DFI Board of Trustees
DFI’s Board of Trustees manage the strategy of the association as well as approve the activities in which the organization engages to fulfill its mission and vision. They are the fiduciaries of the membership’s contributions through dues, event attendance, advertising and sales to ensure the funds are used appropriately and to the benefit of the members and the deep foundations construction industry.
Meet the Executive Committee
DFI’s Board of Trustees is led by an executive committee consisting of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Immediate Past President. These trustees meet regularly with the Executive Director to discuss the progress of the board’s strategic plan and make recommendations to the full board to ensure the success of DFI’s activities.
Board President
DFI President Gianfranco Di Cicco owns GDConsulting LLC, which he started in 2005 to provide contractual, strategy/business development, constructability and foundation technology services worldwide to owners, engineers, contractors, equipment/material manufactures, public and private organizations.
Prior to that, he participated in and directed major worldwide geofoundation projects with the Rodio Group in Italy, Iraq, Singapore and Brazil (from 1980−1989). Then, Di Cicco was sent to the U.S. to start a new operation for the Rodio Group as executive vice president. In 1997, he joined Trevi Group as a senior area manager and then COO. Between 1989 and 2005, he was responsible for proposal study/preparation, supervision and direct management of challenging multi-million-dollar foundation projects for private and government agencies, including the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers’ Beaver Dam project and seepage and foundation rehabilitation for the Walter F. George Dam, as well as major geotechnical contracts for Boston’s Central Artery. Most recently, from 2019 to 2023, he served as President & CEO at Bauer Foundations Corp, (BFC) responsible for the Bauer Group on all U.S. construction and financial operations expanding the company business from Florida to Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Texas, and the Southeast of the United States. While at BFC, in additional to multiple private projects in the Southeast of the US, he was responsible for the acquisition of major USACE projects at the Herbert Hoover Dam (FL), Teller Dam (CO), East St. Louis Levee (IL), Moose Creek Dam (AK), Natomas Reach A (CA) and at the Red Dog Mine for Teck Resources (AK).
Di Cicco joined the DFI Board of Trustees in 2010 and was elected to the Executive Committee in 2016, while actively participating in and co-creating several of DFI’s technical committees.
Other Executive Committee Members
Vice President
James O. Johnson
Condon-Johnson & Associates Inc.
Oakland, CA
Treasurer
J. Erik Loehr, Ph.D., P.E.
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO
Secretary
Lori Simpson, P.E., G.E.
LANGAN
Oakland, CA
Immediate Past President
Michael H. Wysockey, Ph.D, P.E.
Thatcher Foundations, Inc.
Chicago, IL
Other Trustees
DFI’s Trustees lead and manage the association in concert with its Executive Director. The board can consist of 12-25 trustees and is made up of a balance of the disciplines and locations of its membership to ensure a diversity of perspectives.
John A. Anderson •  Specrete-IP Incorporated • Cleveland, OH
Paul Axtell, P.E., BC.GE •  Dan Brown & Associates, PC
Allen Cadden, P.E., BC.GE •  Schnabel Engineering • Chadds Ford, PA
Peter Faust, Dipl.-Ing. •  Malcolm Drilling • San Francisco CA
Conrad W. Felice, Ph.D., P.E. •  C.W. Felice, LLC • Bellevue, WA
Franz-Werner Gerressen, Dipl.-Ing. •  BAUER Maschinen GmbH • Schrobenhausen, Germany
Anne Lemnitzer, Ph.D., P.E. •  University of California, Irvine • Irvine, CA
Dan MacLean, P.Eng. •  Keller Foundations Ltd. • Acton, ON
Lucky Nagarajan •  Geocomp • Acton, MA
Morgan NeSmith, P.E. •  Berkel & Company Contractors, Inc. • Austell, GA
Silas Nichols • Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) • Washington, D.C.
Kwabena Ofori-Awuah, P.E., BC.GE, ENV SP •  Koforia, Inc.
David Paul, P.E. •  Paul GeoTek Engineering, LLC • Arvada CO
Kathryn Petek, Ph.D., P.E.  • Shannon & Wilson • Seattle, WA
Howard A. Perko, Ph.D., P.E. •  Magnum Piering Inc. • Loveland, CO
Martin G. Taube, P.E., P.G. •  Menard Group USA • Carnegie, PA
Trustee Emeritus & International Director
Emeritus trustees are chosen from past board members who have made extraordinary contributions to the association and have retired from industry practice.
William F. Loftus • William F. Loftus Associates, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Past Presidents
Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) started in 1976 and every year a president is elected by the board of trustees. Each term is one year but often an individual serves for two consecutive years.
Michael H. Wysockey, Ph.D., P.E. •  2021-2022
Matthew Janes, P.Eng. •  2019-2020
Dan Brown, Ph.D, P.E., BC.GE •  2017-2018
John Wolosick, P.E. •  2015-2016
Robert B. Bittner, P.E. •  2013-2014
James A. Morrison, P.E., P.Eng. •  2011-2012
Rudolph P. Frizzi, P.E., G.E. •  2009-2010
Seth L. Pearlman, P.E. •  2007-2008
Tracy Brettmann, P.E. •  2005-2006
Richard D. Short, P.E., G.E. •  2003-2004
Larry Rayburn, P.E. •  2001-2002
David B. Coleman •  1999-2000
M. Byrl Williams, P.E. •  1997-1998
Joel Moskowitz, P.E. •  1995-1996
Manuel A. Fine, P.Eng. •  1994
Henry R. Whitty •  1992-1993
Richard W. Hoener •  1990-1991
Austin S. Marshall, P.E. •  1988-1989
C. William Bermingham •  1986-1987
William F. Loftus, P.E. L.S. •  1984-1985
Carl W. Fenske •  1983
D.R. Jordan •  1983
William F. Loftus, P.E., L.S. •  1981-1982
G. Robert Compton •  1979-1980
Richard J. Goettle, III •  1978
John (Jack) Dougherty •  1976-1977