Wednesday Welcome Reception

Edward Allen, FAIA

Edward Allen is an architect and teacher who enjoys explaining things through words and drawings: what makes buildings work, what makes buildings habitable and lovable, how architects' design ideas become reality. He has designed more than fifty constructed buildings and is the bestselling coauthor of The Architect's Studio Companion, Architectural Detailing, Form and Forces, and Fundamentals of Buidling Construction, all published by Wiley, and five other books.
He has taught for more than thirty-five years as a faculty member at the University of Oregon, Yale University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and as an invited guest at institutions in the United States, South America, Europe, and Asia. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and the 2005 recipient of the Topaz Medal for Excellence in Architectural Education.

Thursday Luncheon Panel Discussion

Prof. Ilyas Bhatti
Panel Moderator

Bhatti is currently a Douglas C. Elder Endowed Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction & Environment at Wentworth Institute of Technology. He has over 40 years of professional experience in the private, public and academic sectors. Bhatti served as the Commissioner of the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), a predecessor agency to the current Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), from 1989 – 1995 in the Dukakis and Weld administrations. As Commissioner, he was the chief executive officer of an agency with a vast infrastructure of bridges, parkways, dams, water supply reservoirs, recreational facilities, and Boston Harbor Islands. He was also in-charge of the Metropolitan Police – the third largest police force in New England. In 1995 he was appointed by the Governor to oversee the construction of the most complex transportation project in the nation – Boston’s Central Artery/Tunnel (CA/T) project as Associate Project Director. Bhatti was responsible for developing alliances among competing interest groups to resolve project issues successfully. After leaving the state government, Bhatti has continued to assist many public agencies and private sector entities with public participation process management and regulatory compliance. Bhatti has conducted public meetings on numerous highly contentious public projects. These agencies include the MBTA, MDC, DCR, and municipal entities. Bhatti has received several professional and civic awards.
He was the recipient of the Massachusetts Governor’s New American Appreciation Award in 1998. Bhatti is a registered professional engineer, with a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in civil engineering. Bhatti was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering Technology at Wentworth Institute of Technology when he delivered the commencement address in 1993.

Rick Dimino

Richard A. Dimino has served as the President and CEO of A Better City (ABC) since 1995.  Under his leadership ABC has achieved major organizational accomplishments such as helping to keep Boston open for business during the construction of one of the country’s most complex highway projects. Through Mr. Dimino’s guidance, A Better City recently played a key role in shaping Massachusetts’ Transportation Reform Legislation which led to the launching of the new Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).
Mr. Dimino currently serves as Board President for the Boston Harbor Association, Chairman Emeritus of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), is a member of the Freedom Trail Foundation and serves on the Massachusetts Convention Partnership. In addition, he has served as an advisor to numerous cities and agencies around the world regarding urban planning, reconstruction projects, and public/private partneships.
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David Luberoff

David Luberoff is the Executive Director of Harvard University's Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston.  Before joining the Institute, Luberoff was Associate Director of the A. Alfred Taubman Center for State and Local Government at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He is the co-author (with Alan Altshuler) of Mega-Projects: The Changing Politics of Urban Public Investment (Brookings Institution Press, 2003), which was named that year’s best book on urban politics by the American Political Science Association.  The author of many articles on the politics of infrastructure and land-use policies, he also was a columnist on infrastructure issues for Governing magazine, co-editor of The Public’s Capital, a quarterly forum on infrastructure policy that was published in Governing, and editor-in-chief of The Tab, greater Boston’s largest weekly newspaper.
David is a member of the advisory board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s New England Public Policy Center and was a member of the U.S. Comptroller General’s Advisory Board.  He received an M.P.A. from the Kennedy School of Government.

David W. Ryan

Currently, David is the Regional Director for Business Development with The Shaw Group Inc., a provider of premier engineering, design, construction, fabrication and manufacturing services in the infrastructure, energy, chemicals, power, nuclear, environmental and emergency response markets. A Wentworth Institute of Technology graduate, David is a former Assistant General Manager for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) Design and Construction Department and has over 30 years of experience in construction and construction management on major transit projects.
During the Big Dig, David helped craft the “first in the nation” Interagency Agreement among the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Massachusetts Highway Department (now MassDOT) and the MBTA. This was the first time that two federal agencies and two state agencies joined together to integrate the design and construction of two projects into a one construction package and to jointly manage the contracting and oversight responsibilities. This Interagency Agreement involved the construction of the Central Artery Tunnel (CA/T) from Kneeland Street to Congress Street and then construction of the Silver Line tunnel on top of the CA/T. This partnership allowed for significant cost reductions with the joint use of slurry walls, a single traffic management plan, reduced excavation and most importantly reduced impacts to the City of Boston, businesses and commerce. Other Interagency Agreements followed.
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Frank Tramontozzi, PE

As the Chief Engineer of the newly created Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Frank is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Highway Division with approximately 3300 employees, and has oversight responsibility for the maintenance and repair of over 9,500 lane miles of roadway, 5098 bridges including the Zakim Bridge and the Tobin Bridge. Frank has served as Commissioner and Chief Engineer of the Boston Transportation Department. He was Mayor Menino’s advisor on Transportation, served as Chairman of the Air Pollution Control Commission and member of Boston’s Public Improvement Commission and on Boston’s Public Safety Commission. He was the City of Boston’s representative on the MBTA Advisory Board and the Massachusetts Area Planning Council.
Frank is a Registered Professional Engineer and Licensed Construction Supervisor. He is a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers and is a Fellow and Past President of the New England Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. He has represented Massachusetts on the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for over 20 years and has served on several National Cooperative Highway Research Program and Transit Cooperative Research Program panels at the National Academies in Washington, DC.
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Friday Luncheon Keynote Speaker

Michael Dukakis

Former Governor Dukakis is currently a professor of political science at Northeastern University in Massachusetts, visiting professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University, and visiting professor in the Department of Public Policy at the School of Public Affairs at UCLA. In November 2008, Northeastern named its new Center for Urban and Regional Policy after Michael Dukakis and his wife Kitty.
Prof. Dukakis also has taken a strong role in advocating for effective public transportation and high speed rail as a solution to automobile congestion and the lack of space at airports. He has recently been an advocate for the extended learning time initiative in public schools. He remains active in politics and is very supportive of the construction industry as an economic engine to stimulate jobs

Friday Gala Dinner Keynote Speaker

Frederick A. Laskey

Since June of 2001, Frederick A. Laskey has served as the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, which provides the wholesale water and sewer transport and treatment services for 2.5 million people in 61 communities in eastern and central Massachusetts.
Before joining MWRA, Mr. Laskey served as Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue from 1999 to 2001, managing the state’s tax administration, child support enforcement and local services for the Commonwealth.  He served as Secretary of Administration and Finance from 1998 to 1999.  As Secretary, he was the Governor’s chief fiscal advisor and had oversight of the $20 billion state budget and managed the Cabinet Secretariat that oversees the entire state workforce.  Before joining the Cabinet, Mr. Laskey served as Senior Deputy Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue from 1994 to 1998.  He also was designated by the Commissioner to serve on the Board of Bank Incorporation.  Mr. Laskey also served as Assistant Secretary in the Executive Office for Administration and Finance from 1993 to 1994.
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Greg Bialecki

Secretary Greg Bialecki oversees the Commonwealth’s business development, housing & community development, and consumer affairs & business regulations undersecretariats. As Governor Patrick’s chief housing and economic development advisor and cabinet member, Secretary Bialecki has oversight of fourteen state agencies.

Prior to his appointment as Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, Bialecki served as the Undersecretary of Business Development. He also leads the Governor’s Development Cabinet, which improves coordination across several Cabinet Secretariats involved in high level initiatives geared towards strengthening the Commonwealth’s economic position.

He has been the architect of the Patrick-Murray Administration’s Growth Districts Initiative, oversaw the implementation of the Massachusetts Opportunity Relocation & Expansion (MORE) Jobs capital program, and created an “Industry of the Month” series to strengthen relationships with key economic drivers in the state. Secretary Bialecki also served as the Commonwealth’s first Permitting Ombudsman in which he executed the Chapter 43D Expedited Permitting Program and chaired the Interagency Permitting Board.

Before joining the Patrick-Murray Administration, Bialecki enjoyed a twenty year career as a real estate development and environmental lawyer at the law firms of Hill & Barlow and DLA Piper Rudnick, where his work focused on the major urban redevelopment projects in the Greater Boston area. He also worked extensively with public agencies, non-profit organizations and private landowners on land conservation and open space protection matters throughout the Commonwealth. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.