SEAOC Talk April 2025

President's Message

Steven Crook, SE

2024-2025 SEAOC President

“You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” -Steve Jobs

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” -John Shedd

This President’s Message isn’t just about change; it’s about adapting your plan to change that has already happened around you and within you.

I had a hard-scrabble childhood. Welfare, hand-me-downs, you know the drill. I wasn’t starving, but I missed out on a lot of childhood experiences that I saw others having. My naturally competitive tendencies had no outlet socially or athletically but really took off academically. As a teen, I set about defining myself as the smartest kid in the classroom. Any classroom, every classroom. Math, science, history, English literature; it didn’t matter. I kept at it until I had the best test scores, the best essays, the best experiments, the best solutions to the proofs. It was my identity. Read More

SEAOC 3.0 – Honoring Our Roots, Evolving for the Future

By the SEAOC Executive Committee

If you’ve been around SEAOC for a while, you’ve likely felt what makes this organization special: the people, the spirit, the local energy, the technical excellence, and the deep care we all bring to our profession. Whether it’s a quirky trivia night, a student outreach event, or passionate code discussion, SEAOC has always thrived on meaningful engagement—rooted in our chapters and amplified through statewide collaboration.

But as we look ahead, it’s clear: how we operate needs to evolve to match the caliber of who we are and what we can be. Over the past two years, SEAOC leaders from all four Member Organizations have come together to envision a future where we reduce redundancy, elevate impact, and deliver a stronger, more consistent experience for all members—regardless of where they live or how they engage.

This work has grown into what we’re calling SEAOC 3.0 — a bold but thoughtful re-imagining of our organizational structure, built on shared purpose, improved efficiency, and expanded opportunity. It’s not a top-down change. It’s a result of deep listening: through committee chair workshops, member feedback, leadership retreats, and lots of honest conversations. And it’s grounded in the belief that we can be stronger together — without losing what makes us great.

Why Now?

Our current model — with separate operations, memberships, committees, and management teams across four MOs — has served us well for decades. But it also creates inefficiencies, silos, and uneven member experiences. It’s harder to move quickly, harder to elevate regional ideas to statewide initiatives, and harder to ensure all members feel equally supported and represented.

We’re not the same profession we were 20 years ago — or even five years ago. The pace of change in our industry, the demands on our time, and the expectations of younger engineers call for an organization that’s nimble, united, and built for the long game.

What Is SEAOC 3.0?

At its core, SEAOC 3.0 proposes a more unified SEAOC — one membership, one operational structure, one coordinated statewide voice, with strong local chapters continuing to lead on community engagement, events, and relationships.

Here are some of the key shifts:

Chapters, Not MOs: Our four current MOs would become SEAOC chapters—retaining local identity, leadership, and event programming, while functioning within a unified nonprofit structure.
Statewide Committees with Local Subcommittees: Committees would be streamlined at the state level, with flexibility for regional subcommittees to keep local nuances alive.
Centralized Membership and Events: A single membership platform and statewide calendar would make it easier to register, find events, and stay engaged—while maintaining the in-person, fun, and quirky culture we love.
Professional Staff Support: SEAOC will invest in dedicated staff to support communications, events, lobbying, and chapter programming—freeing up volunteers to focus on the technical and community work that matters most.
Financial Transparency and Equity: Dues will be standardized statewide, with the ability for chapters to add local fees. A five-year transition ensures fairness, stability, and time to adapt.

What’s In It for Members?

This isn’t about bureaucracy—it’s about making your membership feel seamless, rewarding, and easy to navigate. You’ll get:

Better access to events and resources, regardless of your chapter size or location
Less duplication—so we can spend more time building, mentoring, advocating, and innovating
A clear path to get involved, from local to state to national levels
Recognition, support, and connection across the state and beyond

And most importantly, your day-to-day chapter experience won’t go away. We’re keeping the local spirit alive—because it’s what makes us who we are. You’ll still get together with your chapter friends, work on projects that matter to your community, and enjoy the mentorship and traditions that shaped you.

What’s Next?

Our goal is to bring the bylaws of a reorganized SEAOC to a formal vote of all members by the end of 2025.

There remain several steps in getting there, including drilling down further on the implementation, financial mechanics, governance, and so on. We are of course consulting legal counsel, and we continue to invite feedback from all entities within the SEAOC family - the SEAOC and MO Boards, committees, our esteemed College of Fellows, and individuals. Our process is iterative, with multiple opportunities to ask questions, share concerns, and help shape the final model.

For the moment, then, this is essentially our ask: Please lean in. Share your voice. Help us build the SEAOC we all want to be part of. The best parts of our history — the collaboration, the camaraderie, the shared pursuit of excellence — are also the best guides for our future.

Let’s do this together.

SEAOC Seeks Next Executive Director

By Don Schinske

As many of you know, I've embarked on the process of moving from fully employed to much less so. That transition will include handing over the administrative reins of SEAOC to someone smarter, likely younger, but certainly no prouder than I have been to serve this organization over the past 13 years. When the moment comes, I'll have more to say about my time with you all and share some thoughts on the future of the organization.

For now, the SEAOC Board of Directors and I invite you to review and share this job posting for a new SEAOC Executive Director. It has been posted on some of the online sites and will start appearing in some more targeted vehicles. We are collecting as many applicants and leads as we can by the end of May, and will go from there.

We've built in some changes to the role, as compared to the one I've filled. For starters, SEAOC is aiming to employ its Executive Director fulltime —I am a contractor — and he or she would then recruit the needed additional contractors and (possibly) employees. Importantly, we anticipate the role growing and changing as SEAOC itself evolves.

Broadly, the job demands a well-organized generalist: someone who can both lead and collaborate, a chef and table-busser, a CEO and clerk. Candidates should be comfortable with small business operations, communications, technology, finances, and the peculiarities of non-profits, which includes steady changes in Board and committee leadership and consensus decision-making. The mission, for whomever is lucky enough to be called to it, is to support and enlarge a thriving, unique, and proud institution in hundreds of busy volunteers freely and loyally choose to engage.

Note that the job includes a state advocacy component, which we can be coached up, and some travel is required. Day to day, however, the work will be doable from a home office.

Feel free to contact me, dschinske@seaoc.org, if you have questions, thoughts on applying, or know anyone who might. Conversations ahead of a formal application can be confidential.

Exciting Changes to the PE Structural Examination

By the SEAOC Licensure Committee

The transition to Computer Based Testing (CBT) for the "SE Exam," also known as the PE Structural Examination, has been a source of much discussion over the past few years. This shift represents a significant change in how structural engineers will be assessed, and it has sparked numerous conversations within our community.

SEAOC, in collaboration with other Structural Engineers Associations (SEA's) and professional organizations representing structural engineering interests, has spent several years gathering information, sharing insights with membership, and most importantly, lobbying for changes to the current examination process. These efforts have been driven by a commitment to ensure that the examination accurately reflects the skills and knowledge a minimally competent Structural Engineer must possess in the field.

While there is still more work to be done, we are happy to announce a significant change made by NCEES as a direct result of these engagement efforts for positive change.

NCEES announced the following change for Spring 2026: "PE Structural Engineering Depth sections—The total time for PE Structural Engineering Vertical Depth and Lateral Depth sections will become 6.5 hours. This adds 60 minutes of exam time and includes a tutorial and a scheduled break. Updated specifications will be posted on the NCEES website in October 2025."

In addition, the structural exam committee item writers understand the impact that question format has on examinees. When developing test items, they are considering the number of calculations and references associated with a single exam item, especially since dual monitors or multiple references are not supported in exam centers. This consideration aims to ensure that the examination process is fair and manageable for all candidates.

While no one is excited to sit through additional exam time, we are encouraged about these changes as it is evidencing our organization is being heard and believe they will contribute to a more effective examination process for all aspiring Structural Engineers.

If you have questions or comments, please reach out to the SEAOC Licensure Committee at seaoc@seaoc.org