DFI Educational Trust Appoints New Members to Board of Trustees

February 10, 2022, Hawthorne, NJ:

Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) Educational Trust, the charitable arm of DFI, recently appointed Tom Richards and Thad Tobaben to the Board of Trustees to serve two-year terms.

Thomas D. Richards, Jr., P.E., D.GE, is retired chief engineer, and now a consultant, at Nicholson Construction Company. For over 30 years at Nicholson, he has dealt with technical aspects of a multitude of specialized geotechnical projects using micropiles, anchors, soil nails, diaphragm walls and numerous grouting techniques.  His responsibilities included design, quality control, research, testing and instrumentation. Richards was a trustee on the DFI Board of Directors and was active in numerous committees of DFI, ADSC, PTI and ASCE leading to frequent commenting on FHWA and other industry documents. He remains active on a few DFI and ADSC committees. He is also a member of The Moles. In 2019, he was awarded the DFI Distinguished Service Award and was selected as the 2021-2022 DFI Travelling Lecturer.

Thad Tobaben is a business development professional specializing in client relationships, strategic partnerships and organizational development. He currently serves as Kiewit Foundations’ business development representative across the U.S., securing new clients for Kiewit’s infrastructure engineering projects. For the past 8 years, he has worked in various roles in engineering recruitment and talent development. Tobaben served in the Nebraska National Guard for 6 years. He brings a passion for prospecting, team collaboration and project management, all leading to the development of successful relationships.