M. Byrl Williams, P.E., chief engineer, of Foundation Constructors, Inc., Oakley, Calif., was elected chair of the DFI Educational Trust Board of Trustees, beginning in January 2015. He succeeded David Coleman, who stepped down as chair and retired from the board of trustees.
Williams is one of the original trustees who established the Trust in 2006. Since then, he has served in various capacities, most recently as vice chair of the board. In addition, he has headed several board committees, including the Large Donor Committee and the Nominating Committee. Williams’ fundraising efforts on behalf of the Trust are extensive and include chairing the annual DFI Trust California Golf Outing, and attracting large corporate and individual donors to establish named scholarships for the Trust. Williams is a former president of the Deep Foundations Institute (1997-1998) and a 2008 recipient of DFI’s Distinguished Service Award.
Williams holds a B.S. degree in civil engineering from Gonzaga University and an M.S. in construction engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. After serving in the U.S. Navy as a civil engineer, he worked for Peter Kiewit Sons’ Inc. before he co-founded American Piledriving, Inc. in 1989, which he later sold to Foundation Constructors in 2006.
