Mission Statement

SEFW’s mission is to "advance the profession of structural engineering through scholarships, education, research, and outreach."

A 501(c)(3) charitable organization, SEFW serves in many capacities to fulfill this mission, such as hosting public forums on topics related to the built environment, awarding scholarships on behalf of the Structural Engineers Association of Washington, producing and promoting educational materials that support structural engineering, and much more!

Our History

In November 2010, a group of current and former elected leaders of the Structural Engineers Association of Washington (SEAW) envisioned an organization that would elevate and advance the profession of structural engineering. Howard Burton, President of SEAW at the time, recruited fellow professionals Mark D'Amato, Ed Huston, Jon Magnusson, Dave Peden, and Ted Smith for a Board of Directors and incorporated the Structural Engineers Foundation of Washington as a 501c(3) nonprofit.

Their first activities as a Foundation were to establish a lecture series (the first Fall Forum took place in October 2011), work with SEAW to create an online Structural Engineers Hall of Fame, and celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair with a self-produced 2012 documentary of Seattle Center structural engineers.

These activities set a precedent for great work promoting structural engineering, which has continued since the Foundation’s 2010 inception.

Read our recent Annual Reports for more information on our activities:

2015 Annual Report

2016 Annual Report

2017 Annual Report

2018 Annual Report

2019 Annual Report

2020 Annual Report

2021 Annual Report

Board of Directors

Currently, 13 professionals serve on the Board of Directors for SEFW, with one Chair, two Vice Chairs, and 10 Directors. The board also has a part-time Executive Director.