Meet Our 2023 Speakers
Speakers for the 2024 Leadership Development Conference will be shared soon.
Meet the Speaker: Kirsten Adams
Kirsten Adams analyzes proposed legislation, lobbies in the Oregon Capitol, and represents AGC in rulemakings and other stakeholder meetings. She works on a variety of issues, with her main focus being workers’ compensation, employment law, public contracting, and diesel regulations.
Prior to AGC, Kirsten worked as a legislative assistant for Oregon Senator Richard Devlin. This followed her practice of family law in Salem after her graduation from Willamette University College of Law. She graduated from Whitman College with a Bachelor of Arts in Classics with a minor in politics.
Director and Counsel of Policy and Public Affairs, Oregon-Columbia Chapter of AGC
Meet Speaker: Dylan Bochsler
Dylan Bochsler is Vice President at North Santiam Paving Co., a family owned site development and road construction company founded in 1973. Dylan has also been President of NSP Trucking since its formation in 2016. Currently he focuses on financial and operations management at these companies.
Dylan is the current Chair of the State of Oregon’s Construction Contractor’s Board (CCB) and is an officer on AGC’s Oregon-Columbia chapter board. He previously served as chair of the local and national CLC steering committees and on AGCA’s Board of Directors from 2020-2022.
Second Vice-President, Oregon-Columbia Chapter of AGC
Vice President, North Santiam Paving Co.
Meet Speaker: Dr. Bottlang
A native of Germany, Dr. Bottlang earned his PhD in Biomechanical Engineering at the University of Iowa. He has subsequently focused on improving the treatment of orthopedic trauma patients. His inventions for treating fractures of the pelvis and chest wall have changed the standard of care in over 40 countries. He has been funded by the US National Institute of Health for his groundbreaking research and innovative technology on helmet safety. At the Legacy Biomechanics Laboratory in Portland, Oregon, Bottlang has overseen the creation of the state-of-the-art Helmet Impact Testing (HIT) Laboratory. He has collaborated with Surgeon Steven Madey for the past 15 years to create WaveCel.
Founder & Director, Legacy Biomechanics Laboratory
Meet the Speaker: Megan Deitschel
Megan Deitschel is a Marketing Specialist at Bartlett Cocke General Contractors. Megan is responsible for various tasks throughout their three offices in San Antonio, Austin, and Houston, including internal and external communications, project photography, digital media and coordinating events for the company. She joined Bartlett Cocke just over six months ago after working for a subcontractor for five years. Prior to jumping into the A/E/C industry she graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor of Arts in General Art and a minor in Business Administration.
Megan has been active with the Associated of General Contractors of Austin, serving on the networking committee for over four years, co-chair for two. She joined the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) Steering Committee of Austin in 20221 and sits as the chair for 2023.
Chair, CLC Austin
Meet the Speaker: David Goulet
David Goulet is the current chair and co-founder of the North Dakota CLC chapter. He is a Senior Project Manager at Industrial Builders, Inc. and has been with the company since 2009. Growing up in the construction industry, influenced him to pursue a degree in Construction Engineering at North Dakota State University.
Chair, CLC North Dakota
Meet the Speaker: Steve Malany
Steve Malany is the Chapter President of the Oregon-Columbia Chapter of AGC.
President, Oregon-Columbia Chapter of AGC
Meet the Speaker: Todd Roberts
Todd attended LSU and received his B.S. in Construction from Northeast Louisiana University in 1982. Todd is President of ERS, Inc., a heavy and civil construction company, based in Jackson, MS, that he founded in 1992. The company works nationwide on select type projects involving ecosystem construction and rehabilitation, erosion control, land reclamation, disaster clean-up, water control and infrastructure, all facets of the heavy/civil construction arena. ERS, Inc. performs work for drainage districts, levee boards, municipalities, conservation commissions, state governments and federal agencies that include the following: clearing and grubbing, earthwork, demolition, grading, riprap, concrete, flood control structures, levees, dams, road construction, water conveyance (open channel and pipe laying) and pile driving.
In 2009 ERS, Inc. was recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s “Small Business Contractor of the Year”.
ERS, Inc. is a member of the Mississippi Valley Chapter AGC where Todd is a board member and has served on numerous committees. He also served as President of MVAGC in 2007. Nationally, Todd served as National Chairman of the Natural Resources Conservation Service Committee of AGC from 2006-2016. He served as the Federal/Heavy Division Chairman in 2017 and is a Life Governor of AGC of America. Todd is also a member of the Consulting Constructors’ Council of America.
Todd is an instrument-rated private pilot, having logged nearly 2500 hours as pilot in command.
Todd has been married to Robyn of Baton Rouge, LA for 35 years and they have three children. Kris is 31 and works as an accountant for EY (formerly Ernst & Young) in Meridian, MS. Anna Rachel, 24, is a PICU nurse at UMC medical center in Jackson. Russell is 23, lives in Dallas and works as a financial analyst for a real estate advisory group. Todd and Robyn are members of First Presbyterian Church.
Vice President, AGC
Meet the Speaker: Paul Rovianek
Paul graduated from Boise State University with a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management in December 2011 and is an accomplished professional in the construction industry. He is currently employed as a Superintendent at Andersen Construction Company in Portland, Oregon, since 2021. With a strong commitment to safety and a keen eye for project management, Paul has consistently demonstrated the ability to lead and deliver successful construction projects.
Prior to becoming a Superintendent, Paul held positions as a Project Manager and Project Engineer at Andersen Construction Company, where valuable experience was gained in project planning, engineering, and management. Notably, during Paul’s tenure, the company worked on diverse projects, including the prestigious Touchmark in the West Hills and the Vanport Building in Portland, Oregon.
Paul is an active member of the AGC’s Construction Leadership Council, where he serves as the current chair, demonstrating a commitment to the industry’s growth and development.
Superintendent, Andersen Construction
Meet Speaker: Kerri Smith
VP, Southeast Region General Manager, Baker Concrete
Meet the Speaker: Jacob Suarez
Jacob Suarez is a social media content creator showcasing his work as a crime scene cleaner to over 8 million followers. Jacob, aka Biggie Clean, will speak to the issues at the core of building the next generation of workers in a way that only someone from that generation can do. He will share his insights on recruiting and retaining Generation Z and what motivates them through their lived experiences. Bonus- Jacob will share anecdotes from his time cleaning crime scenes and what drives him to keep doing this grizzly work.
Social Media Content Creator, @BiggieClean
Meet the Speaker: Rachel Wilber
Rachel Wilber is currently a senior estimator for Walbridge with more than a decade of construction experience. Her construction experience and estimating expertise has supported constructing some of the largest manufacturing facilities across the U.S. including several Fortune 500 customers in the industrial, industrial process, and commercial market sectors. A graduate of Michigan State University’s Construction Management Program in May 2011, Rachel’s spent her career at Walbridge – starting in the company’s internship program.
Rachel has been active with the Associated General Contractors of Michigan and became involved with the national level of AGC in 2020 when she joined the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) Steering Committee. She is currently serving as the chair of the national CLC.
Chair, National CLC Steering Committee
Meet the Speaker: Matthew Turkstra
Matt is the Sr. Director of Congressional Relations for Building and Infrastructure Finance for the Associated General Contractors of America. In this role, Matt oversees all issues related to taxes and accounting for the construction industry with Members of Congress, the Administration, and AGC Members. Matt oversaw the AGC advocacy effort during the consideration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and Congress’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in numerous positive outcomes for the construction industry, including an increase in the “small contractor exemption” from percentage of completion accounting, ensuring construction was eligible for the newly created 20 percent deduction for qualified business income, and resolving a number of issues faced by contractors with the Paycheck Protection Program.
Previously, Matt was the Senior Manager of Government Relations at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). He also chaired the Family Business Estate Tax Coalition, a group of over 50 trade associations committed to estate tax relief for family-owned businesses, and oversaw the coalition’s advocacy effort in 2012 that resulted in the estate tax relief in the American Taxpayer Relief Act.
Matt has extensive experience on Capitol Hill, working as the Legislative Director for Rep. Nan Hayworth (NY), and the Senior Legislative Assistant for Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ). He also worked on the Committee on Ways and Means as the Senior Committee Clerk, where he oversaw the Committee’s hearings and markups.
Matt graduated from Gettysburg College in 2002, and grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey. He currently resides in Alexandria, VA with his wife two children.
Sr. Director of Congressional Relations for Building and Infrastructure Finance, AGC of America
Meet the Speaker: Aaron Witt
Chief Dirt Nerd, BuildWitt
Meet the Speaker: Max Margolis
Max Margolis is the Assistant Director of Prevention for Lines For Life (LFL), an Oregon non-profit organization dedicated to suicide and substance abuse prevention, where he supports the sustainable growth of LFL’s suicide prevention and substance abuse programs.
Max has a B.A. in Political Science from Ohio University. Since moving to Portland in 1997, he has worked to help communities address public health, public safety, and education issues. He believes complex problems create exciting avenues for new ideas and strives to transform complicated topics into inclusive discussions and effective services.
Since 2021, he has been the Project Director for the Construction Suicide Prevention Partnership (CSPP), a collaborative project between LFL and Northwest Regions’ Construction Industry.
Max enjoys writing op-eds, speaking at construction sites, trying to memorize motivating Peloton quotes, hiking, and being a husband and a dad.
Assistant Director of Prevention, Lines For Life