Construction Conference ?is May 27
School and public works projects have been a significant driver for North Bay construction in the past several years, and there are more than $500 million in school bond funding for more local work, according to experts set to speak at North Bay Business Journal's 2015 Construction Conference on May 27.
Micah Weinberg, Ph.D., president of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, will be the keynote speaker for the morning event, talking about the state of the Bay Area economy. From mid-2011 through January of this year, he was a senior policy adviser on health care matters for the council, an advocacy group backed by nearly 300 of the region's largest employers. Now he manages the council's research team.
Since 2011 Weinberg has led his own health care and economic-development research firm, Healthy Systems Project. He has been a regular guest expert in news media, journals and lectures on the transformation of health care, focusing on insurance market reforms under the Affordable Care Act.
A panel of experts will be exploring project opportunities coming to local school districts. Frank Chong, Ph.D., president and superintendent of Santa Rosa Junior College, is set to talk about what's planned for the $400 million-plus raised from a recent bond. Panelists speaking on projects in their districts include Steve Bolman, superintendent of Petaluma City Schools, and Socorro Shiels, superintendent of Santa Rosa City Schools.
As for the public works project pipeline, Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit chief engineer Bill Gamlen is set to provide an update on progress toward getting the first segment of the line operational by fall of next year.
The conference will be held 7:30–11 a.m. at the Sonoma Mountain Village Event Center, 1400 Valley House Dr., Rohnert Park.
Preregister at NorthBayBusinessJournal.com or 707-521-5270 by May 22. The cost is $65 a person or $675 for a table of 10.
The underwritter is George Petersen Insurance Agency, and the major sponsor is North Coast Builders Exchange. Corporate sponsors are Midstate Construction and Marin Builders Association.
