Robert Dennis Bourdages earned his BSCE in 1979 from California State University, Sacramento. In 1984 he became Principal-in Charge of Poggemeyer Design Group, formerly known as Nelson-Bourdages, Inc., and led the structural division in the firm's Las Vegas and Kirkland offices.

In SEAW activism, he helped advance the visibility and performance of Washington engineers through his effective advocacy, chairing both the SEAW Legislative Committee and the Washington Architects and Engineers Legislative Council (AELC) beginning in 1998. With AELC, he spearheaded the 2001 development of the statutory revision that preserved the status of the practice of structural engineering as a specialty discipline requiring experience and training beyond education and licensure. In 2007, he led the effort to establish a Structural Engineering Practice Act in Washington State. In this and other efforts he testified before numerous Washington State House and Senate committees. He also served as a member of the Board of Appeals for the City of Kirkland.

Posted March 2012