Advisory Board

Sam Tabuchi is the Director of Public Private Partnerships for the Toyo University Graduate School of Business in Tokyo, Japan. Professor Tabuchi has over three decades of expertise in the field and conducts evaluations of PPP efforts to improve local government worldwide.

Kristin Johnson is a Civil and Environmental Engineer from Lehigh University. Following Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, she worked for the Army Corps of Engineers in design, construction and emergency operations. She is an experienced project manager, planner and engineer with a demonstrated history in the civil engineering industry. Kristin is skilled in construction management, water resource management, hydrology, environmental engineering, and grant management. Kristin has also served in the non-profit sector managing residential rebuilding in Baton Rouge and has engineered systems in Indonesia and Honduras improving access to clean water.

Ziad Hayek has held senior leadership positions in investment banking, multilateral development banks, and public private partnership administration worldwide. A citizen of the U.S., U.K. and native of Lebanon, Ziad speaks 7 languages and is known for his leadership in organizations around the world.

Calandra Cruickshank is the founder and CEO of StateBook International and Co-Founder of Viral Insights. Passionate about data, Calandra is one of the leading technology innovators in economic market data analytics and advises proptech, fintech and govtech firms on how normalized public and private data can be integrated with their proprietary data and applications to derive deeper and more meaningful insights for their businesses and customers. Calandra also works with real estate developers to determine which markets indicate the best opportunities for investment and supports companies expanding and relocating with data-driven risk analysis, labor assessments, and more. As an Advisory Board member of Women in PropTech in New York, Calandra advocates increased adoption of innovative and disruptive technologies in real estate and is dedicated to promoting thought leadership, tackling diversity, and empowering women in the industry.

Laura Olson designs solutions to disaster risk reduction and recovery dilemmas for organizations including UNDP’s Regional Crisis Prevention and Recovery (RCPR) team, and the United Nations University and Munich Re Foundation. Domestically, she designs community-based recovery strategies and processes for FEMA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She works with practitioner networks using vulnerability, risk, and social resilience models to develop community-based approaches to disaster management. Laura Olson holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration from George Washington University.

US and Mexico highly experience (30 years) Infrastructure Senior Project Manager Chartered Civil Engineer and PPP consultant expert experienced Transportation professional with a demonstrated history of working in the government transportation industry. Skilled in construction contract management, dispute resolution, transportation asset management, transportation funding, and strategic planning. Participation as a consultant with the largest comprehensive road rehabilitation pavement project (PIRE) for the City of Tijuana, this project will enhance the local infrastructure and urban image, improve mobility and air quality PECG (Professional Engineers California Government) Committee Chair: Science Fair, Political Action, President of PECG San Diego Section. MEX/USA, San Diego County Engineering Council Board member. Binational Committee Liaison & Infrastructure-Economic Development Committee chairman of Civil Engineers Society of Tijuana. Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI), Mexico representative for FEMCIC.

Rodolfo has a Master degree in Marketing from CETYS University in Mexico, he graduated from The Economic Development Institute of the University Of Oklahoma and from the ESADE (Barcelona, Spain ) Small business development program as well as the Lean Launchpad Educators Program at Columbia University. He is the Author of “Emprende en Mexico” Methodology and Book that adapts Lean Startup for the Mexican an Latin Countries. 28 Years Actively Participating in International Marketing and Economic Development activities. Involved in projects where over $1.5 Billion dollars have been invested in Mexico. His last projects have been related to resilience and economic reactivation in communities that have suffered economic downturns. He is founder of the CETYS University/University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute (EDI) and has served as assistant Dean.

Founder and CEO of Smika Strategy LLC. Entrepreneurial leader focused on startup growth within the digital marketing, gig economy, staffing, and non-profit sectors. Prior to starting a consulting business in New Orleans, spent 20+ years leading sales, operations, and product teams for technology firms and nonprofit organizations. Core areas of expertise are launching new markets, businesses, and initiatives for new and established companies, building client partnerships, scaling teams, and delivering multimillion-dollar bottom line growth.

Bryant’s leadership in economic development spans thirty-five years, including executive positions at Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce (Louisiana), St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association (Missouri), and Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (Pennsylvania). Bryant quickly became one of the nation’s most sought-after economic developers, piquing the interests of Charlotte business leaders, who hired him to lead Charlotte Regional Partnership in 2005. He served as their President for 13 years before launching his consulting firm in 2017, specializing in executive coaching, organizational management, and board development and training for top-level corporate and not-for-profit managers. Additionally, Bryant is a past chairman for International Economic Development Council and a member of Southern Economic Developers Council, among other associations. He is a former dean and a faculty member for University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute as well as an adjunct professor for University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Bill Bersing is an accomplished Senior Executive with more than 25 years of success across the energy, engineering, construction, security, IT, and government sectors. Dr. Bersing has held leadership positions at companies including the Institute for Program Solutions PC (IPS), Louis Berger, and Jacobs Engineering. As President of IPS since 2011, he oversees Construction Management and Engineering throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME) to the U.S. DoD, Department of State and several large corporations. Projects have included writing and assisting negotiations for a $750M (PPP) contract between the U.S. government and Dubai Port World.

Kiran is a mechanical engineer with an MBA and 20 years of experience in infrastructure finance, PPP and policy. His focus for several years has been dedicated to impact investments. Kiran wider industry experience across different infrastructure projects is paramount to addressing implementation challenges. Kiran is currently working at the intersection of PPP and Impact Investing.

With over 30 years of experience in public-private partnerships, alternative revenue generation, and project management, Richard is co-founder of Resilience Innovation Hub, a platform that connects and supports innovators, investors, and stakeholders in the field of resilience and pre-disaster risk mitigation.

Richard’s mission is to catalyze and accelerate the adoption of innovative technologies, integrated solutions, and alternative resources that address persistent threats and challenges in communities and industries, such as drought, flood, fire, earthquake, cyber security, and critical infrastructure.

Doreen Wong

Vice President of Robinson Global Management Inc. (RGM)

Ms. Wong is the Vice President of Robinson Global Management Inc. (RGM), a company focused on procurement consulting and training for both public and private sectors. She is recognized for her expertise in Canadian public sector procurement, infrastructure, IT, and public-private partnerships (P3/PPP). Her experience includes leading procurement projects, providing advisory services, and developing and delivering training programs. Additionally, she has served as the Vice President of Project Procurement at Infrastructure Ontario, overseeing procurement for P3/PPP projects, including infrastructure developments in housing, justice, technology, energy, transit, and healthcare, with projects valued up to $2B CAD. Ms. Wong has over 30 years of experience in business and legal fields, contributing to RGM’s recognition in supplier diversity and leadership. RGM is noted for its comprehensive services in procurement, sourcing, contract management, and vendor management, primarily aimed at enhancing public sector processes and supporting private sector procurement initiatives.

Advisory Board

Sam Tabuchi

Kristin Johnson

Ziad Hayek

Calandra Cruickshank

Dr. Laura Olson

Oscar A. Cortes

Rodolfo Andrade

Kim Smith

Ronnie Bryant, CecD/FM/HLM

Dr. William (Bill) Bersing, DM, PE, CCM

Kiran Mali

Richard Seline

Doreen Wong

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