Leadership
The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) Educational Trust chair, vice chair, secretary and treasurer serve as officers of the board and with the executive director, lead the volunteer board of trustees and strategize to elevate and expand the Trust’s programs.
Board of Trustees
The DFI Educational Trust’s Board of Trustees is comprised of volunteer trustees with chair, vice chair, secretary and treasurer officer positions. Five core board members serve five-year terms and up to eight at-large trustees serve two-year terms. In addition, the president and treasurer of DFI serve as members of the Trust board during their terms at DFI. Emeritus and honorary trustees may be appointed as non-voting members of the board.
As part of their commitment to the Trust and its mission, all board members actively participate in fundraising by organizing events, spearheading annual drives, and leading other such efforts. In addition, all board members make personal financial contributions to the Trust.
Board Chair
Rudolph P. Frizzi, P.E., G.E., D.GE, Managing Principal at LANGAN, has been the chair on the Trust’s board since 2021. His geotechnical engineering and project management experience is extensive, with particular emphasis on foundation design and construction in urban areas, and large-scale land and waterfront public and private development projects throughout the United States and internationally.
During his 35+ years in the industry, Frizzi has interacted on projects located in practically every continent world–wide, and has performed geotechnical investigations and designs, prepared plans and technical specifications, and observed field testing and construction as geotechnical “engineer of record” on countless projects.
In addition to his “engineer of record” experience, Frizzi has provided expert geotechnical consultation and trial testimony on over 100 excavation and foundation litigation cases throughout the United States and internationally. He has also prepared and presented over 50 technical presentations at universities, conferences, and seminars throughout the United States and internationally on a variety of issues, including land development engineering, foundation design, and construction.
In 2024, Rudolph Frizzi won the DFI Distinguished Service Award.
Other Board Leaders
Vice Chair
Zoran Curanovic, P.E.
Underpinning & Foundation Skanska, Inc.
Treasurer
Lori Simpson, P.E., G.E.
LANGAN
Oakland, CA
Secretary
Helen Robinson, P.E.
GEI Consultants
Immediate Past Chair
Other Trustees
The Trust is managed by a volunteer board of trustees who carry out the mission of the Trust by actively participating in fundraising events, spearheading donation drives, managing the scholarship and grant programs, and serving as fiduciaries of the donated funds. Trustees, including the officers, serve five-year or two-year terms.
John Allen • Master Builders Solutions
Jonathan Huff • Richard Goettle, Inc.
James Johnson • Condon Johnson and Associates
Emma Migneault • Worldsensing, Sl
Shawna Munn • Enterra Engineering
Seth Pearlman, P.E., D.GE • Menard USA
Monica Prezzi • Purdue University
Mark J. Rice, Esq. • McNeil, Silveira, Rice & Wiley
Andrew C. Verity • Terracon Consultants
Emeritus and Honorary Trustees
Trustees may also be appointed as non-voting members to serve in an advisory capacity. Emeritus Trustees are former board chairs and Honorary Trustees are former trustees who either have a scholarship established in their name or have made an exceptionally generous contribution or rendered other extraordinary services to the Trust.
David B. Coleman • Underpinning & Foundation Skanska, Inc.
Dan Dragone • Bauer Equipment America
Richard Short, P.E., D.GE • Consulting Geotechnical Enginee
M. Byrl Williams, P.E. • Foundation Constructors, Inc.
Administration
The Trust has no paid employees as the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) donates their administrative staff’s time and expertise to manage its activities. The executive director of DFI is also the executive director of the Trust and is responsible for the effective administration and execution of all the Trust’s programs and policies.
Executive Director
Theresa Engler, executive director of DFI since 2006, also serves as the executive director of the DFI Educational Trust. From 1998-2006, she served as assistant director and operations manager. She is responsible for the operations, technical activities, regional chapters and marketing of DFI, and reports to the DFI Board of Trustees.
Working in collaboration with the DFI board, Engler has spearheaded significant growth at DFI including new members, technical committees, educational events, publications and regional chapters in Europe, India and the Middle East. She is actively involved in the deep foundations industry and represents DFI and the Trust at conferences and seminars worldwide. She attended Fairfield University and is a member of the American Society of Association Executives and the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC). In 2015, Theresa was unanimously elected to membership in The Moles, a fraternal organization of the heavy construction industry and in 2019 was named Outstanding Association Executive by the New York Society of Association Executives (NYSAE).