Simple, informal conversations with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District leaders and team members designed to help you better understand what USACE is and what it does – from the District’s mission, to the various programs that contribute to that mission; from the District’s projects that serve the public, to the team members behind the projects; from USACE and project history to career insight.
Digging Deep - Understanding The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District
S1E6 – How To Fix A Dam
Mike Ruthford is a lead engineer/technical lead with the Sacramento District’s Engineering Division and Dam Safety Production Center team. His primary focus is on what USACE calls “non-routine dam safety projects” including the District’s Isabella Dam Safety Modification Project in Kern County, California, a $650 million dam remediation program to improve flood protection for downstream communities.
Ruthford joins Digging Deep to share some of the thought processes that go into determining the best solutions for those non-routine dam safety projects like the Isabella DSMP. Plus, he lets us in on an indulgence that keeps him up at night.
Mike Ruthford’s Reading List
* The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero by Robert Kaplan
* Dune by Frank Herbert
Resources Mentioned
* USACE Sacramento District Dam Safety Program - https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Dam-Safety-Program/
* Isabella Dam Safety Modification Project - https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Isabella-Dam/
* USACE Internship Opportunities - https://www.usace.army.mil/Careers/Internships/
For more information, visit USACE Sacramento District at: https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/
If you have feedback for us, send an email to: spk-pao@usase.army.mil - include "Digging Deep Podcast" in the subject line.
Hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District Public Affairs Office
18 Oct 2021
Digging Deep – Helping Smaller Communities With Big Projects
Digging Deep - Understanding The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District
S1E5 – Helping Smaller Communities With Big Projects
Rachael Orellana is the Flood Risk Program Manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District Planning Division and oversees the District’s growing Flood Plain Management Services; Planning Assistance to States; and the California, Nevada, and Utah Silver Jackets teams. Her program includes more than 25 active projects with a portfolio valued at more than $13 million.
Orellana joins Digging Deep to tell us what the Silver Jackets program is all about and to share some of the smaller-scope projects that tend to fly under the radar but are no less important in helping smaller communities deal with big flood-risk challenges. Plus, she shares one must-read book that helped prepare her for a successful career in USACE.
Rachael Orellana’s Reading List
Cadillac Desert – The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner
Resources Mentioned
Silver Jackets - https://silverjackets.nfrmp.us/
Tribal Nations Program - https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Tribal-Nations-Program/
For more information, visit USACE Sacramento District at: https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/
If you have feedback for us, send an email to: spk-pao@usase.army.mil - include "Digging Deep Podcast" in the subject line.
Hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District Public Affairs Office
4 Oct 2021
Digging Deep – How To Be a Civilian Engineer
Digging Deep - Understanding The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District
S1E4 – How To Be A Civilian Engineer
Sacramento District’s Rick Poeppelman has carved out a nice career of being a civilian engineer in an Army engineering organization. He heads the district’s Engineering Division, which includes a host of disciplines, including structural, environmental, and civil engineering, as well as geology, project and program management, and a whole lot more.
Poeppelman joins Digging Deep to give us his civilian engineer perspective of the USACE mission, and to help point those seeking a career in civil engineering in the right direction. Plus, a couple of his favorite superhero’s, including one with “colorful” sense of humor.
Resources Mentioned:
* Sacramento District Job Opportunities - https://www.usajobs.gov/ (Search: USACE + Sacramento)
For more information, visit USACE Sacramento District at: https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/
If you have feedback for us, send an email to: spk-pao@usase.army.mil - include "Digging Deep Podcast" in the subject line.
Hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District Public Affairs Office
20 Sept 2021
Digging Deep - Explore & Discover USACE Recreation
Digging Deep - Understanding The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District
S1E3 – Explore & Discover USACE Recreation
Sacramento District’s Taylor Saia holds a unique position within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – not that she’s the only one within USACE that does what she does, but rather it’s a position most often associated with a different agency all together.
Ms. Saia joins Digging Deep to fill us in on how an agency focused on dams, levees, and waterways happened to get into the recreation business, and how she found her dream job and career on the back of t-shirt. Plus a reading list the whole family can enjoy while sitting lakeside at your favorite USACE recreation site.
Taylor Saia’s reading list:
* To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
* Pete The Cat by James Dean
* Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Resources Mentioned:
* Sacramento District Recreation Opportunities - https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/
* National Public Lands Day - https://www.neefusa.org/npld
* Pathways Program - https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/students/
For more information, visit USACE Sacramento District at: https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/
If you have feedback for us, send an email to: spk-pao@usase.army.mil - include "Digging Deep Podcast" in the subject line.
Hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District Public Affairs Office
7 Sept 2021
Digging Deep - Planning for Sacramento’s Next Big Storm
Digging Deep - Understanding The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District
S1E2 – Planning for Sacramento’s Next Big Storm
Sacramento District Planning Division Chief Ms. Alicia Kirchner leads one of the largest planning divisions within the USACE enterprise, responsible for providing planning expertise to help identify and solve water resource problems for the district.
Ms. Kirchner joins Digging Deep to help us better understand the need for Sacramento region flood protection projects and the planning team’s role in those projects from their onset. And Ms. Kirchner goes “old school” on her favorite superhero.
Alicia Kirchner’s reading list:
Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson
For more information, visit USACE Sacramento District at: https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/
If you have feedback for us, send an email to: spk-pao@usase.army.mil - include "Digging Deep Podcast" in the subject line.
Hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District Public Affairs Office
17 Aug 2021
Digging Deep - It Starts With The Commander
Digging Deep: Understanding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District
S1E1b - It Starts With The Commander
Sacramento District Commander Col. James Handura provides a brief history on Army and Civil Engineers and gives an overview of how his District serves the public and the greater USACE mission. Plus he reveals the talent that he'd most like to have.
COL Handura's reading list:
Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Radical Candor by Kim Scott
For more information, visit USACE Sacramento District at: https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/
If you have feedback for us, send an email to: spk-pao@usase.army.mil - include "Digging Deep Podcast" in the subject line.
Hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District Public Affairs Office
17 Aug 2021
Digging Deep - Introduction
Digging Deep: Understanding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District
S1E1a - Introduction
Simple, informal conversations with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District leaders and team members designed to help you better understand what USACE is and what it does – from the District’s mission, to the various programs that contribute to that mission; from the District’s projects that serve the public, to the team members behind the projects; from USACE and project history to career insight.
Hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District Public Affairs Office
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