Branka Minic is the CEO of Building Talent Foundation (BTF). Prior to her executive role at BTF, she was the president of Future Work Consulting, advising donors, global corporations, governments and international NGO’s on the latest research, best practices and policies for addressing youth unemployment. Branka has spent her career as an expert in the staffing industry. Her research deals with best practices to reduce youth unemployment, and specifically the protocols for implementing successful workplace mentoring and apprenticeship programs. She has extensive experience in labor market and skill gap analysis. In collaboration with Making Cents International, Branka led the research and authored the “Demand-Driven Framework and Toolkit”, compiling the international best practices on aligning education and training systems with employers’ skill needs.

Brek stepped onto his first construction site at 5 years old with his father. He's on a mission to reshape the construction industry by empowering the next generation and people who boot up and build our world.  Solving the #1 issue that over 85% of construction companies are facing — finding skilled trades, Hammr is a professional network that enables construction businesses and professionals to build their brand, connect, collaborate, inspire and hire. A focal point for bridging the next generation of trades.  Hammr's crafted network helps the trades of construction build their reputation and connect with the builders of the world –a network and labor marketplace for construction.  Builders of Insta the leading construction and building-related community on social.  Brek is in the 2020 class of Pro Builder's 40 under 40, a panelist at the International Builders' Show and Hammr is a top 25 finalist in the 2020 Ivory Prize. The Ivory Prize recognizes innovators seeking to make housing more affordable across three distinct categories: finance, construction and design, and public policy and regulatory reform.  

(excerpt from NAHB article) “When the student team from Tuskegee University in Alabama took the stage at the 2020 International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas, they made history — becoming the first all-female, all-African-American team in the competition’s near 30-year history. They also showcase a growing diversity in the home building industry and highlight the next generation of possible industry leaders. Dr. Charner Rodgers, Tuskegee associate professor at the Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science and Management, said in her 15 years in the construction education arena she has seen her classes grow from zero females enrolled in the curriculum to females representing about a third of her classrooms. And Rodgers said it’s not just happening at Tuskegee or her former school, Kennesaw State University, but across much of the industry, according to research she’s done on women in construction. Rodgers is also vice-chair of the NAHB Student Chapters Advisory Board.” Charner has 20 years of experience with housing. Currently, Charner is also an adjunct professor with NewSchool of Architecture & Design. Prior to joining the Tuskegee faculty in 2019, she was an assistant professor with Kennesaw State University and served as a civil engineer and construction manager for a general contracting firm in Nashville.

HillStaffer is a bi-partisan public affairs consulting firm specializing in public policy, strategic communications & member engagement, and government relations – both federal and state – for global companies, national trade associations, and professional & scientific societies. Thomas Rosenfield has more than 25 years of experience in financial services and public policy. Currently president of HillStaffer, he has extensive experience leading multiple federal and state advocacy initiatives. He guides the firm’s strategic direction and has been instrumental implementing a multilateral focus on financial services, healthcare, and chemicals, successfully representing associations and for-profit companies around the country. Thomas also serves on the Advisory Board of Harmony Asset Management, Chair of APAC (ASAE/American Society of Association Executives), Mentor with the Public Affairs Council, and on the DC-region executive committee of UrbanPlan (Urban Land Institute). He is known for his strong advocacy, team building, and leadership skills with a history of producing consensus among diverse stakeholders. He has led multiple initiatives for stakeholders from the public and private sectors to build consensus on strategy, and has driven significant success leading highly diverse constituencies of Democrat and Republican caucuses. Previously, Thomas held executive positions on Wall Street and in the investment sector, including Chief Operating Officer at a Schottenstein Family Office which owned, developed, and operated more than 3 million SF of commercial, retail, and healthcare properties; COO of The Bacon Companies, a residential and hospitality designer and builder; and, president of Expansion Funds America, a national RIA focused on ERISA plan and high net-worth clients. Mr. Rosenfield began his career with Cantor Fitzgerald, working in both the firm’s New York and Los Angeles offices and ultimately directing fixed-income investment activities for public-sector clients including state treasuries, state retirement systems, and municipalities.

Betsy is the executive director of programs + engagement for the Alliance. For more than 20 years, she has excelled at helping people think differently by taking complex ideas and concepts, analyzing them from the perspective of others, and translating the results into action. If you want to meet people bringing innovation to the housing industry, or know what’s new, she’s your ticket. A natural collaborator with a great social sense, she connects the dots between smart people, forward-thinking companies and big ideas. With Betsy in your corner, everyone wins. That’s why she helms the Housing Innovation Alliance, a passion she’s pursued since 2008 with founding partner IBACOS and now as the Executive Director, Program + Engagement of an independent entity focused on bringing business and technical innovation to housing. Her responsibilities for strategic planning, member and sponsor engagement, and programming speak to her fierce attention to detail, creative mind, and ability to make complex subjects tangible, relevant and actionable.  She adds depth to ideas, finds and shares new opportunities, and conveys greater understanding to business issues. Armed with a degree in Marketing from the University of Pittsburgh, Betsy cut her teeth in the agency world and as an independent B2B and B2C marketing consultant before joining IBACOS in 2006. In her off-time, she’s either feeding her farm-to-table foodie jones, working on her century-old house, or spending time with her husband and fur children, Watson and Finnegan, at one of Pittsburgh’s many parks and rivers.

One of the largest residential plumbing contractors in Arizona, Brewer has delivered high quality plumbing systems to more than three thousand new homes annually. From estimating, through production, to warranty, they set our sights on producing a defect free home. Their production processes, quality control systems, safety practices and innovative programs make them truly your professional plumbing contractor.  Leger has been with Brewer for more than nine years, where he has held leadership roles in Design & Engineering, Franchise Operations, and Business & New Market Development. Leger is helping Brewer rethink labor in housing and explore and develop new offerings, methods and materials to produce superior value for their customers as they continue to grow. Leger also provides consulting services through Fathom, Inc., including strategic planning, construction technology, design and implementation of operational practices. He is a graduate of Arizona State University and completed The LEIP Program through the Aji Network. Aji is a completely new business philosophy that enables businesspeople, and entire businesses, to double their productivity, value and income so they can live a good life with their family throughout their career and for 25+ years of old age in retirement.