Where are you from, and where did you go to school?

I am originally from Sedico, a little town in the Italian Dolomites between Venice and the ski town Cortina D’Ampezzo. Due to sports (I used to play soccer professionally), studies, and then work, I have not lived there anymore since I was 15 years old. I have a master’s degree in civil engineering, specializing in infrastructure, from the University of Trento (a city in northern Italy).

What’s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?

I grew up in the Dolomites doing lots of trekking and climbing. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, I could only do my first proper Himalayan trek (I have been based in Nepal since 2016) a few months ago. I was becoming a joke among my friends in my hometown…

Where do you work?

After graduating from the university, I moved to Australia for two years and then to work in China, where I worked for four years. I have been based in Nepal for the last seven years, but I am currently traveling for work in Indonesia and Ethiopia. I started on tunneling and hydropower projects on the contractor’s side and, in the last three years, switched to the consulting sector. I mainly consulted for an Italian engineering company called ELC Electroconsult, based in Milan, on feasibility studies, detailed design, and construction supervision of hydropower, geothermal, and HV transmission lines projects. 

What do you love most about your job?

The opportunity to travel, meet, and discover other people, experts, various and different cultures, and obviously, always new challenges to face and try to overcome. 

Do you have a project story to share?

It’s unrelated to cost estimation, but I still remember it: during a dispute board session, the board chairman said, “Cash flow is the lifeblood of the construction industries” and “No matter what, fairness and good communication between all the parties.” Nothing is truer. I’ve seen this a few times in my short experience from both the contractor and the engineer supervision sides. There is always a belief that the other party is there to cheat you, which starts the contract with prejudice. Clients and supervising engineers “cut” and delay payments, sometimes for no valid reason, with the idea that keeping the contractor right is a good situation. Also, contractors are trying to cut corners to increase their profits, only because maybe they lowered the economic proposal to get the work. Ultimately, every party has the same goal: positively completing the project. So, they should work together toward that goal, not in opposition, via constructive communication, fairness, and good faith. I have since made these two sentences which I heard from this chairman as my motto. 

What are your future goals and aspirations for your career? Did someone inspire you to be on this career path?

My future goal and aspirations are to increase my knowledge and experience in cost estimating, budgeting, and risk management to improve the chances of project cost under-run. At the same time, I am getting more involved in the AACE activities. But then, you never know; nowadays, everyone has two or three careers in one lifetime. Surely, what you have learned and acquired will always be with you, widening your opportunities and skill sets. 

Who inspired me? I think it was my grandfather. He started a construction company and then passed it down to my uncle when he retired. I worked there during my university studies and always went with him to see the sites. I still do this with my uncle when I return to my hometown. I believe my love for construction started there when I was 10-12 years old: the wonder I felt touching and seeing the structure coming up and getting completed, after all the efforts, from an empty field, was an amazing incentive to get things done.

What is the biggest career challenge you’ve had to overcome? What’s been your favorite or most memorable moment of your career?

At the beginning of my work experience in the construction sector, I was lucky that the company I worked for trusted me to be the resident project manager of a whole project (25km of tunnel by TBM) in China. I was in charge of the work planning and execution, dealing with the clients, vendors, and the project team. I had to learn quickly by making mistakes. It was two and a half years of hard work where I learned a lot. Full of stress but at the same time memorable moments, one of which was the tunnel breakthrough. 

Why did you join AACE?

I have spent over 15 years working in construction companies, mainly focusing on contract and project management, particularly regarding budget, cost control, change of order management, and tender preparation. In the last three years, I have been a consultant to an engineering company, focusing on project cost estimates and associated risks in hydropower and HV transmission lines. One day, one of my colleagues mentioned AACE. I have to say, in the beginning, I was a bit skeptical, but once I became a member, I understood the full potential, benefits, and knowledge sharing that has exponentially improved my understanding and capability to deal with such a vast topic properly. I still have a long way to go, and I am super enthusiastic. 

What do you like most about being an AACE member? Or what’s your favorite part of being an AACE member?

I cannot say much as I became a member only recently. Yet, besides obviously the huge material and knowledge sharing with all the PGD and RPs, I hope to get more involved with my section and other activities and people connections that the AACE world brings soon. 

What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter the field?

Go for it. You can interface with lots of different experts and widen your knowledge on a wide variety of topics. 

Where are you from, and where did you go to school?

With my dad taking on various assignments with the Army Corps of Engineers worldwide, I lived in many places, so I can’t call a specific place home. I’ve lived in South Korea, Japan, New York (where I was born), Los Angeles, and San Francisco (where I completed high school). I completed my BS in Physics at San Francisco State University and my MS in Engineering Physics at George Mason University.

What’s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?

I’m a Nuclear Medical Science officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and have been in for about 21 years. In this capacity, I protect service members from nuclear radiation exposure. Although the Army Reserve is a part-time job, I’ve made a great career out of it. I plan to retire from the Army Reserve next year.

Also, not many people know that I hold an AACE CEP certification.

Where do you work?

I work (full-time) at the US Department of Energy in the Office of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). In this occupation, I’m a federal cost analyst and lead the development of independent cost estimates for capital projects and life extension programs that support the nuclear security enterprise.

What do you love most about your job?

I get to work on challenging and unique projects that serve an important role in safeguarding national security through the application of nuclear science.

Do you have a project story to share?

Scope growth has been a topic of interest at the NNSA because projects have historically tended to cost more than they were estimated to cost early on. A work-in-progress is currently going on to understand better how project scope can grow and thus increase the total project cost over time.

What are your future goals and aspirations for your career? Did someone inspire you to be on this career path?

My future goals would be to learn the R and Python programming languages, which are good for processing and analyzing large data sets. I believe that as cost data increases, learning to use the tools capable of processing massive amounts of data will be necessary. MS Excel is great but, unfortunately, has some limits on processing large datasets.

I became a cost analyst by accident, whereas before that, I was a physical scientist for the Army (as a federal civilian) in the 2000s. My office at that time was impacted by the Base Realignment Closure Act of 2005, a congressionally authorized process to increase the efficiency of the US Department of Defense. As a result, that office was slated to move to a new location about 65 miles away from where I live in Washington, DC. I could not handle a four-hour daily commute, so I applied for other jobs closer to my residence and was hired as a cost analyst for another Army office. I remained a cost analyst since 2009 and served in this capacity through three other federal agencies – the Department of Navy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Department of Energy. I’ve enjoyed being a cost analyst ever since.

What is the biggest career challenge you’ve had to overcome? What’s been your favorite or most memorable moment of your career?

My biggest challenge was learning to complete Earned Value Management (EVM) analysis on projects and brief the results simply so that all stakeholders can understand where a project is on cost and schedule. The concepts of EVM, such as Budgeted Cost for Work Performed and Budgeted Cost for Work Scheduled, can initially be abstract, but through some training and good mentorship, this abstraction can easily be overcome.

The most memorable moment in my career was temporarily exiting my cost analyst career due to a military deployment. I was deployed to the Middle East for about nine months, where I had to complete radiation safety audits and x-ray surveys at various forward operation bases across the Middle East. This deployment resulted in travels to many parts of the Middle East, where I visited Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. My office at the time (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) was very supportive during my deployment, making my time in the Middle East easier.

Why did you join AACE?

I joined AACE to gain access to its many cost-estimating resources and obtain the latest news in the cost-estimating community. I joined believing access to this information would help me (or anyone) become a better cost analyst.

What do you like most about being an AACE member? Or What’s your favorite part of being an AACE member?

Members can access many of AACE’s cost-estimating best practices at no cost and receive discounts on AACE-sponsored conferences, seminars, and certification exam fees.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter the field?

Ask questions about the project you are estimating. If you are not good at asking questions, I offer another piece of advice – take some time to think about the project you are estimating, and good questions should come naturally. Asking good questions about the project will help you better plan your estimating process and develop a more defensible cost estimate. I’ve also found that asking good questions generally helps avoid future problems arising when you plan to do anything. E.g., remodeling your home or going on vacation in a strange place.

My name is Rick Baus, and I was born and raised in the suburbs, approximately 20 minutes north of the City of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania. I attended the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, Pennsylvania for my undergraduate degree in Construction Management with a minor in Business Administration. In 2021, I obtained my Master of Business Administration with a specialization in finance from Holy Family University, located in Northeast Philadelphia. I am currently working on my Doctor of Education and Professional Studies, specializing in educational and organizational leadership with a planned graduation date of November 2025. I am also a Certified Professional Estimator through the American Society of Professional Estimators (ASPE) and a Certified Claims Consulting Expert through the Construction Management Institute (CMI).

A fun fact about me is that besides enjoying my profession, spending time with my family, and being a lifelong learner, I have a huge passion for cooking. You will constantly find me outside in different weather, cooking on my grill or smoker. There is an excellent book about five love languages in which we all give and receive love in different ways: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch, but there should be a sixth one, which involves the sharing of homecooked food.

I’ve been working in the construction industry for over 20 years. Upon my undergraduate graduation, I entered the industry on the contracting side as an assistant estimator/assistant project manager and quickly rose up the ranks to a chief estimator and a senior project manager then, after 18 years on the contracting side, I moved over to the engineering side as a construction specialist. Currently, I work for Urban Engineers, Inc., a multidisciplinary planning, design, environmental, and construction support services consulting firm headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which provides services for facilities, ports and waterways, public transportation, railroads, airports, energy and utilities, bridges, and roadways, as a Construction Specialist.

I am subject matter expert in budgeting, change order management, cost estimating (order of magnitude, conceptual design, design development, construction documents, and bids), construction and project management, finance, leadership, problem solving, team building, and value engineering in infrastructure and heavy-civil transportation projects.

What I like the most about my job is that every day is a new challenge and\or a new problem to solve, and at the end of the challenge, you get to see the end result of your work be built and\or come to life.

When it comes to my future goals and aspirations of my career, my goal is to advance my career at Urban Engineers, Inc., where my knowledge and experience will contribute to the development and improvement of our organization and the construction industry through research, education, and innovation. I am passionate about solving complex problems, building effective teams, and enhancing client satisfaction.

My most significant and rewarding career challenge has been joining Urban Engineers, Inc. as a construction specialist consultant and creating project budgets for projects from the East Coast to the West Coast and down South. Each location has diverse challenges to evaluate and overcome.

In June 2022, I joined AACE as a member not only to learn as much as possible from other like-minded individuals in the field of estimating but also to connect with others to build a network of estimating professionals and to share my knowledge and experience with younger professionals entering the field about being an AACE member has been bringing awareness to the organization among younger individuals rising in their careers in total cost management. I aim to obtain additional professional certifications to add to my current alphabet soup.

The best advice that I can give anyone entering the field of estimating is to be proactive in seizing career growth opportunities, not settle for anything, honor your instincts, get a mentor, and seek happiness instead of money. No job is too small; trust your instincts, focus on living your dream and not someone else’s, network to help you advance, learn how to set boundaries from the get-go, set aside time for yourself to avoid burnout, always be 15 minutes early for all appointments, and work to learn rather than to earn, and always ask questions to understand something that you don’t know from others.

AACE International’s new member for November is McKenna L. Brown. Her profile is presented in a question-and-answer format.

Where are you from, and where did you go to school?

I’m from Carlsbad, NM, where I was born and raised. After graduating high school, I got my real estate license, as well as a license for property and casualty insurance. I worked in that industry for 10 years, and although I enjoyed it, I decided to go to college to get a degree and expand into a new career path. I attended New Mexico State University, where I received my bachelor’s degree in business administration.

What’s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?

A fun fact about me, from my younger years, is that I used to be a professional online gamer and competed in various national competitions.

Where do you work?

During college, I considered a degree in accounting and moved on to become a CPA. This plan is what led me to apply for a position at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, NM.  I work at WIPP as the Capital Asset Project Controls Lead for the Capital Line-Item Projects.

What do you love most about your job?

What I like the most about my job is the challenge it presents. Every day, I learn something new, and that type of environment is something that I find enjoyable and rewarding. I started out here at WIPP as a cost analyst for Capital, and from there I was promoted to the control account manager for the Utility Shaft Project, then ultimately the Capital Assets Project Control Lead. These roles allowed me to work closely with the project leads, project managers, and stakeholders, which I enjoyed.

What are your future goals and aspirations for your career? Did someone inspire you to be on this career path?

It is still early in my EVMS/project controls career, so I hope to take the time to expand my knowledge and develop a firm foundation in these types of projects.

What is the biggest career challenge you’ve had to overcome? What’s been your favorite or most memorable moment of your career?

I think my biggest career challenge has been coming into the Capital Project and developing these skills in a short period. Each of the projects presents a new opportunity to learn and grow in the DOE world.

Why did you join AACE?

I decided to join AACE based on the recommendation of an associate. I was looking into getting my PMP and a few other certifications, and based on talks with a couple of close associates they recommended joining AACE. 

What do you like most about being an AACE member? Or What’s your favorite part of being an AACE member?

I haven’t been a member of AACE for long, but I would say that I love all the materials and opportunities provided to members, especially those who are just entering this field.

What advice would you give someone wanting to enter the field?

My advice to anyone entering this field would be to embrace all the knowledge and expertise of those you work with. The best way to expand your skills, from scheduling, financial management, project initiation, budgeting, construction, and so on, is to work closely with those around you who specialize in those areas. In my experience, people in this field are happy to share their knowledge.

I am from Monroe City, Missouri, and I went to school for Construction Management at University of Central Missouri. I am PSP certified and now work as a scheduler at McCownGordon Construction in Kansas City. You may not know that Kansas City has the best BBQ in the country!

Caleb says the thing he loves most about his job is that “construction allows you to physically see the progress of work that you have been putting in place.” He adds, “ Watching the buildings progress is just so satisfying.”

Commenting on his future goals and aspirations for his career, Caleb says, “My future goals are to just continue to learn about the industry I love and see where my career takes me.” He continues, “Sure, I have some long-term goals planned out, but you never know where life is going to take you, so I just try to be sure to enjoy the day-to-day and make it a goal to learn something new every day.”

He says, “The most memorable moment of my career was attending a ribbon cutting for a high school new build project I was on. Seeing the faculty and students’ reactions and excitement for their new space just brought everything full circle and made all the challenges of the project seem easier to bear.”

Caleb explains that he joined AACE International because “The network, reputation, and creditability that it holds to assist in furthering my career.”

Caleb believes he made a career choice that was his right career path. Asked what advice he would give to someone who wants to enter the field, he says, “Construction can be a very demanding profession, but if you are able to find a good work/life balance, then it can be an extremely enjoyable and rewarding profession. Also, there are plenty of acronyms to remember!”

Something you may not know about Caleb is that he has two top bucket list items that he tries to take steps forward on yearly. He says, “They are to visit all 30 Major League Baseball (MLB) stadiums and to visit all 50 states.” Giving a progress update, he says, “Currently I have been to 20 MLB stadiums, but there are three I must go back to because they have built new stadiums since my visit. Also, I still have 30 states on my list to visit.”

My name is Waheedullah Rahimi and I am originally from Laghman, Afghanistan, but raised in the capital city of Kabul where I completed my bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Mashal University in 2018. I also received an associate degree in construction management from CIDC institute in New Delhi, India, back in 2014.

My family and I moved to the United States in June 2022, and I currently reside in Richmond, Virginia. One interesting fact about me is that I can fluently speak, read, and write in four different languages. I also used to be a professional cricket player back during my teenage years.

I have been working in construction project management, planning, scheduling, and project controls for more than seven years. After completing my construction management degree, I returned to my home country, Afghanistan and joined Perez, APC, a US-based firm in Kabul, Afghanistan, as an intern and was then hired as a construction scheduler. Later, I joined Technologists, Inc., a general contractor for USACE and USAID as a project scheduler.

My most significant career challenge, and the most rewarding has been joining Hourigan in August 2022 as a project scheduler. Hourigan is a fully integrated construction/development firm operating in the mid-Atlantic with offices in Central Virginia, Hampton Roads, and Western Virginia. Adapting to a fully new and different environment, culture, and language has been the challenging part. In the meantime, gaining new experiences, expanding my professional network, and building relationships across the company are rewarding aspects. I was overwhelmed by the way I was welcomed and treated at Hourigan as a new employee. I felt included all the time. What I love about my job is that it lets me interact and collaborate across various disciplines and colleagues from executive level to field staff, which helps me gain valuable insights about the projects, and act on them in my scheduling role.

In October 2022, I joined AACE International as a member to be part of an inclusive gathering place of diverse professionals and peers with equitable opportunities for success. My favorite part is that I recently volunteered at AACE International as a committee member to re-establish the Central Virginia Section. My main goal is to enhance my overall knowledge, skills, and experiences, expanding my professional network and obtaining certifications in various practice areas (in particular, the project controls, planning & scheduling).

I have two points of advice for those looking to enter the field:

1. Be open to change: Never stay in your comfort zone. Embrace change that will enhance your professional career, capabilities, and experiences.
2. Avoid Hiding Mistakes: Admitting your mistakes and learning from them gives you access to growth and can be your keyto success.

I’m from Cracow, Poland, where I finished my master’s degree in civil engineering at Cracow Technical University. To be honest, at the end of high school I wasn’t sure what path I should pursue. At some point, I considered film school, but at the last moment applied for civil engineering as a practical choice. Again, being honest, I didn’t particularly enjoy my time at the university, but it opened the doors for my quite satisfying career path. I remember two months into my first job, I’m on the plane to the Bahamas for a project for the Marine Defense Forces thinking, “I’m the first person from my family to cross the Atlantic!”  

A fun fact about me is that I’m doing a post graduate study in yoga and relaxation at Warsaw University of Physical Education, preparing for my retirement career path change in 30 years.

My first years after graduation, I worked with a general contractor on marine projects around the world, from port construction in beautiful Costa Rica to island construction in Dubai. I returned to Poland and currently work in a planning consultant capacity on construction projects in the pharmaceutical and high-tech industry.  

What I like the most about construction is that you see in the physical world the result of your work. You can open google maps, zoom in and say – hey, this was my job. As a project planner, I enjoy having a holistic overview of the project, from contractual, commercial aspects required for the schedule, through execution sequencing, dependencies between phases and systems, etc. That also means that I get to talk with numerous project stakeholders, which I enjoy.

As the project controls are in initial development stages in Poland, I want to participate in development of these standards and methods which hopefully will result in the more efficient execution of the strategic project (i.e., building the country’s energy security).

My biggest career challenge was a project in Dubai where I needed to step up into the lead role, as well as develop new skills in a very short time that included data visualization and 4D planning. It was a very intensive time but extremely satisfying, especially that I could see ‘my project’ literally growing next to the Dubai shoreline.

In December 2022, I joined AACE as a member to relaunch the Poland and Ukraine Section of AACE and to contribute to the improvement of the project controls standards in my home country. I hope to get to know like-minded colleagues, learn from their experience, as well as share my experience with others. Locally, I hope to build a community of project controls engineers who can grow professionally using the AACE materials, standards, and network.

What I like the most about AACE is that it is so easy to connect with someone from a selected field area of interest and ask for advice. 

My name is Oscar Agudelo, and I am originally from Medellin, Colombia. At the age of nine, I moved to the United States, and in 2014, I became a naturalized US citizen. I currently reside in Houston, Texas, where I attended Lonestar Community College and obtained my associate degree in general studies. One interesting fact about me is that I have traveled to 12 different countries and have a passion for experiencing and learning about other cultures. So far, my favorite destination has been Tahiti, the French Polynesia, for its breathtaking scenery.

I have been working in the engineering consulting field for five years now. I started as a project accounting intern at POWER Engineers, a private engineering consulting company based in Idaho. After completing my associate degree, I was fortunate to be offered a position with the same team as a project manager assistant (PMA). In this role, I worked closely with the area lead and project manager(s) in financial management, including project initiation, budgeting, expenditure tracking, invoicing, status reports, management of unbilled costs, purchase requisitions, percent complete updates, accounts receivables, and more.

My most significant career challenge, and also the most rewarding, has been joining Mott MacDonald, a globally recognized private engineering firm based out of the United Kingdom, as a project control specialist in late 2022. Currently, I work with project managers to forecast costs, and I hope to expand my skills to include scheduling in Microsoft Projects in the near future. I specialize in oil and gas and power projects, and my favorite aspect of working at Mott MacDonald is the opportunity to collaborate with people both within my team and across various disciplines.

In December 2022, I joined AACE as a member to learn as much as possible and connect with like-minded individuals in the field. As a volunteer with the Rising Professionals Committee (RPC), my favorite thing about being an AACE member has been bringing awareness to the organization among younger individuals rising in their careers in total cost management. My goal is to develop my overall  knowledge by obtaining scheduling and cost certificates from AACE and continue to be involved in the community.