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The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) has welcomed seven (7) professional engineers to its 2025 class of Fellow members. The Fellow designation honors active NSPE members who have demonstrated exemplary and devoted service to their profession, the Society, and their community. Requirements for the title include holding at least one elected office at any level and active involvement at the national level.

Among this year’s distinguished honorees is Aurea Rivera, P.E. Rivera has been a dedicated member of NSPE and the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) for many years. She is the founder and president of the Dayton, Ohio-based Carbon Metrics Global (CMG), a company whose mission is to harness the power of technology in the service of client-smart clients and communities. Under her leadership, CMG seeks to become the gold standard for carbon metric measurements through the implementation of innovative methodologies. Prior to launching CMG in 2022, she served as chief scientist/engineer for NexGen Federal Systems.

Rivera has been an active member of the OSPE chapter, the Dayton Society of Professional Engineers (DSPE) since 1992. She initially served on the board of directors and volunteered with MATHCOUNTS. Since then, she has served multiple terms as the chapter president and led the chapter in hosting the All-Ohio Engineers Conference in 2004 and 2020. She continues to regularly collaborate with chapter committees on membership growth strategies and develop professional continuing education opportunities for local engineers.

Rivera has been equally impactful at both the state and national levels. Since 2019, she has served as OSPE’s MATHCOUNTS State Coordinator to oversee the planning and execution of statewide math competitions for the benefit of hundreds of middle-school students. She also worked with OSPE to develop and film the Spanish-language version of the Imagine Engineering program, offering early engineering exposure to Spanish-speaking communities.

At the national level, Rivera has been an active member of the NSPE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Committee since 2023 and will serve as chairperson in 2025. As a committee member, she helps to develop strategies for fostering greater inclusivity within the engineering profession. She is also a member of the NSPE Emerging Technologies Committee, a group that focuses on identifying and discussing emerging technologies and crafting recommendations for how NSPE can best equip its members to utilize the innovations ethically and responsibly.

Rivera has been recognized for the impact of her work throughout her career. In 2013, she earned a place on the National Air and Space Intelligence Center’s Wall of Honor. In 2023, Rivera was presented with Wright State University’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, which recognizes graduates who have demonstrated distinguished professional achievement, leadership, and service to their communities. She was awarded the OSPE’s Uncommon Engineer Award in 2024.

NSPE state and territorial societies can nominate one person for each 500 voting members on their rolls per year. Nominations are also open to NSPE interest groups, chartered affinity groups, and the Board of Directors. Since its establishment in 2000, around one percent of all NSPE members have advanced to this highest rank in volunteer membership.

“It is with great enthusiasm that we recognize this year’s class of Fellows, who have been selected by their peers for exceptional and dedicated service at the chapter, state, and national levels of NSPE,” says NSPE President Brian Malm, P.E., F.NSPE. “NSPE is proud of their accomplishments and indelible mark on the engineering profession, the Society, and their communities. We look forward to their continued leadership and contributions.”

The 2025 NSPE Fellows include the following (in alphabetical order):

Phil Gundvaldson, P.E., South Dakota – North Central 
Susan Habina-Woolard, P.E., North Carolina – Southeast Region
Colin Hewett, P.E., Maine – Northeast Region
Brian LaFoy, P.E., ENV SP, Texas – Southwest Region
Jennifer Nolan-Kremm, P.E., Pennsylvania – Northeast Region
Travis L. Rhoades, P.E., Ohio – Central Region
Aurea L. Rivera, P.E., PMP, PMI-ACP, Ohio – Central Region