Industry professionals from all across the U.S. donated their time and expertise to help ENR identify and honor the most outstanding construction efforts completed in the U.S. and Puerto Rico between May 2015 and June 2016 . Nearly 700 project teams submitted their best work to ENR's 10 regional "Best Projects" competitions. For each of the ten regions, our editors assembled an independent panel of industry judges to home in on the winners in 20 categories. The winners of the regional contests moved on to the national competition.

A national jury of independent industry individuals (listed below) was assembled to examine the regional winners to distinguish the "Best of the Best" in teamwork, success in overcoming challenges, innovation and quality. A separate jury of industry safety experts chose this year's "Excellence in Safety" award.

Any judge whose firm worked on a project in a given category was assigned to a different category.

ENR thanks the judges for their dedication and hundreds of hours of time they collectively devoted to examining the entries. The awards would not be possible without the efforts of these volunteers.

Gary Baughman
CEO        
M+W Group

Recently appointed as CEO for the Americas region, Baughman has been with M+W Group since 2015, initially serving as COO. His 30+ years of experience in the engineering and construction industry, include roles leading AECOM’s Industrial End Market in the Americas, and positions the industrial industries and process for Wood Group, Washington Group International and Fluor Corp.

Wayne  A. Crew
General Secretary
National Academy of Construction

Crew is responsible for the National Academy of Construction’s day to day operation. A registered professional engineer in Michigan, he was previously director of the Construction Industry Institute following 33 years in the industry with Technip, KBR, Brown & Root, Amoco and Michigan Chemical Corp.

Bart Eberwein
Executive Vice President
Hoffman Construction Co.

Eberwein has been with Hoffman, a large commercial, institutional and industrial general contractor headquartered in Portland, Ore., since 1988. He was elected to officer and owner in 1993. He holds a BS and an MBA from the University of Oregon.

Tim Hanifin         
Vice President and General Manager
Graycor

A 22-year veteran of the firm, Hanifin currently oversees Graycor’s Midwest division and national retail and entertainment market, overseeing business development, preconstruction services and project operations. He has BS of civil engineering from Northwestern University.  

Carl W. Heinlein                
Senior Safety Consultant                
American Contractors Insurance Group

Heinlein joined ACIG in 2002. Prior to that, he was the director of construction services for FDR and Associates in Nashville, Tenn. He is also the past national safety & health director for the AGC. He holds ARM, CPEA, CRIS, CSHM, CSP, OHST and STS safety, health, environmental and risk management certifications and designations.

Ian K. Richardson              
Principal & Operations Manager                 
GHD

Richardson’s work history spans over 30 years of environmental site assessments and investigations as well as the negotiation and implementation of remedial programs under various provincial/state/federal regulatory programs across North America. A principal and the operations manager for GHD’s North American business, he is a professional engineer licensed in 21 states.

Michael Sanchez               
Chief of Construction Operations
Shawmut Design and Construction

Sanchez oversees processes across all of Shawmut’s eight offices and divisions. He has spent 25 years at Shawmut, most recently as vice president of field operations. He holds a BS in building construction technology from Wentworth Institute of Technology.

John Schaufelberger      
Dean, College of Built Environments         
University of Washington

Schaufelberger, PhD, PE, has taught at the University of Washington since 1994, covering the areas of construction equipment management, construction practices, construction contract procurement, construction firm management and international construction project management. He is the author of several construction management books and served 30 years as an officer in the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Cliff Schwinger 
Vice President   
The Harman Group Inc.

Schwinger, PE, is a structural engineer and quality assurance manager at the Harman Group, Structural Engineers in Philadelphia and New York. He is a graduate of Lehigh University, with over 35 years of experience designing building structures, and serves on the American Institute of Steel Construction’s Committee on Manuals.

Robert Jackson Scott III
Client Development Manager      
Terracon

Now semi-retired, Scott began his career working for the H. C. Nutting Co. as a geologist/technician. He advanced through the ranks to become CEO and chairman in 1989. In 2007, H. C. Nutting was purchased by Terracon Consultants and Scott transitioned to vice president in charge of federal services. 

Joseph Stagner
Executive Director, Sustainability & Energy Management                 
Stanford University

Stagner was a team member on one of last year’s Best of the Best projects, the Stanford Energy System Innovations. One of ENR’s Top 25 Newsmakers this year, his career also includes 14 years as director of utilities for UC Davis.

Hraztan Zeitlian                 
Architect, Design Principal
Struere

Zeitlian is the founder and design principal of STRUERE Architecture, Los Angeles. He oversees design conceptualization and strategy. Prior to STRUERE, Zeitlian was director of design of Lynx Architecture, and worked for DLR Group WWCOT, Leo A Daly’s, SOM, JohnsonFain and Gensler.

Rick Zellen          
Senior Risk Engineering Consultant
Zurich North America

Zellen is a certified safety professional with 26 years of experience in construction. He is also the assistant administrator for the construction practice specialty for the American Society of Safety Engineers. 

Best of the Best 2016