New Directions for Infrastructure: What's Next For New York

Date: Monday, April 5, 2021
Time: 7:00 AM PT | 10:00 AM ET

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
Lorraine Grillo
Senior Advisor for Recovery & Recovery Czar for NYC

On February 22, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio named Lorraine Grillo as the Senior Advisor for Recovery. Grillo, serves as New York City’s “Recovery Czar,” and coordinates across City government to supercharge Mayor de Blasio’s recovery agenda.

Lorraine Grillo began her career at the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) over 25 years ago as a Community Relations specialist. Over the years, she held a variety of positions within the agency including Director of Government and Community Relations, Senior Director of Real Estate Services and then Executive Director/Chief of Staff to the President.

In May of 2010, Lorraine took over as Acting President and CEO. After successfully opening 26 new schools, at the time, the single most successful year in SCA history, she was appointed President and CEO. In February 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio reappointed Lorraine to her position making her one of only two re-appointments from the prior administration and the longest serving SCA president.

Over the past ten years, Grillo has built over 80,000 K-12 school seats and over 9,000 universal Pre-K seats. Grillo has coordinated almost 4,000 capital improvement projects in New York City buildings and has managed a total of $28 billion in budgets. She has led the SCA in its effort to find new and innovative ways to address school overcrowding including developing strong public/private partnerships with major developers.

Grillo’s team was responsible for the reopening of 71 schools damaged by Hurricane Sandy in record time. In addition, in 2015, under her leadership, the SCA met the administration’s mandate opening 35 Universal PreK centers for the city’s four-year-old children in less than six months. Throughout her career, she continues to be a tireless advocate for the MWBE community, maintaining the SCA’s reputation for the best MWBE program in New York state, and as a national model.

Janno Lieber
Chief Development Officer
State of NY Metropolitan Transportation Authority

John (“Janno”) Lieber was appointed Chief Development Officer of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in May 2017.  

Reporting to the Chairman, Janno is also President of MTA Construction & Development, the organization responsible for capital planning, and for the development and delivery of capital projects across the MTA. Janno also oversees the MTA Real Estate Department and is responsible for integrating real estate planning and economic development into MTA infrastructure projects. 

From 2003 to 2017, Janno served as President of World Trade Center Properties LLC, where he was responsible for managing all aspects of the Silverstein organization’s efforts to rebuild at the World Trade Center site, including planning, design and construction issues; business, financing and legal matters; and public affairs, government and community relations. 

Earlier in his career, he held positions in the administrations of President Bill Clinton and NYC Mayor Ed Koch and worked as an attorney in private practice. 
PANELISTS:
Carlo Scissura
President and CEO
New York Building Congress

Carlo A. Scissura, Esq. is President & CEO of the New York Building Congress, a position he has held since January 2017. The New York Building Congress is a broad-based membership association committed to promoting the growth and success of the construction industry in New York City and its environs.

Carlo and his team have spurred  tremendous growth at the Building Congress.  With record membership, increased visibility across the five boroughs and the entire region, and a focus on securing infrastructure investment from the city, state and federal levels of government, the Building Congress is stronger and more influential than ever.

Prior to joining the Building Congress, Carlo was President & CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. Under Carlo’s leadership, the Chamber became one of New York’s largest business advocacy and economic development organizations, and its membership grew by more than 200 percent to over 2,200 members. During this historic period of growth, the Chamber’s efforts were widely recognized as creating national models for business development, outreach and technical assistance, and regional branding.

Carlo served both as Chief of Staff and General Counsel to Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz for nearly five years before leading the Brooklyn Chamber. During his tenure, he restructured operations at Borough Hall and served as senior advisor to the Borough President. He focused on driving the borough’s economic development agenda, working closely with the Mayor’s Office, City Council, and Economic Development Corporation (EDC), and served on the Boards of EDC, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation and Brooklyn Public Library.

A graduate of both Pace University and Pace Law School, Carlo owned a thriving solo practice law firm in Dyker Heights prior to joining the Borough President’s Office. He previously served on the staffs of State Senator Vincent Gentile and Assemblyman Peter Abbate.

Carlo is the President of the Federation of Italian-American Organizations, where he has spearheaded the building of the new Italian Cultural and Community Center in Brooklyn.  He is a member of the Boards of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp., The New York City Regional Economic Development Council, ACE Mentorship, Salvadori Center and the Friends of the BQX. Carlo is a former member of Community Board 11 in Brooklyn and the District 20 School Board and Community Education Council. Carlo was the Chair of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway redevelopment panel, tasked with evaluating options for the replacement of the aging highway from the Atlantic Avenue interchange to Sands Street in Brooklyn. Carlo has also received numerous honors and awards for his work.

Denise Berger
Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer
AECOM

Denise M. Berger is the Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer (CSIO) of the U.S. East & LATAM (Latin America) Region of AECOM. She has a proven track record for success in leading growth initiatives and strategic positioning for multi-billion-dollar organizations.

A results-oriented leader with more than 30 years of executive experience in architecture, engineering, construction and program management, Denise joined AECOM last year as the chief operating officer for the Northeast Region. As CSIO of the wider U.S. East & LATAM Region, her responsibilities include strategic planning, operations, marketing and branding, digital transformation, growth of key cities and accounts and ESG across all region business lines: Transportation, Water, Program + Project Management, Buildings + Places, Energy, and Environment.

Denise is the former chief of operations for the engineering department of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). In this capacity, Denise was responsible for the operations of an engineering department comprised of over 570 engineers and architects with an annual budget of $1.3 billion. The department is a critical contributor to the delivery of the agency’s $37 billion 10-year capital plan.  

A champion for equitable engagement and inclusion, Denise serves on AECOM’s global Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) Steering Committee and is the chair of WTS International ED&I committee, advancing women in transportation.

Denise serves on several industry boards including Columbia University’s Task Force; Professional Women in Construction; the New York Institute of Technology School of Architecture & Design Advisory Board; WTS International; and the Women’s Build Council. Denise has received several industry awards including WTS Woman of the Year. In 2018, she was inducted into the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows for her leadership and advocacy of design excellence in transportation and infrastructure projects, and in 2021 she was recognized with an RICS Fellowship.

Greg Kelly
President and CEO
STV

As the president and chief executive officer of STV, Greg is responsible for overseeing the workforce of over 2,200 employees and guiding the firm toward achieving its short- and long-term strategic goals with an emphasis on performance, business development, technology, and human capital.  STV is a leader in providing architectural, engineering, planning, environmental, and program and construction management services for transportation systems, infrastructure, buildings, energy, and other facilities.

Greg was previously Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Construction & Materials, a leading provider of services in asphalt products, aggregate supply, and roadbuilding construction. Prior to that was a member of WSP’s global executive team and CEO of the U.S. operation providing professional services across transport, property and buildings, water, energy and the environment.  

Greg has degrees from Temple University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is a registered professional engineer in several states.

Jerry Jannetti
Senior Vice President, New York District Manager
WSP

Jerry has overall responsibility for the firm’s building, energy, planning, environment and transportation consulting operations in New York State, including oversight of 14 corporate offices. He is involved in the firm’s work on diverse projects such as the Moynihan Station redevelopment, Pennsylvania Station master plan, East Side Access, LaGuardia Airport Terminal B Headhouse, and various buildings in Hudson Yards as well as many transmission and distribution projects for private clients. Prior to his current position, Jerry was the area manager for our transportation Mid-Atlantic region and Northeast transportation regional manager. He expanded the capabilities of the company into a more diverse operation delivering work across the transportation market, including highways, bridges, aviation, ports, tunnel, rail and transit systems.
HOSTS:
Lauren Gregory
Senior Vice President, Director
Alliant Public Entity Infrastructure

Lauren joined Alliant early in 2021 to act as their senior vice president, Director, Public Entity Infrastructure. Her responsibilities include structuring and leading a team to service insureds, marketing perspective deals to carrier partners and producing, servicing and retaining new and existing public entity and construction customers.

Before joining Alliant, Lauren worked at Willis Towers Watson were she was the Metro NY Construction Practice Leader responsible for overseeing the client advocates and client service staff as well as coordinating all marketing, pricing, placement, administration and servicing of her client’s insurance programs. Lauren worked closely with such high profile clients as The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York Power Authority and Structure Tone. Before joining Willis Towers Watson, Lauren was the President of Allied North America’s alternative risk division, Allied Risk Solutions, before acquired by Aon. Once Aon, she worked as their Senior Vice President – Captive Specialist within the Construction Services Group.

Before joining the brokerage side of the business in 2005, Lauren spent 22 years with New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) where she was director of MTA Risk and Insurance Management. In that capacity she was responsible for all risk management and insurance functions throughout the MTA operating agencies. She has experience in utilizing Owner Control Insurance Programs for over $8 billion of MTA capital construction work, including project specific programs such as NYCTA’s Second Avenue Subway and LIRR’s East Side Access projects. Lauren formed the first captive insurance company in New York State, for which she was appointed president in 2003.

Kevin Dolan
Senior Vice President
Alliant Construction Services Group

Kevin has worked for the past 20 years in the construction insurance industry and has been recognized by Business Insurance and Crain’s as a market leader.  Over those years, he has worked in various leadership roles and has had extensive experience managing all aspects of construction insurance in a wide array of industries for national and global firms in the following segments:

  • Transportation
  • Military Infrastructure
  • Telecommunications
  • Real Estate
  • Athletics
  • Education

As Senior Vice President for Alliant Insurance, Kevin manages the firms East Coast project engagements and controlled insurance programs to ensure the highest quality of service. Prior to his role with Alliant, Kevin was Regional Director, Local Practice Leader in for a worldwide broker in the Greater New York Region. During his tenure, Kevin was Team Leader and Director of Client Procedures for the largest rolling wrap-up program in the US as well as Chairman of the firms Contractor Controlled Insurance Program (CCIP) Group. 

Kevin is often called to speak at various industry events and is a Member of the Association of General Contractors Risk Management Committee. Kevin is a licensed Insurance Broker and attended Providence College where he received a BS in Marketing and Finance. Kevin and his family live in Sayville, NY.
Alliant Insurance Services, Inc.


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