Jeff Connell is the Associate Vice President of Capital Planning, Facilities, and Construction at Long Beach City College (LBCC), where he leads strategic planning, capital construction, facilities operations, and infrastructure development to support the college's long-term growth and sustainability. With extensive leadership experience in higher education, K–12 education, government, and environmental management, Jeff previously served as Chief Operations Officer for Poudre School District and Executive Director of Facilities, Operations, and Transportation for Robbinsdale Area Schools. He also spent 20 years with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, specializing in environmental compliance, regulatory enforcement, and sustainability, while earning a law degree to strengthen his expertise in environmental policy and regulatory compliance. Recognized for his strategic, forward-thinking leadership, Jeff is committed to operational excellence, sustainable campus development, and creating facilities that support student success and institutional goals.

Vincent Polhemus is Senior Business Development Manager at Clark Pacific, a leading design-

manufacturer-builder of prefabricated building systems. Vincent’s experience in prefabricated building

systems spans 20 years in Southern California and includes unitized curtainwalls, window walls,

aluminum panels systems, architectural precast concrete, thin-shell concrete and GFRC. Starting as a

project manager for a glazing contractor, Vincent moved to Preconstruction in 2016, and has worked on

award winning projects throughout California, including the California New Natural Resources Building

in Sacramento, 510 S Vermont in Los Angeles and One Westside in Los Angeles.

As executive vice president of the West region at Shawmut Design and Construction, a leading $2 billion national construction management firm, Skalaski sets the strategy to ensure continued growth, executional excellence, and technical expertise. Under his leadership, the region—including the LA, Irvine, and Las Vegas offices—builds some of the most complex, iconic, and innovative spaces in the ground-up commercial, hospitality, education, life science, sports venues, and retail sectors. With 25 years of experience in the construction industry, Skalaski’s previous roles include vice president and director of operations, managing teams nationwide. He is a member of the Los Angeles Advisory Board for The Posse Foundation, on the ULI LA Leadership Council, and is an active member of LAEDC and LABC.

Albert M. Giacomazzi is the President and CEO of AMG & Associates, Inc. He has 47 years of experience in the construction industry and 40 years of Executive Management experience. He has been responsible for the completion of over $2 billion in construction projects with numerous school districts, various state, county, city, and local agencies, the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NASA, several fire stations, as well as non-profit and private organizations. Albert’s experience includes design-build, progressive design-build, design-bid-build projects, preconstruction services, lease leaseback services, as well as numerous DSA and K-12 projects on active campuses throughout California.

Ileana Holguin is the Executive Director of Operations for The PENTA Building Group, where she leads complex construction projects throughout Southern California across the higher education, healthcare, civic, and public works sectors. With more than 27 years of industry experience, she is recognized for delivering successful projects while building strong partnerships with clients, design teams, trade partners, and project staff.

Ileana provides executive oversight from preconstruction through completion, leading teams through collaborative delivery methods including Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR), Design-Build, and Progressive Design-Build. She is known for aligning project goals, budgets, schedules, and stakeholder expectations to drive successful outcomes.

In addition to project leadership, Ileana plays an active role in business development, strategic planning, and client engagement. She works closely with public agencies, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, and community stakeholders to develop solutions that create lasting value for the communities they serve.

A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Ileana has dedicated her career to mentoring emerging professionals and creating opportunities for women and minorities in construction. She has served on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Los Angeles Chapter, is an active member of the Construction Management Association of America and is a founding member of the Women Working Together (WWT) network.

Known for her collaborative leadership style and commitment to excellence, Ileana is dedicated to developing strong teams, investing in people, and helping shape the future of the construction industry.

Dr. Keith Curry is the President of Compton College and CEO of the Compton Community College District. Dr. Curry is responsible for overseeing all departments and functions of Compton College and the District and serves as secretary for the CCCD Board of Trustees. He brings an abundance of energy and innovative ideas to Compton College, along with a wealth of experience as a postsecondary education administrator.

Dr. Curry co-founded and chairs Black Student Success Week. He currently serves as chair of both the National Panel on Black Student Enrollment and the Black Student Enrollment Expert Advisory Committee. He was a member of the California Alliance for Open Education Steering Committee and the University of Southern California Racial Equity in Guided Pathways Commission Task Force.

His recent honors include 2024 Diverse Issues in Higher Education – Diverse

Champion Award. Dr. Curry earned his doctorate in educational leadership from the University of California, Irvine, and a bachelor’s degree in American studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Senior Vice President-Development, Student Living with The Michaels Organization (Michaels), leading the company’s public-private partnerships with higher education institutions in California, by bringing nearly 20 years of real estate development and finance experience including the development of large-scale housing and dining facilities that utilized public-private partnership (P3) delivery models. In addition to delivering P3 real estatement development projects on-campus, Raoul is the company's leader for off-campus student housing development in California.

As the Director of Construction at San Diego State University, Ms. Scheidlinger is

responsible for general supervision and coordination of design and construction for major

capital projects across the San Diego State University campus.

Currently with over $1.3B in design and construction, all using the Collaborative Design Build

method, Ms. Scheidlinger manages the program & project development, regulatory

compliance, and budget management for dozens of projects of all sizes & complexities.

Some of the larger projects she is currently overseeing include a $150M Life Sciences

Building, a $80M STEM Building, and a $700M+ student housing portfolio.

Prior to coming to San Diego State University in 2015, Ms. Scheidlinger worked as a licensed

Architect for over ten years, designing higher education, civic & K12 projects across

California and Nevada.

Monika Iannone is a Project Executive with Swinerton Builders, where she leads the planning and delivery of complex student housing and campus infrastructure programs in San Diego. Drawing on her experience as a builder, she offers practical insight into the future of student housing, including campus modernization, delivery strategies, and how residential communities are evolving to meet students’ changing needs.

Kim Patten, AIA, is a Partner and Higher Education Practice Leader at Steinberg Hart, where she leads the firm’s higher education practice nationally. With particular expertise in student housing, Kim is currently involved in the planning and design of more than 11,000 beds, including two of the country’s largest student housing projects. Steinberg Hart was recently ranked in the top 5 student housing architecture firms in the nation. Kim works with colleges and universities to create environments that build community, support student success, and respond to the evolving expectations of today’s students.

Amy is the Director of Education for Suffolk’s West region, leading education market strategy, client engagement, and long-term growth across K–12 and higher education. She partners directly with Owners and stakeholders to understand project goals, funding constraints, and campus priorities, translating those needs into effective project strategies. She builds long-term, trust-based relationships with institutional clients and industry partners that drive repeat engagement and strong partnerships. She collaborates closely with preconstruction and operations teams to support early planning, risk mitigation, and value optimization, bringing deep market insight to help deliver predictable outcomes for education clients.

Parker Champion is the Chief Operating Officer and a Partner at Champion Real Estate Company. Los Angeles-based Champion Real Estate Company was founded in 1987 and has consistently achieved annual above-market returns by identifying and maximizing niche opportunities before its competitors. Parker runs the daily operations while heading Champion’s high yield and value add cash flow investment activities. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Policy, Planning and Development and a Master in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California. He is a licensed California Real Estate Broker and a member of the National Multi-family Housing Council and the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Christopher Vargas is the Senior Vice President of Enterprise Sales & Marketing at Ideal Living, where he leads go-to-market strategy, enterprise revenue growth, and national expansion for the company’s commercial business. He oversees the scaling of a direct sales organization and drives the adoption of Ideal Living’s core product portfolio, including AquaTru Pro water purification products and AirDoctor professional-grade air purification solutions, across key verticals such as multifamily, hospitality, health & fitness, healthcare, and education.

Chris is focused on delivering high-performance, health-focused infrastructure solutions that improve indoor environments while creating long-term value for property owners, operators, and enterprise partners.

Prior to joining Ideal Living, Chris served as Executive Vice President of Business Development at Chargie, where he led the expansion of intelligent EV charging solutions for multifamily and commercial real estate portfolios nationwide. He has a proven track record of bringing innovative technologies to market and scaling solutions that drive operational efficiency and asset value for real estate owners, managers, and investors.

Earlier in his career, Chris was Director of Business Development at Boingo Wireless, a leading provider of 5G and wireless infrastructure solutions. He has also held leadership roles at Verizon Enhanced Communities, Hughes Communications, rent.com, Global Enterprise Resource Group, and CU Solutions Group. Chris began his career as one of the first five employees at DirecTV.