Ardel Jala

President's Award 2015, 2014, 2013Originally from Trenton, NJ, Ardel Jala recalls that her father, a civil engineer, steered her away from architecture into a career in structural engineering. She earned the BS in Civil Engineering with honors in 1995 from Rutgers University, and the MASc in Civil Engineering (Structures) in 1999 from the University of British Columbia.In Seattle she worked as a Project Engineer with Coughlin Porter Lundeen 1998-2000, as a Project Engineer with KPFF Consulting Engineers 2000-04, as a Project Manager with Magnusson Klemencic Associates 2004-09, as a Senior Project Manager with Sellen Construction 2009-11, and beginning in 2011 as a Senior Structural Plans Examiner with the City of Seattle. Her professional activism includes volunteering with the ACE Mentor Program beginning in 2001, later serving as Vice President of the ACE executive board and coordinating student recruitment efforts for the program. She served on the SEAW Existing Buildings Committee beginning in 2001, and more recently took on the Education Committee Co-chair position. The 2013 President's Award recognizes her work on the Education Committee, which organized a Seismic Design Seminar drawing 200 attendees at three locations across the state. The 2015 Award acknowledges her immense contribution as Education Committee Chair, and help in making the 2014 Northwest Conference a great success.Posted July 2013. Updated June 2014, June 2015, August 2020