Our Company
RACE brings an unparalleled combination of coastal, structural and geotechnical engineering experience with our singular focus on projects in the marine environment. The shoreline is a continually changing, dynamic environment shaped by wind, waves, and currents. Coastal marine structures must provide protection against and resist forces related to typical and storm-related wind and wave actions. The RACE team has an in depth understanding of how each project will interact with the local coastal environment and how that environment will have an impact on the project. This understanding allows us to design solutions that are resilient and cost-effective while reducing environmental impacts and providing long-term performance.
We believe what sets RACE apart from other waterfront consulting firms is our commitment to meeting our client's goals and our consistent performance in all project phases, from planning, through permitting, design, and construction with our dedicated, in-house staff. RACE operates in a team environment and we consider the client part of that team. While no two projects are exactly the same, RACE draws upon our extensive resume of past experiences, more than 1,500 projects in the last 19 years, to heed lessons-learned and continually enhance our skills and capabilities in order to provide the most efficient, effective and innovative designs while meeting high standards of quality and care for our clients.




Our History
John Roberge founded the precursor of RACE Coastal Engineering in 1999 to provide responsive, quality coastal engineering services to clients, while maintaining the highest standards of excellence and integrity. His specialty consulting services were provided from the original office in Guilford, CT and focused on clients throughout the New England shoreline region.
The early 2000’s saw steady growth, enhanced with the addition of Devin and Beth Santa in 2001 to the professional staff. During this time, the team of John, Devin, and Beth worked together on a wide range of waterfront projects and established a hydrographic surveying company to support their operations. Since then, Devin and Beth have assumed roles of President and Operations Manager, respectively.
Roberge Associates Coastal Engineers, LLC was formalized in 2004 as a partnership between Roberge and Santa and the office was moved to Stratford, CT. The firm has been referred to by the acronym “RACE” since that time.
In the firm’s first decade of its history, RACE’s coastal engineering, hydrographic surveying, and marine structure design business grew and its reputation as a regional industry leader was firmly established. Azure Dee Sleicher became part of the team in 2016 and joined Devin as a Principal in 2018.
Today the current staff is comprised of experts in coastal, structural, civil, and geotechnical engineering, as well as, hydrographic surveying, construction administration services, and marina design.
With this skilled team, RACE takes a multi-disciplinary holistic approach to analyzing and solving coastal issues. In 2016, Roberge Associates Coastal Engineers Principals embraced its nickname “RACE” and renamed the firm RACE Coastal Engineering.
RACE Coastal Engineering remains committed to providing exemplary engineering solutions with honesty and integrity to the coastal community reflecting the core values on which the firm was founded.


Our Team
RACE’s multi-disciplinary staff of Professional Engineers maintain expertise in Coastal, Structural and Geotechnical engineering and are supported by USCG licensed captains, hydrographers, and professional office staff. The RACE professionals are intimately familiar with the requirements for proper structural restoration, the preparation of required regulatory permit applications, the preparation of construction drawings and specifications, as well as, engineering services during the construction phase of the work.
RACE also provides in-house hydrographic surveying services and mapping in support of many of our shoreline stabilization, structural rehabilitation and dredging projects. The breadth of our company experience and our size provides our clients with qualified staff for all phases of the project while also allowing for direct interaction between the Client and the RACE Leadership Team.
Leadership Team



Professional Team














