USA Mutual Recognition Agreement: CEng to PE Route

Oscar Rich

Oscar Rich is a CEng Civil Engineer, holds a PE in Idaho, and has diverse experience at three of the largest international airports – Heathrow, Denver and JFK – working as a contractor, owner, developer and owners representative. He is currently a senior program manager with HNTB overseeing JFK International Airport’s Redevelopment Program where he manages projects ranging from airfield taxiways, new roads and bridges, and New York States largest car port solar project.

Oscar is the ICE’s Representative for the Mid-Atlantic North region (NY, NJ, PA, DE) and serves as Treasurer to the ICE’s New York Association.

Michelle Cockburn

Michelle Cockburn is the ICE’s Membership Manager for the Americas region. She joined the ICE in 2015 after many years in the water industry. Experienced in a range of operational and strategic roles, leading service delivery, customer insight and data analysis, she uses this experience to support students, apprentices, graduates and experienced practitioners in their personal development pathways, as well as supporting their employers' learning and development programmes.

Marie Nebesky

Marie Nebesky serves as the international engagement strategist at NCEES. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education and began her career teaching secondary mathematics. She later transitioned into higher education admissions and joined NCEES in 2010 as a Credentials Evaluator. Over the past sixteen years, Marie has advanced through several leadership roles, including Manager of Credentials Evaluations and Records, to her current position.

Marie’s work focuses on promoting international mobility by supporting member licensing boards and fostering partnerships with the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) member nations, supporting mutual recognition agreements (MRAs), including the continued implementation of the UK MRA. She also serves as society liaison to ABET and staff liaison to the NCEES Committee on Education. Through expanding global exam access and reducing barriers to licensure, she contributes to addressing workforce needs while advancing NCEES’ mission of coordinating with domestic and international organizations to advance licensure of all engineers and surveyors.

Chris Chalk

Chris Chalk is a Mott MacDonald Fellow and a global aviation leader having worked around the world on major airport programmes. For the past 9 years he has been the lead for Mott MacDonald’s role as leader masterplanner and programme planner for the redevelopment of JFK International Airport.

Chris is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Member of the Institution of Structural Engineers and successfully went through the mutual recognition agreement process to gain a PE for NC in 2025. Chris has prepared a step by step roadmap of the journey.

Thomas Loewen

Thomas Loewen is a PE (NV) and CEng (UK) Civil Engineer with a passion for international development and water. Thomas wants to serve people sustainably and appropriately in collaboration with local stakeholders. His background is in design, modeling, project management, and site supervision of water, stormwater, and wastewater projects in both English and French.