Bob Dieterle, Jr. is an Associate Director with Delta Consulting Group, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Delta Consulting Group is an international consulting firm headquartered in Woodbridge, Virginia, comprised of multi-disciplined professionals in engineering, accounting, construction, program assessment, and litigation support. Bob has 10 years of experience in construction-related damages dispute resolution consulting for construction claims and negotiations. He focuses on evaluating financial damages and cost impacts claimed by contractors on construction projects. His project assignments cover various building projects, including new construction and renovations to existing facilities such as industrial plants, schools, stadiums, highways, commercial office buildings, manufacturing facilities, hospitals, bridges, ports, power plants, and waterways. He specializes in analyzing and preparing fair and reasonable estimates for delay, disruption, and acceleration claims and calculating earned value and loss of productivity assessments.

Bob was born in the suburbs of Philadelphia and has remained in the area throughout adulthood, including during his undergraduate studies in finance at St. Joseph’s University and his graduate studies in construction management at Drexel University.

Bob’s journey in construction damages dispute resolution began four years after graduating from college. He initially worked in corporate finance, handling functions in the treasury department, such as assisting in preparing company-wide budgets and cash flow forecasts. After a few years in this role, he sought a job he was more passionate about. His father, an international testifying expert in construction claims, informed him about an opening in their “damages” group, and the rest is history.

Bob initially joined AACE when he began his consulting career. However, it wasn’t until the past few years that he started attending the conferences and becoming more involved, realizing the organization’s actual value for his career in construction damages. He believes AACE is the best organization he has encountered for like-minded cost engineering professionals. The technical papers and presentations generally apply to his day-to-day dealings, and AACE’s recommended practices (RP) provide frequently updated technical information and competencies, serving as valuable tools for understanding and referencing.

Bob encourages up-and-coming professionals to get involved within their organizations in as many ways as possible. Currently, Bob serves on the programming committee and the scholarship committee for the AACE Northeast Symposium. Bob is also joining the Rising Professionals Committee on an association level. Outside of AACE, he is a member of the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) and the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA). For CMAA, he is an officer of the Board of Directors. He has gradually transitioned from a co-chair of the Young Professionals Committee to Treasurer and Vice President. Through these organizations, Bob gets to meet and work with some of the most dedicated individuals in the industry, and he finds those connections invaluable.  That is where he sees real professional friendships, not just acquaintances.

On March 20, 2025, Bob will moderate a panel at the Northeast Symposium titled “Navigating and Embracing a Successful Career Progression ” on behalf of the Rising Professionals Committee (RPC). The panel will consist of four rising professional panelists making a name for themselves in the industry. 

Megha Udayshankar is a dedicated professional with over 10 years of experience in the heavy civil construction industry. She has advanced through various roles, including estimator, field engineer, project engineer, and currently she is a scheduler. Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area, Megha’s career has been shaped by her involvement in a diverse range of projects, from commercial construction to heavy civil roadway and bridge projects.

Originally from Bangalore, India, Megha earned her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Bangalore University. She began her career in commercial and residential construction, where she managed daily field operations, tracked costs and quantities, and coordinated with subcontractors and material suppliers. Her commitment to continuous learning led her to complete a master’s degree in civil engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio, specializing in transportation and environmental engineering.

At Zachry Construction Corporation, Megha has played a crucial role in estimating, project engineering, and scheduling. In her current position as a scheduler, she manages schedule updates, forecasting, commodity curves, time impact analyses (TIAs), escalations, and claims for heavy civil projects in the DFW area. Megha’s diverse project experience has provided her with a comprehensive skill set that encompasses project management, cost control, scheduling, and claims analysis.

Introduced to AACE by Josh Wollan, Director of Project Controls (Scheduling) at Zachry, Megha attended the 2023 AACE conference in Chicago. She found great value in the Rising Professionals and Women in Project Controls groups and continues to leverage the knowledge gained from the seminars and sessions to enhance her work.

Advice for Upcoming Engineers/Project Control Professionals:

“I encourage new engineers and project control professionals to seek mentors who can support and guide them through their professional journey. Engage with professional associations like AACE; these networks offer invaluable opportunities for growth and learning from diverse backgrounds.”

Andrew Leavitt is an Ankura Consulting director based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has more than five years of experience in CPM scheduling, change order management, forensic cost analysis, and standard-of-care analysis across various fields and industries in construction and manufacturing.  He uses this experience to resolve construction disputes and manage construction risks.

Andrew is from Bridgewater, New Jersey, and moved to Florida before starting high school. He returned to the Northeast to attend Drexel University in Philadelphia where he studied mechanical engineering and actively participated in various extracurricular groups, including community service and academic societies. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in 2019, and is pursuing a graduate certificate in engineering management from Temple University.

While at Drexel, Andrew partook in the school’s co-op program and had three unique six-month work experiences: He worked in a research and development lab advancing technologies for US defense programs. He worked as a plant engineer at one of the US’s last steel aerosol can manufacturing facilities. Finally, he entered the construction scheduling and disputes world at Navigant Consulting in 2017. In his six months at Navigant, he had opportunities to work on several construction disputes including pipelines, a chemical processing plant, a luxury high-rise, and a light rail project.

Andrew discovered an appetite for dispute work, so when the opportunity arose to work part-time while completing his degree, he jumped at the opportunity to learn and grow.  During this time, Navigant became Ankura.  Andrew joined the Ankura team full-time in 2019.  In his time at Ankura, Andrew had opportunities to work with the current president of AACE, Patrick Kelly, and several other world-renowned experts on construction and manufacturing projects in the US and internationally. 

In addition to his project experience at Ankura, Andrew has led initiatives in his home office in Philadelphia and firmwide.  He co-chaired one of four of the firm’s internal consultant representative councils, held official roles onboarding new consultants, and hosted firmwide town hall presentations.  He currently leads the Philadelphia office’s ACE Mentoring team, which hosts mentoring sessions for high school students interested in entering the architecture, construction, and engineering industries.

With a desire to grow his career and learn more about construction, scheduling, and disputes, Andrew joined AACE International.  He sought out membership with AACE because its RPs are the basis for many of his and his colleagues’ opinions. He co-wrote his first paper in 2023 with his mentor at Navigant/Ankura, Brian Celeste, and attended his first ConEx the same year.  This was his first experience at an industry conference. 

Following this experience, Andrew grew a desire to contribute even more to the AACE community and joined the Rising Professionals Committee.  The RPC sustained his desire to continue growing professionally and assist young professionals interested in entering construction and project controls.

Andrew advises the next generation of young professionals entering the construction, engineering, and project control industries to carry yourself confidently.  It can be easy to fall into the trap of imposter syndrome.  However, it’s important to push oneself to overcome that feeling.  A big meeting with a client may feel unwelcoming or overwhelming, but they wouldn’t have asked you to come if they didn’t think it was valuable for you to be there.

Merve Erenler is a project controls analyst for Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) based in Toronto, Ontario. She has over five years’ experience in project controls, construction/mining procedures and budget control. Merve is also a volunteer at the Toronto Section Student Board Committee and recently has been selected as a student representative.

Born in Ankara, Turkey

Merve was born in Ankara, Turkey, and lived in the same city. She received her bachelor’s degree in geological engineering and an honor’s MBA degree from Hacettepe University, Turkey. During her senior year, she also worked as a junior geological engineer in the mining industry and during her MBA studies she worked in the construction industry.

Has Mining and Construction Experience

Merve’s first actual journey in project controls started with her first job as a junior geological engineer during her senior year with Jemad Consulting Mining, Turkey. Merve was responsible for various positions as Jemad was a small-scale consulting firm. Merve was tasked to prepare 2D/3D geological/mining drawings through AutoCAD, prepare geological/mining reports through all phases of mining projects. She was also responsible for providing technical consulting to Jemad’s clients. After having a bachelor’s degree, Merve was promoted to geological engineer in the same firm. After working for two years in the mining industry, Merve decided to work in the construction industry where her desire came from. She worked as a site superintendent and pursued her master’s MBA degree at Hacettepe University. After working 1.5 years at Kutanoglu Construction, Merve decided to move to Canada to follow her passion and expand her network.

Has Desire to Continuously Keep Learning

With the desire to continuously keep learning, Merve pursued her advanced diploma degree in Civil Engineering Technology at George Brown College, Canada, where she earned honors for all semesters and became a dean’s medal winner for her program. While earning her advanced diploma, she completed internships with Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). After the internship Merve was hired as a junior project control analyst at AECOM where she was providing consulting services to TTC. After graduation, Merve joined the project controls team at Toronto Transit Commission. Her work includes updating costs, analyzing cost as well as cost/schedule variances, implementing estimates, tracking various scale of construction projects for over 100 projects, contributing earned value management reports, project summary reports and maintaining historical cost databases.

Volunteering is Step Toward Reaching Personal Goals

Merve’s advice to the next generation of young professionals would be to start volunteering during their education, explore the area of interest and make connections. She would love to see them becoming part of AACE and collaborating with industry professionals. Merve has found that volunteer work is a great way for young people to reach their personal goals through attending technical and networking events.

Adriano Jacobina Filho is a 31-year-old civil engineer, married, and the owner of a French bulldog. He is currently working as a construction supply chain manager for CONSUL Engenharia.

He also owns an engineering company, Büro Engenharia, that focuses on managing construction projects. He also teaches construction techniques at the EBADE Design School.

Adriano has almost 15 years of experience in civil engineering. He has been the lead on projects. He has experience working within the areas of cost engineering, project management, construction contracts, and claims management.

Adriano has been enthusiastic about engineering from an early age. He was influenced by his father, who is also a civil engineer. He was born in Salvador/Bahia. During his youth, his family lived across Africa, including stops in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Angola. These travels were with his parents as they worked on several international construction projects.

In 2007, he partnered alongside his father in a real estate project called “Oceano Sul.” This project was in the luxury Talatona neighborhood in Luanda, Angola. Despite the project location being in Africa, most of the design partners (architecture, utilities, and others) were from Salvador, Bahia. In this project, Adriano worked as the local support for communications and financial affairs.

In 2010, he was accepted in the civil engineering degree program at the Polytechnical School of The Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). This is considered the finest and most traditional school in the state of Bahia. Adriano was able to combine his studies with internships in real estate construction projects with the leading Brazilian construction company, Odebrecht S.A.

In 2016, he graduated and went to Luanda, Angola. There, he worked once more in partnership with his father, as associate civil engineer. He took direct responsibility for budgeting and planning areas in a major Angolan construction and logistics conglomerate. Unfortunately, due to his father suffering an unexpected illness, Adriano had to terminate all the contracts they had in Angola and return to Brazil.

After returning to Brazil, in 2017, Adriano took a position on Bahia’s State Urban Development Company (CONDER), where he has been employed for two years as cost engineer, working with urban infrastructure projects in the UNESCO’s historic site Pelourinho, in Salvador/Bahia.

In 2019, he was invited by AXXO Construtora to support its planning and budget area of work. He spent almost three years working with tendering, scheduling, and cost engineering at the central office in Salvador, Bahia. Also, he had the opportunity to be a part of the management team in the expansion project of the Port Terminal of Santos Brazil, as junior site manager, based in Guarujá/São Paulo.

In 2021, he was approved by the São Paulo Institute of Engineering for a specialization course in Building Information Modelling (BIM) for infrastructure projects. In this course he developed skills around some ultramodern software, like NAVISWORKS and SYNCHRO.

In November 2021, he spent a couple months in Munich, Germany, to study German and experience engineering works on a regional “top class” level. Meanwhile, he was also accepted in the University of Stuttgart’s master program: International Construction: Practice and Law. However, because of the pandemic in Europe and war in Ukraine, he decided not to pursue the course at this time. He hopes to apply again as soon as possible.

Adriano is studying for the Certified Cost Professional (CCP) certification from AACE. He wants to take the exam this year. He also wants to continue volunteering with the Brazil Section.

Asked what his advice is for others, he says, “My recommendation for engineering students and younger professionals is to seek not only specific knowledge in cost engineering, but also technical knowledge in various materials (such as asphalt, soils, concrete, etc.) and gain experience in different types of construction works (such as road, earth works, maritime, industrial, real estate, etc.). This kind of knowledge will certainly make them outliers in their careers.”

Oleksii Liubymyi, a Senior Forensic Planning Consultant for Quantum Global Solutions based in Doha, Qatar has over 12 years of experience in the engineering and construction sectors and has held senior managerial positions in Qatar and Ukraine.

Oleksii was born in the south of Ukraine, in the city of Mykolayiv, which was a secret city during the Soviet times with the majority of the Soviet Navy’s surface ships built in Mykolaiv. Oleksii’s grandfather was a lead electrical engineer in the shipyard that built the Soviet’s only aircraft carrier, ‘Kuznetsov’ and his father managed complex reconstruction projects for the city’s turbine factory, ports, bridges and factories.

Since his childhood Oleksii was passionate about mega-projects, so he joined the local Mykolayiv Building College. He further obtained a Specialist Master’s degrees in Civil and Industrial Engineering and Project Management in the capital of Ukraine – at Kyiv’s National University of Construction and Architecture. During his studies in Kyiv, he became interested in project planning and project controls – the analytical disciplines that provide a birds-eye view of the whole project and are one of the key pillars of project management and successful project execution. He later got involved in several construction projects as a planning engineer.

At that time, Ukraine’s top mega-project was the construction of the new safe confinement over the old shelter of Chernobyl’s Nuclear Power Plant.

In April 1986, Eastern Europe was hit with a nuclear catastrophe, when the fourth reactor of Chernobyl’s Nuclear Power Plant exploded, releasing a massive amount of radiation into the atmosphere. By late 1986, the Soviet government had built a massive reinforced concrete sarcophagus to cover the lava-like radioactive material left on the remains of the nuclear power plant. The sarcophagus shelter was supposed to last for 30 years, but in 1998 the structure started to deteriorate due to massive amounts of radiation, so, while the stabilization works were ongoing, it was essential to make sure that there was a new structure erected on time to cover the deteriorating old shelter. In 2007, with the funding of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a consortium of Vinci GP and Bouygues TP started a project to build the new safe confinement over the old shelter. The new safe confinement was a moveable arch structure, which was the largest moveable land-based structure ever built, with a span of 257 metres (m), a length of 162 m, a height of 108 m a total weight of 36,000 tons.

Oleksii joined this US $1.5 billion new safe confinement project as a planning engineer, where he was responsible for updating the master program and producing progress reports that were submitted to EBRD, Bechtel (PMCM), as well as donors and government bodies. In 2014, he co-developed the revised program that the project followed until its successful completion in late 2016. While working with a team of seasoned professionals he was exposed to the AACE International recommended practices and committed to obtaining the Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP) certification.

The next steps in Oleksii’s career path led him to the Middle East, where he joined Siemens and managed planning for the US$ 500 million turnkey construction project of the first tram line in Doha, Qatar. He became an AACE International member and obtained PSP certification, which was invaluable in resolving complex planning and project control problems where he relied on AACE’s Total Cost Management Framework and the Recommended Practices (RP). The RP 29R-03, in particular, proved to be very helpful in forensic schedule analysis and complex dispute resolution processes. It is during his time with Siemens, he further widened his knowledge in delay analysis, claims, and arbitration and became the project’s subject matter expert. He led the negotiations with the client on the delay and project control matters and actively assisted lawyers and expert witnesses in the dispute resolution process. In this period, he became an active member of the AACE Qatar Section and chaired several live meetings and webinars as a board member and a director. All of the above positively contributed to the successful project realization and the resolution of disputes between the parties.

In early 2021, Oleksii joined Quantum Global Solutions, a world-leading construction support consultancy that brings clarity and focus to dispute resolution. In this role he advises owners, engineers, and contractors on matters of project control, delay, and dispute resolution. He continues to deepen his knowledge by pursuing an LLM in Construction Law and Arbitration.

He is actively involved in the Ukrainian construction community. Together with the Ukrainian Interstate Consultants Engineers Guild, he is striving to harmonize the current market model of engineering and consultancy services in Ukraine with internationally recognised industry standards. Oleksii is working with the government of Ukraine on securing investments from the Middle East and Asia for the post-war reconstruction of the Ukrainian economy.

Oleksii is grateful to all the seasoned industry professionals who have helped in shaping him along the way. As for the advice to young professionals, apart from the critical skill of being a lifelong learner, it is worth recognizing the importance of treating each piece of work with quality and integrity.

Supriya Panwar, a Senior Associate for Capital Project Management, Inc., based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, has over nine years of experience in the construction industry, focused on project management, construction claims analysis, and CPM scheduling. Ms. Panwar also assists with deposition preparation, negotiations, mediation, arbitration, and litigation. Her project experience includes government facilities, commercial developments, hotels, educational facilities, heavy civil, oil and gas refineries, and industrial projects.

A Civil Engineering Focus Since Childhood

Ms. Panwar was born in Muzaffarnagar, U.P. India and as a child, she would always insist on accompanying her father to his construction job sites and ask numerous questions to the engineers on site. Therefore, choosing Civil Engineering for her undergraduate study was a natural progression for her curiosity that was nurtured since childhood. She received her bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from B.I.E.T. Jhansi, India. During this time, she also worked on a research project and developed a GIS (Geographical Information System) data-based planning model for land use in the Jhansi region of India.

Ms. Panwar’s Notable Energy Sector Work in India

After her graduation, Ms. Panwar joined TechnipFMC as a Civil Engineer in the Civil and Structural Department. She got to work on some of the notable projects of the energy sector in India, one of them being the Refinery off Gas Cracker (ROGC) plant to produce polymer grade ethylene and propylene for Reliance Industries Limited. She prepared layouts and design calculations for underground pipe network systems like the CS gravity network, oil water system, and pressurized pipe system. She also designed roads, pavements, and hardstand for the refinery facilities. During her time at Technip, she also worked with the project control team and gained a better understanding of scheduling and planning of construction projects.

Rutgers University Research Project Gives Ms. Panwar Unique Career Experience

With her growing interest in project controls, Ms. Panwar decided to pursue a master’s degree in construction management at Rutgers University in New Jersey. While at Rutgers, she worked as a student researcher at the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) and got to work on a meaningful and important project, Paramount Skills Assessment for Adults on the Autism Spectrum, with Dr. Cecilia Feeley. This was a one of a kind experience in her career, and she is thankful to Dr. Feeley for getting her involved with this project. The project included the autonomous vehicle study for use by persons with disabilities.

During the second year of her master’s degree, she joined JMT, an engineering consultancy firm, as a project engineer and later as a construction scheduler in their construction management department. Her work included developing, updating, and reviewing project schedules, construction projects cost analysis, cost estimation, and work progress review and reporting of the active construction projects.

One of her memorable projects during her time at JMT was a road resurfacing project at various locations in the City of Elizabeth, NJ. The project consisted of milling, resurfacing, and replacement of deteriorated concrete and slate curb; spot roadway base repairs; replacement of any deteriorated manhole or monument box casings; construction of public sidewalk curb ramps where none existed or repair roadway curb line drainage and retrofitting of existing curb ramps with Hanover ADA pavers where no curb ramp delineation existed. The total project length was 22,000 linear feet. Ms. Panwar oversaw and directed this project from inception to completion and was lauded for this project by the city engineer (City of Elizabeth) and was asked to be the project engineer for another City of Elizabeth project.

Where is She Now?

After her time with JMT, Ms. Panwar joined Capital Project Management Inc., where she assists owners, contractors, and subcontractors across numerous sectors within the AEC industry with the settlement or litigation of construction disputes. She provides analysis and preparation of delay, disruption, inefficiency claims, and disputes, reviews damages, and performs project cost analysis. In her day-to-day work, she is passionate about the process of claims and dispute resolution and believes in continuous learning.

Ms. Panwar has also been involved with various other industry organizations, including the American Bar Association (ABA) Forum on Construction Law, Women in Construction DC (WICDC), the Associated General Contractors (AGC), and currently, she sits on the board of the AACE New Jersey Section as a College Outreach Director.

AACE: One of Best Platforms for Continuous Learning

Ms. Panwar attended her very first AACE meeting in 2019, and since then, has been actively involved with AACE. She believes that AACE is one of the best platforms for continuous learning from industry experts and for improving your knowledge and skill set, even more so now with the implementation of our newly enhancedcommunity-based platform that provides information on recent advancements in the industry.

Nowadays, one of her favorite weekend activities is finding a technical paper of interest on the AACE website,adding handwritten notes to it, then discussing the paper with her colleagues.

Cross-Training, Networking, and Skill Set Learning are Keys to Career Success

Ms. Panwar’s advice to the next generation of young professionals in the project controls industry is to cross-train yourself, develop your network, and keep learning and developing new skill sets. Also, don’t forget to take a break when needed but never give up. Her “never give up” attitude and inspiration comes from her mother, who started her career, after a gap of 12 years, in 2001. Her mother now runs a successful clothing boutique in her hometown.

Concluding, Ms. Panwar says you can find a lot of great content out there on the platforms such as AACE, and from experts in the industry,so keep learning, reflecting, and growing.

Meet Moe Roghabadi!

Moe Roghabadi is a risk manager for Hatch, based in the company’s headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario. He has over 10 years of industry and academic experience in executing risk management for large-scale projects in the infrastructure, metals and minerals, and energy sectors. He has been involved in projects with different levels of complexity and scope, from the conceptual to completion phases.

Moe was born in Kerman, Iran, and grew up on a farm in a small village where he was surrounded by animals and pistachio trees and enjoyed a free-spirited upbringing. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and a master’s degree in construction engineering and management in Iran.

Launching Into His Career

After finishing his degree in 2013, Moe started his professional career in project control and risk management in construction projects, taking on different roles and responsibilities.

Moe’s desire for research and innovation in risk management led him to move to Canada in 2017, to pursue a Ph.D. at Concordia University, Montreal. His study focused on developing an integrated risk management framework for construction projects, using advanced artificial intelligence-based algorithms. The research was partnered with Pomerleau, a key Canadian player in the construction industry, as well as Mitacs, a nonprofit national research organization, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Well-Earned Awards & Accomplishments

During his Ph.D., Moe received several awards and published many technical papers in highly ranked construction engineering and management journals, including two conference papers at the AACE Conference & Expo in 2018 and 2022.

Moe’s journey in risk management expanded during his work at Metrolinx, a government of Ontario agency, where he provided professional services to a light rail transit project of 18 kilometers with a budget of $4.6 billion. His expertise and skills advanced during his work at Hatch, a leading consulting company in providing world-class risk management services to multi-billion-dollar projects in the infrastructure, metals and minerals, and energy sectors.

Moe’s Ongoing Contributions to AACE

Moe’s involvement with AACE started in 2018 when he was invited to give a presentation at the AACE Conference & Expo in San Diego, California. He joined AACE as a student member and currently sits on the board of directors of the Toronto Section. Moe was recently assigned as one of the co-chairs of the Rising Professionals Committee (RPC).

Moe’s advice to fellow aspiring professionals is, “Hard work is good, but not enough to fast-track your professional growth. Innovation, creativity, and listening to others are also essential. Through AACE, you will be able to extend your technical knowledge, enlarge your professional network, and exchange ideas.”

Taylor Nelson leads the planning and scheduling efforts for Brasfield & Gorrie’s Industrial/Aerospace Power Process and Utilities Divisions. Taylor has 10 years of experience in project management and project controls. He is based in the company’s headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama.

Construction is in Taylor’s blood. He was born and raised in the rural town of Hartselle, Alabama, which his family chose as home while they were involved in constructing Browns Ferry Nuclear plant in nearby Athens. After graduating from Athens State University with a degree in business management and a minor in project management, Taylor earned his MBA from the University of Alabama. He later obtained his Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute.

Taylor began his career as a project scheduler for Tennessee Valley Authority during the construction of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Spring City, Tennessee. This was the last operational nuclear plant constructed in the United States. He played an integral role in ensuring the $4.7 billion project was completed on time and on budget. The team developed and managed the project schedule in Primavera P3, and Taylor often jokes about being the youngest person he knows to have used P3.

After completing his time at Watts Bar, Taylor worked for several high-profile companies. Those include BP, where he implemented planning and scheduling best practices. Also, Southern Company, where he led project controls for a large capital project.

Since he joined Brasfield & Gorrie, Taylor has led planning and scheduling efforts for successful projects ranging from $20 to $350 million. Those projects have included buildings for Duke Energy, Amazon, Raytheon Technologies, Airbus, Milo’s Tea, and Alabama Department of Transportation. To date, Taylor’s favorite project is the recently completed City Walk BHAM, a linear park in downtown Birmingham built for ALDOT. It includes the fifth largest skatepark in North America, and City Walk was the plaza for the 2022 World Games. Taylor is proud of the positive impact the project will have on his community.

Outside of planning and scheduling, Taylor works with several universities across the southeast to help educate students about careers in project controls. He has also served as an industry grader for Auburn University, Tuskegee University, Mississippi State, and the University of Alabama.

After attending a section meeting in Tennessee, Taylor joined AACE in the hopes of finding strong mentors to help him grow and strengthen his craft as a project controls professional. Since joining, he has met several like-minded professionals that serve as a sounding board for him in his career. Taylor now serves as the AACE Alabama Section President and is a member of the Rising Professionals Committee.

Taylor advises young project controls professionals to continue striving to learn. “If you stop seeking out opportunities to learn, this field will leave you behind,” he says. That thirst for knowledge also fuels his favorite thing about the industry—the ways technology and innovation work together to create new tools and new ways to accomplish tasks.

Josh Chittick is a Director in the Global Construction Group of Ankura Consulting and is based in New York, NY.  He has over four years of experience working as a claims consultant in the construction industry.  Josh’s work has centered around assisting clients in analyzing construction schedule delays, cost overruns, losses of productivity, and other project issues in support of disputes and litigation on large-scale capital projects.  His industry experience, coupled with an educational background in civil engineering and engineering project management, allows him to provide key support on client engagements quantifying both delays and damages.  Josh’s roles have included leading and supporting the quantification of damages, such as forensic schedule analyses to evaluate project delays, loss of productivity analyses, trade/craft specific efficiency analyses, indirect/daily rate evaluations, and time-phased financial analyses.

Josh was born in Santa Barbara, California, and attended the University of California, Berkeley, for undergraduate and graduate studies.  At UC Berkeley, Josh earned a B.S. in civil and environmental engineering and an M.S. in engineering project management.  While an undergraduate student, Josh explored multiple disciplines within construction through internships and coursework.  Josh first interned at San Francisco International Airport as a civil engineering intern in the design and construction group, an experience that provided him with the opportunity to get hands-on experience in design work.  He next interned for McCarthy Building Companies in the preconstruction group, which represented his first exposure to project controls outside of the classroom.

Josh’s involvement in the world of project controls, and, more specifically, claims consulting, continued through his work as an undergraduate research assistant under Dr. William Ibbs.  Josh’s research focused on losses of labor productivity in construction and evaluating methods to quantify resultant damages arising from such losses of productivity.  Josh collaborated with Dr. Ibbs to develop recommended guidelines for applying the Measured Mile technique to evaluate loss of labor productivity, and ultimately published a technical paper on the outcome of their research in ASCE’s Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction.

Josh’s work with Dr. Ibbs inspired him to pursue a master’s degree in engineering project management.  As a graduate student at UC Berkeley, Josh worked as a teaching assistant for a project management class, a role that involved developing and teaching lectures on engineering economics, project finance, and project controls.

Josh’s coursework and research led him to pursue a career in construction litigation.  After finishing his graduate studies in 2018, Josh accepted a job as an associate working for Ankura Consulting (known as Navigant Consulting at the time).  In his capacity as a consultant at Ankura, Josh has worked on a range of projects ranging from heavy civil, to power and gas, to commercial buildings, among others.

With encouragement from Ankura colleagues and AACE members, Josh joined the San Francisco Bay Area Section of AACE to network with professionals in project controls and other construction engineering-related industries.  After joining, he regularly attended monthly meetings and presentations hosted by AACE throughout the Bay Area.  Josh attended his first AACE International Conference & Expo in New Orleans in 2019, during which he presented a technical white paper he co-authored on the topic of concurrent delays in construction, titled “Concurrency and Pacing – Does Intent Matter?”

Josh values his experience at the 2019 AACE conference for many reasons, including that it was the last in-person AACE conference prior to Covid-19.  He highly recommends young professionals try to attend an annual AACE conference, as it is an excellent opportunity for both learning and networking.  In 2019, Josh was able to network with AACE colleagues and met other young project controls professionals through the Young Professionals Committee.

After returning from the 2019 AACE conference, Josh went on to serve on the board of the San Francisco Bay Area Section of AACE as the treasurer for the 2020 and 2021 calendar years.  In his capacity as treasurer, Josh helped to guide the transition from in-person monthly events to virtual events, along with managing the budget for his section. 

Josh’s advice to the next generation of young professionals working in engineering and project control roles is to embrace the value of networking, both within their own company and the industry more broadly.  For networking within one’s own company, Josh recommends making a concerted effort to develop a relationship with colleagues, such as through coffee chats or lunches, while for industry-wide networking, he recommends joining AACE (or other professional organization) and trying to be as involved as possible.  Finally, Josh believes that young professionals should focus on developing and further improving skills to become a well-rounded professional.  While he acknowledges that the development of technical skills is important in the construction industry, Josh believes that it is also critical to develop leadership skills, including writing and communicating, which are often overlooked in the project controls industry.