4
ON THE MOVE JAY GAUDLITZ JOINS STANTEC TO LEAD AND GROW FEDERAL PROGRAMS ACROSS CALIFORNIA, HAWAII, AND THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION Jay Gaudlitz, PG, PMP, CCM, joined Stantec – a global AEC firm – as senior principal leading the federal program across California, Hawaii, and the Asia Pacific region. Gaudlitz will work from Stantec’s Honolulu office to provide regional leadership and support for critical Federal programs, while strengthening the firm’s relationships with federal clients. Gaudlitz has decades of experience as a results-oriented team builder with proven success winning and delivering projects and programs in the military construction, environmental, major capital improvements, civil works, and oil and gas market sectors in the U.S., Asia Pacific, and Middle East. This hire – along with the recent additions of Michelle French and Tony Pregel – enhances Stantec’s core U.S. federal team with a deep knowledge of the federal market while supporting unprecedented growth.
Throughout his 30-plus year career, Gaudlitz has helped win and successfully deliver hundreds of consulting, design, and construction contracts through strong client relationships built on trust and respect with U.S. government clients. Prior tohis roleat Stantec, he servedasprogram director for $2 billion of new construction at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia; assistant program manager, Vertical Facilities, for the $11 billion relocation program of U.S. Force Korea in the Republic of Korea; and Federal Sales and Operations manager – delivering environmental, design, and construction services – to the U.S. Department of Defense in the Asia Pacific Region for a global engineering firm. “Jay brings an impressive skill set and deep knowledge of the federal market to our growing U.S. team,” said Chris Williams, senior vice president for Stantec’s U.S. federal program. “His extensive local experience on the Islands, coupled with his track record of proven
success delivering large scale, complex federal programs globally will be a huge asset to our team. I’m thrilled to welcome him to Stantec as we look to deepen our strong relationships with federal clients across California, Hawaii, and the Asia Pacific region.” Gaudlitz graduated from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, with a bachelor’s degree in geology before continuing his executive management training at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Stantec always designs with community in mind. The firm cares about the communities it serves. This allows Stantec to assess what’s needed and connect expertise, to appreciate nuances and envision what’s never been considered, to bring together diverse perspectives so the firm can collaborate toward a shared success. At Stantec, sesigners, engineers, scientists, and project managers innovate together at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships.
GREG KANZ & SARIKA BHAKTA, from page 3
the hour-long service compared to the three-hour Baptist experience.) This is an experience that changed our own perspective and understanding of what worship could be. Shive-Hattery experienced the benefits of varied voices with a Future Trends Taskforce. This diverse team of employees of varying ages, professional backgrounds, and perspectives consider big questions about the future. Through research and dialog, this group offered a fresh perspective for ways forward, especially in terms of design technology and innovation. MAKING IT STRATEGIC. For your organization’s journey, an EDI&E strategic plan is a crucial roadmap which proactively and intentionally guides you to truly drive innovation. First, conduct an EDI&E cultural assessment which helps to diagnose where your organization currently stands. This will dictate what initiatives must be prioritized in your strategic plan while establishing a baseline to gauge and monitor progress moving forward. Secondly, ensure your EDI&E strategic plan is tied to your organization’s overarching strategic plan. This will reflect leadership’s commitment in making this a priority while ensuring it gets the support, funding, and resources to successfully embed it organization-wide. Lastly, apply EDI&E to business metrics. This is essential to building a high performing organization. Make the business case for your initiatives by measuring continuous cultural change with regular employee engagement feedback, accountability of performance, and impact on quality and the client experience. Stories are the best evidence of progress. Be sure to share yours. GREG KANZ is marketing director for Shive-Hattery, a 425-person architecture and engineering firm. SARIKA BHAKTA is president of Nikeya Diversity Consulting LLC. Contact them at gregkanz@shive- hattery.com and sbhakta@nikeyadiversity.com.
ACQUIRED DIVERSITY. There are a myriad of ways to make equity, diversity, inclusion, and engagement intentional. Where do you start? Take a step back and understand this is a journey with no end point. Bhakta says you, as an individual, are on a journey, along with your organization and your community. “This takes time, but with strategic intent you can create culture change for your organization and community,” she says. “For your organization’s journey, an equity, diversity, inclusion, and engagement strategic plan is a crucial roadmap which proactively and intentionally guides you to truly drive innovation.” One of the most interesting concepts shared in Nikeya Diversity Consulting training is acquired diversity. Beyond inherent diversity – like age, nationality, and race – there is an opportunity to “acquire diversity,” traits gained from experience and exposure to differences to enhance cultural competency. Examples include working with an overseas team, a millennial volunteering at a senior citizens center, or engaging in a robust religious study for a different faith than yours. My favorite experience with enhancing cultural competency was taking a First Presbyterian youth group to a Mount Zion Baptist Church service. The “Frozen Chosen” as we are sometimes known for our somewhat reserved nature, loved the emotional worship experience with its full gospel band and rousing sermon. (The kids still prefer
© Copyright 2020. Zweig Group. All rights reserved.
THE ZWEIG LETTER NOVEMBER 9, 2020, ISSUE 1367
Made with FlippingBook Annual report