Susan Israel, AIA
Senior Consultant
PSMJ Resources
Susan Israel, AIA
Senior Consultant
PSMJ Resources
Despite the attention on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging, most A/E/C firm executives take a back seat. Even those that appoint a principal to improve representation in the leadership ranks may feel reluctant to position the shift as integral to firm mission and values. Often, it's because they worry about saying the wrong thing, so they walk on eggshells and learn to stay quiet. This is harmful to all of us.
Bobby Bakshi spent almost a decade at Microsoft before leading People & Culture (HR) roles at mid-sized firms. Known for leading with compassion and courage to help people bridge divides, he brings a breadth and depth of experience to this journey of DEI, culture transformation and leadership development, only sharing practices that he has experienced himself.
In this session, you learn how to lead discussions and decisions on DEI without fear of misstep and with a clear plan of action for driving critical change, with A/E/C - specific ways to step into action and ensure all voices are heard.
Susan Israel, AIA
PSMJ Resources
To execute projects and grow your bottom line in a tight labor market, you know how essential it is to recruit and retain the best staff. Unfortunately, many A/E firm leaders overlook three critical and interconnected issues that derail growth: One, they don't prioritize the representation of women in leadership roles, which impacts the recruitment and retention of younger staff members. Secondly, they overlook the impact of toxic individuals on staff, which impacts underrepresented groups. Lastly, a toxic culture undermines efforts toward diversity and inclusion. Using real-world examples, Cynthia Henderson, founder and principal engineer of Cypress Environment & Infrastructure (2022 Inc 5000's #15 fastest-growing engineering firm) shows us how to identify the problems curtailing growth and provides solutions to promote diversity and inclusion. As an engineer with 23 years of leadership experience, Cynthia knows how your firm can attract and retain more women.
When A/E industry veteran Christian Giordano became President of national design firm Mancini Duffy, and then majority owner, he knew that hitting his aggressive growth targets hinged on landing the most innovative talent, and that meant changing the culture to lift traditionally underrepresented employee groups into leadership roles.
In our closing keynote, Christian and Mancini Duffy’s CFO and Co-owner Bolanle Williams-Olley share fascinating examples of intentional actions and tactics the 100+-year-old firm employed to radically realign the C-Suite with expectations of the new workforce, growing from $5 million to $23 million in under 6 years. Their business-focused approach to leadership DEI holds valuable lessons for all A/E/C leaders.