TEXAS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the BOARD OFFICERS Team
- Vice - Chair
- Vice - Chair of the Board
- Software Engineer With Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company
Ademola Peter Adejokun of Arlington is a software engineer with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, a licensed professional engineer, an Expert Systems Engineering Professional (ESEP), Six Sigma Black Belt and a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP). He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Association for Computing Machinery. In addition, he is a member of the Project Management Institute, the International Council on Systems Engineering, and the National Society of Professional Engineers.
Ademola served on the National Council of Examiners of Engineering and Surveyors (NCEES) Software Engineering PE Licensure Exam Committee, and currently serves on the NCEES Computer Engineering FE/PE Exam committees, as an ABET PEV and on the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) college of engineering Advisory Board, the UTA Computer Science and Engineering Department Advisory Board and on the City of Arlington's Zoning Board of Adjustments.
Ademola was the recipient of the 2015 IEEE Region 5 Outstanding Individual Achievement Award and the 2016 IEEE USA Professional Achievement Award for his contributions to IEEE Professional activities and for his efforts to professionalize software engineering, and 2021 Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) Outstanding Achievement: Science Spectrum Trailblazer Award.
Ademola received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Engineering, a Bachelor of Science in Physics from The University of Texas at Arlington and a Master of Science in Cybersecurity from the Syracuse University.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the BOARD OFFICERS Team
- Secretary
- Secretary of the Board
Albert Cheng has worked in government and politics at every level. He currently works for Harris County Public Health, where he is responsible for health policy issues and governmental & regulatory affairs. Cheng has been in charge of voter registration for Harris County. Before working at the county, he worked eight years for United States Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in her Houston office and briefly also covered the Harlingen office.
Prior to working in government, he ran two political action committees, Free PAC and Dynegy PAC, and has managed several political campaigns, including Orlando Sanchez's first campaign for Mayor of Houston. He has worked numerous sessions at the Texas Legislature and was involved in passing the Medical Malpractice Cap working for Texans for Lawsuit Reform.
He served six years on the Texas Department of Health's Family Planning Advisory Committee and served on the University of Texas Health Science Center's Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences Community Advisory Board. Cheng has been a Cubmaster, Den Leader, and Committee Member with the Boy Scouts.
He is a graduate of the University of Houston, where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science. Cheng and his wife, Leonor, have a son and a daughter. Cheng's late father, Samuel K. Cheng, P.E, was a civil/structural engineer who worked in the Houston petrochemical complex for over forty-four years.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers
Catherine H. Norwood, P.E. is a senior consulting engineer with Hickman McClaine & Associates. She earned a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Texas Tech University and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Texas and New Mexico.
Norwood is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and has served on the national Member Benefits Committee and as chairman of the Permian Basin Reservoir Study Group. She is also a member of the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers and has served as Chairman of the Midland Chapter. She currently serves on the Engineering Advisory Committee of the University of Texas Permian Basin. Norwood has been inducted into the Texas Tech Petroleum Academy.
She resides in Midland with her husband Danny, together they have two adult daughters.
Johnson is an active member of the community. She is a past president of the Texas Society of Professional Surveyors where she has served in many capacities, and a past president of the Geographic & Land Information Society (GLIS), a former member organization of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM). She previously served on the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying (TBPLS).
Job Titles:
- Continuing Education Program / Open Records
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Chairman of the Board
- Member of the BOARD OFFICERS Team
Sina Nejad of Beaumont, Texas, is founder and president of Sigma Engineers, Inc. He received both his bachelor and master degrees in Engineering from Lamar University. He is a structural engineer licensed to practice engineering in Texas and Province of Alberta, Canada, and an excepted engineer approved to engage in the practice of architecture in Texas.
He is a member of numerous Texas and national professional societies including a charter member of the Structural Engineering Institute, founding member of the Architectural Engineering Institute, and is president of the Sabine Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers. He was named the Engineer of the Year in 2008.
Nejad's community involvement includes serving as the chairman of both Planning and Zoning Commission and the Building Code Board of Adjustment & Appeals for the City of Beaumont, member of the Lamar University Civil Engineering Advisory Council, member of the Lamar University Foundation Board of Directors, and the Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital Advisory Board. He is a member and the past president of the symphony of Southeast Texas, past president and member of the Anayat House, member of the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, and named Small Business Person of the Year 2004 by the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce.
Nejad is married to his wife Soheila Nejad who is the acting CFO of their company. They have two children their daughter Layla who is a science student at the University of Texas in Austin and their son Amir who is studying at the University of Texas Dallas.
Job Titles:
- Licensing Technical Reviewer
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the Board
- President and CEO of K Friese
Karen A. Friese, P.E., is the President and CEO of K Friese + Associates (KFA), a Texas-based civil engineering and planning consulting firm that serves public sector clients. Friese established KFA in 2003 after gaining 20 years of experience completing a wide range of municipal infrastructure and regional water and wastewater projects.
Friese is an active member of the community, participating in professional, civic, and non-profit organizations. As a member of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), she has served as Chair of ACEC Texas, Chair of the ACEC National Small Firms Council, and a founding member of the ACEC Women in Leadership Group. Locally, Friese has served as Chair of the Austin Area Research Organization (AARO) and as a board member of the Austin Chamber and I Live Here I Give Here. She is also a member of the Junior League of Austin and a graduate of Leadership Austin. Friese has served the City of Austin through several commission appointments including the Austin Water and Wastewater Commission and an Austin Bond Oversight Committee.
Friese received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois.
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD OFFICERS Team
- Treasurer
- Treasurer of the Board
- Independent Owner
Kiran Shah of Richmond is an independent owner and operator of multiple national hotel franchises. He is a member of the Hotel and Lodging Association of Houston and a former member of the Texas Board of Licensure for Professional Medical Physicists. He is a former ambassador and current member of the government affairs committee of the Asian American Hotel Owners' Association and former commissioner of the Houston Clean City Commission.
Additionally, he serves on the board of the India Culture Center of Houston, and he is the past vice chair of the Sardar Patel Cultural Club and past secretary of the Gujarati Samaj of Houston. Shah received a bachelor's degree in engineering from the M.S. University of Baroda, India and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Gujarat, India.
Job Titles:
- Commissioner Bush
- Deputy Director of Surveying Services for the GLO
Mark J. Neugebauer, LSLS/RPLS, is the Chief Surveyor/Deputy Director of Surveying Services for the Texas General Land Office ("GLO") in Austin. He currently serves as the official TBPELS designee of the GLO, representing Texas Land Commissioner, Dawn Buckingham, M.D..
Mr. Neugebauer received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas in 1986, and began his professional career practicing real estate appraisal. In 1995, he accepted a position with the Surveying Division at the GLO. After working in technical support roles, such as Engineering Technician and Engineering Assistant in land surveying, he was promoted to Land Surveyor I in 2002, after receiving registration as a Registered Professional Land Surveyor. In 2008, he was promoted to Land Surveyor II after receiving licensure as a Licensed State Land Surveyor ("LSLS").
In 2015, Mr. Neugebauer was promoted to Deputy Director of Surveying Services for the GLO under Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush. He has been employed with the state agency for over 27 years and has served under five Texas Land Commissioners, five Chief Clerks, and two Directors of Surveying. He has had the honor and privilege of being mentored, trained, and working alongside eleven LSLS's during his career at the GLO.
Mr. Neugebauer served as Commissioner Bush's official designee to the former Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying, while playing an active role on the LSLS Committee. He is a member of the Texas Society of Professional Surveyors ("TSPS"), the National Society of Professional Surveyors, and the local TSPS Capital Area Chapter 13. He actively participates in the quarterly TSPS LSLS Forum, serves as a Liaison to the TBPELS Surveyor Advisory Committee, and is a member of the TBPELS LSLS Exam Grading Committee.
Mr. Neugebauer is a native Texan from Mission, and currently resides in Round Rock with his wife Cindy.
Job Titles:
- Director of Operations / IRM / ISO
Job Titles:
- Director of Compliance & Enforcement
Job Titles:
- Director of Licensing & Registration
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Senior Advisor for Moreno Cardenas, Inc
Roberto Moreno of El Paso is the former president and now senior advisor for Moreno Cardenas, Inc. He is a licensed professional engineer and a member and former president of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Texas and the Texas Society of Professional Engineers. Additionally, he is a member of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, American Society of Civil Engineers, and the American Public Works Association and former member of the El Paso Historic Commission. Moreno received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science in Engineering from The University of Texas at El Paso.