As varied as their backstories and accomplishments are, these 25 Newsmakers are united in their efforts to make the industry—and their communities—better places to live and work. Read their stories here and meet them in person at ENR’s Award of Excellence gala on April 13 at Pier 60 in New York City.
The sudden collapse of Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge early on Jan. 28, 2022, gained national attention, occurring the same day as a pre-planned visit to the city by President Joe Biden and just weeks after Congress passed the $1.2-trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, in part to restore the safety and integrity of aging U.S. transportation systems.
Team player Kevin Antonelli went from bidder on Google’s Bay View Campus in Mountain View, Calif., in its first iteration a decade ago to later becoming the revamped project’s biggest cheerleader from the owner’s side, helping to successfully and safely complete its ultra-sustainable, complex structures.
Mario Rodriguez likes to talk about the word “sawubona”—the Zulu greeting that translates to “I see you.” Engineers, he asserts, just want to be seen for the good work they do.
While working for former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh on a high school redesign project, Sarah Cherry Rice was part of a team that listened to approximately 2,000 people across the city, including students who wanted to graduate with real work experiences and no-cost college credits.
When the project team for TSX Broadway—a partial demolition and significant renovation and rebuild of a theater district tower in New York City—wanted to perform a truly challenging feat of engineering, it called in Tony Mazzo at Urban Foundation/Engineering. Project developer L&L Holdings had a vision for the 110-year-old landmark Palace Theater that required it to be elevated 30 ft within the renovated tower’s footprint to create space for new street-level retail.
James Litwin, vice president of construction at developer Harbor Bay Real Estate Advisors, was intrigued by the possibilities of mass timber construction for residential and mixed use because of his background as a carpenter before he became a development executive.