WGI Unleashed Podcast: Ricardo Castro, Associate Vice President

In this episode of the WGI Unleashed Podcast, hosts Dan and Katie head down to our Miami office to sit down with Ricardo Castro, PE, Associate Vice President in our Transportation group!

When Ricardo came to the United States in 2001, the plan was to earn a master's degree and head home to Colombia two years later. Twenty-five years on, he's still here, and he now calls himself Miami's biggest ambassador.

Two Stones and a Soccer Ball: Growing Up in Cúcuta

Ricardo grew up in Cúcuta, a small city on Colombia's border with Venezuela, with two television channels and one sport. After class, he and his friends would set two stones down on any open patch of street they could find and play soccer until it was time to go home.

He admits he wasn't much of a high school student, but that changed when he moved to Bogotá for college and traded Cúcuta's year-round 90-degree heat for mountain weather in the 40s and 50s. He chose civil engineering because his older brother had, and because his father, a medical doctor, didn't want anyone else in the family becoming a doctor. It turned out to be the right call, though Ricardo still thinks about how much rides on a decision most of us make at 17 or 18.

The Two-Year Plan

A college friend living in Miami convinced Ricardo to give the U.S. a try, but he chose Tampa for his master's on purpose, because he wanted to learn English and figured that would be nearly impossible in Miami. Six months into his studies at the University of Tampa, he landed a fellowship that covered most of his tuition and paid a stipend for his work as a research assistant to the dean of the College of Business. As Katie put it, "I guess I'll stay…"

He started his career working on FDOT projects and was later working in-house at District 7 when a City of Miami project came up that needed someone with transportation experience. The City's interviewer asked Ricardo when he could start, his company told him to write down whatever he needed, and all he asked for was the move. Two weeks later, he was living in Miami....

Building RDS, One Lunch at a Time

After years on City of Miami and FDOT District 6 and 4 work, Ricardo did what he'd always wanted to do and started his own firm, RDS. He says he could spend two days listing the challenges, and the one he brings up first is taking care of his people. When RDS was five people, offering the same retirement and medical benefits as the bigger firms was a real fight, since many carriers require a minimum headcount. Earning clients' trust was the other hurdle. RDS's first prime contract at District 4, worth about $3 million across two projects, went to a two-person firm, and it led to two hires right away. 

The road to WGI started when Ricardo asked a friend in the industry for a good contact so RDS could team with WGI on a project, and the friend connected him with our CEO. They met for lunch, and for the record, Ricardo paid. He'd like it noted that he's still owed one. The two had both started their careers in Tampa and knew plenty of the same people, and by the end of the meal it was clear WGI had something bigger than a teaming arrangement in mind. About a year ago, the RDS team joined WGI. Everyone Ricardo brought over is still with the team, and he counts it among the best decisions of his life.

The Work: Whiteboards, Cafecito, and A1A

Ricardo never sits down to work without a clear objective. He keeps his to-do list on the whiteboard in his office and highlights the two or three items that matter most, so even on a day he doesn't get through all ten, he goes home with the critical ones done. Most of his day belongs to his team and the questions they bring him. Twice a day, the office also breaks for cafecito, a ritual rooted in the team's Latino culture. Ricardo takes his as a straight espresso, and he warned Dan that if an invitation ever comes, he'd better show up ready to talk soccer.

The project he chose to highlight is a stretch of A1A in Palm Beach County being widened for designated bike lanes. As a longtime road cyclist, Ricardo sees A1A as a linear park running the length of Florida, but neither the residents nor the Town of Palm Beach supported the project at first. A typical public meeting might draw 10 people, and these drew as many as 70. Meeting after meeting, the team made the case for a safe space for younger residents who might one day commute by bike, and the community came around.

Life Outside the Office

The beach is a must, and padel, which Dan describes as pickleball on steroids, is Ricardo's current addiction. The sport has exploded in Miami, and he counts around 50 courts within a 10-minute drive of his house.

His son and daughter both play soccer, and Ricardo admits his daughter got the better soccer genes. That turns his weekends into a part-time Uber gig shuttling her to competitive games, and he enjoys every minute of it. After a recent parents-versus-kids game, she asked him, "Daddy, you used to be good, right?" He maintains that he's still good.

There are no pets in the house, and that answer came fast, since he loves cats and dogs as long as they belong to someone else. He does try to get to Italy every year, most recently for a 10-day drive around Bari. When Dan asked whether any olive oil made it home in the suitcase, Ricardo said he would never do such a thing....

Tune In

Ricardo brought the energy from the first question to the last, and he left us with a book recommendation, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Stick around for two truths and a lie, too, where Dan and Katie's losing streak lives on.

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