2025 WAsafe Building Safety Evaluator Training
Intended for Washington state architects, architects-in-training, engineers, and/or certified building inspectors interested in better understanding seismic risks in our region, as well as having the opportunity to assist in recovery efforts.
The AIA Seattle Adaptation & Resilience Committee is hosting an in-person, eight-hour training on post-disaster building safety evaluation procedures and WAsafe, Washington State’s program for post-disaster volunteer responders. This program is a must for engineers, architects & building officials committed to using their unique professional skills to assist following a catastrophic event. Participants will learn how to properly assess buildings for safe occupancy following a major earthquake, flood, or wind event. The training incorporates material from ATC-20 (Post-Earthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings), ATC-45 (Safety Evaluation of Buildings after Windstorms and Floods), and the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) Safety Assessment Program (SAP). The SAP and ATC evaluation procedures are internationally recognized standards for performing post-disaster building safety assessments.
Join us at the Center for Architecture & Design, Wed March 5th, 8:30am to 5:00pm for AIA Seattle’s 2025 WAsafe Building Safety Evaluator Training (8 LU | HSW). Light breakfast and lunch will be provided, with an optional happy hour from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. All sessions and speakers subject to change.
COST
Includes continuing education credit (8 AIA LU HSW). All sessions and speakers are subject to change.
$170 AIA Architect Members
$170 SEAW, WABO, WSSHE, ASCE + AISC Members, and Government Partners
$300 Non-Members
$100 AIA Associate Members
$60 Student/Emeritus/Scholarship
MATERIALS
- Evaluator Field Manuals | ATC 45 | ATC 20 | Participants are responsible for purchasing these texts from ATC. They are not included in the course cost.
CERTIFICATION PROCESS
Students who take the class will be eligible to join WAsafe, Washington State’s program for volunteer Building Safety Evaluators (BSEs). They can enroll in WAsafe’s online database, which will be used to contact and dispatch WAsafe volunteer BSEs to assist local governments with post-disaster building safety assessments. The WAsafe database includes registered engineers, architects, and building officials and inspectors, as well as EITs and other professionals who may be working towards licensure or certification. The professional organizations that comprise WAsafe – currently AIA WA Council, SEAW, WABO, and ASCE Seattle Section – are working in concert with the Washington State Emergency Management Division to finalize operating procedures for call-up and deployment of our volunteers.
Participants must attend the full program in order to receive continuing education credit or a certificate of completion. All registration and credit questions can be directed to Senior Coordinator of Member Engagement, Anthony Collins.
Reduced rate options are available (priority given to AIA members). Please submit the Continuing Education Scholarship / Reduced Rate Request Form via email by Friday, February 28, 5:00pm PST.
SCHEDULE
Wednesday, March 5, 8:30am-6:00pm
- 8:30am Registration, coffee, tea + light breakfast
- 9:00am Program starts
- 1:00pm – 1:45pm (Lunch)
- 5:00pm Training content concludes + optional happy hour begins (21+)
- 6:00pm Program ends
Detailed schedule to-be-announced. All sessions and speakers are subject to change.
SPEAKERS
Behrooz (Ben) Emam, AIA, PE, CFM
Behrooz (Ben) Emam is a registered architect, a civil engineer, and a certified facility manager, with over thirty years of experience in architectural and structural engineering, emergency preparedness, and facilities management. He has Masters Degrees in Architecture and Civil Engineering from University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Ben is the principal at Emam Consulting and Educational Services (ECES) and was previously the Manager of Civil & Structural Group at AWS. Before rejoining Amazon for a second time, Ben was the Assistant Vice President and Senior Engineering Manager – Construction Services with Parsons Brinckerhoff.
Ben was a 25-year adjunct faculty member of the University of Washington, Department of Construction Management. He regularly taught classes in Construction and Facilities Management and conducted seminars on seismic preparedness and disaster planning. Ben was also building inspection volunteer after the San Francisco (Loma Prieta), Los Angeles (Northridge), and Seattle (Nisqually) earthquakes, and the recipient of the Seattle AIA 2001 – Community Service Award.
Rachel Minnery FAIA, LEED AP
Rachel Minnery, FAIA is an architect working in Infrastructure Risk and Resilience at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Previously, she served as the Senior Director of Resilience, Adaptation, and Disaster Assistance at the American Institute of Architects (AIA), where she developed policy, design guides, and educational resources for the organization’s 95,000 members and the broader building industry.
*All program speakers are subject to change.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Recognize the important role architects and associated building professionals play in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
- Accurately conduct a post-disaster rapid building assessment and complete appropriate damage assessment forms.
- Demonstrate understanding of the Applied Technology Council’s ATC 20 Post-earthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings and ATC 45 Safety Evaluation of Buildings after Windstorms and Floods damage assessment procedures.
- Qualified engineers, architects, and building inspectors who complete the WAsafe class can join the WAsafe registery, which will be used to communicate with and dispatch volunteers following a disaster.
SPECIAL THANKS TO ADAPTATION & RESILIENCE COMMITTEE
Join the Adaptation & Resilience Committee!
The Adaptation & Resilience Committee informs and designs professional action in preparing for and responding to stressors and shocks that communities may face. All efforts have the ultimate goal of creating greater resilience in our communities through building a network of architects to help before and after a disaster.
A&R Chair:
Mike Mariano AIA
Check out AIA Seattle’s other Member Committees to participate in programs, events, and forward-thinking conversations.
Program Questions?
Contact Adaptation & Resilience Committee.
Registration or Credit Questions?
Contact AIA Seattle Senior Coordinator of Member Engagement Anthony Collins.
Sponsorship Questions?
Contact AIA Seattle Development Manager Zee Mars.
