Engineers Alliance for the Arts has named Rafael Turcios and Demetra Tzamaras as the new Vice Presidents for the 2020 Student Impact Project (SIP).

Rafael has been a SIP volunteer at New Technology High School in Napa. The Student Teams from the class he taught at New Technology won First Place and Best in Show in 2018 at the Annual Bridge Showcase & Awards Event. This will be his third year participating with EAA. He has worked at RSA Civil for the last five years in Land Development. Prior to joining RSA Civil, he spent over a year in Korea teaching English, and graduated from UC Davis with a BS in Civil Engineering.

Demetra volunteered for the SIP at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in 2019 and at Immaculate Conception Academy in 2018. She works at Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger and was previously at Parsons Corporation in Washington DC. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a BS in Civil Engineering, and has a Masters from UC Berkeley in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Both Rafael and Demetra are enthusiastic supporters of the SIP and are excited to join EAA’s Board of Directors and take on the role of Vice President.

Vice Presidents oversee the annual Student Impact Project, develop scenarios, create new curriculum, and coordinate with teachers and volunteers during the 10 week program. Additionally, they orchestrate the Bridge Showcase & Awards Event, which is the culmination of the SIP in which qualified student teams present their bridge designs to a panel of judges.

Former Vice Presidents Patrick Murren and Ariel Creagh have both recently moved for new job opportunities. Patrick is relocating to North Carolina and Ariel is transfering to Degenkolb in Southern California. Their tremendous contributions to the SIP include the development of a cost-analysis extension unit and streamlined program processes.