2023 Agenda

Dr. Wilson will share his personal journey from boyhood in New Orleans to Louisiana’s Secretary of Transportation and Development and onto the national stage as the first African American president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. At DOTD, he manages a workforce of 4,200 employees and a $2.7 billion budget. Issues he is passionate about include the nation’s infrastructure imperative, pathways to equity for underrepresented populations, how to build a bench of future leaders, and partnering to deliver projects with collaborative groups. He also will explore what it will take to manage the challenges ahead: How do we do what we need to do given the unknown dynamics of climate change and pandemic. Learning Objectives

On March 15, 2018, six people died after a partially constructed pedestrian bridge at Florida International University in Miami collapsed. Presenting lessons learned from this tragedy, Aaron Mann’s case study of the FIU bridge collapse explores the project’s evolution, including analysis of the project team’s decisions and discussions in the crucial days and hours before the bridge failed. Rather than a technical talk, Mann’s presentation will focus on the ethical issues encountered in the project’s final days, exploring both the investigations and lawsuits that followed. Learning Objectives

In an opening keynote, Martin will explore the hard truth that our ability to “do it all” is wearing off, and we haven’t been given a roadmap of how to shift into a more sustainable place where we build a more efficient and kind lifestyle. She will then be joined by one of ENR's overachiever editors Aileen Cho for a conversation about the possible mindset shifts and tactical strategies that can help workaholics begin burnout repair and start the recovery journey. Learning Objectives

Howell and Irizarry-Velez take the stage with Atkins North America CEO George Nash to talk about their journey—working with a group of colleagues in creating Atkins' National Emerging Professionals Network. "We wanted to ensure emerging professionals are connected and empowered to actively shape their careers and guide the direction of the company." The EPN provides a peer-support group and platform for aspiring employees, helping drive business improvements and enabling company leadership to better develop and harness talent. Howell and Rais-Firouz will share the process and progress from the group's first year—such as how his team approached C-suite leaders like Nash—hoping to encourage similar efforts across the industry. Howell, Irizarry-Velez and Nash will offer ideas about how you can open lines of communication to your C-suite. Learning Objectives

Race, ethnicity, gender, generational and sexual orientation differences can leave some young professionals feeling stuck in their career paths—but there are many different roads to success in the construction industry. In this open and interactive discussion, author and AEC veteran Dianne Lee, executive director of Kitchell, shares a blueprint for how to build up career goals, lean into your team’s differences, turn your insecurities into assets at your company, and stop stereotypes from standing in your way.

As a behavioral health planner at Stantec, Stephen Parker is a proponent of “architect as advocate,” helping to drive positive patient outcomes & advance mental health treatment through design and construction. He sees growth in development of crisis stabilization centers—some prototyped and prefabbed—that divert mental health patients from law enforcement or overburdened hospital emergency departments. In this workshop, he will share how the right expertise, partnerships & resources can align to meet the nation’s growing demand for urgent care units—accelerated by new funding from recent federal legislation, state-wide initiatives & local demand for behavioral health services. Learning Objectives