“Our founder Bob Silman would often tell us, ‘Don’t just stop at the first and easiest answer. Be creative, think outside the box, and do so with grace and humility.’ Continuing that tradition, being a Silman employee requires one thing and it’s stated clearly on my desk on a small wooden sign: ‘Bring Joy.’ I believe that if you treat people in and out of the office with these two simple words in mind, you will always succeed.”
Since joining Silman in 1979, Joe Tortorella has managed historic preservation, renovation, adaptive reuse, alteration, new construction, and sustainable design projects. His hands-on approach to project management through all phases of design, production, and construction have made him an expert in project quality assurance.
Joe is a member and former president of the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY). In 2016, he was named an Honorary member of AIA New York, and previously served as the Center for Architecture’s president and is currently on the board.
As a member of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), Joe was recently the Organizing Committee Chair for the 2019 Symposium in New York City. He also helped plan IABSE’s annual symposium in Shanghai in 2004 and served as Chair of the Scientific Committee, planning the 2008 symposium in Chicago. He has served as Vice President of IABSE and Past Chair of the US National Group. Joe’s passion for industry-related non-profit organizations is exemplified in his current work as Chair of the Board for GeoHazards International, a group that works to protect people from natural disasters in developing countries.
Joe is a former board member of the American Council of Engineering Companies, New York Chapter, and served on the Executive Board of New York New Visions in the evaluation of designs for the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site. Joe is also the former co-chair of the Critical and Commercial Building Working Group for the AIA Post Sandy Initiative 2013.
