Marcus is the founder and CEO/President of Fortress Structural Engineering and Fortress BIM. After graduating from UC Davis with a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering and UC Berkeley with a Masters Degree in Structural Engineering, Marcus worked for a structural engineering design firm and then for an international manufacturer of construction products and services. Throughout that time, Marcus acquired direct sales and human resource management experience in addition to developing his engineering skills. He led the HR department for a 3000 person organization in the US and Canada and subsequently managed a 400 member sales organization with a P&L of $130M.
Marcus’ prior personnel and management experience, mixed with working directly with contractors throughout the United States taught him to be attentive to the needs of his team members internally and his customers externally to achieving outstanding results for all sides.
Marcus is personally licensed in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Michigan, Wyoming, Maryland, Tennessee and Nebraska.
Marcus loves to exercise, especially playing basketball and weightlifting, and loves to vacation in beach destinations. He is active in Christian ministry and his faith in Christ is central to his life and drives his work and passions. He has been married for more than 27 years and is the proud father of 3 boys.
Nastaran Ashtari has earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from K.N. Toosi University of Technology, and a Master of Art in Urban Planning from Azad University. As a project Engineer, her role at Fortress entails project estimates, take-offs and equipment anchorages.
Nastaran enjoys hobbies such as gardening, painting, hiking, calligraphy, and dancing, and names Titanic as her favorite movie. When asked she says that Cyrus the Great is her personal hero because he delivered the first human right inscription. If she ever won the lottery, she would use the money to fight against cancer.
Cody Brown graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. As a full-time project manager and engineer, Cody’s role includes responsibilities such as detailing custom pipe supports, creating seismic bracing layouts, designing equipment anchorages, and interacting with Fortress’ clients to bring projects in on time and under budget. To date, Cody’s signature project work has been leading the Fortress team in designing all of the electrical supports at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.
Cody enjoys outdoor activities such as golfing, snowboarding, and wakeboarding, and his favorite is football. He is a fan of rock music, and his favorite bands are Disturbed and Slipknot. He names his parents as his heroes, who he says inspired him to work hard and stand up for what’s right.
Colten has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering Systems from Arizona State University. He has extensive experience as a BIM modeler, highly proficient in AutoCad, Navisworks, REVIT and Bluebeam Revu. Colten also handles pipe stress analysis for our commercial and infrastructure divisions.
Robb holds a Bachelors of Engineering and Masters of Engineering with an emphasis in Structural Engineering and Construction Management from the University of Utah. He has extensive expertise in rooftop equipment support systems and has prepared white papers and performed technical training to industry professionals on this application.
Rob is licensed as a Professional Engineer in multiple states, including Colorado, Texas, Utah and Washington.
Amin Ghafooripour is highly educated with 3 separate degrees: a Ph.D in Structural Engineering at Azad University, a Master of Science in Structural Engineering from Tabriz University, and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the Toosi University of Technology. He contributes to Fortress working on complex projects and managing the residential projects.
Amin is a highly decorated and awarded engineer. He cites multiple people as his heroes such as Thomas Edison, Pastor Osteen, and President Kennedy. He also owns parakeets for pets and names Mama Mia as one of his favorite movies, and disco as one of his favorite music genres.
Carlos Goncalves has both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering from Old Dominion University. He is an integral part of our general engineering design and seismic structural analysis team.
Carlos loves to surf all over the world and enjoys martial arts. He is an avid fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kavita is highly educated, with two masters, one in Structural Engineering from CSU Los Angeles, and one in Environmental Engineering from S.P. University in India. As part of her role at Fortress, she specializes in the analysis and design of seismic bracing for nonstructural components in the electrical, plumbing, mechanical trades, using Gripple, Tolco/B-line, Unistrut, Badger and others.
Kavita lived in India with her Father, who she names as her hero and reason behind her passion for civil engineering. Her favorite movies are The Pursuit of Happiness and a Hindi movie named 3 Idiots. For hobbies she likes to cook and learn new recipes as well as garden.
Peter graduated from UC berkeley with a Civil and Environmental Engineering B.S. At Fortress, as a structural designer he works with other engineers and drafters to produce details and calculations for seismic anchorage & bracing of non-structural building components. In addition, Peter helps manage Fortress’ job procurement system. This entails coordination with distributors, assignment & tracking of quotes to team members, and general quality assurance.
Peter enjoys hobbies such as biking, snowboarding, and camping. Some of his favorite music artists to listen to include Pat Metheny, Kendrick Lamar, Sturgill Simpson, and Jimi Hendrix. He also said that his ideal vacation spot would be somewhere on the beach or in the mountains.
Matt has worked for many years performing designs in CAD and BIM for MEPF systems. After graduating from Cal State Fullerton, Matt worked for XL Fire Protection as a Project Manager/Designer designing fire sprinkler systems on all types of projects, including OShPD and DSA projects. Matt then worked for HSA Consulting Engineers as a Detailer/Designer/Project Manager working on all types of projects, including Water Treatment Plants. Matt performed engineering, detailing, design and Project Management duties in his role at this firm. He has been working at Fortress since 2018, working on major projects, such as the Inglewood Stadium, LAX Terminal 2 & 3 Renovations and Lucas Museum, leading the Detailing and BIM efforts for many of the major projects.
Matt loves playing music, playing the guitar and saxophone in his free time and spending time with his dog, Ted who is a Maltese/Shih-Tzu mix.
Lisa has over 20 years of experience in the mechanical industry as a pipe fitter and she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management from California State University, Chico. She has a unique understanding of the construction process from beginning to end. Lisa is a skilled and proficient project coordinator for Fortress.
John is an experienced CAD drafter with more than 20 years in the construction industry. He is responsible for bringing to “digital” life some of Fortress’s largest projects, from hospitals to high rise commercial buildings.
John is an avid outdoorsman and likes enjoys working with his hands in his spare time.
Tony Munoz joined Fortress as an estimator. He has more than 40 years of experience in quoting and estimating construction projects.
Tony grew up in East Los Angeles, California, and names the city as his ideal vacation spot. Some of his favorite genres of music include Latin Fusion, specifically salsa, and Rock and Roll. His main hobby is exercising at the gym about three or four times a week.
Mark has a Master in Structural Engineering from California Polytechnic State San Luis Obispo University. He has over twenty-four years in structural engineering, experience in design development, analysis, and construction administration for various projects. As Senior Project Manager, Mark works on many of Fortress’ OSHpD and DSA projects.
Mark grew up in Redding CA, and has a hobby of messing around with computer technology. Some of his favorite cuisine include Indian and Asian Food. His ideal vacation is camping in the woods. His favorite movie is Apollo 13, and favorite sport is tennis.