The 2023 Slate of Candidates

I am a graduate of Virginia Tech having earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1991.  August of this year will be my 30-year anniversary of employment with MBP where I have progressed from an engineer through many positions to my current position of Operations Leader for our Services Strategy & Delivery group.  My time with MBP largely has been spent providing project controls, construction management, and claims analysis services.

I joined AACE in 2004, earned my CFCC in 2007, and have presented at AACE Conferences & Expos.  In addition, I served as a Director on the AACE North Florida Section’s Board from 2011-2013, when I left to spend a year working on a project overseas.  I served as a member of the CFCC committee on the AACE Certification Board from 2016 – 2019 and have served on AACE’s Board of Directors since 2019 – as VP Administration from 2019 – 2021 and since 2021 as Director – Certification.

I greatly appreciate the opportunities that I have had to serve AACE, meet many AACE members, participate in developing technical work product, and participate in educational sessions.

If elected, my goals include engaging with our members and increasing awareness of AACE and our technical product, educational opportunities, and certifications to owners, AEC companies, and practitioners throughout the world.  This increased awareness and understanding AACE’s technical work product, educational opportunities, and certified members will not only benefit AACE with increased membership and certified individuals but more importantly will benefit the industries we serve, the projects owners develop, educational institutions, and our individual members as the people who ultimately work to complete them on time, on budget, and meet investment and operational goals.    

I look forward to meeting many members from around the world who already know the many benefits of AACE and others who may just be learning about AACE.

Dan Melamed is a program analyst for the United States Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Management (EM), where he has organized, directed, and participated in environmental cleanup baseline reviews for a wide variety of sites across the Department of Energy complex.  He has also been involved in the earned value management system (EVMS) evaluation for new contractors for the EM program. 

A member of AACE since 2004, Dan has served as the president for the AACE National Capital Section and has continuously worked with his local section, the associated region as well as at the national level.  He presented his first paper at the Annual Meeting in 2007 and has over 10 AACE publications and presentations to date.  In addition, he helped write 21 recommended practices, six of which as a primary author.

Dan holds two AACE certifications (CCP and EVP) and was named Fellow of AACE in 2019. He has been a member of the AACE Technical Board since 2011 and served as the Vice President – Technical on the Board of Directors from 2014 to 2016. In addition, Dan also chaired the Earned Value Management Subcommittee from 2016 to 2022.

Dan has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Princeton University. He is the author of over 20 peer-reviewed publications and one patent. Prior to his work at the Department of Energy, he was a staff scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, where he performed research on waste processing technologies and solar energy conversion.

• Maintain and expand the existing dynamic between the AACE membership, the Board of Directors, AACE leadership, and headquarters staff.
• Enhance the tools that AACE provides to support successful projects, programs and portfolios through a greater emphasis on cost analyses for capital assets throughout their life cycle.
• Work to enhance understanding between the AACE technical communities to better leverage potential strengths.
• Promote AACE to a wider audience to cultivate a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive community.

Mark is a graduate of Villanova University, where he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering in 1997 and 1998. He joined AACE International in 2001. He has greatly enjoyed his participation and has made many friends along the way. Mark is a past President and Treasurer of the Delaware Valley Section. He has served on the Certification Board and currently serves on the Board of Directors as Secretary. He has contributed to RPs 25R-03 and 29R-03 and continues working on the project to update RP 29R-03.

Mark has 25 years of experience as an engineer and manager, particularly in the energy and transportation sectors. He has spoken frequently at the Conference & Expo and at sections in the United States, Brazil, Colombia, India, and Peru. He has enjoyed travelling and meeting many new members over the years. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. He earned a J.D. in 2021 and was admitted to the California Bar in 2022. He holds AACE certifications as a CCP, CFCC, and PSP. He and his family live near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Goals/Objectives: 

I look forward to working toward the goals and objectives described in the AACE International strategic plan. Most particularly, I would seek to:

• Promote AACE to be recognized as the premier source of cost engineering practices globally.
• Increase organizations’ support for membership and participation, particularly in countries where individual membership will not grow without the support of employers.
• Increase the engagement of personnel from government and owner organizations in AACE membership and leadership positions.
• Increase awareness of cost engineering and its career paths among industry and educational institutions.

I would advance these goals, in part, by participating in AACE events both within and outside the United States and encouraging other members to do so. I believe that the growth of AACE and increased knowledge sharing within the cost engineering community around the world is critical to delivering successful projects.

Husain Al-Omani is an AACE active member since 2011, he holds BS (Mechanical Engineering), MS (Construction Management) and MBA from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). He earned the Certified Cost Professional (CCP) designation and Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP) in 2010, the Earned Value Professional (EVP) & Certified Estimating Professional (CEP) in 2012 and Decision & Risk Management Professional (DRMP) in 2013. He has served his local Arabian Gulf Section in a variety of leadership roles including Marketing Director, Elected President, President, Past President, and Steering Committee. He has been elected to and served AACE in a leadership role on the Board of Directors: Director-Region 7 (2016-2018). Between 2018 and 2021, he served AACE’s Marketing Board and the AACE Organization Structure Task Force 2019-2021. He has been awarded Keane Award in 2021.

Since 2021 till present, he is serving AACE’s Board of Directors in a leadership role which is Director-at-Large. He has more than 18 years of professional experience in project management, project controls and consultations.

Goals/Objectives:

• Work closely with the Executive Director, staff, and the Board of Directors to support the strategic initiatives of the Association.
• Promote AACE internationally to expand our membership and certifications.
• Increase the awareness and the importance of AACE’s membership & certifications in the industry, higher education, and general public.
• Assure that the desired goals and outcomes of the association are achieved.
• Act as the association Ambassador worldwide.

Ahmed is a passionate program/project management and controls professional with over 23 years of experience managing and leading complex programs and projects ($45 Billion) in a wide range of industries (Transportation, Infrastructure, Commercial and Residential Construction) on three continents (North America, Africa, and Asia), working as a contractor, consultant, and owner’s representative.

Ahmed is the principal/founder of FG Management ltd. where he provides services for program and project management, project controls, risk management, schedule development and audits, risk management, and PMO.

In 2010, Ahmed joined AACE, obtained his PSP, and started volunteering with the Qatar Section. After moving to Canada, he volunteered with the Chinook Calgary Section in various roles (Director-At-Large, Communication Director, Vice-President). He is currently serving as the Section President. On the international level, Ahmed volunteers with the Cost Estimation Committee to update the Estimating Professional Practice Guide (PPG).

Ahmed has a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and a post-graduate certificate in Project Management. He is a PMI Authorized ATP Instructor to teach PMP, DASSM, and DASM exam prep courses and is the second in Canada to be certified as a PMO-Certified Consultant (PMO-CC).

Besides his professional career, Ahmed is an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Alberta (UofA), Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), and Alpha College. Ahmed had authored and co-authored new courses for UofA and SAIT, such as the Evolution of Project Management and Agile Principles and Practices.

Ahmed is actively involved with the project management community. He currently serves as a member of the development team to update the PMI Standard of Program Management (5^th edition), and a member of the PMI Standard consensus committee since 2020. Over the last few years, he served as a co-chair, program director, technical reviewer, and speaker for many professional development conferences locally and internationally.

Goals/Objectives:

• Advocate for AACE and promote the value proposition of AACE’s database of knowledge and resources to all active, inactive, and prospective members.
• Promote membership and increase awareness among various regions, countries, and industries.
• Introduce multi-tier membership fees based on countries’ GDP to help professionals from all around the world develop and benefit from AACE resources, without financial barriers, which will help the advance of the profession globally.
• Supporting the AACE International Conference and Expo.
• Organize regional conferences that can help members speak, attend, and network with other professionals within their region, especially if travel costs/visas might be a barrier to attending the International Conference and Expo.
• Facilitate discussions and research on the future of the profession and how the technical advances (AI, ML, VDC, etc.) can affect the career of our professionals, and introduce new learning opportunities to equip them with the latest knowledge and skills.

Dale is the founder and principal consultant at Hendershot Consulting, LLC, a Colorado-based construction claims and risk management consulting firm.  For over 41 years, Dale has provided expert advisory and risk management services to the construction, aerospace, insurance, power, oil and gas, infrastructure, and federal government sectors nationwide.  Dale has been engaged to provides expert witness testimony in arbitrations and litigation of construction contract disputes and insurance coverage disputes including opinions on Subcontractor Default Insurance (SDI) coverage and proof of loss claims, construction damages, extended general conditions damages, extended overhead damages, inefficiency claims and forensic schedule delay analysis claims.  Finally, Dale has a law degree from the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law.

Dale has been a member of AACE for 10 years and is on the Claims and Disputes Resolution, Contract Management, Cost Engineering, Planning and Scheduling, Program and Project Management and Project Controls subcommittees.

Goals/Objectives:

• Promote the value of the AACE membership, professional certifications, and value to industries outside of the current industries.
  • Cost and schedule control, claims and disputes resolution and risk management in the insurance sector.
  • Cost and schedule control, claims and disputes resolution and risk management in the academic sector.
• Develop collaborative relationships with emerging construction technology organizations, start-up companies and veteran technology companies to partner on projects and initiatives that would benefit both AACE and collaborative partners.
• Facilitate and assure that the desired goals and objectives are met as directed by the Board of Directors and current President.

Hannah has 30 years of construction industry experience, with a primary focus on planning, scheduling, and project controls. She is currently a Scheduling Manager for Sundt Construction. Hannah has been an active member of AACE International since 2006 and obtained the Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP) certification in 2008.  In 2019, she was named a Fellow of AACE.  Hannah is currently serving as Director At-Large on AACE Board of Directors.  She served on AACE’s Certification Board from 2011-2018 where she was a lead member of the PSP Certification Team.  She also served in a variety of leadership roles on AACE’s Planning & Scheduling Technical Subcommittee, Arizona Section (serving as President 2010-2012), and as a member of the Women in Project Controls Committee.  She has authored and presented several technical papers at the Annual Conference.  Hannah has been recognized by AACE with the Outstanding Woman in Project Controls award and the Technical Excellence award.

I would like to continue to serve AACE International and all its members as a Director At-Large. In this role, I will help the Board of Directors provide governing of the organization and most importantly – provide value to our members.  By participating with task forces that are based on our diverse member’s needs and interests, I look forward to giving back to the organization as much as it has provided me as a member.