Speakers:

Moderator: Robert “Skip” Vaughn, SES, National Institute of Standards & Technology

Robert “Skip” Vaughn joined NIST in November 2016 as the Chief Facilities Management Officer and the Director of the Office of Facilities and Property Management. In these roles, he provides advice to the NIST Director and senior NIST leadership on matters affecting the operation and administration of the NIST sites. Vaughn led the team that earned the first LEED Platinum rated federal building project.

James Ropelewski, JD, DBIA, Design-Build Institute of America

James Ropelewski is a former member of the Senior Executive Service with more than 30 years of broad experience leading federal organizations in the areas of law, procurement, budget, audit resolution, human capital, design and construction programs, facilities management and information technology. He served as a Deputy General Counsel, Senior Procurement Executive, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and an Assistant Inspector General. He is an advisor to DBIA in matters involving curriculum and resource development, as well as serving as an instructor for several of their training courses. He was a member of DBIA’s Universal Best Practices Subcommittee and is currently leading a workgroup to update the Federal Best Practices. Ropelewski is also the Principal for ROPE Strategies, LLC, providing advisory services in design-build integrated project delivery, risk management, strategic planning and alternative dispute resolution (ADR), including serving as a facilitator for structured partnering workshops. He is an Adjunct Professor at American University’s School of Public Affairs, Department of Justice, Law and Criminology.

Laura Stagner, FAIA, PMP, DBIA, General Services Administration (Retired)

Laura Stagner is the former Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Project Delivery for the Public Buildings Service (PBS) of the U.S. General Services Administration. Currently, she is the Principal at Stagner Consulting, LLC, a practice devoted to providing federal project delivery advisory services. She is currently on the national board of DBIA and serves as the Chair of the DBIA Federal Markets Committee.

David Triplett, FBI

Since 2017, David Triplett has served as the FBI’s Chief Contracting Officer of the Facilities Acquisition Unit in the Procurement Section, which supports the organization’s mission by responsibly and efficiently procuring all necessary supplies, services, architect and engineering, construction and other operational programs across the enterprise. Prior, Triplett served as a Contracting Officer supporting a number of large construction projects for the FBI. He entered on duty with the FBI in 2010.