Three dozen emerging leaders in the transportation design and construction industry completed an intensive introduction to federal legislative and regulatory issues May 15-17 during the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) Foundation’s Industry Leader Development Program (ILDP).

The annual event, held in conjunction with ARTBA’s Federal Issues Program and the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) Fly-In, also featured policy discussions with congressional staff and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) officials.

More than 800 graduates from over 200 industry firms and public agencies have completed the ILDP since 1996. HNTB, one of the world’s leading infrastructure firms, is the program’s exclusive sponsor.

The ILDP provides participants with a solid understanding of industry economics, how transportation work in the U.S. is funded and financed, how actions by the federal government impact the industry, and how they—and their company or agency—can become politically engaged. As part of the program, graduates meet with their members of Congress to discuss transportation policy issues.

The three-day event included a session on implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and mentoring and career development sessions led by ARTBA Chair Paula Hammond, senior vice president, WSP USA and ARTBA Senior Vice Chair Tim Duit, president, Duit Holdings.

The 2023 class included:

  • Conrad Althoff, assistant project manager, Branch Civil, Inc., Roanoke, Va.
  • Matt Baldwin, assistant vice president/ senior project manager, TranSystems Corporation, Geneva, Ill.
  • Ricardo “Rick” Betancourt, director of construction, Texas Department of Transportation Odessa District, Odessa, Texas
  • Brian Binder, director of project controls, Branch Civil, Inc., Glen Allen, Va.
  • Kyle Burdi, project manager, Union Paving and Construction Co. Inc., Mountainside, N.J.
  • Jennifer Budd, partner, Cohen, Seglias, Pallas, Greenhall & Furman, P.C., Philadelphia, Pa.
  • Mark Campbell, pursuit manager, Lane Construction, Cheshire, Conn.
  • John Cappello, regional rales manager, HCSS, Sugar Land, Texas
  • Clayton Cross, area manager, Ajax Paving Industries of FL, LLC, North Venice, Fla.
  • Matthew Doss, commercial business development manager, Commercial Metals Company (CMC), Ellijay, Ga.
  • Daniel Drury, commercial manager, Skanska USA Civil, Queens, N.Y.
  • Jason Duncan, deputy director, construction division, Texas Department of Transportation, Austin, Texas
  • Jaime Franchi, communications and government affairs director, Long Island Contractors’ Association, Melville, N.Y.
  • Tabia Gamble, transportation planner, STV Inc., Owings Mills, Md.
  • Gregory Gharib, senior program director, Parsons, Pasadena, Calif.
  • Scott Gutowski, office manager / senior geotechnical engineer, Terracon Consultants, Inc., Charlotte, N.C.
  • Michael Hadden, estimating manager, Skanska USA Civil, Waltham, Mass.
  • Scott Harley, regional team leader, CDM Smith, East Hartford, Conn.
  • Matthew Hearn, senior project manager, HNTB Corporation, Washington, DC
  • Seneca House, senior project manager, Parsons Corporation, Miami, Fla.
  • Alexander Jones, engineer 1, Rogers Group Inc., Columbia, Tenn.
  • Bryan Jones, division president, HNTB Corporation, Arlington, Va.
  • Erdal Karataylioglu, engineering manager, Parsons Corporation, Richardson, Texas
  • George Lane-Roberts, alternative delivery & preconstruction manager, J. Banicki Construction, Inc. Phoenix, Ariz.
  • Stephen Lowrey, director of performance, APAC-Atlantic, Inc., Knoxville, Tenn.
  • Crystal Lui, senior bridge engineer II, TY Lin, San Francisco, Calif.
  • Bryan Lutz, director of construction, Texas Department of Transportation, Tyler, Texas
  • Katie Peabody, customer success manager, HaulHub, Inc., Boston, Mass.
  • Krista Putrino, VP, director of strategic business development & sales, New York Metro/ Trans. Global Business Line, AECOM, New York, N.Y.
  • Fernando Pizarro Quintanar, project director, Cintra, Austin, Texas
  • Ryan Russell, VP - construction performance, CRH Americas Materials, Nampa, Idaho
  • Luke Schweinsberg, project manager, Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction, Draper, Utah
  • Bryan Smith, design build project manager, Wagman Heavy Civil, Inc. York, Pa.
  • Patrick Son, senior project manager, roadway, Gannett Fleming Inc., Washington, DC
  • James Thomas, supervising engineer, Parsons, Centreville, Va.
  • Harrison Wadsworth, vice president, government relations, AECOM, Washington, DC