Amy Javernick-Will
Helping organizations reduce mistakes and share knowledge
34, Assistant Professor
University of Colorado at Boulder
Boulder, Colo.

Currently an assistant professor of engineering at CU Boulder, Amy Javernick-Will works with organizations on risk management and governance, teaches and advises undergraduate and graduate students and conducts sponsored research on engineering education, global knowledge exchange and risk management. She has authored 37 conference proceedings, book chapters and journal articles. Javernick-Will has received several awards for her research and the successes of the undergraduate and graduate students she has advised. Through it all, she has maintained a consistent goal: to improve the sustainability of the built environment. To that end, she is conducting research with global engineering and construction organizations to improve the multilateral flow of knowledge.

Dana Kose
Energy consultant has worked on several landmark regional projects
35, Program Manager
The Weidt Group
Denver

Dana Kose has been working in the construction industry for 14 years. As program manager at The Weidt Group, she oversees the firm's consulting on the Energy Design Assistance program for Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy's Commercial New Construction program in Colorado. These programs provide expertise to design and construction teams looking to implement energy-efficiency measures. Since the programs' inceptions in 2002 and 2009, respectively, The Weidt Group has worked on more than 100 building projects in Colorado, collaborating with nearly 180 architecture and engineering firms and owners to reduce 50 kilotons of carbon emissions per year. Kose is also a LEED Accredited Professional and one of only 80 people nationwide authorized to teach U.S. Green Building Council-developed courses. As a volunteer for the USGBC Colorado Chapter, Kose has contributed to the regionalization of the LEED system and is working on a task force to fine-tune the LEED 2012 rating system.

Nate Lowery
Has managed some of the state's most complex sustainable projects
37, Project Manager
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
Greeley, Colo.

Nate Lowery most recently oversaw all construction management and general contractor services for Hensel Phelps Construction on the new LEED-Gold History Colorado Center project in Denver. He also has guided teams on projects ranging from the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport's Air Traffic Control Tower and Colorado State University's Regional Biocontainment Laboratory to Fort Carson's Brigade and Battalion Headquarters, which earned the first-ever LEED-Gold certification for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Lowery recently won the Design-Build Institute of America's Design-Build Excellence Award and serves on the boards of directors for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of DBIA and for the Construction Industry Training Council of Colorado. Lowery is also a former board member for the Associated General Contractors of Colorado's Future Leaders Forum. He is active on the local and regional level with Habitat for Humanity and participates in events to benefit the Denver Rescue Mission.

Jennifer McDaniel
Volunteered with AIA Denver to review the new Denver zoning code
30, Associate/Project Manager
Kenney Architects
Denver

Jennifer McDaniel took her architectural career to heart from the beginning. At age 19, with one year of undergraduate studio work under her belt, she landed an internship at prestigious VOA Associates in downtown Chicago. She worked there continuously for the next four years while finishing her bachelor's degree in architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. After that, she studied in Paris and completed a master's degree at the University of Texas at Austin, working and teaching while she studied. In Colorado, Kenney Architects promoted her to associate after only one year with the firm. She has implemented new design and production capabilities and standards, as well as managed the office's first LEED-certified project.

Jered Minter
One of youngest members of the AIA Board Advocacy Committee
36, Project Manager
Bennett Wagner & Grody Architects PC
Denver

Jered Minter's 13-year career as an architect began as he worked at Bennett Wagner & Grody Architects while finishing his master's degree in architecture at the University of Colorado at Denver. He received his architectural registration in 2008 and is a LEED Accredited Professional. Most recently, he managed the $10.7-million renovation of Houston Hall at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colo. He guided the complex addition and renovation of the college's original 1939 building through the quagmire of physical building constraints and historic structure requirements. Minter actively advocates for and empowers architects to expand their influence on the profession, the community and the built environment. He has been continually involved with both the national and local chapters of the American Institute of Architects. In 2011, he was elected AIA Western Mountain Region's Young Architect Regional Director—one of 19 directors representing young architects in a six-state area. 

Penn Owens
Regularly volunteers his time at a local soup kitchen in Salt Lake City
34, Preconstruction Manager
Interior Construction Specialists
Sandy, Utah

Penn Owens' passion for creating and shaping the built environment helped him succeed at Utah State University's Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning program, where he was a Sigma Lambda Alpha recipient. It also helps him in his current role as preconstruction manager with Interior Construction Specialists, a division of Utah's Layton Construction. Owens provides leadership during preconstruction development for more than 38 people. He is currently the youngest preconstruction manager within the Layton organization, a job typically reserved for senior management. Owens has been involved with several landmark projects, like the 70,000-sq-ft build-out of Brigham Young University's Salt Lake Center, Ascend Health's Salt Lake Behavioral Health treatment center and a 120,000-sq-ft renovation of Fusion iO in Salt Lake City.

Shannon Rogers
BIM expert presents national seminars on project delivery
39, Systems Integration Group Manager
GE Johnson Construction Co.
Greenwood Village, Colo.

Although it's still early in his career, Shannon Rogers has already worked for some of the most prominent architecture and contracting firms in Denver. Rogers, an architect, joined RNL Design in 1998 and helped design several local landmarks, including the iconic Cable Center Museum on the University of Denver campus and the Denver School of Science and Technology in the Stapleton neighborhood. He soon became the youngest associate in RNL's 45-year history. In 2002, he broadened his career and joined MA Mortenson Construction to integrate his knowledge of architecture and the building process. While there, he led the firm's development of building information modeling technologies, helping Mortenson become an industry technology leader. Five years ago, he joined GE Johnson Construction, where he has further developed the firm's advanced BIM processes and design-build and integrated project delivery. Rogers is a sought-after national presenter on BIM technology and cutting-edge project development. This fall, he will start his pursuit of a master's degree in business administration with a focus on real estate finance and construction management.

Kurt Seeman
Stays involved in several industry organizations and outreach groups
36, Project Manager
Hensel Phelps Constructon Co.
Greeley, Colo.

Kurt Seeman started his career with Hensel Phelps Construction at the DL Moss Criminal Justice Center in Tulsa, Okla., as a field engineer. Later, he was responsible for site survey and site controls on the REI Denver Flagship Store and the United Artists Theaters project, also in Denver. Moving quickly to his assignment as a project engineer, Seeman served on the University of Colorado's Research 1 project, after which he was promoted to project manager. He has since managed a number of key projects, including the Denver Justice Center. He worked with the Hispanic Contractors of Colorado to develop a training curriculum that evolved into a partnership between HCC and the Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce. He is also an instructor for the Construction Industry Training Council of Colorado.

Ryan Smith
Serves as a liaison on AIA's Center for Integrated Practice Group
36, Director
Innovation Technology & Architecture Center, University of Utah
Salt Lake City

Ryan Smith is a professor at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City who established the Innovation Technology & Architecture Center, a university/industry teaching, research and outreach center for lean and sustainable building. Since 2004, Smith has emerged as a leading national voice in integrated project delivery and offsite construction. His research in building technology topics such as energy modeling, green-building rating systems, emerging contracts, building information modeling and, especially, prefabrication and modularization has been presented and published. Smith has landed nearly $2 million in research grants from public and private institutions since 2004. In addition to teaching construction technology and design courses, he has used his research to employ dozens of undergraduate and graduate students in architecture and engineering. Over the past few years, Smith has led a team of university and industry researchers in the testing and development of interlocking cross-laminated timber made from beetle-kill pine in mountain forests.

Brian Witte
Mentors the next generation of engineers in bridges and highways
35, Senior Construction Engineer
Flatiron
Firestone, Colo.

Brian Witte's first job was as a field engineer at Boston's Logan Airport on the Big Dig. With subsequent projects in South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida, he landed in Colorado in 2007 as a construction engineer in Flatiron's home office. He now manages a handful of younger engineers on each of his projects, acts as an engineering liaison for all projects in Flatiron's Canadian division and supports operations in Colorado. He also passes on institutional knowledge to other engineers through Flatiron University, the company's education program, where he leads a course on best practices in steel-girder erection for the region.