Carolina Cudemus-Jones

AVP of Capital Projects

Smith College

Mireya “Carolina” Cudemus-Jones is the AVP of Capital Projects with Smith College. Until recently, she was the Director for Design and Construction Management for the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Cudemus-Jones has over 20 years of experience in complex private and public commercial construction projects including healthcare, higher education and K-12 schools. Prior to joining UMass – Amherst, she served as a Pre-Construction Executive with Gilbane Building Company. Her responsibilities included her assignment as Deputy Director of a $1.7 billion School Reconstruction Program and Preconstruction Manager for the University of Connecticut as well as direct on-site construction management. Cudemus-Jones holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration. She is also a certified Design Build Institute of America Associate, a 2016 American Arbitration Association Higginbotham Fellow, and was recognized by the Connecticut Association of General Contractors as the 2016 Project Manager of the Year. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Construction Institute, and is actively involved with the Connecticut Professional Women in Construction.

Alondra de Leon

Project Manager

Consigli Construction Company

Alondra de Leon is a Project Manager at Consigli Construction Company with over 14 years of experience in the healthcare and K-12 markets. With a bachelor’s degree in construction management from Roger Williams University, her career experiences include projects such as the Hartford Hospital Bone and Joint Institute and the West Haven High School Additions and Renovations. She is an ambitious and motivated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion thought leader, who has served as Chair in various DEI organizations, including Hispanic/Latinx Employee Resource Groups (ERG). Her passion and leadership in the industry is driven from having seen first-hand how important representation and inclusion is, not just for employees, but for the growth and profitability of organizations.

Andee Hidalgo

Founder & CEO

Spearhead Construction

Andee Hidalgo is the Founder & CEO of Spearhead Construction (Spearhead), a union construction company, headquartered in New York. The company builds interiors in large-scale commercial and public projects. Recent notable works include LaGuardia Airport Renovation, Stewart Airport Expansion, and the new Penn Station. During the pandemic, Spearhead hired more than 230 employees, working on eight concurrent projects. As a result of Hidalgo’s leadership, Spearhead was recognized as the 2021 Minority Veteran-Owned Firm of The Year by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Previously, Hidalgo led teams at investment firms in New York City. Before joining the corporate world, Hidalgo served on active duty in the U.S. Army. She led soldiers of the 3rd Armored Division ("Spearhead") in combat during Desert Storm and was awarded the Bronze Star for her actions. Currently, she serves on Congressman Pat Ryan’s Veteran’s Advisory Board, 18th District, NY. Hidalgo is a graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY, earning a B.S. in General Engineering with a concentration in Philosophy.

Nicole Joyce

Project Management Specialist, Design and Construction Management

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Nicole Joyce is a Project Management Specialist for Design and Construction Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She assists with upgrades and maintenance to DCM’s project management software system; e-Builder, along with user trainings, connected workflows, reporting and new project implementation.

Jenna McClure 

Associate Principal

Amenta Emma Architects

Jenna McClure, AIA, LEED AP, is an Associate Principal at Amenta Emma Architects in Hartford, CT. In her 15 years with the firm, she has been directly involved with the firm’s most complex academic and large-scale public projects. As a senior project manager, McClure oversees large teams from planning through design and construction. Her portfolio of work includes projects on public and private higher education campuses across the northeast. In addition to leading project teams at Amenta Emma, she leads the firm’s recruiting team, JEDI+B committee, and mentorship program. In the community, McClure has served as a mentor through PWC Connecticut and currently serves on the West Hartford Design Review Advisory Committee. McClure is a registered architect in Connecticut and holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia and a Master of Architecture from Virginia Tech. She is a 2018 Hartford Business Journal 40 Under 40 awardee.

Dawn Monde

Senior Vice President of Client Services

Red Thread

As Senior Vice President of Client Services for Red Thread, Dawn Monde is a leader in the commercial interiors industry, helping customers solve today’s workplace challenges. Her daily responsibilities include the leadership and mentoring of the Red Thread Sales and Design teams in multiple locations throughout Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. With a commitment to continuous improvement, Monde leverages her 35 years of experience in sales, design, project management, and client services to create solutions that positively impact the future of work. Monde works closely with Red Thread’s clients in corporate, education and healthcare to understand complex business issues, connecting high-level strategy to the tactical solutions that ultimately drive success. Her creativity, relentless pursuit of customer satisfaction and strong focus on process performance are exhibited by her tenacious problem-solving skills. She values lifelong learning and giving back to the profession by being active in professional organizations like CoreNet, the MetroHartford Alliance, and the Construction Institute. In recent months Monde has been intensely focused on the impact the pandemic has had on how we will work in a post covid workplace - exploring the role space and technology will play in supporting distributed teams, employee safety, wellbeing, and equity. 

Avishan Montazer

Project Engineer

The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company

Avishan Montazer is a Project Engineer of 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 in retail spaces. With a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Connecticut, she is an avid problem-solver who enjoys collaborating and is highly motivated by customer satisfaction. Montazer is also passionate about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within her community, and collaborates monthly on a 'Cultural Calendar' Newsletter that is spread to Northeast Whiting-Turner offices. She is an active member of SWE (Society of Women Engineers). Montazer enjoys being outdoors, cooking and trying new foods and travelling the world. 

Nancy Greenwald

Executive Director

Construction Institute

Nancy Greenwald has 38 years of experience a lawyer and business executive in the design and construction industry, dealing with projects ranging in value from $100,000 to $5 billion. She is the Executive Director of the Construction Institute, a non-partisan association of diverse professions working to improve the construction industry by sharing knowledge, exchanging innovative ideas, building relationships, and developing business leaders. Its mission is to promote cross-industry collaboration. Greenwald serves on the American Arbitration Association's Commercial and Construction Industry Panels of Arbitrators and Mediators and has been appointed as a n arbitrator and mediator by numerous private clients and courts. She teaches negotiation and conflict resolution and speaks and writes frequently on best practices in construction project communication, dispute systems design, and construction technology and the law. She is active in many of the major construction industry groups, including the ABA Forum on Construction, serving on the steering committee for the Project Delivery and Technology Division. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School (cum laude) 1981.

Denise Berger

Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer

AECOM, East Region DCS

Denise M. Berger, FAIA, who recently joined AECOM in February 2020, is the Chief Strategy and Information Officer for the U.S. East Region and LATHAM. Her responsibilities include driving strategy, growth and execution on Key Accounts, Digital Transformation, ESG and Strategic Marketing across the business lines in the region: Transportation, Water, Building + Places, Environment, and Project and Program Management. A results-oriented leader with more than 30-years of experience in transportation and infrastructure, Berger was the former chief of operations for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. In this capacity, she was responsible for a $1.3B annual budget and the delivery of the agency’s $37B ten-year capital plan. A champion of diversity and inclusion, Berger serves on several industry boards including the Construction Institute’s Woman Who Build Summit; Columbia University’s Diversity & Inclusion Task Force; Professional Women in Construction; WTS International Board; ACE Mentor Program of Greater NY; SAME; and the NY Women’s Builder’s Council. Her innovative D&I policies and programs have produced notable outcomes, including the launch of the PANYNJ Women’s Council and in 2019, she was named WTS Woman of the Year.

Kathyann Cowles 

Architecture Principal, Member

KC Architects, LLC

Kathyann M. Cowles, AIA, NCARB, AAA, studied at Boston College and received her Architectural degree from Pratt Institute. As an architect with over 35 years’ experience for diverse and complex design and construction projects, Cowles has a unique perspective on the multi-faceted issues facing today’s construction teams. She represents the interests of owners, designers, and contractors in complex science/technology, academic, industrial, manufacturing, civic and corporate projects, in the public and private sectors. Co-editor/author of “The Future of the Design and Construction Industry,” Cowles was awarded the 2018 Construction Institutes “Distinguished Achievement Award” for contributions to the advancement of the regions design, construction, and facilities communities.” A recipient of a 2018 “Higginbotham Fellowship” to study Alternative Dispute Resolution, she is now an active Member of the American Arbitration Panel, and a certified mediator, focusing on issues facing the AEC Industry.

Laura Cruickshank

Associate Vice President, Master Planner & 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. 

Petina Killiany 

Senior Vice President 

Arcadis

Petina Killiany is a Senior Vice President with Arcadis, a global design and consultancy firm which operates in four Business Lines; Water, Infrastructure, Buildings and Environment. She is the Program Management/Construction Management (PMCM) Operations Director nationally for the Infrastructure/Buildings Business Lines in North America. While Arcadis has four Business Lines, Killiany and her peers are encouraged to collaborate and work across all Business Lines which can be mutually beneficial for clients and Arcadis alike. Her responsibilities include; Performance in regard to the company’s and her operations P&L, Client Development/company growth, and People, identifying, hiring, mentoring and retaining our people. Killiany has more than 30 years’ experience in the AEC industry, of which the first half was in the architectural field, and the last half in the PMCM industry. She lives in Cazenovia, NY, but can be found on most days in an airport or in one of Arcadis’ 148 offices in the US.

Anamaria Popescu

Ankura

Dr. Anamaria I. Popescu, P.E.,PSP, PMP, is with Ankura, formally a Managing Director of BRG’s Construction Practice based in Denver, CO. She is a construction arbitrator with the AAA and a licensed Professional Engineer with more than 27 years of experience in project management, construction claims, schedule delay analysis, project controls, and contract management. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas in Civil Engineering. Her doctoral thesis was on Forensic Schedule Analysis. She is also the Chairman of the Society of Construction Law North American Section. Popescu's project experience includes power generation, natural gas drilling, pipelines, petrochemical and process plants, oil and gas production platforms, mining, water treatment plants, airports, telecommunications, and commercial construction in Australia, Canada, United States, Mexico, South America, South Africa, and China. She provided program/project management and project control services for projects ranging from $500,000 to $50 billion. As an expert witness, she has written numerous expert reports that led to successful settlements as well as testified in international and national arbitration hearings and dispute review board proceedings regarding delay and disruption claims. Popescu has also taught seminars and courses on scheduling, effective project controls, and dispute avoidance in the United States and internationally.