Robert P. Kudlawiec, PE is the Treasurer and a Founding Member of the Board of Directors of the Rebuilding Their Future Foundation, Inc. He has spent more than 42 years in the mining and mineral industry. He received his B.S. degree in mining engineering from Penn State University and, upon graduation, took a position with the LTV Corp. at its Gateway Mine as senior mining engineer and mine foreman. After obtaining an MBA from Wheeling College and his Professional Engineer (PE) license, he worked for Jeffrey Mining Machinery as Regional Manager, where he was instrumental in designing and manufacturing innovative mining equipment. He then joined Cyprus Amax Coal as Maintenance Manager and Project Engineer and was involved in developing the first permissible dry scrubber system for diesel equipment. Subsequently, he worked for Cannelton Industry and Addington Enterprises, Hatch Mott MacDonald and Murray Energy. At Murray Energy, he was Manager of Engineering, President and Project Director for the Maple Creek/high quality mine along with duties as Manager of Permitting and Compliance. 

Bob then joined PBS/Severstal as Vice President Engineering in Somerset, PA and helped grow the company from 300 to 1,200 personnel. Following this, he worked for Prairie State Generating as General Manager of the Lively Grove Mine in Illinois, where he was responsible for total production of 7 Mt (7.7 million st) for the Prairie State generating plant. He returned to Pennsylvania and joined Earthtech Inc. as Senior Project/Operations Manager. In 2018, Bob joined Tetra Tech, Inc. as a Senior Project Manager, Tetra Tech Inc. Here he has been involved in projects throughout North America.

Bob is a PE in seven states and has his mine manager certification in three states. He has been involved with the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc (SME), as chair of the Coal & Energy Division, as Chair of the Pittsburgh Local Section and on numerous SME and Pittsburgh Section committees. He also served as Co-Chair of the SME Foundation’s Individual Fundraising Committee and as a member of the Foundation’s Ph.D. and Career Grant Committees. He is the currently President of the Pittsburgh Coal Mining Institute of America, a member of the SME Pittsburgh Section Board of Directors, and a member of the Pennsylvania State Registration Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists. He was recognized by the National Society of Professional Engineers, in 2017, as a 41-yr member of SME. In 2010 he was honored as a Fellow of the SME Pittsburgh Section and in 2018, he was inducted into the class of SME national Fellows.