As an arbitrator, structural/civil engineer, and expert forensic consultant with nearly four decades of experience, Mr. Hemmatyar has provided extensive expert services for defendants’ and plaintiffs’ attorneys on numerous construction litigation matters throughout the United States and Canada.

He has been retained as an expert engineer in over one hundred and fifty litigation matters on single and class-action legal cases by the U.S. government, law firms, and insurance carriers at the State and Federal levels, working with both plaintiff and defendant sides.

Mr. Hemmatyar’s understanding of core engineering and legal concepts has enabled him to effectively assist a wide range of clientele. He brings diversified experience in structural and civil engineering design, and in forensic engineering, investigation, and evaluation. Mr. Hemmatyar also conducts research, has assisted in the development of building codes and standards, and has supervised the construction of domestic and international projects. His experience includes special structures and new buildings as well as modifications, alterations, seismic/hurricane retrofits, and upgrades to existing structures. Mr. Hemmatyar has provided failure analysis, expert consultation, structural forensic investigation, and damage assessment services for numerous litigation and insurance-related matters.

He actively presents continuing education lectures to audiences of licensed engineers, architects, and general contractors on topics of structural and forensic engineering throughout North America. Mr. Hemmatyar has been the principal structural engineer on projects for clients such as NASA and several other high-profile agencies. Currently, he directs PSFEG and has served as Director for SEAOSC from 2011 to 2013. He has been interviewed by public media, including the History Channel (documentary episode: “Collapse of Ancient Structures”) and Reuters (Mexico City school collapse).

D. Arch, Assoc. AIA, and associate and Design Resilience Leader with Gensler
Mr. Hill has 13-plus years of architectural and planning experience. Previously, he lived and worked in Hawaii where he focused on resort master-planning and design. He graduated from UH Manoa with a doctorate of Architecture degree where he wrote his dissertation on hurricane-resilient design for multifamily high-rises on the south shore of Oahu. At the same time, he was a graduate research assistant at the NDPTC where he developed courses on disaster mitigation for FEMA. Mike has also been an advisor for the AIA in developing a suite of courses on disaster mitigation and adaptation.

Principal and Chief Coastal Scientist with Revell Coastal in Santa Cruz
Dr. Revell has been involved in coastal management and coastal process assessments for over 25 years. He began pioneering climate-related work in 2008 with the initial technical hazard analysis and vulnerability assessment for the Pacific Institute study “The Impacts of Sea Level Rise to the Coast of California.” More recently, Dr. Revell has completed hazard modeling for the coastal resilience projects for the Nature Conservancy in Ventura, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, and Monterey Counties; conducted numerous vulnerability and adaptation planning studies; and lead interdisciplinary teams of economists, legal scholars, and engineers to evaluate potential erosion mitigation (adaptation) strategies across the California Coast. He has recently completed and remains currently engaged in many vulnerability and adaptation studies along the California Coast including San Mateo County (present), Marina (present), Carpinteria (present), County of Ventura (present), Oxnard (2017), Santa Barbara County (2017), Los Osos (2017), Imperial Beach (2016), Carlsbad (2016), Santa Monica, Goleta (2015), Pacific Grove (2016), Monterey (city and county), and Santa Cruz County (2015). In addition to climate change and coastal hazards assessments, Dr. Revell works on coastal lagoons and estuaries across the state with work in Goleta and Devereux Sloughs in Santa Barbara County; the Santa Clara and Ventura Rivers in Ventura County; and San Lorenzo River, Scott Creek, and Waddell Creek in Santa Cruz County. He has been appointed to the science advisory committee for the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project. He has a reputation for pioneering new approaches with collaborative teams to meet the unique demands of every project and to communicate results in an understandable manner to a wide range of audiences.

Architect with SweisKloss in Santa Monica
Ms. Sweis is passionate about all things design. While she also has intimate knowledge of construction and structural engineering, it is her innate ability to look at a potential project and see myriad design possibilities that has helped make her company a success. She knew at a young age that she wanted to become an architect. When she was 10, her family moved from her native Amman, Jordan, to Los Angeles, where she went on to receive her Bachelor of Architecture degree from Woodbury University. While working as a designer at a small architecture firm, she acquired the technical knowledge and business skills to build her own company. In 1998, she started her own design firm, and in 2006 she partnered with her husband Jeff Kloss to create the construction side of the company, fulfilling their design + construct vision. Ms. Sweis strongly believes that architecture and the built environment should have the ability to change how we live/work as well as to be both resilient and sustainable. Since 1995, she has taught at UCLA Extension, Cal Poly Pomona, Pierce College, Woodbury University and other Los Angeles area architecture and design schools. A leader in her community, Ms. Sweis is a distinguished past president of the Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica and an involved parent of two rapidly growing children.