AGENDA
Thursday, June 6, 2024 5:00-9:00pm
5:00pm Registration & Reception
6:15pm Dinner
6:45pm Welcome, Business Meeting & Membership Recognition
Awards Ceremony
Industry Innovation Award
Michael Guglielmo , Brown University
Special Industry Recognition Award
Anastasia Barnes , High-Profile Media Group
Collaborative Leadership Award
Rita Joy , Interscape Commercial Environments
Educator of the Year Award
Jacob Kovel , Central Connecticut State University
Outstanding Young Professional Award
Avishan Montazer , The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.
Distinguished Service Award
J’ana McCaleb , The Construction Institute
David N. LaBau Lifetime Recognition Award
Tom Walsh , A.P. Construction
Laura Cruickshank , University of Connecticut
8:15pm Reception continues
9:00pm Adjourn
THANK YOU
Thank you for joining us as we honor our Members who have achieved milestones in years of continual membership with the Construction Institute, as well as our distinguished award recipients for contributions to the CI community and the AEC industry at large.
WELCOME TO THE CONSTRUCTION INSTITUTE
At The Construction Institute, we are leading a collaborative movement, bringing together all industry contributors to shape the future.
Ignite, empower, and engage — that is our mindset for creating an inclusive network. We are powered by people with real world expertise. Our collective mission is to advance the AEC industry through education, innovation, and developing essential skills to deliver a better built world.
Why? It is really this simple: we create the connections that will revolutionize the future of our built environment.
Igniting collaboration for a better built world.
TABLE SPONSORS
MICHAEL GUGLIELMO JR. VICE PRESIDENT, FACILITIES AND CAMPUS OPERATIONS
BROWN UNIVERSITY
Michael Guglielmo Jr. is Vice President for Facilities and Campus Operations at Brown University. With more than 33 years of experience in strategic planning, building design, and construction management, Guglielmo brings a wealth of knowledge to this position. Guglielmo came to Brown as a project manager and was promoted on three separate occasions before assuming an interim leadership role in Facilities Management and now serves as Vice President. He holds a Bachelors of Architecture degree from the Rhode Island School of Design. He also served the country for 20 years in the Rhode Island Air National Guard as a member of the 143rd Civil Engineering Squadron. During his tenure at Brown, Guglielmo has been an integral part of creating highly collaborative environments where Brown stakeholders work together with designers, engineers, and subcontractors to develop the best project solutions while implementing over a $1 billion capital plan. He has been instrumental in the development of numerous strategic projects including the Granoff Center for Creative Arts and the Engineering Research Center, completed in 2017, utilizing the highly collaborative Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) method. Guglielmo also played a vital role in the development of South Street Landing and has been recognized as an industry leader in the development of the IPD approach at Brown.
ANASTASIA BARNES OWNER & CEO
HIGH-PROFILE
MEDIA GROUPAnastasia Barnes is CEO and owner of High-Profile Media Group, and publisher at High-Profile Monthly, a three-generation family-owned publication and media outlet focused on architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) news in New England. Barnes has been with High-Profile for 24 years and, as publisher, created HP Vision, a special edition featuring people and companies that are leading the evolution of the AEC industry. She hosts High-Profile’s Build Better podcast featuring interviews with thought leaders in the AEC industry.
Barnes has played a pivotal role in the company and, prior to being named publisher, served as the business development manager where she focused on new client relationships and managed High-Profile’s sales team. In 2013, she created FastFacts Friday, High-Profile’s weekly newsletter featuring headlines and contributor articles from around New England. She also oversaw the creation of the company’s annual Women in Construction and Green supplements, and has been instrumental in bringing High-Profile online.
Barnes has also spent 20 years as a professional stage, film, and television actor. She has appeared in series episodics for Showtime, CBS, TNT, Disney’s Family Channel, and Apple TV. She wrote, produced, and starred in the original limited series “The Ruby Besler Show.” The show was adapted for stage and performed nationally from 2013-2017, and is currently being adapted for the big screen. Barnes received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature with a minor in Theatre from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her passions include singing, writing and performing comedy, hiking outdoors and practicing ashtanga yoga.
RITA JOY DIRECTOR OF CLIENT DEVELOPMENT INTERSCAPE COMMERCIAL ENVIRONMENTS
Rita Joy serves as the Director of Client Development at Interscape Commercial Environments, a contract furniture dealer that caters to Connecticut and Western, Massachusetts. She joined Interscape in 2014 after her role as the Program Coordinator at the Construction Institute at the University of Hartford. At the Construction Institute, Joy oversaw program and event planning, as well as contributed to membership growth.
Joy holds a BS degree in Marketing/Management from Bentley University. She actively participates in various AEC Industry organizations, including CoreNet, PWC, The Construction Institute, CBC, REFA, and she currently serves as the Co-Chair of CREW-CT’s Program Committee. Outside of work, she finds joy in her family, being a proud mother of three sons and a grandmother of three. She also has a passion for travel.
JACOB KOVEL RETIRED
CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY
Jacob Kovel is a retired construction educator with expertise in field operations and heavy-civil construction. He started his career as an engineer officer in the US Army, serving in a variety of positions of increasing responsibility. He retired from the Army in 2008 as a lieutenant colonel after 28 years of active and reserve service. He has also spent over 25 years in higher education, teaching at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Kansas and Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). His teaching experience includes courses in civil engineering, architectural engineering, construction management and peace studies.
Kovel retired from CCSU in 2022 but continues to assist the school’s construction management program. He holds a BS Applied Sciences and Engineering from the United States Military Academy (West Point), an MS in Engineering Management for the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri-Rolla) and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech).
AVISHAN MONTAZER PROJECT ENGINEER
THE WHITING-TURNER CONTRACTING COMPANY
Avishan Montazer is a Project Engineer with The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company in New Haven, CT. She has experience working in complex utility distributions, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Throughout her time with the construction management firm, Montazer has managed the coordination for purchasing and installations in a higher education campus setting, multi-family apartment complexes, and retail spaces. She is an avid problem-solver who enjoys collaboration and is highly motivated by customer satisfaction. Montazer is also passionate about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within her community, and leads the initiative on a monthly ‘Cultural Calendar’ Newsletter that involves participation from all Northeast Whiting-Turner offices. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Connecticut and is an active member of SWE (Society of Women Engineers) and The Construction Institute, currently serving on the planning committee for the Women Who Build Summit. Montazer enjoys being outdoors, cooking, trying new foods and traveling the world.
J’ANA MCCALEB PROJECT DIRECTOR THE CONSTRUCTION INSTITUTE
An aspiring history teacher, J’ana McCaleb entered the workforce post-college and realized that project management was really where her professional skills and enjoyment centered. After stumbling into event management while living in the Metro DC area, she has spent her career striving to make the events under her purview exceed expectations, for attendees and staff alike. Working on large scale city-wide conferences for much of her career, she enjoyed the challenge of balancing thousands of attendees, hundreds of sessions, and dozens of planning committee members each year. Contracting with convention centers, liaising with venues and vendors, guiding volunteers, and marshalling details big and small - from speaker proposals and database management to program and program book development, space management and sponsor benefits - she has enjoyed putting the puzzles together while exploring cities throughout the country. With the move back to New England, she found her way to The Construction Institute. Using the skills honed over two decades, she has elevated the quality of the program experience, and embraced the opportunity to expand her skill set, learning graphic design, website creation and management, video editing, and marketing. Asked the most important lesson learned during her career: work with good people and work will not seem like work.
TOM WALSH EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT A.P. CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
Tom Walsh is Executive Vice President of A.P. Construction Company, a division of The Ashforth Company. He is responsible for managing all departments within A.P. Construction including Preconstruction Service and Estimating, Project Management, Accounting, and Business Development. Walsh is a member of A.P. Construction’s executive committee which helps develop and implement new strategic initiatives for the company.
With over 45 years of experience, Walsh has a proven track record managing diverse construction projects – from high-tech facilities to sports arenas and corporate campuses. Notable achievements include Chelsea Piers Connecticut, White Plains Hospital’s Cancer Center, and a 600,000-square-foot research facility for Bristol Myers Squibb.
Walsh began his career as a Project Engineer and progressed to leadership roles at prominent construction firms. He holds a B.A., M.B.A. from Tulane University, and a Master of Building Construction from the University of Florida.
LAURA CRUICKSHANK
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT, MASTER PLANNER AND CHIEF ARCHITECT
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
Laura A. Cruickshank, FAIA, the University of Connecticut’s Master Planner and Chief Architect and Associate Vice President for University Planning, Design & Construction, is responsible for the immediate and long-range planning, design and construction of UConn’s $2B Capital Plan for Storrs, the Regional Campuses and Law School. Prior to UConn, Cruickshank was the Yale University Planner and directed planning and design on the Yale central campus; and led Yale planning, design and construction for the Yale-NUS College in Singapore. Prior to Yale, she was in private practice for over twenty years. Cruickshank received a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College and Master of Architecture from the University of New Mexico School of Architecture & Planning. She holds architectural registration in Connecticut and is an elected member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, the Society for College and University Planning, the Association of University Architects and the National Organization of Minority Architects.
40 Years
JCJ Architecture
The L. Suzio Concrete Company, Inc.
35 Years
Dimeo Construction Company
McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP
30 Years
Mulvaney Mechanical, Inc.
25 Years
Ankura
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
Tucker Mechanical/Emcor Group, Inc.
20 Years
Metayer Bonding Associates
PAC Group, Inc.
10 Years
Harry Grodsky & Co., Inc.
Haynes Construction Company
We would like to extend an Honorable Mention to our 5 year member
Wohlsen Construction
