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Sol Fontanes, P.E.
Manager Industrial Engineering
Walt Disney World
Featured: 02-22-2010
Mr. Sol L. Fontanes, P.E. was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1976, growing up in his beloved hometown of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico. He learned early on about community service and leadership, due to his involvement with his hometown Boys Scout Troop, from which he earned the Eagle Scout Award. Upon graduation from the Fernando Suria Chavez High School, he entered the Industrial Engineering program at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus.
While Mr. Fontanes was majoring in Industrial Engineering, he became the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) student chapter president helping with the establishment of two new chapters at the University of Turabo and the Polytechnic University. During his tenure as SHPE student chapter president, Mr. Fontanes started programs to develop leadership and professional skills among his fellow students. Upon completing his degree, Mr. Fontanes relocated to Madison, Wisconsin to complete his Masters Degree in Industrial Engineering, while continuing to be involved with SHPE mentoring the local chapter. The Industrial Engineering profession is mostly geared toward the manufacturing industry, but what a magical moment life had prepared for Mr. Fontanes when he was hired by The Walt Disney Company as an Industrial Engineer in Orlando, Florida.
After all those family vacations to the most magical place on earth, Mr. Fontanes was responsible to ensure guests of all ages would be able to experience Walt Disney’s dreams. Mr. Fontanes started in the summer of 2000 and was assigned to the Industrial Engineering team supporting attractions. He has supported many special projects during his tenure with Walt Disney World, not only in the theme parks, but in the resorts, textiles services (the largest privately owned laundry facility in the world), and the costuming organizations. Currently, Mr. Fontanes is the Manager Industrial Engineering for all Industrial Engineering support at the Disney Cruise Line and Disney's Magical Express. He is working with the design of the two new 128K-tons ships, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, expected to begin sailing in 2011 and 2012, respectively. He is also responsible for developing operation plans for all the ports around the world where the Disney ships operate.
Throughout his tenure in Walt Disney World, Mr. Fontanes completed the requirements to obtain his Professional Engineer license. He has not only grown professionally at the Walt Disney World, the company gave him the opportunity to give back to the community by allowing him to become SHPE’s Regional Vice President of the southeastern region (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida) from 2003 to 2005. After completing his term as SHPE’s Regional Vice President, he continued to contribute to his community through several local charities.
Mr. Fontanes loves spending time with his wife Vanessa and two daughters, Andrea and Paola. He also loves to run in the mornings and recently completed two half-marathons.
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