Construction Day 2021:
Builders | Owners | Utilities | Government
Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Event: 1:00pm – 3:00pm PST
PRIZE GIVEAWAYS
Private 1:1 Matchmaking
Held via
Meeting
Headline Sponsor
Augustin Chamorro serves as Vice President and project executive for Pribuss Engineering, Inc. He is responsible for project staffing, project controls, pre-construction efforts, corporate EH&S and labor relations. In addition, promoting strong company culture and project alignment with company goals. Augustin’s experience in the mechanical range from new construction, seismic retrofit, critical facilities, life science and tenant improvement projects. Augustin is involved in day to day as project management, providing guidance to project teams and management support. Additionally, he provides effective communication with all project stakeholders, and work to integrate client goals with project operations.
Paul Klemish is a singular force in the construction industry. His expertise lies in Preconstruction and Integrated Project Delivery, where he leads highly collaborative project teams and develops conceptual costing for large, complex projects. Over his 30-year career, Paul has done it all. He has served as Project Director, Senior Preconstruction Estimator, Owner’s Project Manager, Construction Project Manager, and Superintendent. In his current role, Paul leads teams to establish the right culture and appropriate targets, drives all cost activities, and develops reliable, durable budgets our customers can count on. His projects routinely complete on schedule and at- or under-budget.
Boss Oroke is the owner of BB Mechanical LLC and was licensed in Nevada in April 2014. BB Mechanical LLC is a local HVAC/R and Plumbing Contractor in Las Vegas. The company was founded on the principle of providing exceptional service and value to their clients. Boss is a graduate of the MGM Resorts Supplier Diversity Mentorship Program. He received WRMSDC's Supplier of The Year (Class 1)- 2018, as well as SBA's Nevada Minority Owned Small Business of the Year- 2019. Boss is also the only minority union mechanical (HVAC) contracting company in Las Vegas.
Melvin Green, Principal of KME Architects, has been designing projects for over 40 years. He has a vast amount of international experience and can seek licensure in over 18 participating countries. He has worked for leading companies in the Defense Contracting field for the Stealth Fighter Program at the Tonopah Test Range. He is a member of various organizations including the Western Regional Minority Supplier Development Council and the American Institute of Architects. In 2016, he received the Mayor’s Urban Design Award and won the 2018 National APWA Project of the Year award for the Historic Westside School.
Miquel “Mick” Penn works for Swinerton Builders as the Northern California Regional Community Relations Liaison. Mr. Penn spearheads Swinerton’s workforce development, small, diverse, veteran business outreach and community engagement in Northern California. Mr. Penn currently serves on the board of directors for the National Association of Minority Contractors – Nor Cal, Cypress Mandela Training Center, Mission Hiring Hall and City of Richmond Workforce Development Board. Mr. Penn has a BA from San Francisco State and a Master of Public Administration from University of San Francisco where he focused on intersectoral leadership.
Jermaine Carter-Gibson currently serves as an Outreach Liaison and SB/SB-PW/DVBE Advocate with the California Department of General Services, Procurement Division, Certification and Outreach Branch. In this role, he educates business owners about the benefits and opportunities of pursuing a Small Business (SB) certification, Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) certification, and contracts with the State of California.
John Wesley White is the Chief Procurement Officer for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in San Jose, CA. With over 30+ of diverse public and private sector experience, he is responsible for Capital Construction & Professional Services Contacts, Contract Compliance, Procurement, Business Diversity Programs, and Materials Management activities supporting Light Rail, Bus and Paratransit Services and construction of highway projects across the county.
Amber Hallowell is a Senior Strategic Sourcing Manager with CBRE Global Workplace Solutions (“GWS”) in the Americas on the MUFG account. Her CBRE experience is extensive with 3 retail banking clients. Amber brings a world of knowledge about the industry and is able to leverage long term vendor relationship over her 6.5 year span with CBRE.
Senior Construction Project Manager - With over 15 years of project management experience, Luly oversees construction projects at the Federal Reserve Bank’s 12th District and is based out of the San Francisco head office. At the Bank, she manages multiple office interior and some infrastructure improvements from the initial project discovery phase through close-out, including extensive constructability studies of complex/multi-phased redesigns. Before joining the Bank in 2016, Luly played a similar consulting role for a variety of clients and project types in the real estate and building management sector.
Donna Ruff joined the Corporate Social Responsibility team, managing Supplier Diversity & Development at MUFG, Union Bank N.A. in 2018. The MUFG Union Bank, N.A. Office of Supplier Diversity and Development is committed to promoting economic vitality in the communities they serve and increasing the number of diverse business enterprises from which they purchase goods and services. Donna thrives to help diverse businesses do business with the bank and brings the necessary expertise to continue building on strong and sustainable supplier diversity initiatives
Uzoma Ehiemere (“Uzi”) is the Director of Development Contracts Administration with Las Vegas Sands Corporation. He is responsible for accuracy, quality and promptness of the entire bid process which includes vetting of prospective suppliers (design and construction), putting together bid documents , negotiation and contract execution associated with development scopes of work. He has been with Las Vegas Sands Corporation for 5 years.
Brian Newman is a Senior Associate Vice Chancellor and Vice President at the University of California San Francisco where he leads UCSF Real Estate and provides executive-level strategy and oversight of campus planning, real estate transactions, lease portfolio management, the campus architect, building permits and inspections, and design and construction for UCSF, including both the University and UCSF Health.
Tim is responsible for developing, maintaining and administering San Jose Water’s Utility Supplier Diversity Program (USDP) and supports San Jose Water Group (SJW Group) Supplier Diversity Programs in Connecticut, Maine and Texas. Tim was the President of Silicon Valley’s Industry Council for Small Business Development (ICSBD) from 2016 to 2019. Tim has also served on the Institute of Supply Management’s (ISM) Diversity Committee, the Disabled Veteran Business Alliance Advisory Council and the National Utility Diversity Council’s (NUDC) Advisory Committee.
Jerilyn Gleaves leads Supply Chain Responsibility for Pacific Gas and Electric Company. In her role as Senior Manager, she is responsible for developing strategies to increase spending with women-, minority-, service-disabled veteran, and LGBT-owned companies and promoting a supply chain that is sustainable and ethical. She is charged with building relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, as well as with prime and diverse suppliers to foster business opportunities.
Greg Heiman is the Assistant Manager of Facilities and Horticulture Sourcing at MGM Resorts International. He manages strategic sourcing efforts for MGM’s hotels & casinos in Nevada, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. Greg is responsible for contracting MRO services, ensuring compliance to corporate initiatives, and supporting capital expenditures and tenant improvement. Greg served in the United Stated Air Force and holds a bachelor’s degree in finance.
Cassandra leads the Vendor Diversity program for Skanska in California and Arizona. Her background in communication teamed with technical field experience has allowed her to seamlessly integrate a variety of businesses and third parties with major construction projects. Skanska is a world leading project development and construction group, building for a better society. Skanska focuses on building strong working relationships that positively impact local trades, subcontractors, suppliers and communities for years to come.
Event: 1:00pm – 3:00pm PST
Construction Day 2021 will include a panel discussion on tips, tricks, & best practices when doing business with corporates, along with success storytelling from large, medium, and small diverse business representatives. Corporate Builders, Owners, Utilities, and Government reps will provide upcoming opportunities to an audience of diverse suppliers and other members from the general public. Throughout the event, diverse suppliers will be presented with WRMSDC Trivia questions, for a chance to win one of the following prizes:
PRIZE GIVEAWAYS - (2) Lucky Diverse Suppliers will receive:
- *One Year Certification Fee Scholarship *(for first time MBE)
- A new 2021 WRMSDC Certification (for non-certified MBEs)
- (1) Lucky Diverse Supplier will receive a 1-year Membership to the Construction Resource Center (CRC). Visit: www.constructionresourcecenter.org/ to learn more.
Private 1:1 Matchmaking
Part of the WRMSDC Construction Day 2021 Event
Held via
MeetingHeadline Sponsor 
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The 2/24 Construction Day Event has ended
Agenda
| TIME | ACTIVITY |
| 1:00 PM | Event Begins |
| 1:02 PM | Welcome & Intro |
| 1:08 PM | Headline Sponsor Speech
|
| 1:14 PM | Open Doors Sponsor Speech |
| 1:20 PM | Panel Discussion |
| 1:43 PM | Panel Sponsor Speech |
| 1:48 PM |  Matchmaking Waiting Room Sponsor Speech |
| 1:53 PM |  Ally Sponsor Speech |
| 1:58 PM | Speech |
| 2:02 PM | Q&A Session |
| 2:13 PM |  Speech |
| 2:18 PM | Make a Difference Sponsor Speech |
| 2:23 PM | Speech |
| 2:30 PM | Speech
|
| 2:35 PM | Event Sponsor Speech
|
| 2:40 PM | MBE Success Story Sponsor Speech
|
| 2:44 PM | Q&A Session |
| 3:00 PM | Event Ends |
If you would like to become a 2021 Event Sponsor or make a Donation, Click here
Panel Discussion: Success Stories, Tips, Tricks, & Best Practices 🏆
⭐ Panel Moderator: Cecil Plummer, President & CEO, WRMSDC
Augustin Chamorro
Vice President & Project ExecutiveAugustin Chamorro serves as Vice President and project executive for Pribuss Engineering, Inc. He is responsible for project staffing, project controls, pre-construction efforts, corporate EH&S and labor relations. In addition, promoting strong company culture and project alignment with company goals. Augustin’s experience in the mechanical range from new construction, seismic retrofit, critical facilities, life science and tenant improvement projects. Augustin is involved in day to day as project management, providing guidance to project teams and management support. Additionally, he provides effective communication with all project stakeholders, and work to integrate client goals with project operations.
Paul Klemish
Project Executive / Knowledge Area Leader of PreconstructionPaul Klemish is a singular force in the construction industry. His expertise lies in Preconstruction and Integrated Project Delivery, where he leads highly collaborative project teams and develops conceptual costing for large, complex projects. Over his 30-year career, Paul has done it all. He has served as Project Director, Senior Preconstruction Estimator, Owner’s Project Manager, Construction Project Manager, and Superintendent. In his current role, Paul leads teams to establish the right culture and appropriate targets, drives all cost activities, and develops reliable, durable budgets our customers can count on. His projects routinely complete on schedule and at- or under-budget.
Boss Oroke
OwnerBoss Oroke is the owner of BB Mechanical LLC and was licensed in Nevada in April 2014. BB Mechanical LLC is a local HVAC/R and Plumbing Contractor in Las Vegas. The company was founded on the principle of providing exceptional service and value to their clients. Boss is a graduate of the MGM Resorts Supplier Diversity Mentorship Program. He received WRMSDC's Supplier of The Year (Class 1)- 2018, as well as SBA's Nevada Minority Owned Small Business of the Year- 2019. Boss is also the only minority union mechanical (HVAC) contracting company in Las Vegas.
Melvin Green
PrincipalMelvin Green, Principal of KME Architects, has been designing projects for over 40 years. He has a vast amount of international experience and can seek licensure in over 18 participating countries. He has worked for leading companies in the Defense Contracting field for the Stealth Fighter Program at the Tonopah Test Range. He is a member of various organizations including the Western Regional Minority Supplier Development Council and the American Institute of Architects. In 2016, he received the Mayor’s Urban Design Award and won the 2018 National APWA Project of the Year award for the Historic Westside School.
Corporates Opportunity Sharing 🏆
Mick Penn
Community Relations Liaison
Miquel “Mick” Penn works for Swinerton Builders as the Northern California Regional Community Relations Liaison. Mr. Penn spearheads Swinerton’s workforce development, small, diverse, veteran business outreach and community engagement in Northern California. Mr. Penn currently serves on the board of directors for the National Association of Minority Contractors – Nor Cal, Cypress Mandela Training Center, Mission Hiring Hall and City of Richmond Workforce Development Board. Mr. Penn has a BA from San Francisco State and a Master of Public Administration from University of San Francisco where he focused on intersectoral leadership.
Jermaine Carter-Gibson
Business Outreach Liaison, California Department of General Services
Jermaine Carter-Gibson currently serves as an Outreach Liaison and SB/SB-PW/DVBE Advocate with the California Department of General Services, Procurement Division, Certification and Outreach Branch. In this role, he educates business owners about the benefits and opportunities of pursuing a Small Business (SB) certification, Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) certification, and contracts with the State of California.
John Wesley White
Chief Procurement OfficerJohn Wesley White is the Chief Procurement Officer for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in San Jose, CA. With over 30+ of diverse public and private sector experience, he is responsible for Capital Construction & Professional Services Contacts, Contract Compliance, Procurement, Business Diversity Programs, and Materials Management activities supporting Light Rail, Bus and Paratransit Services and construction of highway projects across the county.
Amber Hallowell
Senior Strategic Sourcing ManagerAmber Hallowell is a Senior Strategic Sourcing Manager with CBRE Global Workplace Solutions (“GWS”) in the Americas on the MUFG account. Her CBRE experience is extensive with 3 retail banking clients. Amber brings a world of knowledge about the industry and is able to leverage long term vendor relationship over her 6.5 year span with CBRE.
Luly Leon
Senior Construction Project ManagerSenior Construction Project Manager - With over 15 years of project management experience, Luly oversees construction projects at the Federal Reserve Bank’s 12th District and is based out of the San Francisco head office. At the Bank, she manages multiple office interior and some infrastructure improvements from the initial project discovery phase through close-out, including extensive constructability studies of complex/multi-phased redesigns. Before joining the Bank in 2016, Luly played a similar consulting role for a variety of clients and project types in the real estate and building management sector.
Donna Ruff
Supplier Diversity and Development ManagerDonna Ruff joined the Corporate Social Responsibility team, managing Supplier Diversity & Development at MUFG, Union Bank N.A. in 2018. The MUFG Union Bank, N.A. Office of Supplier Diversity and Development is committed to promoting economic vitality in the communities they serve and increasing the number of diverse business enterprises from which they purchase goods and services. Donna thrives to help diverse businesses do business with the bank and brings the necessary expertise to continue building on strong and sustainable supplier diversity initiatives
Uzoma “Uzi” Ehiemere
Director, Development Contracts Administration
Uzoma Ehiemere (“Uzi”) is the Director of Development Contracts Administration with Las Vegas Sands Corporation. He is responsible for accuracy, quality and promptness of the entire bid process which includes vetting of prospective suppliers (design and construction), putting together bid documents , negotiation and contract execution associated with development scopes of work. He has been with Las Vegas Sands Corporation for 5 years.
Brian Newman
Senior Associate Vice Chancellor and Vice President
Brian Newman is a Senior Associate Vice Chancellor and Vice President at the University of California San Francisco where he leads UCSF Real Estate and provides executive-level strategy and oversight of campus planning, real estate transactions, lease portfolio management, the campus architect, building permits and inspections, and design and construction for UCSF, including both the University and UCSF Health.
Tim McLaughlin
Director of Supplier Diversity
Tim is responsible for developing, maintaining and administering San Jose Water’s Utility Supplier Diversity Program (USDP) and supports San Jose Water Group (SJW Group) Supplier Diversity Programs in Connecticut, Maine and Texas. Tim was the President of Silicon Valley’s Industry Council for Small Business Development (ICSBD) from 2016 to 2019. Tim has also served on the Institute of Supply Management’s (ISM) Diversity Committee, the Disabled Veteran Business Alliance Advisory Council and the National Utility Diversity Council’s (NUDC) Advisory Committee.
Jerilyn Gleaves
Senior Manager, Supply Chain Responsibility
Jerilyn Gleaves leads Supply Chain Responsibility for Pacific Gas and Electric Company. In her role as Senior Manager, she is responsible for developing strategies to increase spending with women-, minority-, service-disabled veteran, and LGBT-owned companies and promoting a supply chain that is sustainable and ethical. She is charged with building relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, as well as with prime and diverse suppliers to foster business opportunities.
Greg Heiman
Assistant Manager, Facilities Sourcing
Greg Heiman is the Assistant Manager of Facilities and Horticulture Sourcing at MGM Resorts International. He manages strategic sourcing efforts for MGM’s hotels & casinos in Nevada, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. Greg is responsible for contracting MRO services, ensuring compliance to corporate initiatives, and supporting capital expenditures and tenant improvement. Greg served in the United Stated Air Force and holds a bachelor’s degree in finance.
Cassandra Manansala
Regional Vendor Diversity Manager
Cassandra leads the Vendor Diversity program for Skanska in California and Arizona. Her background in communication teamed with technical field experience has allowed her to seamlessly integrate a variety of businesses and third parties with major construction projects. Skanska is a world leading project development and construction group, building for a better society. Skanska focuses on building strong working relationships that positively impact local trades, subcontractors, suppliers and communities for years to come.
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