The American Public Works Association (APWA) held their annual Public Works Expo (PWX) in Kansas City, MO, at the end of August. The event, held in conjunction with the International Federation of Municipal Engineering (IFME) this year, welcomed nearly 6,000 public works professionals from 15 countries, including our Denise Nelson. The joint conference provided 4 days of education, exhibits, and activities including the National Road-E-O as well as a daily keynote from Roy Spence, Vernice Armour, Jason Latimer, and Jake Wood.
Denise led a presentation on resilience planning and practices with Dr. Fariborz Tehrani from Fresno State titled “Is Resilience… Sustainable?” They explained the relationship between resilience and sustainability and explored the resources available for addressing resilience in public works. Identifying a gap in resources related to built infrastructure and systems, they recommended practices for use in the industry. You can read the paper in the August Reporter magazine starting on page 53.
She also shared her expertise in the Envision guidance and rating system for sustainable infrastructure on the panel “Envision Best Management Practices” alongside JC Alonzo from Shockey Consulting and Andy Sauer from Burns & McDonnell. Envision is a freely available collection of sustainable best practices in infrastructure planning, design, construction, and operations. Envision also offers a project recognition program based on addressing prescribed credits and achieving a high score. The panelist shared lessons learned based on using Envision since inception and thoughts on the recent transition to Envision version 3.
Denise, an active member of the APWA’s Mid-Atlantic Chapter, joined other chapter members on-stage in receiving the Presidential Award for Chapter Excellence (PACE). Presented by APWA President Bo Mills, the award was received by Judi Hines (Newport News), Denise, Ken Eyre (Greeley and Hansen), Matt Villareale (Prince William County), Eddie Crocket (Newport News), and James Patteson (Fairfax County). The chapter then celebrated James Patteson’s recognition as one of the nation’s Top Ten Public Works Leaders of the Year.
If you’d like to talk about resilience in public works or Envision, please send Denise a message (Denise@bgllc.net)!