U.S. Army Corps of Engineers In March, ASCE released its 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. With an overall C grade – the highest since the report card’s inception in 1998 – the nation still has plenty of room for improvement.
How can America raise the grade? Politics is one part of the discussion, and civil engineers are in a strong position to advocate for infrastructure improvements. But bringing the cause to policymakers takes more than just data and statistics. Advocates must go beyond the streets of Washington, D.C., and dive into what’s personal.
Building a collaborative infrastructure effort
As the people designing infrastructure projects, civil engineers represent the “boots on the ground,” the ones who “see the policies and what effects the policies have on our communities,” said Jose Aguilar, P.E., ENV SP, M.ASCE, a project manager at Ardurra.
“As civil engineers, we are the technical experts and a resource for our representatives to be able to make wise decisions,” he said.
Aguilar also sees his position as a civil engineer as an opportunity to be “the voice of the communities” as well as the industry when working with policymakers. Being able to meet with members of Congress and talk about various issues – such as at ASCE’s annual Legislative Fly-In – “definitely” makes an impact.
Reaching members of communities themselves requires a similar approach.
“I’m a big fan of not only using things like a report card to talk to legislators but also to use it to talk to your neighbors, to your cities,” Ana Tijerina Esquino, EIT, A.M.ASCE, an engineer at Mott MacDonald, said while attending the 2025 ASCE Solutions Summit, an event that immediately followed the report card release and featured analysis, discussion, and panels.
Infrastructure is necessary for society to function, but the average U.S. citizen isn’t always aware of how vital these structures and systems are to daily life.
In her outreach efforts, Tijerina Esquino has seen “massive misunderstandings of how our systems work and how they could or should operate.”
Raising awareness within communities depends on communication. According to Tijerina Esquino, that means talking with members of your community, whether they are neighbors, school board officials, or anyone else who would benefit from learning about infrastructure.
“I want people beyond the civil engineers I work with to understand the problems that we face because they do affect all of us. I don't want people to be surprised when they learn that we've been underinvesting in infrastructure,” she said. “I want that to be something that we all carry together.”
According to Aguilar, it’s all about telling a story.
Having an engineering mindset helps him make data-driven decisions based on statistics – like the hundreds of dollars families have to spend each year due to infrastructure issues – and communicate that to policymakers.
But what really matters is “being able to share that message in a way that anyone can understand.
“We can use all the technical terms we want, but it doesn't make a difference to the general public unless we make it understandable to them and how it affects their everyday lives,” Aguilar said.
Tijerina Esquino highlighted the Portland (Oregon) District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ cat and dog calendars as an example of something that takes the general public into account. These calendars, she said, showcase dams and teach people what various dam components do. For her, they are something to give as a gift, even to those outside the civil engineering community.
“Maybe you don’t notice what we do day-to-day if you don’t know to think about it,” she said. “But it is cool, it’s very fun, and we should be able to talk about that.”
Social media opens new pathways for outreach
Social media, now a staple among much of the population, offers a modern way for civil engineers to connect with people outside of their immediate communities.
"There are such good opportunities with social media platforms alone where if you can find a way – because infrastructure is so universal and it applies to so many of us in our quality of life – to make it go viral when someone takes time to put in the investment to deliver high-quality content,” said Jake Brunoehler, P.E., M.ASCE, a project development manager at Hobas Pipe USA.
In his own community in Wisconsin’s Fox Valley, a tri-county solid waste management facility went viral with advice on the proper disposal of Christmas lights.
“All of that comes from finding ways to meet people where they're at with things like social media,” he said.
Taking the conversation to Capitol Hill
Policymakers have also expressed their interest in personal stories.
During the summit, Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, urged audience members to share their own infrastructure stories when meeting with politicians and their staffs.
“If you have a personal story, make sure you tell that because it has as much impact as anything else,” he said. “When you talk to members of Congress, tell the stories. And when you bring people in from their district, it makes a big difference – it really does.”
Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., ranking member of the committee, reiterated that getting policymakers behind a project takes more than “talking points.”
“Do you really need talking points to tell people what you're doing right? Tell them your life, tell them your story, tell them what you're doing, tell them why it works the way it works – make it personal,” he said.
Securing funds from other sources
Using this strategy can also build connections with private investors who can help fill in funding gaps.
Jon Phillips, CEO of the Global Infrastructure Investor Association, said during a panel discussion at the summit that engineers do well in passionately advocating for projects.
“That is missing sometimes in infrastructure because when we're trying to build support for infrastructure investment, you have to make the story resonate and you have to connect with people,” he said. “In all the experience I have with talking about this issue, the people I work with whom I find the most compelling are the engineers.”
