March 2023

Name: Eddie Curiel
LJC Office Location: Phoenix
Title/Role: Project Architect
Focus: Architecture
School you graduated from: University of Arizona

What is something about you that you think would surprise your co-workers?
I was in a rodeo when I was 9 years old for the calf riding event on my way to a professional bull riding career.

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a trip or vacation?
Most of my vacations probably aren’t considered relaxing for most people I would guess. The most fun I’ve had would be my last trip to Moab, Utah with friends from Phoenix, Park City, and Seattle. We all converged for a week of camping, fireside beer drinking, and mountain biking on some the most scenic and challenging terrain in the southwest.

What’s your most niche, non-work-related interest?
Canyoneering, which is exploring slot canyons by means of rappelling, hiking swimming, scrambling, stemming, and many other techniques.

What was your first job, and what is most memorable about it?
My first job was delivering newspapers for the Californian when I was 11. I made $100 a month, so I was rich. I remember being able to get a triple scoop of rainbow sherbert from Thrifty whenever I wanted.

Name: Erika Winters-Downey
LJC Office Location: Kansas City
Title/Role: Associate Principal, Director of Sustainable Structures
Focus: TAG
School you graduated from:University of Kansas (Go Jayhawks!)
Professional Affiliations and/or Organizations: USGBC Central Plains – Current board chair, Building Energy Exchange KC

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a trip or vacation?
Last summer my husband and I took our first trip sans-kiddos in many years. We chartered a catamaran in the Bahamas (Abacos Islands) and worked with a captain to obtain two sailing certifications. It was an amazing trip – we have dreams of retiring on a boat!

What’s the last TV show you binged and enjoyed? What was so good about it?
I wouldn’t be a loyal Kansas Citian if I didn’t give praise to Ted Lasso! What a great show with a great message! Plus it’s fun to find all the KC-Related Easter Eggs (Joe Arthur Gatestack!)

What are you most proud of accomplishing in your life, professionally, so far?
Tackling several non-traditional roles for a structural engineer has been challenging but incredibly rewarding. I’ve worked for traditional design firms, for the Structural Steel industry, and for a General Contractor. The most challenging – but also most rewarding - was the transition from Structural Steel Industry rep to General Contractor. It’s allowed me to gain a fairly holistic role of construction from start to finish, beyond what most structural engineers are exposed to.

What was your first job, and what is most memorable about it?
I grew up in St. Louis and worked at the video/photo/lottery counter at Dierberg’s in Manchester! What a great time capsule to think of all I had to do to rent VHS tapes, and take in/give out film and photos. Always fun to have the unhappy customer who’s photos didn’t turn out.

Name: Grace ‘Dida’ Faoro
LJC Office Location: Chicago
Title/Role: Project Management Coordinator, CDT
Focus: Architecture
School you graduated from: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Professional Affiliations and/or Organizations you’re involved in: CDT from CSI, Construction Documents Technologist; Contractual Relationships from Conception to Delivery

What is something about you that you think would surprise your co-workers?
As a Child I had a Bahamian accent. We lived in the Bahamas and still travel there often.

What’s your most niche, non-work-related interest?
I read extensively on World War I and World War II history and the end of royal families in Europe and wrote a book about my Grandmother a WWII Army Nurse.

What non-AEC related subject are you an expert on? How did you become one?
Vienna, the city. I lived there my sophomore year of college and then worked for Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa in Sales and Marketing and was there a lot! I currently plan private trips for tourists there.

Name: Denise Krager
LJC Office Location: Overland
Title/Role: Administrative Assistant
Focus: Office Support
School you graduated from: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a trip or vacation?
I would say that 90% of my most favorite memories are made up of music in some way, shape, or form. One of my most memorable trips was to a music festival in Gulf Shores. It was just me and a life-long friend on a road trip to the coast to soak in the sun, enjoy the music, and escape from reality for a few days. What can be better than listening to your favorite bands while sun bathing on the beach?!

What does a perfect weekend look like to you?
My prefect weekend involves food, friends, music, and nature. The all time weekend favorite is when all four combine for the perfect outdoor event where you can bring a picnic, bottle of wine, and listen to live music all from the comfort of your own lawn chair.

What movie can you watch over and over again? What makes it so special?
White Christmas is one of those movies that is just so nostalgic for me. I like to watch it or turn it on as background noise at least once a month. I watched it as kid with my Grandma, my Mom, and my aunt. I definitely think it helped shape my love for theatre and dance (and of course the only reason why I wanted to do ballet and get pointe shoes. Those little girl ballerinas were my idols!).