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In Part 2, we catch up with DBIA’s 2025 Distinguished Leadership Award recipients and the Brunelleschi Lifetime Achievement Award winner

DBIA’s 2025 Design-Build Conference & Expo in Las Vegas celebrated more than award-winning projects and standout teams. It also recognized the leaders whose careers, influence and commitment continue to shape the design-build industry.

Part 2 of our post–Design-Build Conference & Expo podcast coverage focuses on DBIA’s individual honors, featuring interviews with this year’s Distinguished Leadership Award recipients and the 2025 Brunelleschi Lifetime Achievement Award winner. These conversations highlight the achievements being recognized and the leadership behind them.

Featured Projects and Interviews

• Jennifer Macks — Distinguished Leadership Award (Industry Practitioner)
• Britt Sanford — Distinguished Leadership Award (Owner)
• David Shadpour — Distinguished Leadership Award (Young Professional)
• Janice Zahn — Distinguished Leadership Award (Legislator)
• Bill Reifsteck — 2025 Brunelleschi Lifetime Achievement Award

Resources:

• William E. Reifsteck II, FDBIA, CRIS, Awarded the 2025 Brunelleschi Lifetime Achievement Award
• Inside the College of Fellows: Wisdom, Wit and What's Next
• Leadership in Every Corner: DBIA’s 2025 Distinguished Leadership Award Honorees

Access all our free design-build resources and learn more about Design-Build Done Right® at dbia.org.

DBIA members are shaping the future, one successful collaboration at a time.

Have thoughts? Text us!

We’re back from Las Vegas and reliving the 2025 Design-Build Conference & Expo in Part 1 of this two-part recap. This episode focuses on the teams that won big in Vegas: the Project of the Year, the Chair’s Award and the top three finishers in DBIA’s National Design-Build Student Competition.

Host Erin Looney brings you conversations from the competition and the awards show floor (yes, with plenty of background noise), starting with:

Project of the Year

Kansas City International Airport New Single Terminal and Garage
Guests: Mark Goodwin, Clark Construction
Awards: Aviation | Best in Process – Progressive Design-Build | Trailblazer in Inclusive Growth | National Award of Excellence | National Award of Merit | Project of the Year

Chair’s Award

Hurricane Ian Sanibel Island Access
Guests: Toby Mazzoni (Superior Construction), Paul Suellentrop (DeMoya Infrastructure)

2025 National Design-Build Student Competition

1st Place — D&T Construction (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo)
Students: Alyson Buchholz, Sergio Gonzalez, Coulter Langmaid, Casey Lavin, Jacquelyn Lomano (Captain)
Faculty Advisor: Tom Kommer

2nd Place — Cypress (University of Florida)
Students: Elijah John, Aidan Newsom, Asa Richards (Captain), Nicholas Soler, Lucas Wicks
Faculty Advisor: Russell Walters
Special Recognition: Asa Richards – Best Individual Presenter Award

3rd Place — Pioneer Design-Build (Alfred State College)
Students: Jessica Budd, Fernanda Ceja, Selena Fullone, Owen Lantiegne (Captain), Connor Welsh
Faculty Advisor: William Dean

Learn more about the National Design-Build Student Competition

Discover more of the 2025 award-winning design-build projects and teams.

Get ready for future DBIA conferences.

Coming in Part 2:
Interviews with the 2025 Distinguished Leadership Award winners — Janice Zahn, Britt Sanford, David Shadpour, Jennifer Macks — and Brunelleschi Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Bill Reifsteck.

Access all our free design-build resources and learn more about Design-Build Done Right® at dbia.org.

DBIA members are shaping the future, one successful collaboration at a time.

Have thoughts? Text us!

Artificial intelligence is no longer an abstract idea for design-build teams. It’s already changing how projects are delivered, managed and maintained. In this episode of the Design-Build Delivers Podcast, DBIA’s Director of Virtual Design and Construction Brian Skripac is joined by three leaders from ARKANCE — Jason Kunkel, Senior Practice Manager; Nick Miller, Director of BIM Services; and Justin Friedman, Practice Manager | Facilities Management — to explore how data and AI are reshaping the Owner experience.

Together, they unpack how design-build teams are using data to:

• Turn information into intelligence that drives better decisions.
• Build a culture of trust and governance around data ownership.
• Identify “quick wins” to make AI adoption practical and scalable.
• Shift focus from building smarter to owning smarter.

It’s a conversation about the real-world impact of data — how it’s captured, shared and leveraged across every phase of a project’s lifecycle — and what it means for Owners navigating the next era of delivery.

Resources:

• The VDC Project Leader's Role & Responsibilities on Design-Build Projects (Free to download)
• Smarter, Faster, Still Human: How AI Agents are Changing Design-Build (August 2025 Design-Build Delivers Podcast episode)
• From Sci-Fi to Site Plans: How Augmented Reality is Changing Design-Build (May 2024 Design-Build Delivers Podcast episode)
• What Do Design-Build, Robot Jokes and Baseball Have in Common? (May 2024 Design-Build Delivers Podcast Bonus Content Episode)
• Design-Build Delivers Blog posts on AI:
  • Beyond BIM: How AI is Unlocking Intelligent Infrastructure Lifecycle Management
  • AI’s Place in the Industry: How Builders Are Incorporating AI into Design-Build
  • Emerging Technologies: How AI, VR, AR and Cobots Are Transforming Design-Build
  • Dashboards, Data and Discipline: Embedding Analytics in the Design-Build Lifecycle
  • Bridging the Gap: How Technology is Driving Value in Design-Build Projects

Access all our free design-build resources and learn more about Design-Build Done Right® at dbia.org.

DBIA members are shaping the future, one successful collaboration at a time.

Have thoughts? Text us!

This bonus segment from the Design-Build Delivers Podcast, brought to you by ARKANCE, goes a little deeper into the human side of design. DBIA National Board Members Deb Sheehan of DPR Construction and Susan O’Connell of AC Martin explore design justice, community context and why “offensive” isn’t always straightforward. From satisfaction surveys to public art, they unpack how design-build teams navigate human complexity with empathy, flexibility and a touch of humor.

Access all our free design-build resources and learn more about Design-Build Done Right® at dbia.org.

DBIA members are shaping the future, one successful collaboration at a time.

Have thoughts? Text us!

How do you bring empathy, listening and iteration into projects built for real people? In this episode of the Design-Build Delivers Podcast, Erin Looney talks with Deb Sheehan and Susan O’Connell about the realities, challenges, and opportunities of applying Human-Centered Design within design-build delivery. Expect stories from healthcare, higher ed, and civic projects where user feedback, prototyping, and adaptability shape outcomes.

Guests:

• Deb Sheehan, ACHE, LEED AP, EDAC, DBIA — Healthcare Core Market Leader at DPR Construction, oversight of $9.5B+ in projects, board roles, evidence-based design leader.
• Susan O’Connell, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, DBIA — Managing Principal at AC Martin, 35+ years in complex projects across civic, aviation, higher ed; skilled in integrating input and leading multidisciplinary teams.

Topics Covered:

• What “human-centered design” really means (vs buzzword)
• Tools and techniques: prototyping, mockups, user feedback, iteration
• Project case stories: real challenges in healthcare, campus, civic spaces
• Balancing cost, schedule and human experience
• The role of awards, standards and industry leadership
• What’s next: housing, AI, cross-discipline integration

Resources & References:

• DBIA Design-Build Done Right® Best Practices
• DBIA Design Excellence Position Statement
• DBIA Project/Team Awards
• DBIA Conference & Expo 2025 (Las Vegas)
• How Design-Build is Shaping the Future of Healthcare, Part 1
• How Design-Build is Shaping the Future of Healthcare, Part 2

Access all our free design-build resources and learn more about Design-Build Done Right® at dbia.org.

DBIA members are shaping the future, one successful collaboration at a time.

Have thoughts? Text us!

People usually fall into one of two camps on AI: it’s either the most exciting tool since BIM or it’s a technology to fear. In this episode of the Design-Build Delivers Podcast, we look past the hype and into the jobsite, where AI agents are already reshaping how design-build teams work.

Brought to you by ARKANCE (Learn more at arkance.us/dbia), this conversation features Brian Skripac, DBIA’s Director of Virtual Design & Construction, and Paul Hedgepath, Director of Virtual Construction at MJ Harris. Together, they share how AI is moving from speculation to application and delivering real value in scheduling, safety and specs.

From waterproofing details resolved in seconds to healthcare owners eyeing AI for facilities management, the stories highlight both the promise and the practical barriers of adoption. Along the way, our guests tackle questions of trust, integration and what it takes to bring new tools into collaborative teams.

Access all our free design-build resources and learn more about Design-Build Done Right® at dbia.org.

DBIA members are shaping the future, one successful collaboration at a time.

Have thoughts? Text us!

What does it take to deliver a mission-critical federal facility atop one of the most extreme environments in the U.S.? In this episode, we head to Colorado’s Pikes Peak to explore the award-winning High Altitude Research Lab, a 4,000-square-foot facility rebuilt under intense weather, logistical and design constraints. Joe Opyd shares how his team used design-build to meet the moment and what this “small” project reveals about trust, flexibility and collaboration.

Guest:
Joe Opyd, CCM, DBIA, Sr. Project Manager / Project Controls Manager, DPR Construction
Member, DBIA Federal Committee

Topics Covered:

• Using design-build for small but complex federal projects
• Delivering in extreme environments (wind, lightning, altitude)
• Stakeholder collaboration and city-federal partnerships
• Long funding timelines and design constraints
• Safety planning and logistics at 14,000 feet
• How DBIA principles supported project success

Related Links:

• High Altitude Research Laboratory Project Summary and photos.
• Register for DBIA’s Federal Sector Design-Build Industry Days. Public and private Owners attend free, and UBEs receive discounted registration.
• Explore the DBIA Projects Database to learn more about HARL and other successful design-build projects.
• Ahead of the 2025 Project/Team Award announcement (coming soon), get to know past DBIA Project/Team Award Winners.

Access all our free design-build resources and learn more about Design-Build Done Right® at dbia.org.

DBIA members are shaping the future, one successful collaboration at a time.

Have thoughts? Text us!

What do you get when you sit down with two DBIA Fellows who’ve seen it all and still want to make things better? A conversation that’s honest, insightful and just the right amount of blunt.

Join host Erin Looney as she chats with Darlene Septelka, FDBIA, and Bill Reifsteck, CRIS, FDBIA, about building strong teams, smarter projects and a more connected design-build future.

You can nominate a design-build leader for the 2025 College of Fellows now through July 7. Visit dbia.org/fellows.

Access all our free design-build resources and learn more about Design-Build Done Right® at dbia.org.

DBIA members are shaping the future, one successful collaboration at a time.