People

External Advisory Board

William F. Baker is a Structural Engineering Consulting Partner for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP, where he strives to extend the profession of structural engineering through design, research, teaching, and professional activities.

A particular focus of Baker’s work is the design and engineering of supertall towers. He led the development of the “buttressed core” structural system for the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest manmade structure.

Sofia Berger is a Senior Vice President and the National Business Line Leader for Transportation at WSP. In this role she oversees the strategic direction, business development performance, client management, and knowledge management of the U.S. transportation market, including highways, bridges, transit and rail, tunnels and aviation, as well as ports and marine. Previously, Sofia served as Deputy National Business Line Leader in the Advisory group with a range of responsibilities from strategic planning, operational management, and complex project management across all types of infrastructure. Sofia was Deputy Business Development Leader for U.S. Transportation as well as Managing Director for the Latin American and the Caribbean Division at Louis Berger, an international consulting engineering organization, which was acquired by WSP in 2018. She was particularly focused on rail and transit and public-private partnerships, as well as overseeing the strategic direction of the regional operations as well as all client management, project delivery and business development activities. As a third-generation engineer, Sofia has a unique background that informs her approach to leadership and delivering for clients. She has 20 years of infrastructure experience spanning project management of construction projects in the field and management consulting for private sector clients and governmental transportation agencies around the world. Sofia holds a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School and bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering and economics-operations research from Columbia University.

Dr. Carole Braverman is the Regional Science Advisor to EPA’s Office of Research and Development with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 5 Office in Chicago, Illinois.  She also serves as regional science advisor.  Her areas of responsibility include management of regional environmental research programs, facilitation of science communication between the regional office and EPA Headquarters, and identification of science needs for research planning.  She co-chairs the Regional Science and Technology Council and represents the Region on EPA’s Science and Technology Policy Council Steering Committee. 

Dr. Braverman has a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology from University of Michigan and PhD in experimental pathology from Northwestern University.

John D. Brock is a Senior Engineer with Michael Baker International. Michael Baker International is a leading provider of engineering, consulting and technology services spanning three distinct Verticals: Infrastructure, Integrated Design and Advisory (IDA) and GovTech. The firm’s Practices encompass all facets of infrastructure, including design and civil engineering for diverse bridge, highway, water, rail and transit and aviation projects, as well as planning, architecture, environmental and construction and program management.

Mr. Brock has both B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from Northwestern University, and over 35 years of structural design and project management experience with nationally recognized firms such as U.S. Gypsum Company, Chicago Bridge & Iron, and Walker Parking Consultants. His diverse resume of successful projects encompasses everything from a bauxite ore processing facility in the Australian outback to the College of Pharmacy building on the medical campus of the University of Toledo.

Jen Moore serves as Senior Environment Manager in the Environment, Health, Safety (EHS) and Product Stewardship department for 3M Company. In this role, she leads a team of environmental engineers and scientists to support 3M’s air, water, and waste management programs for manufacturing, research and development, and distribution operations around the world.

She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University and a Master of Science degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University.  Jen served in leadership roles with the Air & Waste Management Association, including service on the Board of Directors and the Young Profession Advisory Council Chair.

Brett Gitskin, P.E. serves as the Executive Vice President of ECS MIDWEST, LLC, after serving as President for 16 years and has been with ECS since 1998. Mr. Gitskin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Northwestern University, and a Master of Science degree in Geotechnical Engineering also from Northwestern University. 

Mr. Gitskin is a licensed professional engineer in Illinois and 15 other states. Mr. Gitskin has over 37 years of progressive professional experience including geotechnical, environmental, construction materials, and facilities engineering. Mr. Gitskin has been the geotechnical engineer of record for numerous high-profile projects in the Chicago Metropolitan area and throughout the Midwest.

Mr. Gitskin is the author of several papers and serves as an adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University in the Civil Engineering Department and the Masters of Project Management Program.

Dr. Connie Li, PE, is the Founder and former President/CEO of TranSmart Technologies.  Dr. Li has more than 30 years of experience in the advanced technology areas in the transportation infrastructure industry. Dr. Li founded TranSmart Technologies in 1996 and kept growing the company until 2017, when TranSmart acquired a Chicago based woman-owned company EJM Engineering. The company had kept growing since then and had become a full-service, multi-disciplinary engineering consulting firm providing services in civil/electrical/structural/traffic engineering, multimodal transportation, and Intelligent Transportation Systems. In March 2022, TranSmart was acquired by Atlas Technical Consultants, a nationwide leading company that provides quality infrastructure and environmental solutions. Besides TranSmart, Dr. Li also co-founded a technology company that provides digital traffic information in North America, TrafficCast International, which was acquired in 2020 by Iteris.   

Dr. Li earned her Bachelor, Master, and PhD degrees in three languages across three countries. After having obtained her bachelor’s degree from the Civil Engineering Department at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, she won a coveted scholarship from the University of Tokyo, Japan, where she earned her master’s degree in civil engineering. Dr. Li earned her PhD degree in civil engineering at the University of Illinois - Chicago. She is a registered Professional Engineer in multiple states in the US.

Maggie Pakula serves as Executive Vice President of Strategy at Invenergy, a leading privately-held developer, owner and operator of sustainable energy solutions. During her tenure with Invenergy, she established the company’s Performance Analytics Program and helped develop the commercial and market analytics group. Before leading Strategy at Invenergy, she acted as Director of Regulatory Affairs supporting the company’s activities in the northeast ISO/RTOs and engaging in market policy work. In her current role, she heads the company’s Strategic Roadmap and Initiative efforts, where she is charged with examining new market opportunities for Invenergy to leverage its expertise and to continue its efforts to build a sustainable world. Maggie also currently serves on the Board of Evergreen Climate Innovations.

Maggie holds a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University and a M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. While at Stanford she was a Stanford Graduate Research Fellow and National Science Foundation Fellow.

Carol Post is the former Chief Quality Assurance Officer at Thornton Tomasetti and the leader of the firm's higher education market sector, quality assurance/quality control committee and the standards committee. She joined Thornton Tomasetti in 1997 and has 30 years of structural engineering experience before retiring in 2022.

Carol is also the Structural Engineer of Record for several Northwestern buildings, including the Global Hub-Kellogg and SQBRC on the Chicago campus.

Her credits span a spectrum of projects including education, healthcare, residential, commercial, and cultural facilities.

Cynthia Quarterman is a Distinguished Fellow with the Global Energy Center at the Atlantic Council. She also chairs the independent Quality Review Board for NiSource Inc.’s safety management systems. Quarterman was unanimously confirmed by the Senate as the Administrator of the US Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), from 2009 until 2014. She has been a key policymaker in energy and natural resource development, safety, environmental and pipeline and hazardous materials transportation matters since the Clinton administration.

Throughout her handling of complicated technical and policy issues, Quarterman has been a steadfast advocate for responsible energy and natural resource development and environmentally prudent regulations. Quarterman served as the head of PHMSA during the Obama administration and as the US Department of the Interior’s  (DOI) Director of the former Minerals Management Service (now the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the DOI Office of Natural Resources Revenue) during the Clinton administration. She has also served in numerous other capacities within the DOI and was a member of the Obama administration’s transition team at the Department of Energy. In addition to extensive experience within the federal government, Quarterman was also previously a law firm partner in the Washington, DC office of Steptoe and Johnson LLP, where her practice focused on issues related to transportation, energy and the environment. 

Mr. Riemer was the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Lend Lease Great Lakes Region. He is a Registered Professional Engineer with more than 40 years of experience in the construction industry and is currently retired.

Jeff earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Northwestern University in 1973, and received his MBA from the University of Chicago. 

Jeff brought a high level of experience and knowledge in providing a full range of preconstruction and construction services to his clients, possessing wide experience in both renovation and new construction of office buildings, residential facilities, school campuses, research facilities, airport terminals, medical buildings, mixed-use complexes, and retail facilities. He has worked around the world, living in London for six years and leading projects such as Broadgate at Liverpool Street Station and the expansion of Heathrow Airport.  In Asia Pacific, he helped develop the new airport at Macau, and expansion of Osaka Kansai Airport.  In the US, Jeff’s project experience includes construction of the Trump Tower Chicago, the Hyatt Center, and McCormick Place North Hall.

As Founding Partner at Krueck Sexton Partners, Mark is integral to the design and management of all the firms work. His dedication to design, detailing, and responsible project delivery ensures firm-wide quality and consistency of all projects. Whether designing a U.S. Embassy or reimagining an existing building, Mark brings both curiosity and experience to his work. He embraces the ideas of colleagues, investigates possibilities and engages with community, constantly evolving and advancing projects.

Chris Trigg serves as the Director of Space Suits and Crew Equipment at SpaceX, where he has worked since 2014. In his current role, he is responsible for managing the design, fabrication, and testing of all space suits and crew-interfacing flight equipment supporting the company’s human spaceflight missions. Prior to SpaceX, Chris worked at both Walt Disney Imagineering and the Miami Science Museum on projects that combined sustainability initiatives with immersive experiences.

 Chris holds a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University, an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University, and an S.M. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT.

Davide Zampini serves as the Vice President of Global Research & Development at CEMEX, where he leads a worldwide team of scientists and engineers in Switzerland and Mexico. His work is focused on the collective challenge of decarbonizing the construction industry, developing novel cement-based materials, focusing on bridging the gap between laboratory research and practical, scalable building solutions.

With over 30 years of experience in the construction materials industry, Davide Zampini is on a continuous and relentless quest to push the boundaries of innovation when it comes to cement-based products and building solutions.

Through the adoption of a product design and an industrialization-driven innovation approach, Davide leads a multi-disciplinary and culturally diverse team at CEMEX's Center for Innovation and Technology in Switzerland.

Innovation is not limited only to developing novel functionalities in materials, but innovation is also applied in creating an evolving the R&D model that is versatile - adapting to the company’s dynamic changes in focus as well as business strategy.

Additionally, numerous customer engagement approaches and methodologies have been developed and designed to create a unique customer journey and strong emotional ties to a material that for ages has been considered "grey."

He views R&D as a continuous learning process and a collective journey toward a more sustainable and better future.

A graduate of Northwestern University with a Bachelors (1992) and Ph.D. (1996) in Civil Engineering.

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

• Novel Products & Technologies (Cement, Aggregates, Concrete, Binders, Admixtures)
• Advanced Material Engineering & Design
• Sustainable Construction & Novel Construction Systems
• CO2 Mitigation
• Admixtures Chemistry and Products
• Insulation & Acoustics
• Cement Chemistry
• Novel Investigation Techniques

Dr. Arthur Zhang is the Founder and President of PNDbotics, an embodied AI company developing next-generation humanoid robots. Prior to this, he was a Partner on the China investment team at SoftBank Vision Fund, where he helped build the local team and led investments across China and overseas in TMT, robotics, smart manufacturing, and healthcare.

Earlier, as Managing Director of ZhenFund, a leading early-stage venture capital firm in China, he built a portfolio of over 40 companies in the consumer and internet sectors. He also worked in M&A at Baidu Investment, leading growth-stage investments that resulted in two IPOs and one acquisition.

Dr. Zhang brings a rare combination of rigorous academic training in both the U.S. and China and deep investment experience across early, growth, late-stage, pre-IPO, IPO, and strategic deals in domestic and international markets. A locally savvy investor with strong cross-cultural competence, he navigates complex transactions with an entrepreneur’s mindset, building lasting relationships with founders and partners to create win-win outcomes.

He began his career as a management consultant at Booz & Company in the U.S. and China, specializing in industrial engineered goods and serving Fortune 500 clients such as Honeywell, Caterpillar, FedEx, American Airlines, and Dover. His work included acquisition due diligence, market entry analysis, cost optimization, and business planning.

His investment expertise has earned him multiple honors: “40 Under 40 Investors” by China Entrepreneur Magazine (2017, 2019); “Top 10 Best Discoverer Investors in Shared Economy” (2018) and “Top 10 Best Discoverer Investors in Consumer Tech” (2019) by 36Kr; and “Top 30 New-Generation Investors” by The Investors (2018).

Dr. Zhang holds a Ph.D. in Transportation Planning & Operations and an M.A. in Economics from Northwestern University, and a B.Eng. from Tsinghua University.