Leadership Reflections

While the tenuous economy has many design and construction firms rethinking their strategy for winning work, we are seeing a steady surge of projects being completed utilizing design-build project delivery. According to Engineering News-Record (June 8, 2009), design-build revenue continues to surge as domestic sales doubled from $30.5 billion in 2004 to $64.4 billion in 2008.

DBIA leadership is not surprised at this increase given the budgetary and time constraints placed on many owners – particularly in the public sector. We have seen a dramatic increase in interest among owners who need to get projects off the ground quickly and who are turning to DBIA for best-practices, education, training, tools and access to industry professionals who can help deliver successful projects.

With this increased demand, it is more important than ever that DBIA has both the staff infrastructure and board leadership to be agile, responsive and innovative in our efforts to meet the current and future needs of members and industry.

In order for DBIA to continue to be your “strategic” membership organization, we are pleased to announce the addition of two new staff, as well as to invite you to submit nominations for upcoming openings on the DBIA National Board of Directors.

New to the DBIA National staff

Richard Thomas, Vice President, Advocacy and External Affairs
Richard joined the DBIA staff on June 15 after working 17 years at Ames Construction in Minnesota – one of the nation’s largest transportation builders – serving most recently as the company’s director of government and public affairs. Richard will play a key role in educating owners and industry, Congress, state and federal agencies as well as state legislatures and regulatory agencies on the inherent value of design-build.

Susan Hines, Director of Public Relations and Information
Susan joined the DBIA staff on July 6 after having served as director of public relations and marketing at Oehme, van Sweden & Associates, a landscape architecture firm. In this new position, Susan will focus heavily on developing proactive media plans and strategies in order to raise the profile of DBIA, our members, as well as the high quality projects being completed utilizing design-build.

Call for National Board nominations

DBIA National is inviting DBIA members in good standing to submit nominations for the 2010 board of directors. We are seeking candidates who understand DBIA’s mission and goals and who are committed to advancing the understanding and use of design-build project delivery across all sectors and markets.

When reviewing candidates, the Nominations Committee will consider, among other things, the following:

• Previous service to and support of DBIA by the nominee or his/her organization.
• The nominee’s availability for up to four face-to-face meetings per year (with the exception of public owner members, board members are responsible for their own travel costs).
• The DBIA designation credential is preferred, though not required.
• Of particular interest for 2010 are individuals representing owner organizations and A/E firms. However, nominations representing any member organization are encouraged and welcomed.
• When submitting nominations, please include the following information:
• Full resume and condensed bio;
• Why the nominee is interested in serving on the DBIA National board, including the value he/she would bring;
• Confirmation of the nominee’s willingness to attend up to four board meetings per year without travel reimbursement (with the exception of public owner nominees); and
• The names and contact information of at least two DBIA members that “second” the nomination.

All nominations must be sent to the Nominations Committee c/o Lisa Washington at lwashington@dbia.org and received no later than August 31, 2009. The target is to notify individuals selected no later than October 10, 2009.