RESTON, Va. – The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has announced the 2022 New Faces of Civil Engineering in the Professional category. ASCE’s New Faces of Civil Engineering program highlights up-and-coming civil engineering leaders from around the country and celebrates their academic and professional achievements, as well as their commitment to serving others. All New Faces honorees will be recognized during ASCE’s annual Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Gala in October, 2022 in Anaheim, CA. 

“Civil engineering in the 21st century will be led by ambitious leaders whose underlying goal is to make the communities they serve better,” said Dennis D. Truax, President, American Society of Civil Engineers. “These New Faces of Civil Engineering are some of these dynamic leaders and are already making major contributions to the field while inspiring younger members to pursue excellence in their careers. I am greatly encouraged by these motivated, creative engineers moving their communities forward while changing our profession for the better.”

The 2022 New Faces of Civil Engineering in the Professional category are: 

Katie Bowman, P.E., M.ASCE

Bowman is a graduate research assistant at the University of Memphis and serves as ASCE’s West Tennessee Branch vice president. Bowman has been involved in projects which promote diversity and inclusion within 23 state departments of transportation. She also led efforts to design an 80-acre warehouse site in Arkansas. 

Timothy D’Agostino, P.E., M.ASCE

D’Agostino is a senior engineer for P.W. Grosser Consulting in Bohemia, New York, and currently serves as ASCE’s Metropolitan section Long Island Branch director of communications and is the Hofstra University Outreach Chair for the Long Island Branch Younger Member Committee. He is also the drinking water chair of the New York State Infrastructure Report Card. D’Agostino’s work primarily focuses on drinking water infrastructure, working on wells, water mains, water treatment plant design, construction management and oversight, and storage tank inspections.

Annahid Dastgheib-Beheshti, P.E., M.ASCE

Dastgheib-Beheshti is a senior civil engineer for Arup in Boston, and currently serves as ASCE’s Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section Newsletter Committee member. She was awarded the Boston Society of Civil Engineers’ President’s Award for frequently judging the Future City student competition, science fairs, and participating in the Younger Member Group’s outreach to college students. Aside from civil engineering, Dastgheib-Beheshti is the co-captain of a Persian dance group based in Boston.

Justin De La Rosa, P.E., M.ASCE

De La Rosa is a civil engineer for HDR in Corpus Christi, Texas and currently serves as the ASCE Texas Section Corpus Christi Branch vice president. Through HDR, De La Rosa has been involved in many projects including the modernization of Chaparral Street, a popular roadway in Corpus Christi. The restoration involved turning a one-way road with thin sidewalks into a two-way road with widened sidewalks.   

Vanessa Eslava, EIT, A.M.ASCE

Vanessa is an Assistant Transportation Engineer at T.Y. Lin International in San Diego, California, and she currently serves as ASCE’s San Diego Younger Member Forum President, Committee on Younger Members Corresponding Member, and Pre-College Outreach Committee Member. She has led younger member outreach activities for years, pivoting in-person events to the virtual world after the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020. Her work at T.Y. Lin International is focused on transportation projects in Southern California.

Nicholas Giglio, EIT, A.M.ASCE

Giglio is a transportation construction inspector for Urban Engineers in Allentown, Pennsylvania and currently serves as ASCE’s Lehigh Valley Younger Members Group vice president, and a researcher for the 2022 Report Card for Pennsylvania’s Infrastructure. Giglio works on transportation projects with Urban Engineers and has worked on projects in conjunction with PennDOT, serving day-to-day on construction management. 

Abbas Kazan, EIT, A.M. ASCE

Abbas Kazan is a bridge and highway engineer for Barton & Loguidice in Syracuse, New York and currently serves as ASCE Syracuse Section treasurer, Scholarship Committee member, a Precollege Outreach Champion, and an author for ASCE’s 2022 New York State Infrastructure Report Card. Originally from Lebanon, Kazan moved halfway across the world as a teenager to pursue his dreams. Kazan’s family was living just south of Beirut when an explosion struck the Port of Beirut in August, 2020, so he used his company’s community service program and started a fundraiser to help those in need. He has worked on a variety of bridge and highway projects, ranging from small to up to three miles in length. 

Kathleen (Swank) Kelly, EIT, A.M.ASCE

Kelly is a bridge designer for Barge Design Solutions in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, and currently serves as ASCE Georgia Section administrator, Georgia Younger Member Group board member, Concrete Canoe Competition Committee corresponding member, and ASCE Region 5 Younger Member Advisory Council chair. Kelly was diagnosed with moderately severe bilateral sensorineural in high school, meaning she had hearing loss in both ears. In her late 20s, Kelly began suffering from an autoimmune disorder, suspected multiple sclerosis, a chronic illness that impacts the brain and spinal cord. These challenges have inspired Kelly to advocate for those with disabilities and provide inclusion opportunities. She has worked on alternative delivery and design-build projects.

Ana Carola Tijerina Esquino, EIT A.M.ASCE

Tijerina Esquino is a ports and rail engineer for Mott MacDonald in Portland, Oregon, and currently serves as ASCE Portland Younger Members Forum president. She has worked on key projects reshaping Portland, including a stormwater capture project on a marine terminal in the Port of Portland, and a pavement analysis which opened her eyes to the suite of next generation digital tools available to engineers. Her focus is on resilience, sustainability, and giving back to community. 

Kush Vashee, P.E., ENV SP, M.ASCE

Vashee is a transportation project engineer for Rummel, Klepper & Kahl (RK&K) in Fairfax, Virginia and is currently an ASCE TD&I Younger Member committee member, ASCE Mentor Match mentor, National Capital Section Education committee chair, and National Capital Section Younger Members forum secretary. Vashee grew up in Ndola, Zambia, where he and his family lacked reliable access to water, energy, and transportation. Now he uses this background to give back to younger engineers and to build roads in the U.S. 

For media availability and interviews with the 2022 New Faces of Civil Engineering, please contact Cathy Gillen at [email protected] or (202) 789-7853.

About the American Society of Civil Engineers

Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 150,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. ASCE works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation's infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and improve engineering knowledge and competency. For more information, visit www.asce.org or www.infrastructurereportcard.org and follow us on Twitter, @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel.