2024 PEPS Conference presentations
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2024 PEPS Conference presentations

TxDOT’s Professional Engineering Procurement Services (PEPS) Division held a two-day conference on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, 2024. The focus of the event was to provide insight and updates on the PEPS procurement processes to the consultant community and TxDOT’s districts and divisions.

The table displays the conference agenda and links to any presentations given during each session.

Professional Engineering Procurement Services
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Wednesday, Dec. 11

Time Description
8:00 - 8:45 a.m.

Opening Remarks and Shining Star Award

  • Lucio Vasquez - PEPS Deputy Division Director
  • Martin Rodin - PEPS Division Director
  • Shining Star Award Presentation
9:00 - 9:45 a.m

Keynote Speaker: Chet Garner

10:00 - 10:45 a.m.

Down the Rabbit Hole of Revolving Door Restrictions

  • Amy Owens, presenter
  • Martha Juch, moderator


HUB Subcontracting Plan (HSP) and DBE Contract Provisions
  • Billy Connolly and Patricia Litchfield, presenters
  • Amanda Flores, moderator

Best Practices for Interviews - Part 1

  • Phil Howlett and Scott Nelson, presenters
  • Shirin Helmi, moderator

Panel: Debriefs - Leveraging Feedback to Improve Your Proposal

  • Chris Franco, Marc Sandhu, Donna Adams and Jennifer Nelson-Smith, panelists
  • Joe Jancuska, moderator

Prepararing to Work with TxDOT

  • Natashia Tabatabaii, presenter
  • Yvonne Colmenero, moderator
10:45 - 11:00 a.m. Break

11:00 - 11:45 a.m.

 

Conflicts of Interest - How to Avoid It and What to do When you Get Stuck

  • Russell Ruplinger, presenter
  • Todd Speck, moderator

Federal DBE Program Compliance

  • Martha Arnold, presenter
  • Billy Connolly, moderator

Best Practices for Interviews - Part 2

  • Benjamin McCulloch – Strategic Planning Division

Panel: Ways to Provide Great Service on Construction Engineering Inspection Contracts

  • Paige LaBarr, K.D. Warach and Adam Galland, panelists
  • Alan Gonzalez, moderator

Precertification and Administrative Qualifications Overview

  • Sierra Salinas, Roy Gonzales and Gabe Villanueva, presenters
  • Gail Morea, moderator

11:45 - 1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 - 1:45 p.m.

Ethics Role in Risk Management

  • Jeff Vinklarek, Robin Handel and Shane Wade, presenters
  • Janie Martinez, moderator

AJAR – Labor Hours Modeling: Transparency and Accountability in Contract Negotiations

  • Michael Haithcock and Cliff Hallford, presenters
  • John Moos, moderator

Panel: A Winning Strategy - How to Know a Project is Right for You

  • Whit Friend, Jeff Wesanen and K.D. Warach
  • Dan Neal, moderator

Panel: Successful Escalation in CEI Contracts

  • Mickey Marlow and Adam Galland, panelists
  • Alan Gonzalez, moderator

Qualifications Based Proposals

  • Mindy Sawyer, presenter
  • Tiffany Nguyen, moderator
1:45 - 2:00 p.m. Break
2:00 - 2:45 p.m.

Ethics During the Procurement Process

  • Jaime Vela, Kendall Baker and Amy Owens, presenters
  • Yassine El ldrissi, moderator

Top 5 Drone Myths and Misconceptions

  • Michael Hill, James Dalton and Julian Magda, presenters
  • Adrianna Perryman, moderator

Fundamentals of Invoicing

  • Nikki Cervantes and Priscilla Vasquez, presenters
  • Tira Dobrozensky, moderator

Construction Project Management/Best Practices in Public Involvement Activities

  • Amy Redmond, Jennifer McPherson and Marco Galindo, presenters
  • Amanda Flores, moderator

Negotiation Basics

  • Rebecca Lozoya, presenter
  • Gloria Hern, moderator

Thursday, Dec. 12

Time Description
8:00 - 8:45 a.m.

Things I Wish I Knew about Consulting Before I Left TxDOT

  • Howard Holland, Randy Hopmann, Buddy Williams and Carlos Swonke, panelists
  • Martin Rodin, moderator

9:00 - 9:45 a.m

AJAR - Labor Hours Modeling: Transparency and Accountability in Contract Negotiations (duplicate presentation)

  • Michael Haithcock and Cliff Hallford, presenters
  • Patricia Litchfield, moderator

The Road to Timely Payments: Best Practices for Developing the Table of Deliverables and Timely Invoicing

  • Russell Ruplinger, Kari Ward and Manny Salas, presenters
  • Dan Neal, moderator

Panel: Stay in the Game: Avoid Disqualification and Improve Submittals

  • Frederick Sunderman, Tracy Smith-Williams, Geetha Chandar, Krishna Peapully and Dan Rozycki, panelists
  • Kori Rodriguez, moderator

Legal Firm Name and Name Change

  • Martha Juch and Mindy Sawyer, presenters
  • Elizabeth Grado, moderator

Fundamentals of Invoicing (duplicate presentation)

  • Nikki Cervantes and Priscilla Vasquez, presenters
  • Tira Dobrozensky, moderator
10:00 - 10:45 a.m.

Houston Comprehensive Engineering Consultant Contracts - Workflow and Tracking

  • Andrea Ranft, Thuy Luong, David Balmos and LeAnne Napolillo, presenters
  • John Mosaffa, moderator

Negotiation Center Updates

  • Rebecca Lozoya, presenter
  • Shana Thomas, moderator

PS-CAMS Database Overview

  • Gunalini Rajkumar, presenter
  • Adrianna Perryman, moderator

Work Authorization Project Management

  • Tamika Griffin, presenter
  • Esther Cisneros, moderator

Staying Out of the Rejection Lane

  • Anitra Lewis, presenter
  • Crystal Zhang, moderator
11:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Conflicts of Interest - How to Avoid It and What to do When you Get Stuck

  • Russell Ruplinger, presenter
  • Todd Speck, moderator

Innovations in PEPS

  • Martin Rodin and Dan Neal presenters
11:30 - Noon Break
 Noon - 1:30 p.m.

Lunch and Closing