ACE Mentor Program celebrates Silver Anniversary

Philadelphia — On May 14, presidents and CEOs of multi-billion-dollar design and construction industry firms will gather at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Md., just outside Washington, D.C., to celebrate the Silver Anniversary of the ACE Mentor Program of America. These leaders created the ACE program in 1994 to excite high school students about careers in the integrated construction industry.

NBC White House correspondent Geoff Bennett will emcee the festive dinner showcasing ACE’s achievements since 1994 and bestowing accolades on some of the program’s students and mentors.

ACE helps expand and diversify the design and construction industry workforce.  Ten-thousand students participate annually. Two-thirds of high school seniors in ACE (3,200) pursue college majors in architecture, construction, and engineering.  Their gender and racial/ethnic diversity is considerably higher than that of their national peers.

“The ACE program is a proven source of talent for our industry,” said Peter Davoren, Chairman of the ACE Board of Directors and Turner Construction Company CEO.  “Today thousands of ACE alumni, including many minorities and women, are practicing architects, engineers, and construction professionals. As ACE graduates also serve as mentors, it is clear that beyond building technical skills, ACE students gain an appreciation for teamwork and service to others.”

At the dinner, the construction management software company CMiC will present 25 ACE students scholarships totaling $400,000. The Allen Berg Memorial Scholarships, named for CMiC’s late founder, range in value between $10,000 and $40,000.

In addition, five outstanding ACE mentors for 2019 will receive awards from Engineering News-Record.  They have been selected from ACE’s 3,800 mentors, all practicing industry professionals.

On May 14 afternoon three finalist student teams from Honolulu, New York, and Des Moines will compete in the National Design and Construction Competition organized by the Construction Industry Round Table, whose membership includes many of the top design and construction firms in the United States and Canada, The winning team, which will receive a $5,000 prize,  will be announced at the anniversary dinner.

Major industry companies have signed on as anniversary sponsors: Platinum Level – CMiC; Gold Level, Barton Malow Foundation; and Silver Level – Allan Myers, Inc.; APi Group, Inc.; BrightView Landscape Development, Inc.; Construction Industry Round Table; Engineering News-Record; Gilbane Building Company; STV; Terracon Consultants; and Turner Construction Company.

On May 15-16, also at the Gaylord National Resort, ACE will convene a national conference for its leaders and mentors from its 74 affiliates in 37 states.

For more details about ACE’s anniversary activities, visit https://www.acementor.org/25th-anniversary.