After six years as a professional engineer with Dagher Engineering, Josephine Zurica has been named principal at the firm, marking another unconventional move by this engineering and sustainability consulting company known for going in bold directions. Zurica came to Dagher from a tour in Panama with the Peace Corps. Despite her youth and relatively short time at the company, founding principal Elias Dagher says she is the ideal person to join him and principal Richard Pearson in leading the 40-member firm.
A registered professional engineer in the state and a LEED Accredited Professional, she is in the process of obtaining a certification as a Passive House Consultant and has professional expertise in building modeling and simulation, energy conservation, historic renovation, and sustainable project management. Her portfolio with Dagher includes the award-winning net-zero-design for the Housatonic River Museum in Pittsfield, Mass. and the renovation of Wave Hill House, a cultural center and garden in Riverdale, as well as the management of the design for the Brooklyn Bridge Pier 1 mixed-use development.
She studied mechanical engineering at Manhattan College and earned her MS in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Technological University. In addition to her time in the Peace Corps she has also volunteered her professional service through involvement with Engineers without Borders and is currently working with a team to design compost latrines and promote health education in El Salvador.
"Josephine has instincts that can't be taught and skills some people never learn. She came with very broad life experience and she is a good listener. Listening is key in our firm's culture," said Dagher, who started the company in 2000, specializing in sustainable MEP design at a time when green building science was in its infancy in the U.S. "We very quickly put Josephine in front of clients, and even if they were unsure at first, they quickly came around and trusted her. She's humble. Like our firm, she shows her expertise through her work."
"I feel privileged to move into this new role at Dagher," said Josephine. "Our firm is unique in the way we view our role as not just MEP engineers but collaborators in the building design process. We believe that understanding the unique needs of each project is key. I look forward to continue promoting these ideals through my new position with Dagher." Tags: