March/April 2021 - 7

MICHAEL H. WYSOCKEY, PH.D., P.E.,
PRESIDENT

PRESIDENT'S

MESSAGE

DFI Strategic Goals Clarification
In spring 2020, engineers, contractors,
suppliers and other members of DFI's
leadership met in La Jolla, California,
and developed goals for the institute's
future. I'm happy to report that at this
year's winter planning meeting (WPM),
trustees and committee chairs made
productive strides to achieve these
goals during what hopefully will be our
only online version of this gathering.
In mid-day sessions from February
22-25 managed by Theresa Engler, DFI's
executive director, and Mary Ellen
Large, director of technical activities, the
40-plus attendees considered progress
made and further needs related to four
goals: (1) raising awareness of DFI's
value proposition, (2) improving
member experiences, (3) optimizing DFI
events and activities, and (4) improving
technical committees' efficiency and
broader dissemination of deliverables.
The main session that Monday
covered the four goals with lively
conversation on topics such as how
professionals at different career stages
can digest content differently and how
providing content such as virtual site
visits could add value for members.
Luckily, DFI is well positioned for
dealing with remote collaboration due
to the decision 2 years ago to focus
resources on overhauling the website, a
digital emphasis that ties into all four
goals. The need to define a brief
summary about the value of DFI
membership was also broached.
Attendees dug deeper into the value
proposition statement and building
connections with related organizations
and public agencies during a breakout

session the next morning. Participants
not only actively engaged in the
discussion, but many signed up for
quarterly meetings that will follow to
discuss best avenues for outreaching
with contacts in the highways,
buildings, dams and levees, and energy
sectors, which are the first sectors
being approached.

shifted to technical committees and
how DFI can better support their
activities. We need to develop the best
ways to broaden committees' public
outreach. As part of advancing the deep
foundations profession, committees
will be developing web summaries, for
example, of their innovative activities.
Engler then led Thursday's workshop

I was thrilled to see the tremendous progress made at
February's planning meeting on addressing the
institute's strategic goals.
Some ideas were nailed down in an
added session about improving
member experiences. Leadership
agreed on preparing an introductory
video for new members, and on
establishing a mentorship program. We
discussed piloting that mentorship
program through the Women in Deep
Foundations Committee under the
leadership of Lucky Nagarajan at Giken
America, whose spirited commitment
is impressive. Approaches to strengthening DFI's social media focus were
also covered, with Nagarajan and
Timothy Siegel of Dan Brown and Associates sharing their excitement about
participating in outreach approaches.
Wednesday's breakout surfaced
ideas for improving events, with a focus
on hybrid events and technologies to
meet the needs of off-site attendees.
Manufacturers and suppliers represent
an important DFI member segment,
and we also discussed how best to
amplify their exhibit reach. We then

that recapped all the takeaways and
action items covered during the WPM
breakouts.
A trivia event served as a fun thank
you to all after Thursday's wrap-up
session, which preceded the DFI Board
of Trustees meeting the next day. A
meeting of all 26 committee chairs had
been held before the WPM began to
allow sharing of ideas. The committees
are the institute's lifeblood, and I
encourage all DFI members to consider
participating in them.
In the end, I was thrilled to see the
tremendous progress made at
February's planning meeting on
addressing the institute's strategic
goals thanks to the full-bore
commitment of all. The week-long
program exceeded all expectations.
DFI's leadership truly is the best of the
best, and we owe each participant a
great debt of gratitude for sharing their
talent and expertise in this and in many
other ways.

Contact Michael H. Wysockey at mwysockey@thatcherfoundations.com
DEEP FOUNDATIONS * MAR/APR 2021 * 7
March/April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March/April 2021
