About Us

Gene St. Onge, PE, SECB, founder and principal of St. Onge & Associates, has over 40 years experience managing civil and structural engineering projects in the private, public, domestic and international arenas. Gene has particular expertise in unreinforced masonry construction, retrofit and enhancement projects, and is noted for innovative, state of the art design work. For example, St. Onge and Associates designed the first residence in the world to employ a damper system for seismic resistance. Gene is co-holder of a patent for a lateral resistance device (LRD) that strengthens thin-shaft helical anchors — which expedite construction in soft soil conditions — against seismic forces.

Gene’s areas of specialization include value engineering; project management of civil and structural engineering for small to mid-sized residential, commercial, institutional and industrial structures; and site hydraulic and structural designs (culverts, bridges, retaining walls). His practice has centered on cost-optimized structural solutions that satisfy code and owner requirements without “over-engineered” components.

Beginning in 1974 at the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), Gene has been responsible for engineering and project management for numerous commercial and industrial projects, heading design teams and acting as principal designer in preparing structural design contract documents. He later developed and managed Value Engineering programs for both the Electrical Generating Authority and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority of Thailand, where he trained and managed two U.S. power industry authorities and 46 engineers and planners, saving the government of Thailand $16 million in the process. He has also designed projects in Russia and Mexico.

Before launching his professional career, Gene served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand, providing engineering assistance in the design and construction of schools and irrigation works. Today he is well-known for his work on non-profit, social services facilities and low-cost housing projects in the Bay Area. He has worked extensively as a structural engineer on Habitat for Humanity projects, typically on an at-cost or pro bono basis. He was responsible for the retrofit design of the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center and its Thrift Store at separate locations in San Francisco, saving the organization hundreds of thousands of dollars over other proposed solutions.

Gene holds a B. S. in Civil Engineering from Tufts University, Medford, MA, and an M.S. in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in hydraulics and water resources from University of California, Berkeley. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the states of California and Washington and is certified in Structural Engineering by the Structural Engineering Certification Board (SECB). He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Structural Engineers Society of Northern California, and the Society of Value Engineers.

Nan Kitiyakara, PE, senior engineer, has over 15 years of structural and civil design experience in the private and public sectors. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from San Jose State University and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of California. He is also a member of the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC). His areas of specialization include:

Up to 5-story light-framed buildings over concrete podium – parking and retail.

  • Prefabricated, modular, custom homes, both single and multi-family.

  • Design and retrofit of light commercial buildings.

  • Multi-family, multi-residential design [condos, townhouses, apartments and mixed-use buildings].

  • Single-family custom homes.

  • Unreinforced masonry and concrete building retrofits.

  • Site grading and drainage design.

  • Steel helical anchor, push pile and other dry foundation design.

  • Tridipanel EV / 3G panel floor and walls for single-family homes and studios.

  • Project Feasibility Analysis

Robert Stickle, EIT, Associate Engineer, has over 5 years of structural and civil design experience.  He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from UC Davis and is completing his license for Professional Engineer in the State of California.