Sam Schwartz Announces Formation of Advisory Board

Sam Schwartz is pleased to announce the formation of the firm’s Advisory Board. The Board will advise the company with respect to business and strategic planning, assist in identifying and evaluating opportunities, and facilitate relationships aligned with the company’s objectives. The inaugural members of the Board are:

Richard T. Anderson, FAICP: Richard is President of RTA Advisory Services LLC, a government relations and strategic industry planning firm. He served for more than 20 years as the President of the New York Building Congress, and continues his involvement as a Director Emeritus. As leader of the NYBC, he built the organization into a pivotal player in the worlds of construction, engineering, design, real estate, planning, and policy; today, it counts in its membership more than 550 organizations employing more than 250,000 people across the New York region.

Richard has also served as president of the Regional Plan Association, and was the first elected president of the American Planning Association.

Deryl McKissack, PE: Deryl is the founder, chairwoman, and chief executive officer of McKissack & McKissack, a national architecture, engineering, program- and construction-management firm. An extension of the nation’s oldest African American design and construction firm, McKissack is currently working on over $15 billion in projects nationwide. Under Deryl’s leadership, the firm has worked for public and private clients in the civic, culture, energy, education, entertainment, healthcare, hospitality, housing, infrastructure, mixed-use and office sectors and grown to over 150 employees with offices in Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, D.C.

Among the many nationally significant projects in McKissack’s portfolio of work today are the Museum of African American History and Culture, the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and the Obama Presidential Center and Navy Pier Centennial projects in Chicago. Currently, McKissack is designing additions to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum.

Victor M. Mendez, PE: Victor is the Principal at VM Consulting Group, LLC, providing consulting and advisory services to clients in the transportation industry. As Deputy Secretary of Transportation from 2014 to 2017, Victor was USDOT’s chief operating officer, responsible for day-to-day operations of the 10 modal administrations and the work of more than 55,000 employees nationwide and overseas, managing an annual capital and operating budget of approximately $70 billion.

Victor previously led the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), overseeing the implementation of $26.6 billion in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Palmina Whelan, CCM, FCMAA, MCIOB: Palmina Whelan has worked in the aviation industry for over 25 years and brings a diversified focus in programming, planning, design and construction, and the real estate environment. As principal of Palmina Whelan Strategic Solutions, Palmina works to align individuals and groups with competing interests through building and cultivating relationships, resulting in successful projects. She currently serves on the New York Building Foundation Board of Governors and on the Women Builders Council Board of Directors.

Previously, Palmina was the managing director at American Airlines and led a $6B portfolio of capital construction projects through airport master planning and development programs for the Northeast, Dallas, and Central Regions of the United States and Canada.

Throughout her career, Palmina has been recognized for her achievements by the Women Builders Council, the United States House of Representatives, the Office of Senator Joseph P. Addabo, Jr, the Office of the President of the Borough of Queens, the Council of the City of New York, the Rockaway Development and Revitalization Corporation, Schneps Media, the City and State of New York, the Society of American Military Engineers, and Star Networking.

“Sam Schwartz looks across the planning and engineering industries and beyond for cutting-edge ideas and experience,” said Michael A. Shamma, PE, President and CEO of Sam Schwartz. “I am thrilled that this cohort of distinguished leaders have agreed to serve as the first members of our Advisory Board. Their experience will be an enormous asset as we continue to expand the scope and depth of our services and employ the latest innovations across our areas of practice.”