BRPELS announces a new Board member, Jon P. Warren, Professional Land Surveyor (PLS), has been appointed by Governor Bob Ferguson to a 5-year term. He has 35 years of public and private sector projects, department management and personnel experience. The governor has also reappointed Board member Dave Peden, PE, SE of Spokane, to a second 5-year term.
The University of Washington Tacoma announced Monday the establishment of the “Strickland Fellowship for Career Pathways,” named in honor of Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland’s contributions to education and workforce development in Tacoma and the South Sound.
The program provides students with hands-on experience working on municipal projects in Tacoma city departments, helping them prepare for engineering careers close to home. The fellowship’s name was unveiled during a ceremony recognizing Strickland, who helped shape the program’s vision while serving as Tacoma’s mayor.
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Staff at BRPELS and the Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering & Land Surveying (OSBEELS) had an idea to help improve both agencies. How about a mid-day workshop to compare business best practices, for licensing, compliance and regulation? Subjects discussed included licensing trends, interstate license mobility, electronic records, exams, and outreach and communication.
“This was a fantastic opportunity to compare notes and examine ways both agencies could learn from each other,” said Kris Horton, PLS, BRPELS Deputy Director.… Read more
National PE Day was launched by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) in 2016 to celebrate and raise public awareness of the contributions of licensed professional engineers in the United States.
The idea for Professional Engineers Day started with Tim Austin, PE, a professional engineer from Kansas who served as president of NSPE in 2015–16. Austin believed attention should be paid to NSPE's core principle which says "Being a licensed professional engineer means more than just holding a certificate and possessing technical competence. It is a commitment to hold the… Read more
Here are the latest exam and licensing maps from NCEES’s Member Board Administrator (MBA) Committee. They show how each state handles renewal cycles, options for meeting the NCEES Continuing Professional Competency (CPC) standard, the home state rule for CPCs, methods of approving FE/PE and FS/PS exams and whether they’ve decoupled the PE and PS exams. The maps reflect data from 2023.
The Board is looking for your input on proposed amendments to Chapter 18.43 RCW – Engineers and Land Surveyors. These amendments include previously proposed amendments and recently approved proposed amendments. The recent proposed amendments were approved by the Board at the June 17, 2025, Annual Board Meeting.
We're holding 3 virtual workshops to gather comments about the amendments.
Date: July 23, 2025
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Date: July 24, 2025
Time: 4:… Read more
BRPELS has launched a new Customer Service Portal aimed at improving the efficiency, clarity and accessibility of its licensing support services. The portal replaces the legacy (engineers@brpels.wa.gov) email address and centralizes all customer interactions into a single streamlined platform.
All customer inquiries and feedback are now submitted through the BRPELS Customer Service Portal, available at … Read more
BRPELS is standardizing the PE and PLS decorative wall certificates. Starting Tuesday, July 1st 2025, we’ll make both certificates 8.5 x 11". The updated size will make it easier to find the right size frame, as the 10.5 x 13” was often a challenge. All other certificates will remain in the 8.5 x 11” format. The change also streamlines BRPELS processes and improves efficiency.
That's great advice from Kris Horton, our Deputy Director, on this "International Women in Engineering Day." Kris spoke with our partners at Open Gate Consulting, about her journey to her current position and shares those wonderful words of encouragement and determination to anyone entering the field. Kris says the tests can be daunting and may take a couple of tries to pass. Keep at it and you'll get there. Here's the interview.
Celebrate International Women in Engineering Day, Monday, June 23rd. It recognizes women’s engineering achievements and to encourage more women to enter the field. Many engineering fields require specialties, like civil, environmental, mechanical, chemical, aerospace, electrical and computer engineering. While the demand keeps growing every year for engineering expertise, women only fill a fraction of these positions. Please thank a woman engineer for their work on this day and encourage a girl to pursue a career in engineering.
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