American Society of Civil Engineers
Infrastructure Awareness
Report Card for America's Infrastructure
When the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its Report Card for America's Infrastructure in 2001, the federal budget had a surplus of $5.6 trillion but the country's infrastructure was failing. A panel of 11 prominent civil engineers had given the nation's transportation, wastewater, drinking water and other areas a D+. My role as a communications strategist was to organize the release of the Report Card. This included a news briefing and a satellite media tour with ASCE's spokespeople. Developed as an education tool for Congress, the Report Card contributed to the passage of the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century.
Education on the condition and need for maintenance of our nation's infrastructure was an ongoing effort at ASCE. I periodically wrote issue briefs on specific areas to distribute to policy leaders. These briefs were intended to build support for ongoing funding for various infrastructure areas, such as energy generation and transmission.
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Issue Briefs on Infrastructure
Me, Myself and Infrastructure
In celebration of ASCE's 150th anniversary, the association commissioned an exhibit, Me, Myself and Infrastructure, that highlighted the contributions of civil engineers. The exhibit opened at the New-York Historical Society and traveled to the National Building Museum in Washington, DC and One Market in San Francisco. It was designed to heighten public understanding of civil engineering in daily life as much as it was to spur pride among the profession. I supported the exhibit by managing the launch of the exhibit, media relations and community events. As a result, the exhibit received favorable reviews from reporters and attendees alike.
STEM Education and Television Station Partnership
In order to advance the future of the profession, ASCE partnered with PBS affiliate WGBH-Boston on a number of initiatives to introduce engineering and STEM principles to middle school-age children. Beginning with the WGBH six-part series Building Big, ASCE partnered with the PBS affiliate on its educational initiative in support of the series. My role was to train representatives from ASCE chapters on the curriculum developed for the young students and promote the series within the engineering community. The partnership with Building Big was such a success that ASCE partnered once again with WGBH-Boston on the reboot of the PBS series ZOOM. This time, our role was expanded to include the coordination of community events that showcased STEM activities.
