Minutes - September 10, 2026 - Professional Engineers

Date

September 10, 2026

Time

09:45 AM

Location

100 S. Charles St.
Tower 1
Baltimore, MD 21201
(Teleconference via Google Meet) Access using video conferencing: meet.google.com/vez-tjmx-mbr
Phone: +1 401-552-4499
PIN: 392138700

Members Present

Sallye Perrin, PE, Chair
Dhrubajyoti (DJ) Biswas, PE, Vice Chair
Kathryn Gunkel, PE, Secretary
Troy Metz, PE
Karl Rickert, PE
Lily Kuitcha, PE
Ikechukwu Agbim, Consumer
Tracey Clark, Consumer

Members Absent

None

Staff Present

Sarah McDermott, Assistant Commissioner, O&P Licensing
Raquel Meyers, Interim Executive Director
Matthew Venuti, Board Counsel
Andrew Friel, Director of Government Affairs
Hannah Belcher, Office Secretary

Others Present

Melissa Cannata from Amber Book
Qadri Hafez Shaheen
David Austin
Andrew Brown
Megan Cullison
Alex Beam
Joseph Garret

Meeting Called to Order

Chair Sallye Perrin called the State Board for Professional Engineers meeting to order at 9:47 am.

Approval of monday day, year, Meeting Minutes

July 9, 2026, meeting minutes approved without corrections.

Review of Reciprocity and Exam Applications

Ms. Perrin noted that several reciprocity and exam applications were approved, as were several administratively approved model law applications. Motion (I) was called to approve all reciprocity, including MLE’s, and examination applications. The motion was moved by Mr. Biswas, seconded by Mr. Metz, and unanimously approved the reciprocity, including MLE’s and exam applications. It was unanimously approved by the Board.

Application Approved Administratively for PE Licensure by Reciprocity:

There were 216 applications, supported by NCEES Model Law Engineer records, that were administratively approved for licensure by reciprocity.

Applications for PE Licensure by Reciprocity are as follows:

Abdelrahman, Ahmed (67833)
Abdelrahman, Mohammed (67805)
Abraham, Emad (67806)
Abujaber, Mohammad (67807)
Acharya, Raju (67808)
Adib, Mazen (67809)
Aghajani, Amir (67810)
An, Jangyeul (67811)
Anderson, Matthew (67812)
Aouf, Linda (67813)
Asadizadeh, Mostafa (67814)
Aziz, Humayun (67815)
Castillo, Christopher (67816)
Chalise, Rameshwor (67817)
Claud, Michael (67819)
Cramer, Robert (67818)
Davis, Randall (67820)
Farahi, Behrouz (67821)
Farhadzadeh, Ali (37314)
Feak, Kevin (67822)
Foster, Michael (63676)
French, Keith (67823)
Gomez, Felipe (67824)
Martinez, Brandy (67834)
Mikaeel, Mina (67835)
Miranda, Jamil (67836)
Montanari, Luca (67837)
Morales, Alfredo (60178)
Ndiaye, Demba (67838)
Ndiaye, Ousmane (67839)
O’Neill, Phillip (67860)
Ogborne, Robert (67840)
Ogborne, Glanus (67901)
Persons, Jessica (67841)
Posney, David (67842)
Prajapati, Devang (67843)
Qadir, Samir (67844)
Rufus, Dorian (67845)
Saeed, Masoud (67846)
Schweigert, Brody (67847)
Shrestha, Manish (67848)
SivaKumar, Vidhya (67849)
Somuri, Sai Samtosh (67850)
Straley, Charles (67851)
Surapaneri, Rajeev (67852)
Talladivedula, Venkat (67853)
Hayes, Gerald (67825)
Ho, Charles (67826)
Idris, Moustafa (65613)
Jones, Andrew (67827)
Jumaah, Atheer (67828)
Khan, Mahmood (67829)
Laplante, Kevin (67830)
Luman, Paulo (67831)
Makar, Mina (67832)
Taylor, Justin (67854)
Thampi, Fiona (56157)
Thornley, Eric (67855)
Turner, Kevin (67856)
Varela, Gustavo (67857)
Watson, Keith (67858)
Yablonsky, Matthew (67903)
Younan, Rimon (67859)
Mehrkish, Roozbeh (67902)

Applications for PE Licensure by MRA are as follows:

Biscocho, Eric O. (67861)

There were three PE Licensure by Reciprocity applications placed in the “Needs More Information” folder. One applicant, who holds a technology degree, is required to have eight years of experience and is currently three months short of the required experience; the Board agreed to hold the application for three months. A second applicant’s documentation indicated that the applicant’s license expired in December 2025, and there was no evidence of an active license. References for a third applicant were discussed in Executive Session.

There was one application for PE Licensure by Reciprocity not reviewed at the meeting and will be deferred to the October meeting.

There was no PE Licensure by Reciprocity denied.

Transfer of Grades

There were four Transfers of Grades applications submitted and approved.

Battaglia, Giuseppe
Nolan, Kennedy
Ottomaniello, Nicholas
Slingluff, Caroline

Applications for the Principles and Practices of Engineering Exam as follows:

Asonibare, Oluwasyi
Beam, Alex
Behre, Berhane T
Bender, Micha J.
Black, Donald
Brophy, Blaine
Brown, Kevon
Dutt, Casdandra
Campbell, James
Connor, Kristopher
Cooper, Timothy
Corun, Malik
Cullinan, Daniel
Lee, Sandyoup
Lei, Lei
Marquez, Matthew
McDougall, Peter
McMillian, William J.
McQuay, Jacob
Parks, Andrew
Plaore, Olusegun
Pryor, Phillip
Rauf, Redwanur
Rezer, Richard T.
Rizkallah, Essa S
Robinson, Matthew C.
Cullison, Megan
Dearing, Benjamin
Deutch, Adam
Dimbo, Michaela
Engel, Robert
Gan, Jamie
Garret, Joseph
Glaudemans, Mick
Harris, Rajathalal
Heinmann, Grayce B.
Hennmann, David
Isreal, Aaron
Judd, Mariel
Kang, Dong
Koshy, Varghese
Lanshbrook, Joshua
Saunders, Ronald
Serra, Ramirez
Shaheen, Qadri
Tauber, Jason
Taylor, Timothy
Tesema, Shifferaw
Virk, Jugraj S.
Waldman, Rena
Wiess, Abdullah
Yousefian, Lilia

There were eight PE Licensure by Examination applications placed in the “Needs More Information” folder. One applicant failed to answer one of the questions on the RPE form and was also required to submit a work sample. A second applicant was required to provide an evaluation of the Bachelor’s degree to receive credit for the Master’s degree. For three applicants, one of the character references was also an endorser. The Board requested that two applicants submit better work samples. One applicant was required to submit a separate RPE form for each work sample submitted.

There were also three applications for PE Licensure by Examination that were not reviewed during the meeting and will be deferred to the October meeting.

There was no PE Licensure by Examination denied.

Old Business

a) Internal Process Improvements

Ms. Meyers reported that, as part of ongoing efforts to improve internal processes, staff have developed a tracking spreadsheet and checklist and meet weekly to review and improve application processes. She stated that the team continues to identify and address deficiencies in a timely manner and make improvements as needed.

b) Update on Pre-October 2025 Status of Applications and 30-day letter

Ms. Meyers provided an update on applications submitted prior to October 1, 2025, when the law changed. She reported that 30-day notifications had been sent to affected applicants and that staff will continue tracking responses. Applicants who do not respond will receive a final notification advising that their applications will be closed and that they must reapply under the new law. Ms. Meyers stated that she will provide application statistics to the Board prior to the next meeting.

c) Legislative Update

Mr. Venuti provided a legislative update. He reported that the legislative committee had been reconvened and established a meeting schedule, with the first meeting scheduled for the following Friday. The committee will begin by reviewing the statute for updates and modernization, followed by a review of the regulations.

The Board discussed ensuring that current review processes, including CPC application and provider criteria, are accurately reflected in the statute and regulations. Board members were encouraged to provide any areas they believe should be reviewed for Ms. Gunkel and Mr. Metz.

d) Maryland Society of Professional Engineers (MDSPE) Taskforce

Ms. Gunkel provided an update on the MDSPE Taskforce regarding the misuse and fraudulent use of professional seals. She reported that the Taskforce has identified an elected official to work with on proposed legislation and is broadening the proposed language to address various agencies and circumstances. The Taskforce will continue working with the elected official’s office to develop proposed legislation for the upcoming legislative session.

e) National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) Annual Meeting

Ms. Perrin provided an update on the NCEES Annual Meeting. She reported that fraudulent use of professional seals was a significant topic of discussion and that NCEES is exploring more secure methods of authenticating professional documents. She also reported on discussions and actions related to FE examination requirements, board composition, and examination fees. The member boards did not approve an automatic exam fee increase based on CPI.

Ms. Perrin also reported that NCEES transferred $11 million to its foundation for grants supporting engineering education and STEM initiatives. Ms. Gunkel discussed the Maryland Engineering Challenges program and encouraged consideration of NCEES grant funding for the program. Ms. Perrin reported that the 2027 NCEES Northeast Zone Meeting is expected to be held in Omaha, Nebraska, in April, followed by the NCEES Annual Meeting in Verona, New York, in August.

New Business

None

Correspondence

Ms. Meyers provided correspondence from NCEES regarding the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) Applicant PE Licenses. She provided an update on the MRA application process, which was previously discussed at the March 2026 meeting. She reported that the new online MRA reciprocal original application target launch date is October 1, 2026, allowing applicants to apply to Maryland as their initial state rather than first obtaining licensure in another state.

Ms. Meyers also presented correspondence from a professional engineer regarding the use of editable PDFs of signed and sealed drawings for as-built markups. Board members expressed concerns regarding signing and sealing as-built drawings and the potential for changes to be made to editable documents after they have been signed and sealed. Mr. Metz agreed to assist Ms. Meyers in preparing a response to the inquiry.

Executive Director’s Report

Ms. Meyers provided an update regarding the 2028 NCEES Northeast Zone meeting. She reported that she had requested an update and would follow up prior to the October meeting.

The current focus is the Renaissance Baltimore Harbor place.

Ms. Meyers also reported that interviews for the Professional Engineers Board Administrative Officer position were scheduled for September 16 and 18, with an anticipated hiring update by the October meeting.

Ms. Perrin commended Ms. Meyers for the process improvements made over the past two months and expressed appreciation for her efforts.

Board Counsel’s Report

Mr. Venuti stated that he had provided his updates earlier during the Legislative Update and yielded his allotted five minutes to Mr. Rickert for his report.

CPC Committee Report

Mr. Biswas raised concerns that the current requirements for becoming a CPC provider may be too lenient and recommended reviewing the criteria to determine whether additional requirements are appropriate. He reported that he reviewed three applications, all of which met the current requirements, and approved them. The Board discussed coordinating any proposed changes to the CPC provider criteria with the ongoing legislative and regulatory review. Mr. Biswas agreed to provide recommendations for consideration.

Mr. Biswas reported that he approved two CPC provider applications, CPC: Fire & Risk Alliance (FRA), GPS Air, and VaughanAir. Motion (II) was made by Ms. Gunkel, seconded by Mr. Biswas and unanimously carried by the Board to accept the CPC Committee report.

Complaint Committee Report

Mr. Rickert reported on the status of complaints discussed by the Complaint Committee September 10, 2026

27-PE-01: Investigating
27-PE-02: Investigating
27-PE-03: Investigating
27-PE-04: Investigating
28-PE-26: Investigating
27-PE-26: Investigating
26-PE-26: Investigating
23-PE-26: Investigating
22-PE-26: Investigating
21-PE-26: Investigating
19-PE-26: Investigating
18-PE-26: Investigating

Mr. Rickert stated that the Committee reviewed conduct and reinstatement matters carried over from the previous two months. Due to the volume of cases, several matters remained under investigation pending additional information and will be reviewed at the next meeting.

Mr. Rickert stated that the matters reviewed included continuing education deficiencies, an out-of-state firm permit issue, reckless driving, a felony conviction and probation, probation before judgment, and extended periods of inactive registration. Based on the circumstances presented, the Committee determined that no action was warranted in several matters and approved or supported reinstatement in others, subject to applicable requirements.

He also reported on a matter involving signing and sealing after license expiration. Reinstatement was conditioned on completion of the required ethics education.

Motion (III) was made by Mr. Biswas; seconded by Ms. Gunkel and unanimously carried by the Board to accept the Complaint Committee report.

Executive Session

Motion (IV) was called by Ms. Perrin, moved by Ms. Gunkel, and seconded by Mr. Biswas, and was unanimously approved to enter Executive Session at 10:37 a.m. The session was closed pursuant to §3-305(b)(7) and §3-313 of the General Provisions Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland to consult with counsel under subsection b13, to comply with specific statutory requirements that prohibit public disclosure of certain proceedings or matters. The Board convened in closed session to protect confidential communications and licensing information exempt under the Maryland Public Information Act, in connection with applications. Upon completion of the Executive Session, the Board reconvened its public meeting at 11:25 a.m.

Ms. Gunkel moved to approve one additional application that she had previously approved but was not placed in the approved folder. Motion (V) was made by Ms. Gunkel, second by Mr. Biswas and unanimously carried to approve the additional application.

Other Business

The next meeting is scheduled for October 8, 2026, at 9:45 a.m.

Adjournment

Ms. Perrin called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion (VI) was made by Ms. Gunkel, second by Mr. Metz and unanimously carried to adjourn the business meeting at 11:28 a.m.

Chair’s Signature:
Signature On File

Date: 10/19/2026