2026 SEE Awards Webinar Registration 

Joe Maffei is the founder of Maffei Structural Engineering, a San
Francisco-based firm focused on innovative design, advanced structuralanalysis, and expert review. Over his 38-year career, Joe has directed a range of projects, including designs using ground-breaking solutions and advanced methods of evaluation. Joe has helped lead the structural engineering profession in developing standards for performance-based design, nonlinear analysis, high-rise design, seismic retrofitting, and solar- energy structures. He has contributed to building codes and structural
guidelines for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Concrete Institute (ACI), and other organizations. Joe has a Bachelors degree from Cooper Union, a Masters from the University of Texas at Austin, and a
Ph.D. from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, where he worked with professor
Bob Park. He did a post-doc in Toyohashi, Japan. Joe is a fellow of the Structural Engineers Association of California.

Karl Telleen, SE, LEED AP,  Associate Principal, Maffei Structural Engineering

Karl has 21 years of experience, including design of concrete and steel structures, seismic evaluation and retrofit of historic buildings, peer review, and wind and seismic analysis of solar arrays. His projects include laboratories, libraries, classrooms, dormitories, residential towers,offices, and electrical substations. He has performed seismic peer review for high-rise buildings and unique structures including corporate campuses, data centers, and aircraft hangars. Karl was awarded a
Fulbright Fellowship in Switzerland, and he performed reconnaissance in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. He served as a Director and Treasurer of the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California and was selected as a Housner Fellow by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute

Congregation Emanu-El (Forell/Elsesser)

Allen Nudel, SE, DBIA , Principal and Director of Business Strategy, Forell | Elsesser Structural Engineers

Allen Nudel, SE, DBIA is a Principal and Director of Business Strategy with Forell | Elsesser Structural Engineers in San Francisco. Throughout his career, Allen has led the structural design of complex projects across a range of building types, with particular expertise in seismic design, existing building renovations, innovative structural systems, and collaborative project delivery. With over 30 years of experience, Allen brings a practical, team-oriented approach to solving challenging structural problems. A graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Berkeley, he is actively involved in the structural engineering community and currently serves on the SEAONC Board of Directors.

Keri Scholte, PE, Engineer, Forell | Elsesser Structural Engineers

Keri Scholte, PE is an Engineer with Forell | Elsesser Structural Engineers in San Francisco. She brings a strong interest in seismic design and resilience, and enjoys collaborating with design and construction teams to achieve creative engineering solutions, especially in the context of existing buildings. Keri earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from UCLA and now considers herself local to both Southern and Northern California. Since college, she has remained active in the EERI community. She is passionate about learning shared histories in order to use structural engineering to contribute toward built environments that are resilient, sustainable, and thoughtfully designed.

Dr. Alessandro Beghini is a Senior Associate Principal at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). His project portfolio encompasses a wide range of award-winning projects - from some of the world’s tallest buildings to sculptures and specialty structures. Alessandro has established an expertise in delivering structural solutions that are efficient and elegant, working alongside the architectural and building services team. He was part of the team leading the structural design for the Tianjin CTF Finance Center in China, the world’s eight-tallest building at an outstanding height of 530 meters.

Other significant collaborations include the work with Atelier Peter Zumthor for the structural design of the LACMA Museum in Los Angeles and numerous collaborations with world-renowned artist Janet Echelman, including the Current sculpture in Columbus, OH and Earthtime Korea, among several other temporary installations

Alessandro received a Laurea (B.S./M.S.) in Structural Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy; a M. Eng. from the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan and a Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. Alessandro served as Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering from 2012 to 2016 and has lectured, hosted design studios, and conducted workshops at several universities over the years. He has co-authored several technical publications on a variety of structural engineering topics ranging from topology optimization to behavior of fiber composites and fiber reinforced concrete.

Wednesday, September 30

California College of Arts (Arup)

Kion Nemati, Senior Structural Engineer, Arup

Kion Nemati is a Senior Structural Engineer working out of Arup’s New York office, having started his career in Arup’s San Francisco Office. Kion has extensive experience in seismic design and mass timber design. He has led or contributed to the structural design for a handful of award-winning mass timber structures, such as the California College of the Arts Campus Expansion, The Lighthouse, and San Antonio Spurs Practice Facility. Kion also specializes in the design of reinforced concrete and post tensioned concrete structures.