Twenty four emerging leaders in the transportation design and construction industry participated May 14-16 in an intensive Washington, D.C., “boot camp” introduction to the federal legislative and regulatory processes.The annual American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) Foundation’s Industry Leader Development Program (ILDP) fellows visited Capitol Hill to urge their members of Congress to find a permanent revenue fix for the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) and support full funding of the FAST Act for fiscal year 2019.
 
The event was held in conjunction with the association’s Federal Issues Program and the Transportation Construction Coalition Fly-In.
 
There have been more than 700 graduates from over 200 industry firms since the ILDP’s inception in 1996 when it was known as the Young Executive Development Program.
 
The ILDP provides participants with a solid understanding of industry economics, how transportation work in the U.S. is funded and financed, how actions by the federal government impact the industry, and how they—and their company or agency—can become politically engaged.  Participants heard from House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee member Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) at a dinner event, where he discussed the Highway Trust Fund and a long-term infrastructure investment package.

The 2018 ILDP class included: 

• Steven Albright, director of government affairs, Associated General Contractors of Texas, Austin, Texas
  
• Rachel Back, senior design-build engineer, RS&H, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla.
  
• Alan Bernard, manager/member, Site Safe LLC, Leitchfield, Ky.
  
• Robert Childrey, project manager, Wright Brothers Construction, Inc., Charleston, Tenn.
  
• Charles Clendenen, regional business manager, 3M, St. Paul, Minn.
  
• Jeff Darnell, vice president of strategy and business development, Sterling Construction Company, The Woodlands, Texas
  
• Andre DeCraene, Ajax Paving Industries of Florida, LLC, Fort Myers, Fla.
  
• Matthew Hayek, project manager, RK&K, Baltimore, Md.
  
• Aaron Hoover, technical director, Associated Pennsylvania Constructors, Harrisburg, Pa.
  
• Matthew Horan, project manager, Ajax Paving Industries of Florida, LLC, North Venice, Fla.
  
• Joel Keels, vice president, construction management, KCI Technologies, Inc., Sparks, Md.
  
• Nathan Killingsworth, vice president of operations, Harrison Construction Div. of APAC-Atlantic, Inc., Knoxville, Tenn.
  
• Krishna Kumar, director of engineering, Louis Berger, Las Vegas, Nev.
  
• Jeff Lackey, vice president, TranSystems, Wichita, Kan.
  
• Joshua Lee, chief estimator, Duit Construction Co., Inc., Edmond, Okla.
  
• Brian Marsh, executive manager, Ford Construction Company, Dyersburg, Tenn.
  
• Scott Mercier, project manager, MAS Building and Bridge, Inc., Norfolk, Mass.
  
• Ryan Mitchell, project manager/regional team leader, CDM Smith, Lansing, Mich.
  
• Eric Morris, vice president/Michigan office leader, HNTB Corporation, East Lansing, Mich.
  
• Trent Newell, secretary treasurer, Newell Roadbuilders, Hope Hull, Ala.
  
• Jeffery Peterson, vice president, James Peterson Sons Inc., Medford, Wis.
  
• Brett Pope, senior engineer /Texas region transportation leader, Terracon Consultants, Inc., Austin, Texas
  
• Christopher Reed, division manager, Jones Bros. Contractors, LLC, Nashville, Tenn.
  
• Tyler Smith, project manager, Ranger Construction Industries, Inc., West Palm Beach, Fla.