The National Institute of Building Sciences has announced the built environment leaders who will serve on the National BIM Program Steering Committee.

The NIBS BIM Council began the launch phase for the U.S. National BIM Program in March, when Salla Eckhardt, director of transformation services with Microsoft, was named chair of the National BIM Program Steering Committee.

Lakisha A. Woods, CAE, president and CEO of NIBS, said it is important to establish a structure that broadly engages diverse stakeholders.

"We need a coordinated program to improve performance, advance collaboration and foster innovation in the building industry," Woods said. "The first step was to engage our partners. The goal is a solution to enable digital processes that will streamline industry practices and procedures on a national scale."

The National BIM Program Steering Committee members are the following:

• Salla Eckhardt (Chair), Director of Transformation Services, Microsoft
• Sandra Benson, Worldwide Head of Engineering, Construction and Real Estate, Amazon Web Services
• Angel A. Dizon, III, Managing Director for Program Development, Coordination and Support, Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, U.S. Department of State
• Jason Fairchild, CAD/BIM Community of Practice Leader, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Michael Kennerly, Design Bureau Director, Iowa Department of Transportation
• Hannu Lindberg, Director of Virtual Design and Construction, DPR Construction
• Paul Audsley, Chief Information Officer, NBBJ
• Luciana Burdi, Director of Capital Programs and Environmental Affairs, Massachusetts Port Authority
• Will Sharp, PE (NE, IA), PTOE, Senior Vice President, Director of Highways, HDR
• Jagannath Mallela, Ph.D. Senior Vice President, Director, Research & Innovation Solutions, WSP
• Katherine Petros, Team Leader, Infrastructure Analysis and Construction Team, Office of Infrastructure Research and Development, Federal Highway Administration
• Charles G. Hardy, AIA, CCM, Chief Architect (Acting), U.S. General Services Administration, Public Building Service
• Russ Manning, Ph.D., LEED AP, CRL, CEFP, Executive Director, National Facility Operations and Maintenance Center of Excellence, Kaiser Permanente

The U.S. National BIM Program kicked off early February with a BIM Executive Roundtable. Nearly 40 business leaders discussed how a national program would help the industry by accelerating the effectiveness of the supply chain, providing predictable processes, improving project outcomes, driving efficiency, and fostering innovation.