the Chester A. Arthur School in South Philadelphia and had the opportunity to interact with this year’s students and parents and it was apparent that the Club was making a positive impact on the students. It was truly amazing to see how engaged the students and parents were during the design competition and how their attention was captured by the preview of the Dream Big film. Along with the YMF’s CivE Club Chairs, Kevin Walsh and Tim Abel, volunteers from the YMF membership are the ones who have the direct impact on these students. If you’re interested in participating, please reach out to Kevin Walsh or Tim Abel.

Last year Katrina Lawrence and Charles Mumford, the YMF’s K-12 Outreach Chairs, organized outreach visits and events that resulted in over 1300 students being reached by industry and collegiate volunteers. In my opinion, true industry diversity starts with K-12 outreach; we can plant the civil engineering and STEM seeds within the minds of today’s youth enrolled in schools in and around the city and some will grow into technical-minded individuals who potentially enter our industry as qualified engineers. With the bar set extremely high from last year, we are counting on you to volunteer and to spread the word about opportunities to volunteer with us, so please reach out to us if you or someone you know is interested.

Speaking of the New Year, please don’t forget to renew your ASCE membership and if you weren’t already a member, make 2017 your year to become one by joining today! Finally, don’t forget about the YMF’s Annual Winter Social which will be taking place on Monday, January 30, 2017. I appreciate everything you have done thus far and I look forward to your continued involvement with the YMF as we move into 2017.

Thank you and Happy New Year,
Kevin Brown, EIT

ASCE Philadelphia YMF Members,

I’ve recently been reflecting back to the year of 2012 which happened to be a year where things for me changed for the better. In 2012 I participated in my first ASCE YMF event as a young professional which ultimately led to me being appointed to the Board for the 2012-2013 term. As someone who was introverted and shy, taking a position on a board of any kind wasn’t of interest to me, but I just happened to be around people who were like-minded, passionate about civil engineering, had similar undergraduate experiences, and were genuinely nice and welcoming and that was what opened my mind to the idea of joining the YMF Board. I realized that it isn’t just the opportunities to network or acquire PDHs that bring young engineers out to YMF events, it’s also the personal connections and relationships they form. With that, I pledge to make new connections throughout the year, as well as encourage the Board to do the same.

As civil engineers, we need to think about the future of our industry and the next generation of engineers who will need to develop innovative ways to update and maintain our transportation system, progress sustainable designs, and improve our subsurface infrastructure. One effective way to ensure that our industry acquires talented young engineers is through outreach. Growing up in the City of Philadelphia and going through the public school system, I know first-hand that opportunities to learn about technical careers are not always readily available in school and so I believe each of us, as civil engineers, owes it to the youth as well as our industry to donate at least a couple of hours per year to student outreach. In doing so, we can help spark an interest in students who know very little about civil engineering or help guide students who want to be engineers but don’t know where to start. Through the diligence of the YMF’s K-12 Outreach Chairs, Civil Engineering Club Chairs, and volunteers, we have greatly expanded our K-12 outreach efforts and maintained a successful Civil Engineering Club; however, these initiatives rely on volunteer support and so I respectfully ask that when you’re presented with the opportunity to be a volunteer, you think about what a couple of hours a year could do for the future of civil engineering and commit to at least one outreach event.

Thinking back to when I was an undergraduate civil engineering student at Widener University, I know I didn’t take full advantage of the YMF and so throughout my time on the board I have focused a lot of my efforts on the college students and helping them realize the benefits of ASCE and the Philly YMF prior to graduation. My goal has been to educate students on how participating in ASCE on the collegiate level AND locally through the YMF can lead to a more enriching college experience and, for a large number of students, a somewhat seamless transition into the workforce. With ASCE National making strides to ensure student members transition into professional members, I am committed to continue to work with the students alongside the College Contact Chairs so that transition continues to happen.

I am very pleased with the leaders that the 2016-2017 board is comprised of and I’m looking forward to serving the membership with them. I also look forward to seeing you out at our events and meeting some of our new members. Please do not hesitate to reach out to myself or any member of the board with any questions or suggestions you may have or simply email us through the YMF website.

This organization would not be successful without the support and participation of its members and for that I am truly grateful for each and every one of you. Additionally, I’d like to express my gratitude to our past president, Chris Renfro, for your leadership through what seemed to be a year of many changes and upgrades; our mentors, Kazi Hassan, Chris Gray, and Drew Sirianni, who have continued to make themselves available to us; and the Philadelphia Section and ASCE National for their support.

Sincerely,
Kevin Brown, EIT

All YMF Members and Board Chairs,

As we leave summer behind and look forward to beginning the twentieth new year of our official rebirth in 1995, it caused me to look back at how we got where we are today.

The YMF has developed from a single chair of representation on the Section Board with a handful of members at its start to a complete entity of twenty Board Chairs with hundreds of members. This growth is a result of the dedication and efforts of young civil engineers and students as well as the committed participation of an engaged membership. It is that fact that has culminated in us winning the most prestigious honor bestowed by the national ASCE leadership, the 2015 Younger Member Group Award for large groups, which will be accepted at the National Convention in New York on October 11th.

Once again we will be hosting the classics, starting with the fall Bowling Night to welcome back the colleges, the 20th Annual Winter Social for networking, the Critical Issues Seminar in the spring, and finally the Phillies Game & Tailgate. We will be bringing you more unique technical and social events like last year including construction tours, engineering game-shows and legal introductions, along with community service volunteer events to help the less fortunate and maintain our stretch of road with ASHE under the Adopt-A-Highway program. Additionally, the CivE Club™ is launching into its third year, we are regularly conducting STEM K-12 outreach in local area schools, and the returning Mock Interview service was made available to students. Planning for all this is happening while in the background we have reorganized our internal structure to take on initiatives that will enhance and streamline our appearance, such as upgrading the website, synchronizing communications, and by rebranding.

As part of the ongoing mission to provide enjoyable and meaningful profession-related events, I encourage you to provide feedback; we are listening and are open to suggestions. Please reach out to me with ideas, questions, or anything I can do to improve your experience with us.

Thank you all for your continued participation. Also, a special thanks to Past President Drew Sirianni, the 2014/15 YMF Board, and the Philadelphia Section for their support.

Sincerely,
Chris Renfro

Dear YMF Members,

Welcome back to another exciting year for the YMF Philadelphia Section. This year the YMF continues to support the Philadelphia Section in its effort to assist student members with their transition to becoming young professionals. The YMF started the year with a College Contacts Kick-off Meeting, the meeting was held at Pennoni Associates office in Philadelphia and it provided an opportunity for the students to meet the College Contacts Chairpersons and discuss some ideas for the upcoming year. The kick off theme continued with the annual Welcome Back Bowling Event where students were able to mingle with young engineers in an informal and fun environment. The YMF is making plans to visit all the local ASCE student chapters this year to present and field questions from the students, keep an eye out for the details.

The YMF will be continuing its effort to broaden the Civil Engineering Club in its 3rd consecutive year of operation at the Chester A. Arthur School, these in-classroom sessions are a great opportunity for the general YMF membership to give back to the community. If you are interested in volunteering to lead a classroom presentation/activity, these are typically after-school hours, please contact our CivE Club Coordinator, Nha Truong (Nha.Truong@phila.gov).

The YMF's annual Winter Social is coming up very soon. Last year this event drew over 200 local younger engineers and rose over $2,000 for charity. If your employer would like to sponsor this event (proceeds benefit local charities), please contact Chris Renfro (Christopher.Renfro@phila.gov). Please visit the YMF Events webpage for additional information.

Finally, the YMF has teamed with the ASHE Younger Member Committee (YMC) to adopt a section of State Route 2018 (Bethlehem Pike) from Lafayette Avenue Connector to Butler Pike in Montgomery County, PA. Look for advertisement of the first cleanup in the late winter or early spring.

Thanks to all the YMF Board Members and General Members who helped to make 2014 a success. All the best to you in 2015!

Sincerely,
Drew E. Sirianni, PE

Dear YMF Members,

As you may have heard, Philadelphia YMF participated in the first ever Civil Engineering (CivE) Club in Pennsylvania during our last Board year. This was one of 10 programs initiated nationally through ASCE. Sponsored by the Philadelphia YMF, the after-school program promoted civil engineering to students at the Chester A. Arthur Middle School in Central Philadelphia. Students learned various civil engineering principles from the benefits of reinforcing soil for increasing bearing capacity to various techniques in building an efficient bridge. The club was capped with an awards program which featured a balsa wood design competition. Thanks to the many participants on the board and in the membership who made this club a success; and, a special thank you to the hard work and dedication of Jesse Gormley (Outreach Co-Chair '12-'13) and Kazi Hassan (YMF President '12-'13) whom without their efforts, the vision of this tremendous outreach effort would not have come to fruition.

Philadelphia YMF will be keeping the momentum and having another outstanding year in 2013-2014. We are fortunate to have an amazing board with 23 dedicated members. This year we plan to continue to grow our outreach efforts through not only the CivE Club, but also opportunities such as the Boys and Girls Club of America. Additionally, we plan to continue our college outreach to bridge the gap between local college students and the working world. A new goal planned this year is a joint community service event with a local university.

We are fortunate to have a very motivated group to organize exciting community service events for our members. We have a planned volunteer event with Friends of Wissahickon, which includes improvement to local bike trails in Fairmount Park. And, in addition to our continued participation in CanStruction, we anticipate to host at least (2) other community service / charity type events which could range from a volunteer day with Philabundance to a 3-on-3 charity type event with proceeds to benefit those in need.

Philadelphia YMF also has a number of exciting social events planned in the fall, including our Welcome Back Bowling event as well as a joint happy hour planned with the South Jersey YMG. These events will lead us into our Winter Social in January 2014. Last year our Winter Social raised $1,761 for local charities thanks to the 168 younger members who attended the event and may have participated in our raffle. We hope to trump these tallies in 2014 and will need your help to do so.

Following the Winter Social, our YMF will of course participate in the Engineers Week events (February 16-22, 2014) through engaging the students and celebrating our profession with our peers. Heading into the spring of 2014 we will be offering a number of great events ranging from our critical issues seminar and construction tours to happy hours and more community service events.

This year, our board will be focusing on continuing to grow our outreach efforts, increase our involvement with community service, and expand our network through social media while continuing to offer interesting and highly touted events that keep our members engaged and informed.

Without the support of our Younger Members, we would not be able to accomplish so much. On behalf of Philadelphia YMF, I want to thank you all for your dedication and continued support of our ASCE group. And I hope that you continue to find that your involvement with ASCE is educational, rewarding, and fun. Thank you again for your support and I am looking forward to sharing an exciting year with you!

Thank You,
Chris Gray

Dear YMF Members,

As you may have heard, Philadelphia YMF was awarded 2013 Outstanding Community Service Project Award for CANstruction 2012. The award was presented at the Eastern Regional Younger Member Conference in Warwick, Rhode Island. This award was the icing on the cake for the tremendous year Philadelphia YMF has had during the 2011-2012. I would like to congratulate the 2012 YMF CANstruction team and thank all of the board members for their dedication.

Philadelphia YMF is keeping the momentum and having another outstanding year in 2012-2013. Since June 2012, Philadelphia YMF hosted six (6) K-12 outreach events, five (5) College outreach events, four (4) social events, one (1) technical event, one (1) construction tour, and participated in two (2) community service events. We are upholding ASCE's dedication to educate and promote Civil Engineering to K-12 students. In addition to the schools from last year, the YMF presented at two (2) new middle schools this year and are planning to visit and present throughout 2013.

We ended January 2013 with our 17th Annual Winter Social, raising $1,761 for local charities. Even with a winter storm warning looming, 168 younger members gathered for this annual social networking event and raised money for the less fortunate. February is a great month for Engineers. We are in the middle of E-week, and we hope to see all of the engineers at the numerous events that are planned throughout the week.

Philadelphia YMF is gearing up to finish the 2012-2013 year strong. Starting in March, we plan to host several construction tours, outreach events, and social events. We will continue to host successful events and end the year on a high note.

One of our main goals for this year was to increase our presence on Social Media. As many of you know, YMF actively participates in Facebook and Twitter. We have reached our original goal, doubling our Facebook membership from 42 to 94 followers, and now we are aiming to surpass 100 by next month.

On behalf of Philadelphia YMF, I want to thank all the Younger Members for your dedication and for participating in ASCE events. Not only has the attendance increased at our YMF events, but the Section events have been very well attended. I want to thank you for your continued support.

Thank You,
Kazi

Dear YMF Members,

On behalf of the YMF board members, along with the Philadelphia Section, I welcome you to our YMF website. We are dedicated to serve college students, young engineers, and professional engineers in the Philadelphia region.

2011-2012 has been a great year for Philadelphia YMF; it was a year of breaking records in all categories. YMF successfully hosted more elementary school visits, college visits, technical events, and construction tours than previous years. We had a record attendance at our 16th Annual Winter Social and we donated $1,827 to local Philadelphia charities. Our Canstruction team raised over 13,000 pounds of food for Philabundance and also won the “Best Meal” award at the competition. These are all accomplishments that were only made possible with dedication and hard work from YMF members.

In this early 2012-2013 year, we have already had a few successful events. We started the year with a technical meeting on Intelligent Infrastructure Systems (IIS) and the annual Phillies game/tailgate held earlier this month. We will use the knowledge gained from our past experiences as a tool to continue hosting events that are both innovative and successful, as the year progresses. To view information regarding both our past and upcoming events, please visit our website. We will also be using social media outlets to keep you informed of all upcoming events. Feel free to browse through our YMF website, Facebook, and Twitter page.

As you may know, ASCE Philadelphia Section will be celebrating their 100th Anniversary in 2013. This special occasion will bring several special events and announcement highlighting civil engineering achievements. The celebration will be concluded by the 100th Anniversary Gala on May 4th, 2013 at the Franklin Institute. Be sure to stay up to date with YMF and Philadelphia Section of ASCE.

Thank You,
Kazi

Dear YMF Members,

We're only a few months into the 2011-2012 YMF year, and I'm already proud of what this board has accomplished. Our Community Service, Technical Group, and Social Chairs hosted our annual Welcome Back Bowling event, a trail and pedestrian bridge restoration in Wissahickon Valley Park, a community clean-up on Philly Cares Day, a tour of the Route 29 PA Turnpike E-ZPass Interchange, a tour of the Schuylkill River Trail Railroad Crossing Bridge, and a spirited networking happy hour. It’s been great seeing some new faces at these events, particularly our student members, and I hope the trend will continue throughout the new year.

The YMF Outreach Committee and College Contact Chairs have been doing an excellent job contacting our student members and following-through on our commitment to elementary, middle, and high school outreach. Adrienne Nikolic recently discussed and demonstrated how water is filtered and processed for 7th grade students at McCall Elementary, with plans to return again later in the school year. Colette Montague and Jesse Gormley also hosted presentations at Villanova and Temple Universities, with talks at our other local engineering colleges scheduled for 2012. On the National front, the YMF was selected by ASCE Nationals to help pilot their new High School Engineering Club program; Bucks County Technical High School has already held one successful Engineering Club meeting, with more planned for the rest of the school year.

Moving into 2012, the YMF plans to keep our calendar full. We'll begin 2012 by hosting our 16th Annual Winter Social. We'll return to McGillin's Olde Ale House on January 30th, 2012 for what is traditionally the Section's largest event. The Winter Social Charity Raffle will be raising money for the Philabundance food bank and Future City Competition, so please encourage your employer to participate as a sponsor.

As December winds down, I wish you all a safe and happy new year. See you in 2012!

- Jeremy

Dear YMF Members,

Welcome to the 2011-2012 YMF year, our 17th year as a YMF and the 99th year of the Philadelphia Section. I'm proud to serve this year's board of 21 motivated members, each with different professional experiences and interests in engineering disciplines. With a board of this size, their varied background is providing unique viewpoints and opportunities to serve the interests of the younger engineering community. I'm excited by the ideas we've discussed, and am interested to see what they'll come up with next.

Since the May election, we've hosted a successful trail clean-up in Fairmount Park and celebrated a win at the annual Phillies Tailgate/Game hosted by the Delaware, Philadelphia and South Jersey YMF groups. We've also finalized planning for the October 6th "Engineering Your Own Success" career development seminar featuring best-selling author Anthony Fasano, P.E. This event, like most of our events, is relevant to engineering students, young professionals, and the young at heart. I hope you'll RSVP and attend.

The planning of professional development and technical seminars, social and networking events, community service activities, college outreach events, and many unique construction tours are already in the works. Our Outreach Committee is also looking to build on their past experiences by presenting a series of science and math teaching lessons to school students. If you have an affiliation with an area elementary or middle school, or if you would like to be involved in this program, please get in contact with us; we're eager to hear from you.

I hope you'll take advantage of these fun activities and programs. Based on my YMF experiences over the years, I cannot over-stress the personal and professional benefits of being an active YMF member. This is an exciting time to be an engineer in our area, and I'm confident that this year's board is planning events that will contribute to your understanding and enjoyment of the profession.

To remain up-to-date about our upcoming events, please take a moment to bookmark the event link on our website, sign-up for our monthly email list, follow our Twitter account, or "friend-us" on Facebook. If you have any suggestions for our group, please email me at jeremy@chrzan.com.

Thank you for this opportunity to serve our engineering community. I look forward to seeing you at our events.

- Jeremy

Well it's the start of another YMF year and the start of my term as President. First I'd like to thank Cathy Farrell for a great job last year as President and for her accomplishments throughout the year. She's left pretty big shoes to fill.

We've got an exciting year ahead of us and it starts with our new board. We have 24 members this year leaving us plenty of folks to help us have a very productive year. We've already have two construction tours in the works and have set a date and time for the annual bowling event. While the venue had to change due to the fact that our old location has closed, this year we expect the event to be even more successful.

We plan to continue our outreach to local colleges and schools in the area to promote the civil engineering profession to potential future engineers.

Please keep updated of events on our website and if you are not receiving our e-mails of updated events or have any suggestions please feel free to contact me at mgwagner@urbanengineers.com.

Mike

Dear YMF Members,

Thank you to all of those that attended our Winter Social. We had over 150 people in attendance! While the drinks, buffet and raffle are enjoyable parts of the social it's the people that attend that make the event so much fun. So thank you! Also thank you to the YMF board... it was truly a team effort to pull the event off!

Please check out the events page of our site to see the latest happenings. My personal favorite spring/summer time activity is the Critical Issues Seminar. I enjoy this event because the panel of speakers bring different perspectives to a topic. Plus since its held at a bar, it's more informal... helping to make younger people feel more comfortable in asking questions to those who have been in the industry for a longer time.

Although... I have to admit I also enjoy the Phillies tailgate with the South Jersey and Delaware YMF groups and cleaning up the Wissahickon... theres a big sense of accomplishment to see the difference in the trail after 4 hours of cleaning it up.

Hope to see you at our events!

Cathy

PS... If you're interested in joining the June 2010-May 2011 board, please contact me cfarrell@mbakercorp.com or 215-442-5316. Self nominations are due by April 23rd.

Welcome to the YMF!

I'm proud to be a member of this organization because of the opportunities it provides to network, develop professionally, volunteer and promote the field of civil engineering.

As a young engineer, it can be intimidating to walk into a dinner meeting/office/job meeting and not know anyone else or have as much technical knowledge. The YMF is here to bridge that gap by hosting events that allow civil engineers to socialize with one another in a more casual setting. Our technical and professional development events help members get a jump start on the technical knowledge learning curve.

In addition, each year YMF rolls up our sleeves and ventures outside to do volunteer work. We regularly interact with the local colleges (Drexel, Swarthmore, Temple, Villanova, and Widener) to show them that the "real world" isn't that bad. The YMF is also in the beginning phases of interacting with elementary and middle school students to show them the world of civil engineering.

I'm very lucky to have a motivated board to plan our events.

Please check our website's EVENTS section for the latest happenings.

Also, if you have any suggestions for our group, email me at cfarrell@mbakercorp.com.

Cathy

Dear YMF Members,

Thank you for supporting many of our past events and hopefully supporting the remaining events this year. We have an active board which includes members who have been on the board for many years, but we also have several first time board members. It's the hard work and dedication provided by the YMF board that allows us to put on so many successful events geared toward networking and providing a link between the college student, young engineer and the seasoned veteran.

We have had several successful events including happy hours, technical meetings, tours and our two largest events so far this year: the Winter Social and co-hosting the 2009 Eastern Region Younger Member Council (ERYMC). Our year is not over yet and we still are planning at least two more happy hours (one in March and one in May). We are also finalizing the details for our Critical issues Seminar in April. Additionally don't forget to support the Philadelphia Section events, including but not limited to dinner meetings, technical meetings and the Spring Social.

We are currently looking for people interested in joining next year's board. Information for the positions can be found in the membership section under member responsibilities. Joining the YMF Board is a good way to develop contacts in the industry and also prepare you for taking part in the Section Board. If you are interested in joining the board, please contact me by March 28th.

Please check our website's "Events" section for information on planned events. Also, if you are not receiving emails from us regarding events, please contact us.

Thanks again for your continued support of the ASCE Philadelphia Section YMF.

Don Gusic, PE

Dear YMF Members,

Thank you for supporting many of our past events and hopefully supporting our events this year. We have an active board which includes members who have been on the board for many years, but we also have several first time board members. It's the hard work and dedication provided by the YMF board that allows us to put on so many successful events geared toward networking and providing a link between college students, young engineers and seasoned veterans.

As with most years, we plan to have several happy hours, technical meetings, construction tours, service events and student outreach. In addition to these events, the YMF board will be supporting South Jersey and ASCE Nationals with the planning and implementation of the Eastern Region Younger Member Council (ERYMC) which will be held in Cherry Hill, NJ on February 6-7, 2009.

One of my focuses for the YMF will be increasing outreach efforts for ASCE. This includes creating interest in engineering by supporting Future Cities and other programs focused on younger students. Additionally, we want to increase our interaction with college students to help ease the transition between formal education and the professional world. We intend on supporting our sections effort of public outreach with the goal of helping the public and politicians understand what engineers do and why infrastructure funding is important.

Please check our website's Events section for information on planned events. Also, if you are not receiving emails from us regarding events, please contact us.

Thanks again for your continued support of the ASCE Philadelphia Section YMF.

- Don

Dear YMF Members,

I'd first off like to say thank you to the nearly 200 of you who attended the Winter Social on January 28th. The event topped last year's attendance, making it the YMF's largest event ever!

We've started the year off on a good note, so let's keep it going. On March 20th we will be holding a joint event with the Engineer's Club of Philadelphia at Elephant and Castle. The event will cover the importance of professional licensure and the necessary steps to get your PE. In mid-April we will be hosting a Happy Hour in Center City. Finally on June 4th we will be co-hosting a Phillies game with our friends down in Delaware. So continue to check our events link periodically for more information about each of these upcoming events.

Finally, in the coming month we will begin the process of forming the new YMF Board for the 2008-2009 year. Several board positions will be opening up, so if you are interested in becoming active at a higher level, please contact me directly and we can discuss your interests.

Thanks again for making the Winter Social a tremendous success!

- Joe Platt, PE

Dear YMF Members,

Well its the start of a new year. We have an excellent Board this year with many new faces and new ideas to continue the success that we had last year.

The Section's first dinner meeting of the year will be held on October 11, 2007 at the Union League of Philadelphia. This meeting is used to introduce the YMF to the Section, so I would encourage everyone to come out and show the Section just how strong a group we are. Details about the dinner can be found here.

Our calendar of events is starting to take shape so please continue to check this ASCE award winning website for information on our upcoming events.

I hope to see you at the October meeting.

- Joe Platt, PE

Dear YMF Members,

Although we are quickly approaching the end of the YMF calendar year in June (and thus my term as President), we still have plenty of exciting events left. Between the CHOP Construction Tour on April 18, the Yards Brewery Tour on April 21, an upcoming community service event in May, and the Election Happy Hour on May 17, there are plenty of events to look forward to in the next two months.

Aside from our upcoming events, I also want to mention how impressed I am with the number of YMF members interested in serving on the board next year. As I write this, we have already received notices from seven new individuals who are ready to become more active in the YMF. The willingness to donate time is what keeps a volunteer organization like the YMF thriving. Although at times it can be inconvenient and even stressful, I can attest that the friendships and experiences gained through participation more than compensate for the effort expended. That said, I sincerely want to thank everyone who have been involved with the YMF this year - keep it up!

Until the next Happy Hour,

John Federico, PE

Greetings fellow young engineers,

First of all, I just want to say thank you to everyone who attended the Winter Social on January 31st with 171 attendees, it was the YMF's largest event ever! And I wouldn't be surprised if it was one of the largest YMF events in the country, which is outstanding.

Let's try to build on this momentum by having a great turnout at the Critical Issues Seminar on March 14th at the Elephant & Castle. The seminar will cover the increasingly hot topic of Politics and Engineering and will feature a panel of experts in the field of engineering, politics and capital budget programming, all of whom have a stake in tackling the political issues that our profession will face in the future.

In mid-April we will be hosting a construction tour of the new Children's Hospital of Philadelphia building, followed by a nearby Happy Hour in University City. Other upcoming events this Spring include a tour of the Yards Brewery in Northeast Philly, a Community Service event, and our annual Election Happy Hour in May. Please check our events link periodically for more information about each of these upcoming events.

Also, in the next two months we will choose the new YMF Board for the 2007-2008 year. Several board positions will be opening up, so if you are interested in becoming active at a higher level, please contact me directly and we can discuss your interests.

Hope to see you at the next event!

John Federico, PE

Greetings fellow young engineers,

As we move forward into February of 2007, the Philadelphia YMF has just completed several events, including two Technical Group meetings and the increasingly popular Winter Social. Many thanks to all of you who attended the Winter Social, and of course a special thanks to the YMF board members that planned this event.

Our events calendar for the Spring is starting to take shape, and it looks to be an exciting time of the year. On March 14th the joint ECP/YMF team will bring us this year's YMF Critical Issues Seminar. The seminar will cover the increasingly hot topic of Politics and Engineering. This event will feature a panel of experts in the field of engineering, politics and capital budget programming, all of whom have a stake in tackling the political issues that our profession will face in the future. In April we will be hosting a construction tour of the new Children's Hospital building in University City, followed by a nearby Happy Hour. And in May, we will be holding our annual Election Happy Hour at a location TBD.

So please check our events link periodically for more information about each of these upcoming events. See you soon.

John Federico, PE