April Chapter Meeting

Resiliency: A Panel Discussion

Resiliency seems to be the topic on everyone's minds these days as more and more research comes out regarding the "Big One" that is supposed to hit the Pacific Northwest at any time. Japan and Chili are way ahead of us on the ability to recover quickly after a major earthquake. Current projections for the Northwest predict that it could be months to years before basic services are restored. Fortunately, due to a lot of work by a group of dedicated volunteers, Oregon now has the Oregon Resiliency Plan in place with steps we can take to be able to recover from a major disaster quickly. Come learn more about some of those steps that are being taken right now. 

Carmen Merlo from the Portland Bureau of Emergency Services will be presenting on the Unreinforced Masonry Buildings (URM) in Portland, and an initiative to make seismic retrofits mandatory.

Richard Steinbrugge from the Beaverton School District will discuss how they included resiliency planning in their new high school and middle school and 1% budget premium that it took to make both schools into community shelters in the event of a major earthquake.

Teri Martin with the City Club of Portland will discuss how social resiliency can foster stronger communities before, during, and after a major disaster. 

Learning Objectives:

1. What are some of the programs happening right now to help make Portland more resilient?
2. What are the budget impacts to planning for resiliency in new construction?
3. Are we doing enough to be prepared?
4. How can resiliency benefit and add value to a community for day to day living?
5. What are the next steps, and how can the AEC Industry get involved?

1.5 AIA HSW CEU Available!

Carmen Merlo, Director, Portland Bureau of Emergency Management
Carmen Merlo has served as the director of the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management since 2007. As the emergency manager for the City of Portland she is responsible for planning, implementing and improving emergency management plans and procedures to ensure a coordinated response to major emergencies or disruptions to essential city services. She leads the City’s disaster resilience planning and builds partnerships with local, regional and state organizations.

Ms. Merlo previously worked for 10 years at the State Office of Homeland Security / Oregon Emergency Management administering grant funds to improve local, regional and state capabilities to respond to and recover from emergencies. She earned a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, School of Criminal Justice in New York.

Richard Steinbrugge, PE, Administrator for Facilities, Beaverton School District
Richard Steinbrugge is currently the Executive Administrator for Facilities for the Beaverton School District in Beaverton, Oregon, which is the third largest and fastest growing K-12 school district in the state with 40,000 students and 52 schools. He led the development and is responsible for the execution of the District’s $680 million capital bond program.Mr. Steinbrugge previously served as a Navy Civil Engineer Corps Officer, retiring as a Captain in 1998. During his Navy career, he led large organizations with major facilities construction and maintenance responsibilities; he was Deputy Director of the U.S. Navy's environmental protection program in the Pentagon, and served as the United States representative to a NATO environmental compliance special working group. He was twice awarded the Legion of Merit and received several other meritorious decorations.Between his current position and Navy service, he managed an environmental engineering consulting office in Portland, was the Finance Director for the City of Portland’s Transportation Bureau, and then Chief Engineer of the Portland Water Bureau.Mr. Steinbrugge holds BS and MS degrees in civil engineering from Oregon State University, is a distinguished graduate of the Naval War College, a graduate of the Penn State Executive Management Program, and is a registered civil and environmental engineer.

 Teri Martin, Chair of the City Club of Portland's Earthquake Preparedness and Resilience Research Committee

 Teri Martin served as the Chair of the City Club of Portland's Earthquake Preparedness and Resilience Research Committee, which in February of 2017 issued a research report with action recommendations that were approved by 98% of voting City Club members.  She is now co-chair of the City Club's advocacy committee that will be working toward implementation of these recommendations.  Teri is a public policy analyst whose career has focused on justice systems at local, state and federal levels.  She has worked with multidisciplinary teams of architects and planners to help design jails, prisons, courthouses and police facilities that are consistent with users' needs and values.  Teri received her BA in Psychology and Social Relations from Harvard University and her Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Brian Knight, PE, SE, WRK Engineers
Brian is a Structural  Engineer with 22 years of earthquake engineering experience.  The last 10 years of his  experience has been spent specializing in seismic resiliency of buildings and critical infrastructure. He is a U.S. Resiliency Council certified rating professional and is currently working with the City of Newberg using the USRC ranking system to estimate building seismic performance considering the Cascadia Subduction Zone and Portland Hills Fault.  He is a licensed structural engineer in the states of California, Washington & Oregon.