To address the severity of the widening gap in America’s built environment workforce, the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) is co-hosting a one-day event with the International Code Council and National Building Museum focusing on this critical workforce crisis.

Elevate 2025 will convene industry leaders and policymakers to explore the true scope of the issue and introduce solutions to support the country’s security and growth. The summit takes place March 4, at the building museum in Washington.

“The workforce shortage across the built environment has evolved from a past problem into today’s major crisis and will become a disaster in its own right if left unaddressed,” said NIBS CEO Dr. George Guszcza. “Past and current strategies and interventions have failed to provide solutions at scale. Demographic and labor data demonstrate that the only viable solution is to meaningfully and significantly develop a national pipeline of women throughout the built environment.”

Elevate Speakers and Schedule

Event speakers will include the following:

• Dr. George Guszcza, President & CEO, NIBS
• Kelly Marchese, Infrastructure Leader, Deloitte
• Latifa Lyles, Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Women in Construction, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Aileen Fuchs, President & Executive Director, National Building Museum
• Stephanie Ferguson Melhorn, Senior Director, Workforce & International Labor Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Anna Gradishar, Associate Principal, ARUP
• John Belcik, CEO, International Code Council
• Caryn Halifax, CEO, International Masonry Institute
• Catriona Winter, Senior Vice President, Clark Construction
• Marnique Heath, Principal and Board Chair, STUDIOS
• Maryia Lackansingh, Code Specialist III, Fairfax (Virginia) County Government
• Elizabeth Bednarcik, Chief, Brighton (Colorado) Fire Rescue
• Rita Brown, Commissioner, Michigan Department of Transportation and President-Elect, National Association of Women in Construction
• Jamie Gentoso, Global Head of Solutions & Products, Holcim
• Angie Wiese, Director of Safety & Inspections, City of Saint Paul
• Ellen Thorp, Managing Director, Coalition for Sustainable Roofing

Sessions will include the following:

• By the Data: Decoding America’s Labor Market Shortage
• Highlighting the Workforce Crisis: The Effects on Post-Disaster Recovery
• Building Opportunities: A Conversation with National Building Museum Leadership
• Breaking Ground: Empowering Women to Solve the Labor Shortage
• Policy Solutions for Advancing America’s Built Environment Workforce
• Fireside Chat with Punchbowl News

Members of the media are invited to attend Elevate for free. Register now for Elevate 2025.