Given every year to some of the best and brightest in the industry, DBIA’s Distinguished Leadership Awards honor individuals who have made significant contributions to practice and performance of design-build. This year, four individuals were honored at the 2018 Design-Build Conference & Expo in New Orleans.
Industry Professional – Blain Grover, Preconstruction Manger, Fortis Construction, Inc.
Blain Grover has demonstrated continued leadership in expanding design-build delivery in the Oregon market and within his organization, Fortis Construction. Blain developed Fortis’ “Design-Build Playbook,” deploying a unique delivery of design-build customized to his organization’s business model and culture. Currently, Blain’s Design-Build Done Right™ work is being demonstrated leading a $10 million design-build middle school project for Portland Public Schools, which is one of Oregon’s first public K-12 design-build projects.
Owner – James Wolfe, PE, District 6 Secretary, Florida Department of Transportation
Jim Wolfe has served as District Secretary to both the FDOT District Four and Six regions and has been an effective advocate for design-build on many important Florida projects. Whether it’s the award-winning Veterans Memorial Bridge, the $1.3 billion I-595 Express P3 or the multi-phased I-75 Express, Jim has shown time and again the effectiveness of Design-Build Done Right™ principles in action. Most recently, FDOT’s design-build project along SR 836/I-395/I-95 included many community elements and will help reclaim pedestrian access beneath the elevated interstate.
University Faculty – Sharareh (Sherri) Kermanshachi, PhD, PE, PMP, LEED AP, ENV SP, CMIT, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Arlington
Dr. Kermanshachi’s commitment to design-build is demonstrated through her scholarship, her student mentoring and active engagement with DBIA’s Southwest Region. In addition to serving as the Director of UTA’s Construction Research Lab, supervising multiple Ph.D. and master’s students, Sherri founded the UTA’s DBIA student chapter and currently serves as its faculty advisor. She has published more than 60 books, journal articles, conference papers, and technical reports, and received more than a dozen international and national awards.
Young Professional – Jamie Athenour, DBIA, LEED AP BD+C, Design Manager, Hensel Phelps
Jamie Athenour is exactly the type of engaged young professional our industry needs. An active member of the DBIA Western Pacific Region/Bay Area Chapter, Jamie has also established a DBIA Young Professionals recruitment program at Hensel Phelps Construction and serves as the Membership Chair for DBIA’s Western Pacific Region. She is currently the Design Manager for a $95 million design-build project and was previously involved with the successful SFO Replacement Airport Traffic Control Tower project.
DBIA is proud to honor all four of these individuals, and we thank them for their contributions to the design-build industry.