A community ribbon cutting marked both the official halfway point of the Multnomah County Bond project and the historic opening of the Albina Library. As the largest library to open in Portland, Oregon in more than 100 years, work on the Albina Library also included the historic preservation of a Carnegie Building that dates back to 1912.
Among the activities across the grand opening weekend were musical performances, workshops, readings, and crafts like flower origami. This opening follows previous events for the county, including the Holgate Library ribbon cutting. As bond program managers for Multnomah County Library’s historic capital bond program, Otak project leads Mike Day and Judith Moses were on-hand alongside public officials and the broader Albina community to celebrate the milestone.
About the Albina Library Project
With 11 building projects now complete, Albina Library represents just one piece of the overarching $450 million bond program that makes these improvements possible. The expansion adds more than 22,000 square feet of space while preserving and seismically upgrading the historic Carnegie Building, making it the city’s largest new library since the 1913 opening of Central Library. The location of Albina Library in a historically black neighborhood also heavily influenced its design. More than 3,500 community members were engaged across more than 65 public outreach activities to gather input.
A variety of murals, sculptures, and other artwork by local artists can be found throughout the location to reflect the community’s cultural backgrounds. To ensure the library’s public spaces reflect the needs of the surrounding community, 27 teens participated in the Youth Opportunity Design Approach (YODA), collaborating directly with project architects and library staff to create spaces that are welcoming, functional, and teen-friendly. That effort led to a new 1,743 square foot space where teens can gather to play games or study.
Additional new community spaces include an outdoor courtyard where patrons can gather and enjoy nature, as well as numerous community rooms and a new 4,300 square foot interactive kids’ area. For more information on the Albina Library project, visit their website.
Left to Right: Judith Moses and Mike Day
The event featured several speakers from the community
People gathered inside to see the library’s new spaces
The community gathered outside the Albina Library’s front entrance
With many disciplines working together on a variety of projects, perhaps the best way to get a feel for a firm’s impact is simply, a coffee with… the people doing the work.
This video series features experts sharing insights gained during their time in the AEC industry, with an emphasis on the importance of collaboration to meet a common goal of creating improved communities.
In this edition, we sit down with leaders of our owner’s representative group that specialize in school bond management to hear how their work maximizes taxpayer dollars to benefit students, educators, and the surrounding community alike.
Discover more in the video and check out the transcript below:
Shaun: You know, each, each project I’ve been on… it takes a team. It definitely takes a village to do a school project of any size… that’s what we’re here for.
Bob: I am Bob Collins. I’ve work with, I’m a client services manager and I manage K-12 Bond project.
Sarah: I’m Sarah Oaks. I’m the director of project and construction Management here at Otak.
Shaun: I’m Sean Stuhldryer. I’m a program manager at Otak and I manage K-12 bond programs.
Brian: I’m Brian Hardebeck. I’m a client services manager here at Otak, and primarily in the K-12 and higher education market sector.
Bob: Many people don’t realize that, particularly in Oregon, school districts to do any kind of major capital construction need to raise money through a bond.
It doesn’t come from the state funding that they normally get for day to day expenses. And so a bond program captures major capital improvements, investments, and renovations.
Shaun: Every bond is different. Some bonds are one school and some bonds are 30 schools. In general, the more projects you would have then I would say the more phases or waves you need to have, because it’s really not practical to be working on every school at the exact same time.
Brian: What we do is it’s all for the kids. That’s what we’re here for, to improve their environment and allow the educators and the district leadership to concentrate on what they do best, educate and let us set that heavy lift for them.
Sarah: A lot of schools have facility staff and oftentimes they can do project management, but as you said, they have, you know, day jobs that they’ve gotta keep up with kind of a heavy workload.
And so whether it’s for just that period of time where the bond is in passage, or if there’s a particular complexity that maybe those facility folks don’t have experience with, I think that’s where we have a real value add, to kind of come alongside whatever resources the district has.
Bob: A lot of our service can start in pre-bond management, assisting the client and really understanding what their needs are.
Working alongside with an architecture or design team to do some pre-bond and public engagement with the voters to help the district assure they’ll have a good, strong message out there, and that the voters have the public engagement that they need to understand what they’re gonna pay for.
Shaun: Oftentimes I’ll work with school districts to develop their district standards, and district standards, help design teams meet the needs and the priorities of the district.
You know, so you don’t overshoot in what you build frequently. We’ll identify tiers of priorities. Those are a few ways that we just return the best investment back on the taxpayer money.
Brian: One Of our major roles is the, uh, master communicator and facilitators to the district and to the voters.
We take on a sometimes very public, outward facing view for the client to really actively listen to them, take their feedback, and communicate that to the district. Help them facilitate the decision making process that includes voter input into the prioritization of projects, but also encompass the, “what’s in it for me,” question from the voter.
Bob: I think that one of our biggest roles is we are identifying risk to the project and then communicating to them. And in doing so, that I think develops trust with all those folks.
Sarah: You know, other things we do, I think particularly with engagement is making sure that districts have a citizens oversight committee set up too, to kind of put eyes and ears on the process.
How do you cater to specific school district needs?
Shaun: I’ve worked with clients with, you know, acquiring properties, dealing with entitlements, dealing with development codes.
One interesting thing about, I think, in our business is every project is unique. It’s always a new team, new entities or people coming together for the first time.
Bob: One of the things we found very important to help develop a team from the beginning before there is really a team is chartering. Putting that out there so that there really is expectation setting from the get-go at the highest level.
So, there’s an opportunity to try to have members on your team that you feel have the same vision and passion about doing the work. And then again, being transparent, always in communication, you can’t communicate enough.
Sarah: You cannot overstate the importance of communication. I think a fundamental agreement for that is, is trust.
And I’m glad you mentioned chartering. I mean, that’s such an important thing to kind of get up everyone’s different goals on the table and figure out how those are gonna get woven together.
Brian: I think for me, uh, being a coastal region client service manager, I think one thing that I’m involved with more than probably inland groups is coastal resiliency and how to deal with rising, rising water levels.
Earthquake preparedness and resiliency for post-incident occupation of the new school or a school building or a public facility in this case. Where is it located? That all plays into the planning involved in a bond program for coastal districts, coastal clients.
Shaun: You know, a lot of school districts maybe they pass a bond every 10 years or, you know, every 20 years. Maybe it’s more often every five years. But, you know, the bond runs its course and then the school district’s not in the business of building things, they’re in the business of education. But we’re out serving other school districts and staying sharp, keeping up with technology and changes.
Sarah: I would like to say that we’re experts in uncertainty, right? Of figuring out how we’re gonna face it, how we’re gonna bring a team through it, how we’re gonna make decisions to come out on the other side of it.
So oftentimes we’re building spaces where, you know, they aren’t able to teach that because they don’t have space for it yet. And so sometimes it’s coming alongside educators as they’re putting together curriculum and we’re designing the space at the same time.
And so, I think it’s really figuring out not just how to build a building, but how to build a building to be used immediately and then for generations. You know, that I think is something you have to, you have to really have a good crystal ball, or yeah, a good sense of it.
What do you find rewarding about school bond work?
Brian: This industry’s very personal to me. I’m a product of a career and technical education class (CTE) in high school.
I just recently worked for a bond client, rural client on the Oregon coast. We saw the need to expand their career and technical education offerings, built a new CTE laboratory building for them. And I think at the end of that, we used the building as an educational process.
The kids that were already in their CTE programs had an exploratory program to bring in kids that really hadn’t thought of what their careers are going to be. They hadn’t figured out their “why” yet. But something caught ’em. And to see that engagement from the students and something that lit up their “why” was fascinating to me. And it was, it was great to see.
Sarah: I think one of the most gratifying moments that I’ve had just in this particular line of work is… so I’ve had an opportunity to work and participate in ACE Mentors, which is an after school program for high school students that are looking to explore careers in architecture, engineering, and construction.
I’ve now been in this field long enough that some of these students actually had gone through programs at a school that I worked on and had caught the bug, got interested in this line of work because they were able to work in one of the construction labs or in the STEM space of this school that hadn’t existed before we worked on this project.
And so it was very cool just that they are now getting exposed to different hands-on, project-based learning opportunities, career paths that are now kind of bringing them into this, in this industry.
So that felt very full circle for me and just very, very exciting just to hear how much they were enjoying those spaces. I really appreciated that.
Bob: Along the lines of what Sarah mentioned, managing teams of other Otak project managers and seeing their growth, that’s been a lot of fun.
We were asked to build essentially four schools and get ’em all done at the same substantial completion time, and everybody in the industry said, that’s ridiculous. No way that could really be done.
We did get it done on time and under budget, we had money left. So that was a really big, feather in my cap.
Shaun: Something really rewarding for me is opening up an elementary school. And it’s almost because you’ve got this community ready to go to come together, and that’s always just really rewarding to watch that happen.
We opened a school, RA Morrow Kennedy Elementary School in Clackamas County, a while back and I just was really fortunate with a fantastic team.
I mean, well under budget, ahead of schedule. Everything was ready when they wanted to move in in the summer and people were exuberant. It just felt like there was a, there was something in the air where everything came together. You could just see this community developing. That was just a really cool moment for me.
Brian: The school building needs to be more than just a school building. It needs to be a community asset. It’s a community center. It is all for the kids, but it’s also for the community.
It’s no secret that artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and data-driven technologies are increasingly prevalent across many aspects of daily life. But what’s going on behind the scenes to make it happen? Along with the rapid rise of the AI industry has come demand for data centers and mission critical facilities. In fact, the need for infrastructure to support this exponential growth is so great that any reduction in the planning, design, and construction timelines for these facilities presents massive value.
As data center demand grows, it coincides with another rising area in remote work. Remote work, in some form or another, has become commonplace in today’s workplace. This dynamic has found a greater foothold in some industries more than others, and in many cases the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) field has been slower to adapt. While some project tasks naturally require ‘boots on the ground’, one group within our owner’s representative team has strategically designed itself with a remote model to find efficiencies in project management processes.
In this blog, we’ll discuss how today’s tools of remote work are being utilized to accelerate data center deployment and meet their growing demand. Read on or skip ahead:
Launching a new data center involves many logistical and administrative steps across each phase of development. Even before work begins, this process typically involves identifying a site and building a project team which then travels to the site to complete onboarding and safety training. This project activation phase alone can last anywhere from two to six weeks, taking time from the start of design and construction.
A lengthy onboarding period is compounded when managing across multiple sites—as data centers often are—with the cycle needing to be repeated for each location. As locations and stakeholders spread, it also increases the potential for misalignment in a client’s processes and procedures.
A remote team structure bypasses these bottlenecks. Because project managers are operating remotely, they can administer 7 to 9 projects at once without the need for repeated steps. This means projects can be activated across sites almost immediately and in tandem. And because this approach consolidates the project team, there is greater continuity across project phases and sites, reducing risk and costs for clients.
Maximizing Schedules and Timelines Across Geographies
One of the challenges to faster data center deployment exists in the inherent inefficiencies that can come with operating across multiple time zones. By strategically distributing project stakeholders across geographies, a remote team helps reduce delays that come with waiting for centralized teams to mobilize or coordinate across time zones. This deliberate approach enables the team to support clients from coast to coast with flexible schedules that cater to where work is being done.
As East Coast projects get underway, a remote project manager can stagger their schedule—joining key meetings in the morning and shifting to administrative tasks once activity winds down in that time zone. Smart scheduling tools, centralized collaboration platforms, and real-time communication systems further support this model, allowing multiple stakeholders to work in sync across locations.
The result is a remote, regionally integrated approach that ensures core team members remain engaged across phases and locations, accelerating schedules and compressing timelines across the complete data center project lifecycle.
Building a High-Performance Remote Environment
With work spanning more than three countries and twenty metros, the Otak mission critical team is harnessing the power of a remote-first model. Their success has come not only from the digital tools they utilize, but also the partnerships and team-building strategies they’ve implemented. By intentionally cultivating a strong team culture, the group is able to operate as a cohesive unit while maintaining the flexibility to support projects coast to coast.
In parallel to their own approach, the team has cultivated strong partnerships with architecture and engineering firms that also operate with a remote-first mindset. These collaborators share our emphasis on streamlined delivery and flexible engagement. Rather than embedding full teams onsite for extended durations, they use focused field walks at key milestones to ensure critical design and construction checkpoints are met.
To keep the remote team feeling connected, our mission critical group has also taken numerous steps to stay close-knit and collaborative. Regular team building exercises—both digitally and in person—are built into their schedules. The CliftonStrengths Assessment is another important tool the team utilizes for deeper communication and understanding, as it provides specific insights into individual and group strengths and communication styles.
By eliminating traditional roadblocks, consolidating project oversight, and building a distributed culture rooted in technology and individual strengths, Otak’s mission critical team is demonstrating a blueprint for how remote teams can not only match but elevate data center deployment.
A common thread within the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry exists in creating lasting impact. While this theme naturally applies to work that aims to improve lives in communities from one generation to the next, it’s also about preparing the next generation of professionals to continue that work.
At the University of Colorado, Boulder, the CVEN 4899 Senior Design course takes a different approach to building future AEC professionals by giving students a real-world example project to put their knowledge into practice. The project is part of Otak’s work on South Boulder Creek and several leaders from the multidisciplinary expertise involved participated in the classroom and in the field. Their hope was to lend their perspective as mentors to advancing an educational system where a focus on technical knowledge often doesn’t include the value of practical experience.
Understanding how complex projects go from concept to completion involves familiarity with nuanced aspects of decision making in each phase, including stakeholder engagement, technical design, constructability, budgeting, and interdisciplinary coordination. This course helps balance the gap between hard and soft skills in the complete design and construction process, equipping students with a well-rounded start toward successful careers in the industry.
In this blog, we’ll dive into the details of this unique capstone project and the information presented to guide it across four distinct elements. Read on or skip ahead:
The Project – A Stream, Two Structures, and the Solutions of Multidisciplinary Work
In the backyard of CU Boulder’s campus is a nine-mile stretch of South Boulder Creek that extends from Eldorado Canyon to its confluence with Boulder Creek. It represents one of several stream sites identified for improvement by Boulder Flycasters (a local chapter of Trout Unlimited) after multiple studies in the area. The subsequent Stream Management Plan recommended the modification or replacement of multiple structures while the City of Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks Department aimed to improve the functionality of all water crossings across their trail network in the area.
The collective goals of a hypothetical client, The South Boulder Creek Alliance, took shape in a request for proposal (RFP) that combines two projects near the South Mesa Trailhead. One focuses on modifying or replacing the Davidson Diversion structure, and the second on the pedestrian access bridge crossing South Boulder Creek as part of the Mesa Trail.
Through this course, students were asked to develop hypothetical proposals for this real-world project. In developing their designs for each element, they were challenged to balance stakeholder needs, reduce costs through innovative materials and construction methods, and minimize impacts to the environment and public—both during construction and in the long term. Several presentations from industry professionals would guide them along the way, all with a focus on sustainability and resiliency considerations.
Assessing Water Resources and Environmental Conditions
Understanding water resources is an essential component to civil engineering, which of course is accentuated when a stream is involved. It’s a concept very familiar to Tracy Emmanuel, a geomorphologist and team lead for environmental as well as water and natural resources work at Otak, who—alongside colleagues Chris Romeyn and Maddie McNamee—brought expertise to this course in the classroom and the field. While Chris and Maddie led a tutorial on hydraulic modeling, Tracy guided students through her team’s approach to water-related aspects of projects with an emphasis on the types of questions they ask in the project process to uncover the right design solutions—rather than simply providing the answers.
Using this information, students examined the project area’s floodplain and how the flow of the stream impacts the design in a number of key ways:
Determining watershed hydrology and waterway flows as they relate to water rights, fish passage, and with consideration of an expansion project of the upstream Gross Reservoir Dam
Examining a floodplain assessment of impacts to 100-year and 500-year floodplain boundaries in relation to those published by FEMA and local agencies
Completing hydraulic analysis to determine placement and impact of both the diversion structure and potential bridge crossing.
Determining scour from a 500-year storm event and channel erosion protection for the structures
These areas not only enhanced the students’ understanding of water resources engineering but also underlined the importance of designing for the long-term ecological health of the area and maximizing its value to the surrounding community.
Making Context-Sensitive Structural Design Decisions
Structural design is about more than just crunching numbers—it’s about understanding how context, constraints, and client priorities shape a project. David Graff, a structural engineer at Otak, provided students a window into better understanding the how that surrounding context impacts the structural design process, while remaining rooted in real-world conditions.
David emphasized that before even beginning detailed calculations, engineers must make critical decisions about structure type, channel impact, materials, constructability, and aesthetic expectations. He also highlighted the importance of asking the right questions—What problems is the client trying to solve? What’s the budget? Are there successful precedent projects to draw from?
To demonstrate this process, he shared the structure alignment selection process behind the 19th Street Pedestrian Bridge, which exists right on CU Boulder’s campus. He used the project as an example familiar to these students, illustrating how thoughtful engineering, paired with client engagement and project constraint understanding, leads to a successful and unique design solution.
These insights aimed to aid the students as they worked through the structural and geotechnical aspects of the project:
Describing existing site conditions, including subsurface conditions and soil profiles
Determining if any elements of existing structures can be reused in the final condition
Evaluating the pros and cons of different structural materials and systems for the pedestrian bridge design
Considering preventative maintenance for the structures and those associated future costs
The opportunity to navigate working with multiple disciplines and stakeholders gave students a fuller understanding of the structural design process and the high-level decisions that come with it.
Building High-Performing Teams with Balanced Skills
Technical expertise is essential, but the ability to work well with others and communicate effectively is also critical to a project’s success. Henry Alaman, Otak’s Colorado Regional Director and a member of the owner’s representative team, shared with students the importance of balancing technical skills with the soft skills that aren’t always covered in traditional engineering coursework.
Henry spoke about how interpersonal skills influence both the pursuit of projects and their ultimate success. From team collaboration to community engagement, the ability to build relationships and gain buy-in from stakeholders can be an essential piece of the project process.
To reinforce the importance of collaboration, and communication, Henry led an interactive team-building exercise that encouraged students to break down barriers and avoid the siloed thinking that can hinder progress in interdisciplinary teams.
Considering Constructability and Managing a Project to Completion
The best design in the world won’t matter if it can’t be built efficiently. That was central theme from Patrick Pease, a leader in Otak’s construction management group, who presented the practical realities of turning design concepts into built environments.
Patrick walked students through the various steps in the construction process—from initial planning to regular coordination with owners, municipalities, and contractors. He stressed the construction phase being where most major cost fluctuations occur, making coordination crucial to maximizing project value. Proactive communication is one key to avoiding these issues by resolving disputes quickly, maintaining schedules, and keeping projects on budget. To drive this point, Patrick shared two real-world examples that showed opposing results. One—CO7 and SH119—was executed efficiently due to strong stakeholder coordination and planning. The other experienced delays and cost overruns due to poor coordination and lack of clarity between parties.
With the aim of ensuring their designs could be completed, the students’ proposals included various aspects of project constructability:
Creating a list of stakeholders, including their role and involvement, who need to be involved during active construction
Providing strategies for avoiding public interruptions as well as any needed closures or detours to the trail system
Mitigating risk and impact to the environment, including fish spawning in the area
Creating a detailed cost estimate along with a design and construction schedule with phasing plans
A close look at the construction phase helped students understand how critical it is to build strong working relationships early and sustain them throughout a project’s lifecycle.
Bridging the Gap Between Classroom and Career
By simulating a true design-build environment, the CVEN 4899 Senior Design course gives students invaluable experience beyond textbooks. Otak is honored to support these future AEC professionals with a first-hand look at the full project process from a multidisciplinary environment.
As a firm committed to the professional development of our people and the improvement of our communities, we see investing in the next generation not just as mentorship but central to our mission.
Imagine an orchestra without a conductor. Musicians may play their individual parts well, but without cohesion. The result? Chaos. Managing capital improvement projects can be just as complex—without the right leadership, even small projects can easily go off track. That’s where an owner’s representative comes in. Acting as the project’s conductor, they represent the owner’s interests, allowing clients to focus on their day-to-day responsibilities and engage more meaningfully as a stakeholder in the project.
It’s clear why large projects benefit from an owner’s rep. Multiple contractors, complex requirements, and tight timelines make coordination especially crucial. But for smaller projects, it may not always seem as necessary. With rising costs, many owners think skipping an owner’s rep is a smart way to save. After all, many organizations have capable project managers on staff. The question is: Can the organization’s internal staff juggle project facilitation and oversight alongside their primary duties without compromising quality and the ability to manage risks for both?
The reality is that there are no truly “small” projects. Even modest ones involve the steps of choosing the right consultants, managing budgets and schedules, and navigating the design and construction phases. Smaller projects often have similar complexities as larger ones, such as coordinating with multiple stakeholders or managing challenging logistics. In fact, larger projects can sometimes be more straightforward thanks to broader teams and experienced partners!
In this article, we dive into the role of an owner’s representative on capital improvement projects, with an eye on four key ways it adds value, even to “small” projects.
1. Aligning Clear, Attainable Goals with the Client’s Vision
Hiring an owner’s rep on capital improvement projects ensures that the finer details are managed while the owner’s vision remains front and center. They help define priorities and ensure that the project stays true to those goals. For instance, if an owner wants to prioritize local contractors or work with historically underrepresented firms, an owner’s rep can guide those outcomes.
With a focus on budget and schedule management, the owner’s rep allows the client to stay focused on their mission while maintaining transparency. This accountability is invaluable for both private organizations and taxpayer-funded entities, as it demonstrates fiscal responsibility. Plus, a well-planned master budget provides confidence as owners better understand their financial exposure for the total project costs, not just direct construction, and make informed decisions when changes arise.
Engaging an owner’s rep early can also offer guidance on project delivery methods, like when to choose design-build over CM/GC or design-bid-build. Their expertise helps streamline the process, ensuring the right partners are involved at the right time.
2. Expanding Resources and Building Relationships for Future Projects
If you foresee more capital projects on the horizon, working with an owner’s rep on a smaller project is an excellent way to “test drive” the relationship. It allows owners an opportunity to assess their approach, communication style, and fit, setting the stage for future collaboration. This effort can lead to establishing a trusted, lasting partnership that grows with an organization’s capital program.
Owner’s reps also offer a seamless way to bring specialized resources into a project. For public agencies, which often face long hiring timelines and competitive searches for qualified candidates, an owner’s rep contract provides instant access to essential expertise and staff augmentation. Rather than managing multiple RFPs or contracts for inspections, commissioning, or early due diligence, an owner’s rep can efficiently subcontract these services, saving time and streamlining the process. In smaller projects, where time is money, this efficiency is particularly beneficial and supports timely outcomes.
3. Enhancing Communication and Coordination with Stakeholders
Bringing the right team together at the right time can make or break a project. A skilled owner’s rep fosters open communication, innovation, problem solving, conflict resolution, and keeps everyone aligned.
For example, on the Vancouver Clinic expansion projects, Otak as owner’s rep led a collaborative project team environment, resulting in a project delivered three weeks early and $3 million under budget—even during the challenges of the pandemic.
Make no mistake, challenges occur on every project. Having the right combination of leadership, collaboration and engagement determines whether these challenges add to or detract from project outcomes.
4. Finding Efficiencies in Project Processes
With their experience managing multiple projects, owner’s reps often spot efficiencies that save time and money. This can be especially important when managing public funds such as school bonds.
An owner’s rep can anticipate supply chain issues or regional labor shortages and adjust the project plan accordingly. For instance, during the Medford School District’s Oakdale Middle School project, utilization of an owner’s rep expedited the procurement of long-lead items like window systems to avoid delays.
Oakdale Middle School (Photo Credit: Josh Partee)
A Partner That Fits the Project
With capital improvement projects covering a wide range of objectives, Otak’s owner representation services are scalable to fit each project’s unique needs. The group has helped clients with everything from drafting RFPs for an HOA’s paving contractor to offering design phase management on a county health services project until the agency felt comfortable taking over to manage in-house. Using a tailored approach means clients get the expertise they need when they need it, whether that’s for a single phase or the entire project.
Capital improvement projects—large or small—can be complicated but incredibly rewarding. By partnering with an owner’s representative, a project gains an advocate who understands it’s overarching vision and manages the details necessary to reach it. An owner’s representative orchestrates complexities at any scale so project owners can stay focused on the primary mission, giving confidence in completing projects with lasting impact.
During the 2024 Design-Build Conference and Expo, a panel took place to outline the role of an owner’s representative on design-build projects and how seamless integration with the broader project team maximizes its benefit. Featuring a diverse mix of perspectives, including Henry Alaman (Rocky Mountain Regional Manager, Otak) and Patricia Strange (Client Service Manager, Otak) alongside Jo Wells (City of Bend) and Steve Ponce (Department of Administrative Services Oregon), the discussion highlighted real-world examples to emphasize hidden aspects of a successful owner’s representative relationship.
From left to right: Patricia Strange, Henry Alaman, and Jo Wells speaking during DBIA Panel (Photo Credit: Robb McCormick (robbmccormick.com))
Advancing Design-Build Projects, ‘Beyond the Five Senses’
While it’s generally understood that humans possess five senses, there are deeper perceptions people possess that have a persistent – though not always immediately visible – impact. A similar dynamic is felt on projects where hidden challenges or difficult to attain goals slow progress, and this is where the extensive background and deep industry knowledge of an owner’s representative comes into play. With an emphasis on creating a cohesive team, this can be especially valuable for new owners and on design-build or progressive-build projects in streamlining processes.
These often-overlooked factors of collaboration and their impact on project management were the focus of the DBIA panel titled, Beyond the Five Senses: Unveiling the Advantages of Owner’s Representative in Design-Build Projects.
“When teams are already strapped as it is we become an extension of the owner, adding the expertise needed to see hidden opportunities and efficiencies throughout the project process to attain hard to accomplish goals.”
– Patricia Strange, Client Service Manager
Drawing on their own experiences in the field, the panel detailed some of these instances where there’s more than meets the eye in having an owner’s rep truly absorbed into a project team. In defining the role of an owner’s rep and outlining what to look for during selection and interview, the presentation covered what an owner should expect across the project process from project planning and design to construction start-up through project close-out.
The Portland Building
The panel discussed the Portland Building project which exceeded DEI requirements by achieving 33% MWESB participation and the Bend Public Works Campus that featured a diversity of services, emphasizing how a cohesive team also encourages engagement with small businesses. This included the perspectives of owner’s themselves with Jo Wells and Steve Ponce, touching on the place of mentoring emerging businesses to enhance capabilities and professional standing.
The deep dive demonstrated how a cohesive team helps balance organizational requirements and streamline the process of identifying and filling roles on that team. The presentation covered a range of benefits including cost-effectiveness, risk mitigation, and strategic decision making while catering to unique aspects of an organization’s structure.
The panel ultimately aimed to show that by leveraging what exists ‘beyond the five senses,’ a deeper understanding can be achieved, leading to a more collaborative team that successfully meets project goals.
The Daily Journal of Commerce (DJC) Oregon’s annual event brought together members of the AEC industry to recognize the many accomplishments of women in the field. This year, the DJC Women of Vision Award was received by Kristen Ballou and Sarah Oaks.
Their recognition adds to a growing list of women at Otak that have been honored over the past several years:
2023 – Saretta Tillmaand, Amanda Owings, Margaret Steinhilber
2022 – Millicent Williams
2021 – Tanya Boyer, Rachel Laura, Cathy Kraus
2020 – Serah Breakstone, Tina Keller, Angela Khosa-Marangwanda
Learn more below about each and catch a glimpse of what their peers had to say as part of the nomination process.
Meet the Honorees
Kristen Ballou, Senior Civil Engineer
While designing transportation and utility improvements for communities across Oregon, Kristen Ballou has spent the past 24 years at Otak.
“The successful on-time and on-budget completion of Kristen’s projects was a huge part of the success of the overall Tualatin Transportation bond Program and a huge asset to our city. The success of this program led to voter approval of a similar program for improvements in parks.”
– Mike McCarthy P.E., City Engineer, City of Tualatin
As a senior engineer, Kristen’s most significant accomplishments involve managing and designing detailed projects that provide multi-modal improvements and increased livability to local communities. An emphasis on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines is consistently part of her approach. This includes streamlining development of CAD labeling for ramp design now used by engineers across the organization.
Kristen has also been an active member of the American Public Works Association (APWA), a regular volunteer with the Beaverton School District Art Literacy Program, and a mentor to junior engineers and designers.
Sarah Oaks, Director of Otak CPM
Beginning her career as an AmeriCorps Volunteer at Portland Public Schools (PPS), where she was a founding member of the Office of School Modernization, Sarah Oaks now provides leadership for Otak’s work in comprehensive project management.
“Sarah maintains a sense of stewardship alongside a strong lens of investment in people and culture. She routinely evaluates business growth from a perspective of how to support pathways for professional development of staff, creating a culture of excellence and attraction that people want to continue to be a part of.”
As her career has progressed, she’s continued volunteer and mentorship work with industry groups like the ACE Mentor Program. She has also kept a strong focus on public work, supporting numerous school bonds and central city revitalization efforts. In growing Otak’s PM/CM portfolio across multiple market segments, Sarah has also led a variety of internal initiatives around professional development. From supporting an international exchange program to the implementation a mentorship program, Sarah’s impact has led to stronger ties within Otak’s areas of expertise and has ushered significant growth of individual team members.
In today’s dynamic work environment, building strong connections, fostering professional growth, and creating quality engagement is more important than ever. Within our PM/CM group, a unique approach has been built on the time-tested principle of mentoring to close the gap on today’s challenges to professional development.
Through the Development Advisor Program, mentoring has been reinforced as one of the most impactful ways to cultivate organizationalvalues around community building, while strengthening team culture and their work with clients. Since launching the program in 2019, it has become a cornerstone of the group’s strategy for professional development, employee retention, and creating a supportive workplace culture.
“I am grateful for the impact of our mentoring program… it’s been invaluable having our Development Advisors as an augmentation of our leadership team to stay connected to what truly matters to our staff beyond the day-to-day responsibilities of their projects. This program has helped us bridge the gaps of a hybrid and remote environment to engage meaningfully with one another’s challenges and career aspirations. It has truly created a shared space for growth and learning together.”
Sarah Oaks, Director of Otak CPM
Why the Mentoring Program Was Developed
Back in 2019, the PM/CM team sought to improve the consistency in how professional development and mentoring were approached in a quickly evolving work environment.
It’s common for staff to work with one supervisor for three to four years on a project then transition to a new supervisor when deployed to a new project and client. With different supervisors there naturally would be variances in approach to mentorship and on the job training. The result could at times be a range of experiences depending on a person’s placement on project teams. To address this, the team’s new approach entailed designing a structured mentoring program that would provide every team member with the opportunity for consistent personal connection, professional advocacy, and growth.
The initiative would become a vital tool in unforeseen and unprecedented circumstances. As the program took shape, it would keep the team connected through one of the most challenging periods for businesses globally—the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.
During a time of uncertainty and remote work, the mentoring program became a lifeline for employees, providing them with consistent support, encouragement, and a sense of community. Since then, the program has grown to include more than thirty mentees and eleven development advisors and continues to grow.
How the Program Works
At the heart of the Development Advisor Program is the 360° performance evaluation process. Through this, mentees receive valuable feedback from a variety of sources, including their direct supervisors, clients, industry partners, and their colleagues. This feedback serves as a critical tool for professional development, allowing mentees to gain deeper insights into their strengths and areas for growth. More importantly, it provides transparency on where they can improve, helping them create a clear roadmap for their personal and professional development.
The Development Advisor Program isn’t only about performance evaluation—it’s fundamentally about connection. Mentees and mentors meet on a monthly basis to connect on a personal level.
In addition to personal connection, this provides meaningful time to discuss any challenges, celebrate areas of growth, review goals, and take time for the mentor/mentee to connect on other meaningful topics they have top of mind. These regular check-ins offer mentees an advocate for their growth and development, someone who not only helps set and achieve career goals but also acts as a trusted sounding board. This mentorship fosters a deeper sense of belonging within the team, contributing to more engagement and satisfaction at work.
The Impact of Mentorship
The results of the mentoring program have been notable both internally and externally. Mentees and mentors consistently report feeling more connected to their colleagues and the organization. They value the advocacy, guidance, and feedback they receive, which in turn has had a positive effect on their professional development and overall workplace engagement. Mentors will share how the role has been an enriching experience for them as well, making this program truly a win-win experience.
The Development Advisor Program has uniquely played a crucial role in employee retention. In a time when workforce turnover has been high across all industries, having a structured system of support and development has proven to be a key factor in keeping talented professionals engaged and committed to the organization. By providing a safe space for team members to connect, it supports awareness and communication from the field to mentors. The result is greater cohesion and a sense of belonging amongst the group as a whole.
Mentorship of staff has intrinsic value for clients as well. When staff engagement is high, this translates to better outcomes for projects. Team members have vision for where their talent contributes the most value and they find ways to express that value in the context of their roles and work. As collaborative engagement increases so does problem-solving, innovation and risk management – staff are incentivized to express their leadership, ask questions and contribute to team outcomes.
This program has become a core part of the project management culture, driving a sense of purpose and connection that permeates through the team. By focusing on both personal and professional development, a workplace environment has been created where people feel valued, supported, and empowered to grow.
Looking Ahead
The Development Advisor Program is now in its fifth year. Looking to build on its success in the future, the program aims to expand its reach and influence growing organically as the team grows. In addition to day-to-day mentoring activities, the mentor team also serves as a valued think tank for business unit leadership around supporting team and people-forward strategies. In a time where the needs of the workforce are constantly changing, having a cohort of mentors to be thought partners for leadership has been invaluable in shaping strategy and investment for approaching the growth of our most important resource, people.
After an event-filled weekend in Portland, Oregon, the Holgate Library is officially open! Grand opening celebrations featured community-centered activities and performances derived from a variety of heritage and backgrounds. The overarching theme of ‘Building Belonging’ emphasized a design approach that reflects the diverse community the library serves.
The Otak team, led by Mike Day, bond program manager, and Senior Project Coordinator Judith Moses was on-hand for the occasion along with leaders and the broader community to celebrate the opening of the first new library building in the county in over a decade.
About the Holgate Library Project
As just one piece of the broader $450 million Multnomah County Bond Program, Holgate Library represents the county’s most energy efficient library ever built. Covering 21,000-square feet, the facility triples the space of the 1971 building.
In making the most of the new space, an extensive public outreach program – including focus groups, public meetings, surveys, and workshops among other approaches – ensured the library’s design represented diverse community members. This effort led to design details such as signage in multiple languages, specific spaces for children and teens, and new art through a partnership with the Regional Arts and Culture Council and the Portland Street Art Alliance. Interior and exterior murals and mosaics are featured, with color and pattern design choices that were voted on by the public.
A combination of added space and technology upgrades make this a modern and flexible facility that will benefit the community for years to come. Otak is proud to serve the Multnomah County community as owner representative in this wide-reaching effort to improve every library across the county. For more information on the Holgate Library project and Multnomah County Library’s initiatives, visit their website at www.multcolib.org.
Sarah Oaks and Doug Garland embody the group’s strong trajectory of growth as they take on new leadership roles with Otak CPM.
We’re happy to announce the recent promotions of Sarah Oaks and Doug Garland to the new director and practice area leader for the company’s comprehensive project management team (Otak CPM).
No strangers to the firm, Sarah and Doug have been a part of Otak since the acquisition of DAY CPM in 2017. In that time, they’ve appreciated the expanded opportunities to collaborate with other Otak disciplines and grow alongside leaders on the team. Leveraging these multidisciplinary experiences, they aim to drive growth and best practices as owners’ representatives and client advisors across the public and private market sectors.
COO Scott Dreher has enjoyed working with Sarah since she joined the firm, sharing: “Sarah has been instrumental in managing operations for CPM over the past four years. Watching her build and empower a strong team has been a pleasure. With Sarah at the helm, the future looks incredibly promising.
Sarah joined the organization in 2016 as a project manager supporting the Tigard-Tualatin School District bond. Since that time, she has risen through the organization while advancing her operational and leadership responsibilities from the program to business unit level. Over the last four years, Sarah has served Otak CPM in a leadership capacity to support business operations and individual project teams, first as operations manager and then as business unit leader. Some notable contributions include helping spearhead the team’s “Development Advisor” mentorship program while championing best practices, operational procedures, and other team development investments.
“We’re on the precipice of new growth and always seeking better ways to serve our clients. It’s a privilege to be able to collaborate with my team and identify the best practices and solutions that we’re bringing to our clients and share them across not only our division but the company.”
– Sarah Oaks, Director of Otak CPM
As Otak CPM grows, Sarah is excited to accelerate what the team has already started. Building on their recent work establishing career pathways, she is focused on the legacy plan for her group and their capacity to provide exceptional service to clients. With the goal of connecting team members with opportunities, Sarah aims to develop and advance careers in alignment with individual skills and passions to form great teams attuned to clients’ needs.
Doug has been with Otak CPM for the past 13 years, where he has applied more than 22 years of his construction industry knowledge to the oversight of many critical projects in a variety of both public and private markets. From iconic courthouses, hospitals, first responder facilities, higher education projects, to industrial manufacturing – Doug showcases an ability to tackle complexity by guiding a wide range of projects to completion.
Scott also shares confidence in Doug’s appointment, stating that “Doug has been pivotal to the success of our CPM group. He brings a comprehensive skill set, from technical expertise to business development and team building.”
In his new position, Doug is particularly excited about the ability to bring the project management side of the business to other groups so they can focus on the engineering and design work they love. With best practices and innovative solutions, he aims to expand collaboration between Otak’s practice area and business unit leaders to provide the best possible client experience across the company.
“The great thing about Otak CPM is the culture of inclusion and collaboration that each employee brings to the team. As we look to the future it is this culture of excellence that will help us achieve our goals together.”
– Doug Garland, Practice Area Leader of Otak CPM
With the development of Otak leadership comes the opportunity for teams to build on the success of one another. Sarah and Doug are looking forward to working across Otak’s disciplines to find overlapping strategies that strengthen Otak as a firm. Backed by a strong team, Otak CPM represents an incredibly diverse group of leaders with traits that uniquely position them to relate to clients and speak their language. With an entrepreneurial spirit and talented leadership, the team has the momentum and expertise to serve the wide range of clients that are essential to growing the practice and the company.
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People gathered inside to see the library’s new spaces
The community gathered outside the Albina Library’s front entrance
