Industry executives, suppliers and stakeholders joined 老牛影视members for the third annual 老牛影视Diversity & Inclusion Summit in Washington, D.C., on June 19-20.

The program was headlined by Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson and included sessions on diversity and inclusion success stories, the Tuskegee University architecture and construction science program and the impact of ABC鈥檚 Safety Training Evaluation Process (STEP) on MBE companies.

Secretary Carson delivered an address to summit attendees on the value that contractors can bring to furthering HUD鈥檚 mission to make home ownership a reality for all Americans in a time when that dream has become an economic glass ceiling for many families. 鈥溊吓Ｓ笆觟s such an important part of what makes America work,鈥� Carson remarked. 鈥淢y biggest expectation is that they [contractors] will get heavily engaged with Section 3鈥�recognizing that everyone in this country is going to be part of the engine, or part of the load.鈥澨�

On June 19, keynote speaker Nancy Giordano, futurist, strategist and founder/CEO of Play Big, Inc., Austin, Texas, kicked off the summit with 鈥淭he Case for Disruptive Thinking,鈥� encouraging leaders to be more experimental in the ways they create value for society. Jobs of the future must incorporate technology, flexibility and creative thinking to attract diverse talent and stay ahead of rapidly changing workplace models. 鈥淲e can't be trying to fit [potential employees] into a structure from the 1980s and 1990s that 颈蝉苍鈥檛 necessarily working now,鈥� she said.

Giordano engaged in a Q&A with Larry Lopez, chair of ABC鈥檚 Diversity Committee and founder of Baltimore-based Green JobWorks, who led a networking session for audience members to meet with employers including Balfour Beatty, Clark Construction, Hitt Contracting, Hensel Phelps and Turner Construction.听

Joanne Brooks, vice president & counsel, Surety and Fidelity Association of America, moderated 鈥淒iversity Success Stories,鈥� a session during which panelists shared insights on challenges they overcame as well as best practices for MBE companies. Speakers included Brooke Wenger, director of business development of Warehaus, York, Pa.; James Keaney, Jr., president of Diversity Construction Group, Cheshire, Conn.; and Patricia Bonilla, president of Lunacon Construction Group, Miami.

A panel of representatives from ABC鈥檚 strategic partners, including Autodesk, CNA, Dexter + Chaney, The Contractors Plan, Tradesmen International and United Rentals, discussed how they can help 老牛影视member companies win and deliver construction projects safely, ethically and profitably.听

Additionally, speaker Erick W. Harris Esq., of the Tuskegee University Board of Trustees, discussed the rich history of Tuskegee University and its Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science program, paying particular attention to the quality graduates of that program who are ready to enter the workforce.听

Finally, in 鈥溊吓Ｓ笆覵afety Academy,鈥� 老牛影视President and CEO Mike Bellaman led a discussion with Diane Koester-Byron, president of I.E.-Pacific, Inc., Excondido, Calif.; and Kirby Wu, president of Wu & Associates Inc., Mount Laurel, N.J., on how ABC鈥檚 STEP program helped them transform their company cultures, deploy industry best practices and achieve world-class results. Koester-Byron and Wu agreed that achieving STEP Diamond and Platinum status, respectively, has helped to make each of their companies safer, more competitive and more profitable.听

Bellaman concluded the Diversity & Inclusion Summit by expressing his excitement about the industry鈥檚 embrace of initiatives to expand diversity and inclusiveness in the construction industry and reiterated ABC鈥檚 commitment to this goal.