Meet U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District Operations Technical Maintenance Lead Engineer Deanna Pienaar who is deployed to Maui helping with the Hawaiʻi Wildfires federal response. In her home district Pienaar performs routine inspections at dam projects in the Trinity region, completes works projects in her assigned area, and scopes and executes repair and construction projects at the dams.
In Maui, Pienaar is an Office Engineer at the Emergency Field Office in Lahaina where she assists in helping the debris removal mission run smoothly.
“I volunteered to contribute to the mission in way I can, and my background and experience can help the wildfire mission activities,” said Pienaar. “Also, I wanted to learn the specific expertise USACE has to respond to missions at any time as needed. The more I learn and know the more I can contribute.”
This is Pienaar’s first deployment with USACE, but she has other non-USACE disaster response experience. Pienaar said that this mission will stay with her.
“I am definitely going home a different person. The personal and cultural connection to this work is not anything I have ever done before; this experience has had a profound impact on me and will stay with me forever.”