Engineers Without Borders at UCLA invites you to the 6th Annual End Of The Year Banquet. We will be commemorating the great accomplishments and work of our three projects: Uganda Water Project, Navajo Water Project and Nicaragua Schoolhouse Project. The night will feature a three course meal, a silent auction and two honorable speakers. We hope you can join us for this wonderful event.
NAVAJO WATER PROJECT
Due to uranium mining in the 50’s, the groundwater at the Navajo Reservation in Arizona is contaminated and unusable. Therefore, water access is a pressing issue in
many parts of the reservation. Many residents fill tubs with water and bring them back to their homes several times a week. Since many of these homes are in rural areas, these trips can take hours and once the water is brought home, it must be siphoned out of the tubs to be used. The solution our club has been implementing is the installation of a large tank (about 300 gallons) connected to a sink system that uses solar energy to power the pump. This solution has significantly decreased the number of trips residents must take to retrieve water, and the convenience of having running water in their homes. Although the water is potable, a filtration system is added to the sink nozzle to make it drinkable as well. The water pump system is powered using solar panels. These panels are ideal for the reservation's location and landscape. Currently, the team is looking to serve their 4th home with this system.
Navajo
Water Project
NICARAGUA SCHOOL
The Nicaragua schoolhouse project comprises a school structure designed for the San Sebastian community, located along the Kukra River region in eastern Nicaragua. San Sebastian is home to approximately 65 families, a total of 250-300 persons. The community leaders are religious leaders and teachers that live in San Sebastian. Our club has been helping this community since 2008 with the addition of latrines. In 2014, a six-person team performed a site assessment trip to San Sebastian to evaluate the success of this sanitation project. After the trip, the club embarked in a project to design and build a schoolhouse. An engineering team from the Los Angeles-based firm KPFF has been essential in this endeavor.
The proposed facility is a one-room, one-story, 2,048 sq-ft building inspired by the local ‘minifalda’ style. In September 2017, we took our first implementation trip. The footings and half of the concrete continuous beam were poured. Despite delays due to funding, COVID-19 and two disastrous hurricanes, we were able to finish the concrete foundation in 2021. The team is now in discussion with the community to locally source wood for the remaining wood construction. The goal is to finish the wood phase by the end of 2022.
Schoolhouse Project
UGANDA WATER PROJECT
The Uganda water project was awarded to our club earlier in 2021. The project is located in Bukonko, a community in the Iganga district in eastern Uganda, about 64 miles east of the capital city, Kampala. Bukonko is home to about 1,300 people. The current source of drinking water for this community is open source water, shallow wells or rainfall catchment. There is no water treatment or formal sewage system. In Uganda, 17% of deaths in children under the age of five are due to diarrhea and related illnesses. Our club is committed to define and implement a safe and sustainable source of drinking water for this community. The most affected are the children and women who often face the burden of looking for water for domestic use. Our team is partnering with the NGO, Light Up Hope Uganda to build a reliable, long-lasting source of clean water for Bukonko and improve community health. The first step is to make an assessment trip to survey the land, test the water and speak with the community leaders to engineer the best solution. Concerns for health and safety made travel in the winter of 2021 not possible. However, we remain hopeful that we will travel in Spring of 2022.
Uganda
Water Project
Agenda
6:00
6:45
7:15
8:20
8:35
8:45
Arrival
Guests should plan to arrive at 6:00PM. Refreshments and appetizers will be available for all guests to enjoy in the lobby area of Pauley Pavilion, before moving downstairs to the Pavilion Club for the main events of the banquet.
Project Updates
These will be given by our project managers for all three of our projects: Navajo, Uganda, and Nicaragua.
Speakers
More details on our speakers can be seen below.
Silent Auction
Auction items include gift cards, event tickets, and more.
Senior Sendoff
Closing Remarks
Speakers
Kevin Keller
Deputy Mayor of Economic Development
As Deputy Mayor, Kevin Keller oversees the City’s economic development, planning and building services, tourism, convention, airport and port departments. He serves as chief advisor to the Mayor on land use, development, trade, and economic policy, and works closely with General Managers of related city departments to promote jobs, housing, and investment in Los Angeles.
Prior to this role, Mr. Keller served as Executive Officer for the Los Angeles Department of City Planning. Coordinating the work of the executive team, Mr. Keller built Los Angeles’ successful update program for its 35 community plan districts, launched its comprehensive General Plan update, and completed its zoning code update. He has also previously served as Director of Planning and Housing Policy for Mayor Eric Garcetti, and was Chief Planning Deputy for Councilmember Cindy Miscikowski.
He was the lead city planner for the development of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District, Playa Vista, and the Wilshire Grand tower - Los Angeles’ tallest landmark.
Kevin joined the City of Los Angeles in 1999, after receiving his master’s degree in urban planning from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and his undergraduate degree in environmental studies from UCLA. He has served as President of the California Chapter of the American Planning Association, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.
As Deputy Mayor, Kevin Keller oversees the City’s economic development, planning and building services, tourism, convention, airport and port departments. He serves as chief advisor to the Mayor on land use, development, trade, and economic policy, and works closely with General Managers of related city departments to promote jobs, housing, and investment in Los Angeles.
Prior to this role, Mr. Keller served as Executive Officer for the Los Angeles Department of City Planning. Coordinating the work of the executive team, Mr. Keller built Los Angeles’ successful update program for its 35 community plan districts, launched its comprehensive General Plan update, and completed its zoning code update. He has also previously served as Director of Planning and Housing Policy for Mayor Eric Garcetti, and was Chief Planning Deputy for Councilmember Cindy Miscikowski.
He was the lead city planner for the development of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District, Playa Vista, and the Wilshire Grand tower - Los Angeles’ tallest landmark.
Kevin joined the City of Los Angeles in 1999, after receiving his master’s degree in urban planning from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and his undergraduate degree in environmental studies from UCLA. He has served as President of the California Chapter of the American Planning Association, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Marty Adams
General Manager and Chief Engineer at Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Martin Adams is the General Manager and Chief Engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nation’s largest publicly-owned utility. He took over the leadership role in July 2019 after three years as the agency’s Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the City’s water and power systems.
He leads an organization of more than 11,000 employees delivering water and power to the 4 million residents of Los Angeles. Mr. Adams has over 36 years of experience with at LADWP, where he started in 1984 as an entry level engineer in the Water System, eventually leading that organization as the Senior Assistant General Manager of Water. During the course of his career, Mr. Adams worked throughout the Water System and was directly involved with the planning
and implementation of major changes to water storage, conveyance, and treatment facilities to meet new water quality regulations. He has spent almost half of his career in system operations, including ten years as the Director of Water Operations in charge of the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the Los Angeles water delivery system, including the Los Angeles Aqueduct and other supply sources, pump stations, reservoirs, water treatment, and management of Water System properties.
Mr. Adams is a native of the greater Los Angeles area and lives with his family in Burbank, where he served for nine years on that city’s Water and Power board. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
Location
By Car
Please set the destination to UCLA Parking Lot 7 on Charles E. Young Drive North. The parking structure will take you underground. Please take the exit furthest away from the parking structure entry point, and you will arrive directly in front of Pauley Pavilion.
By Public Transport
Big Blue Bus Route 18 and Rapid 12 to UCLA: Please alight the bus at the Westwood Plaza stop. From here, Pauley Pavilion should be visible, from which the entrance will be on the North-West side directly opposite from the bus stop.
By Taxi
Please set the drop-off location to be the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center. From here, Pauley Pavilion should be visible, and which the entrance will be on the North-West side directly opposite from the drop-off location.