Women in Concrete Forum will Headline Sustainability Conference in Miami

The second Women in Concrete Forum will open the 10th annual International Concrete Sustainability Conference, to be held in May in Miami. The Women in Concrete Forum, sponsored by NRMCA, the Women in Concrete Alliance (WICA) and the Iberoamerican Federation of Ready Mixed Concrete (FIHP), will feature speakers and panel discussions on the role of women in the concrete industry and how gender diversity can help meet the challenge of concrete industry sustainability. Both women and men are invited to participate. The forum will take place from 1–5 p.m. on Monday, May 11, at the InterContinental Miami Hotel. The International Concrete Sustainability Conference, featuring over 60 experts from around the world, takes place May 11-13 at the same location. Featured speakers for the Women in Concrete Forum include:

• Esther Arteta, director of quality, Cementos Argos, Colombia

• Amparo Bocanegra, director of human resources, Cemex Colombia

• Kristen Braden, construction project manager, H.R. Gray

• Teresa Cendrowska, vice president of global cooperation, ASTM International

• Anne Ellis, past president ACI International / vice president, innovation and knowledge share director, AECOM

• Julie Garbini, executive director, RMC Research & Education Foundation

• María José García, director, Federación Interamericana del Cemento

• Kimberly Kayler, co- founder, Women in Concrete Alliance, president, Constructive Communication, Inc.  

• Mónica Manolas, vice president of human resources, Cemex USA

• Lori Tiefenthaler, vice president, sustainability and marketing communications, Lehigh Hanson

For the first time in its history, the opening general of the International Concrete Sustainability Conference will feature three prominent women keynote speakers:

• Nichole Hefty, chief, Office of Sustainability, Planning Division, Miami-Dade Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, U.S., will discuss the challenges of climate change and steps Miami-Dade County is taking to mitigate weather disasters

• Leslie Chapman-Henderson, president and CEO, Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), U.S., will present Resilience on the Rise: A Report on the Disaster Safety and Mitigation Movement

• Kirsten Ritchie, director of sustainable design, Gensler, U.S., will address the growing demand for transparency and corporate social responsibility in the building sector