Dan Schaefer was born and raised in Rochester, NY. At an early age, he read the children’s book “Who Built the Highway?” (Norman Bate, 1953) and was hooked. He knew that he was going to be involved in construction. He spent many days as a youth watching construction projects and building things around the house, and he carried that interest to college to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering.

After receiving his BSCE, Dan worked for an engineering firm in western New York for five years before moving to the Raleigh, NC, area in 1990 to join F&R. In 2001, ten years (and several promotions) later, Dan became the Branch Manager of F&R’s Raleigh office, a position he excelled at so much that in 2015, Dan was promoted to the position of F&R’s Carolina Regional Vice President. This role allowed him to administer several internal and external programs to improve F&R’s business practices. Today, he serves as Vice President of Operations.

During his early years at F&R, Dan earned a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from North Carolina State University. He has more than 35 years of experience specializing in geotechnical engineering, construction inspection and materials testing, and environmental consulting. In addition to his VP duties, he continues to serve as a senior engineer on a wide variety of site development, building, and transportation projects with particular emphasis on foundation, retaining wall, pavement, and slope design. Dan is actively involved with the Geoprofessional Business Association (GBA) and has been a member of the GBA CoMET Business Council for more than 15 years, serving as that body’s Vice Chair.