News Release Archive

Richard LaFond named Technical Service Center director

Media Contact: Peter Soeth, 303-445-3615, psoeth@usbr.gov

For Release: September 01, 2020

Richard (Dick) LaFondDENVER - The Bureau of Reclamation announced the selection of Richard LaFond, P.E., as the director of the Technical Service Center. The Technical Service Center is located in Denver, Colorado, and provides innovative solutions to water and power resource issues. LaFond will be responsible for leading the organization and coordinating Reclamation's technical capabilities.

"Dick has almost 40 years of experience as a civil engineer working and leading a variety of projects throughout Reclamation," Chief Engineer David Raff said. "His experience and knowledge from working, being a team leader and then manager on a broad range of water resource projects will be a great asset to the Technical Service Center and Reclamation."

LaFond joined Reclamation in 1979 and worked in the Spillways and Outlet Works Section and also completed a construction rotation assignment at Island Park Dam in Idaho. After returning to the East Coast for a couple of years, he rejoined Reclamation in 1983 at the Engineering and Research Center, now known as the Technical Service Center. He then worked on several pumping plants before transitioning to the Structural Analysis Group where he provided project management and technical support services for dam safety projects. In 2004, he became the manager of the Plant Structures Group where he managed a group of employees who worked on pumping plants, powerplants, water treatment facilities and other structures.

He became the TSC Civil Engineering Division chief in 2009 where he has provided leadership over a diverse set of civil engineering services including the design and analysis of concrete dams, spillways and outlet works, water conveyance systems, roads and bridges, powerplants, pumping plants, water and wastewater treatment facilities; as well as cost estimating and construction management services, and materials engineering and research.

LaFond is a registered professional engineer in the State of Colorado and holds a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Science in civil engineering from the University of Colorado. He was awarded the Superior Service Award in 2008.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.