Meet Bernard Amadei

Dr. Amadei founded Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB). From his single vision, EWB has grown to 15,900 members in 400 chapters. Bernard started an organization that now provides humanitarian aid in 48 countries, benefiting more than 605,000 people to date. This is no small thing.

Bernard was one of ETI’s first Partners.

ETI knows Bernard through the Minnesota-based Mortenson family. Bernard is the former Director of the Mortenson Center for Engineering in Developing Communities at the University of Colorado. He is a humble, erudite and kind man who invited us to present to his class at the University of Colorado and who over dinner described himself and the co-founders ETI as “kindred spirits”. He introduced us to authentic, heart-healthy, low -fat, charcoal fired food prepared in a Tandoor clay oven at the Sherpas Restaurant in Boulder. (Sherpa’s is Boulder’s restaurant with a full staff of Sherpas, people from the Mt. Everest region, including Chef, Jangbu Sherpa, who reached the summit of Everest 10 times without supplemental oxygen. I knew I was in the presence of some of the hemisphere’s finest and simply wanted to live at the restaurant for the next week. But I digress.) Suffice it to say that at a minimum – Bernard makes an interesting dinner companion. More accurately he is not only that but a stellar human being who acts on his convictions to do what he can to improve conditions for the voiceless in developing communities.

Bernard introduced ETI to the EWB service arm. So..

Meet Kevin Hagen

Kevin Hagen is the Director of the Engineering Service Corps for Engineering Without Borders – USA. ETI appealed to Kevin for help to assess whether or not the KARUCO buildings that ETI funded were safe following the 5.7 magnitude earthquake. MSAADA Architect’s inspection standards during and after construction have already ensured that donor dollars were used for well-designed, well-built structures from quality local materials. ETI is now overseeing additional building inspections so that any post-quake issues are dealt with to prevent future problems. Kevin has a wide range of experience and expertise and is familiar with earthquakes and assessment of damage following. During our discussion ETI and EWB agreed that EWB would analyze construction docs, identify potential areas of stress on buildings and would oversee an on-site review of those buildings. The purpose is to identify current and potential issues. ETI is grateful for EWB’s expertise and willingness to volunteer.