YMG
YMG
YMG
gEOTECHNICAL Institute
board of directors
geotechnical Institute Chair
Santiago Rodriguez, E.I.
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Santiago Rodriguez is a Development Manager with Key International. With over 10 years of experience in design, value engineering, finance, and project management in markets expanding from the US, the Caribbean, and South America. Santiago received a MS in Civil Engineering, a BS in Civil Engineering, and a BS in Architectural Engineering from the University of Miami. Santiago is currently the President of the University of Miami College of Engineering Alumni Association and volunteers as Treasurer for the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami chapter of Young Professionals.
board member
Cristina M. Gonzalez, P.E.
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Cristina Gonzalez is a Senior Principal and Senior Vice President with Langan Engineering &
Environmental Services. With 36 years at Langan, she as performed hundreds of geotechnical
engineering studies, most of which have been for high-rise projects along Florida’s coast, in
South Florida’s urban core, or projects with difficult ground conditions. Her work on numerous
projects has resulted in groundbreaking technical solutions and “first-time-ever” techniques
used in testing piles and in designing foundations. These solutions and systems are now a
standard of practice in the geotechnical field in South Florida and beyond.
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Ms. Gonzalez is involved in several corporate committees and firm-wide initiatives. She is a
founder of Women@Langan, an internal initiative to mentor, advocate for, and support women
to achieve professional and personal success, and Women@Langan’s quarterly newsletter. She
is also on the Board of Directors’ Ethics Committee.
Ms. Gonzalez received a Master of Engineering degree in Geotechnical Engineering from
Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.), and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the
University of Miami. She has been an adjunct professor at the University of Miami, and a guest
lecturer at Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University, and Miami-Dade College.
Ms. Gonzalez is involved in several professional organizations including the Urban Land Institute
(ULI), the ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative (Past Chair), American Society of Civil Engineers,
Cuban-American Association of Civil Engineers (Director), and Commercial Real Estate Women
(CREW).
SECRETARY
Kumar Vedula, P.E.
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Mr. Vedula, a Florida-Registered Professional Engineer, has over 25 years of experience providing engineering services for a wide variety of geotechnical projects involving foundation design, slope stability analysis, WEAP analysis and interpreting PDA reports, excavation support, and construction inspection. His extensive experience includes foundation inspections (shallow and deep foundations), soil modification (dynamic compaction, stone columns), preloading, excavations, backfilling, and post construction monitoring. Mr. Vedula has served as a principal inspector on numerous surcharging and settlement evaluations of organic laden soils assignments. His project experience includes 300+ geotechnical engineering studies for various projects types including parks, piers, shoreline stabilization, dredging, bridges, roadways, utilities, high rise buildings, schools, and government facilities. Mr. Vedula has authored, and co-authored papers published in national and international publications.
TREASURER
Nick Syriopoulos
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Nick Syriopoulos is Senior Business Development Manager for Keller NA, in Fort Lauderdale, FL. He is a member of ASCE and holds a BS and MS in Civil/Geotechnical Engineering from Georgia Tech. Mr. Syriopoulos has 35 years geotechnical construction engineering and management experience. He is specialized in ground improvement methods, specialty grouting, deep foundations and excavation support. In the past, he has managed 2 Industrial Minerals companies overseas.
BOARD MEMBER
Andy Tao, P.E
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Andy Tao is a Geotechnical Engineer for Arehna Engineering in Coral Springs, FL. He holds a BS and MS in Civil/Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Florida. Mr. Tao has provided engineering services on numerous geotechnical explorations over the past 6 years including roadways, commercial/residential high-rise buildings, residential developments, and industrial, military, medical, commercial, and educational facilities.
BOARD MEMBER
Garfield Wray, P.E., D.GE
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Garfield is a Vice President and geotechnical engineer with NV5. He has over 38 years of engineering experience working on a wide variety of engineering projects including airports, marine ports, bridges, roadways and other infrastructure developments, industrial facilities including LNG terminals, oil and bauxite refineries, water and wastewater treatment plants, and commercial and residential buildings including sky-scrapers. He has experience throughout the United States including Florida, Washington D.C, Maryland, Virginia, the New England area, Louisiana, Texas, California, as well as projects throughout the Caribbean. Garfield is serving his third year as a board member for the Miami-Dade branch.
Chair ElecT
Roberto Rodriguez, P.E.
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Roberto Rodriguez is a Geotechnical Engineer. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida International University and a Master of Science degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. He focuses on projects in the transportation market.
Board Member
Andres F. Peralta, MBA, P.E.
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Andres Peralta is a geotechnical engineer who has seven years of experience designing structures with geosynthetics and designing and developing new products for the geosynthetics industry. Andres holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Civil Engineering and an MBA from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and he is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Florida. Andres works for Tensar International Corporation managing the sales and marketing efforts of Tensar’s engineered solutions in South Florida.
PAST CHAIR
Ray Villa, P.E.
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