Ballinger Presents at COAA Connect

What matters most on a given project and how will success be defined? Even talented and well-meaning project teams can falter when these sorts of questions are not clearly answered up front. One proven best practice for codifying these answers and other project-specific information – both technical and cultural – is to create a project charter. Ballinger Associate Principal Jason Ciotti-Niebish, AIA, LEED GA joined Paul O’Keef of Virginia Tech, and Dade Van Der Werf and Kim Smith of VMDO to present why charters are often behind the most successful projects. Their talk took place at the COAA Connect Spring 2025 conference in Pittsburgh in May.

The conference also featured a panel discussion on the importance of mentoring. Ballinger Principal Angela M. Fante, PE, LEED AP joined fellow panelists Jimmy Patel of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, Mark Guida of the State of Pennsylvania DGS, and Gus Maimis of STV Construction to discuss mentoring’s impact on retaining talent and nurturing future leaders. The panel illustrated a variety of perspectives and engaged audience members in a “rapid fire” format.

COAA Connect is hosted by the Construction Owners Association of America (COAA), a national organization that supports success in the design and construction of buildings and facilities through education, information, and collaboration.