President-Elect

Gator has been elected as President-Elect.  This will be a three-year commitment, serving in 2023-2024 as President-Elect, then as President for 2024-2025, and a year as Past President for 2025-2026.

Gator is a graduate of Virginia Tech having earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1991.  August of this year will be his 30-year anniversary of employment with MBP where he has progressed from an engineer through many positions to his current position of Operations Leader for the Services Strategy & Delivery group.  He says, “My time with MBP largely has been spent providing project controls, construction management, and claims analysis services.”

Gator joined AACE in 2004, earned his CFCC in 2007, and has presented at AACE Conferences & Expos.  In addition, he served as a Director on the AACE North Florida Section’s Board from 2011-2013, then he left to spend a year working on a project overseas.  He served as a member of the CFCC committee on the AACE Certification Board from 2016 – 2019 and has served on AACE’s Board of Directors since 2019 – as VP Administration from 2019 – 2021 and since 2021 as Director – Certification.

The President-Elect says, “I greatly appreciate the opportunities that I have had to serve AACE, meet many AACE members, participate in developing technical work product, and participate in educational sessions.”

Goals and Objectives

Gator says his goals include “engaging with our members and increasing awareness of AACE and our technical product, educational opportunities, and certifications to owners, AEC companies, and practitioners throughout the world.  This increased awareness and understanding AACE’s technical work product, educational opportunities, and certified members will not only benefit AACE with increased membership and certified individuals but more importantly will benefit the industries we serve, the projects owners develop, educational institutions, and our individual members as the people who ultimately work to complete them on time, on budget, and meet investment and operational goals.”    

He concludes, “I look forward to meeting many members from around the world who already know the many benefits of AACE and others who may just be learning about AACE.”

Secretary

Mark C. Sanders, PE CCP CFCC PSP

Mark is a graduate of Villanova University, where he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering in 1997 and 1998. He joined AACE International in 2001. He has greatly enjoyed his participation and has made many friends along the way. Mark is a past President and Treasurer of the Delaware Valley Section. He has served on the Certification Board and currently serves on the Board of Directors as Secretary. He has contributed to RPs 25R-03 and 29R-03 and continues working on the project to update RP 29R-03.

Mark has 25 years of experience as an engineer and manager, particularly in the energy and transportation sectors. He has spoken frequently at the Conference & Expo and at sections in the United States, Brazil, Colombia, India, and Peru. He has enjoyed travelling and meeting many new members over the years. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. He earned a J.D. in 2021 and was admitted to the California Bar in 2022. He holds AACE certifications as a CCP, CFCC, and PSP. He and his family live near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Goals and Objectives

Mark looks forward to working toward the goals and objectives described in the AACE International strategic plan. Most particularly, he says he will seek to:

• Promote AACE to be recognized as the premier source of cost engineering practices globally.
• Increase organizations’ support for membership and participation, particularly in countries where individual membership will not grow without the support of employers.
• Increase the engagement of personnel from government and owner organizations in AACE membership and leadership positions.
• Increase awareness of cost engineering and its career paths among industry and educational institutions.

He adds, “I will advance these goals, in part, by participating in AACE events both within and outside the United States and encouraging other members to do so. I believe that the growth of AACE and increased knowledge sharing within the cost engineering community around the world is critical to delivering successful projects.”

Directors-at-Large

Elected to serve as Directors-At-Large are Husain A. Al-Omani, CCP CEP DRMP EVP PSP and Hannah E. Schumacher, PSP FAACE

 Husain A. Al-Omani, CCP CEP DRMP EVP PSP

Husain Al-Omani is an AACE active member since 2011, he holds BS (Mechanical Engineering), MS (Construction Management) and MBA from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). He earned the Certified Cost Professional (CCP) designation and Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP) in 2010, the Earned Value Professional (EVP) & Certified Estimating Professional (CEP) in 2012 and Decision & Risk Management Professional (DRMP) in 2013. He has served his local Arabian Gulf Section in a variety of leadership roles including Marketing Director, Elected President, President, Past President, and Steering Committee. He has been elected to and served AACE in a leadership role on the Board of Directors: Director-Region 7 (2016-2018). Between 2018 and 2021, he served AACE’s Marketing Board and the AACE Organization Structure Task Force 2019-2021. He has been awarded Keane Award in 2021.

Since 2021 till present, he is serving AACE’s Board of Directors in a leadership role which is Director-at-Large. He has more than 18 years of professional experience in project management, project controls and consultations.    

Goals and Objectives

• Work closely with the Executive Director, staff, and the Board of Directors to support the strategic initiatives of the Association.
• Promote AACE internationally to expand our membership and certifications.
• Increase the awareness and the importance of AACE’s membership & certifications in the industry, higher education, and general public.
• Assure that the desired goals and outcomes of the association are achieved.
• Act as the association Ambassador worldwide.

Hannah E. Schumacher, PSP FAACE

Hannah has 30 years of construction industry experience, with a primary focus on planning, scheduling, and project controls. She is currently a Scheduling Manager for Sundt Construction. Hannah has been an active member of AACE International since 2006 and obtained the Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP) certification in 2008.  In 2019, she was named a Fellow of AACE.  Hannah is currently serving as Director At-Large on AACE Board of Directors.  She served on AACE’s Certification Board from 2011-2018 where she was a lead member of the PSP Certification Team.  She also served in a variety of leadership roles on AACE’s Planning & Scheduling Technical Subcommittee, Arizona Section (serving as President 2010-2012), and as a member of the Women in Project Controls Committee.  She has authored and presented several technical papers at the Annual Conference.  Hannah has been recognized by AACE with the Outstanding Woman in Project Controls award and the Technical Excellence award.

Goals and Objectives

Prior to the election Hannah said, “I would like to continue to serve AACE International and all its members as a Director At-Large. In this role, I will help the Board of Directors provide governing of the organization and most importantly – provide value to our members.  By participating with task forces that are based on our diverse member’s needs and interests, I look forward to giving back to the organization as much as it has provided me as a member.”

Bylaws Amendments:

The following amendments were approved to the AACE International bylaws in order to move governance of the Certification Associate Board under the purview of the AACE International Certification Institute (the “Institute”), a 501(c)6 affiliate.

The Institute was incorporated in January 2022 in order to autonomously govern the AACE International certification program. The Certification Associate Board has historically been codified in the AACE International bylaws. Now that the Institute is fully operational, the Certification Associate Board needed to be more closely aligned with the Institute and moved under its authority. After the affirmative member vote to remove the Certification Associate Board from the AACE International bylaws, it will be codified in the Institute’s bylaws. All three Associate Boards (Technical, Education, and Certification) will continue to collaborate and follow their respective policies and procedures as outlined in the c3 and c6 Organization Manuals.    

Specifically, the bylaws amendments that passed included:

Article V, Section 2

The standing Associate Boards shall be Education and Technical. Associate Board Chairs are elected by the respective Associate Boards. Associate Boards shall adopt charters and devise their own rules of procedure and adopt the same, subject to compliance with the Bylaws and the approval of the Board of Directors.

Article VI, Section 2

The Board shall have not less than nine (9) nor more than eleven (11) voting members. It shall consist of the four (4) voting Officers identified in Article VII, Past-President, Director – Certification, Director – Education, Director – Technical, and not less than one (1) nor more than three (3) Directors at-Large. Officers and Directors at-Large shall be elected by the Members. The Board shall establish policies and procedures in the Organization Manual for the election of the Director – Certification, Director – Education, and Director – Technical.