About Denise

Denise M. Berger is the Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer (CSIO) for AECOM’s U.S. East & Latin America region, leading over 7,500 employees across 65+ offices and driving $1.7 billion in revenue. With expertise in strategy development, ESG initiatives, and operational improvements, she focuses on advancing AECOM's presence in critical sectors such as Transportation, Water, Environment, and Energy. Before her current role, Berger served as AECOM’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Northeast, overseeing $660 million in revenue and 2,500 employees. She also held leadership roles at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, managing a team of 570 and an annual budget of $1.3 billion, contributing to a $37 billion, 10-year capital plan.

A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, Berger is also a member of the National Academy of Construction. She serves on influential boards, including the ACE Board of Trustees, for New York Institute of Technology’s School of Architecture & Design, and Columbia University’s Center for Buildings, Infrastructure, and Public Space. Currently, as Vice President of the Women Builders Council, she advocates for advancing women in construction. Berger has been nationally recognized as one of Crain’s New York Business’s "Top 15 Most Notable Women in Construction, Design, and Architecture.

About Laura

With over 45 years of expertise shaping the built environment, Laura Cruickshank, FAIA, is a trailblazer in architecture and design, renowned for her work in higher education and private practice. She served as the University Master Planner and Chief Architect, as well as Associate Vice President for University Planning, Design, and Construction, at the University of Connecticut, where she oversaw UConn’s $2.5 billion Capital Improvement Plan across the Storrs and Regional Campuses and the Law School.

Before UConn, Cruickshank was the Yale University Planner, directing planning and design for the central campus and leading planning efforts for the Yale-NUS College in Singapore. Her work at Yale followed over two decades in private practice. A graduate of Mount Holyoke College (BA) and the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning (M.Arch.), she is an inductee of the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA). She is a member of the Association of University Architects (AUA) and has been recognized with numerous awards for her contributions to the field.

About Avishan

Avishan Montazer is an Assistant Project Manager 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 retail spaces. She is an avid problem-solver who enjoys collaboration and is highly motivated by customer satisfaction. Montazer is a member of the Women Who Build Planning Committee since 2023, and an active member of SWE (Society of Women Engineers). She enjoys reading, exercising, cooking and traveling the world any chance she can get.

About Anamaria

Dr. Anamaria Popescu, PE, PSP,PMP is a Senior Managing Director in Ankura’s Global Construction Disputes and Advisory Practice based in Denver, CO. She is a construction arbitrator with the AAA/ICDR and a licensed Professional Engineer with more than 30 years of experience in project management, construction claims, delay analysis, productivity loss, damages, project controls, and contract management. Popescu’s project experience includes power generation, pipelines, petrochemical and process plants, oil, and gas production platforms (on-shore and off-shore), mining, water treatment plants, airports, telecommunications, and commercial construction in Australia, Canada, United States, Mexico, South America, South Africa, and China. Her expertise as well as her doctoral thesis focus on forensic schedule analysis.

Popescu 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 local arbitration hearings and dispute review board proceedings on delay, productivity loss and damages. Popescu has also taught seminars and courses on scheduling, effective project controls, and dispute avoidance in the United States and internationally. She is the co-founder and chairman for the Society of Construction Law North America Section since 2017.