Have you ever wondered how a skilled business coach can help you or your firm? If so, you’re in the right place. Welcome to GBA’s Leadership Lounge – a podcast series that will teach you how to elevate your team – but only if you tune in! In the latest episode, GBA Podcast hosts catch up with Sydne Jacques, P.E., CSP, a business coach who specializes in leadership and team development, particularly within the engineering and construction industries. Jacques discusses her career journey, her coaching philosophy, and several frameworks she uses to improve team communication, address conflict, and foster a positive work environment. Sydne, the CEO of Next Level Leadership, is a professional engineer turned professional speaker and consultant who is often referred to as "the ...

GBA Executive Director Joel Carson On Wednesday, July 17, I received a call from a GBA Board Member asking if I was trying to send him a proposal. While this seemed suspicious, I just told him it must be a phishing effort and asked him to disregard the email. That was the start of an onslaught of emails, text messages, and phone calls from friends and colleagues from across North America. It quickly became apparent that my Microsoft Outlook account had been hacked and I became very concerned, very quickly. I thought about worst case scenarios and started sweating. Here are the steps I took to overcome this significant issue. SECURE ACCOUNT I quickly contacted GBA’s IT consultant who thankfully is always quick to respond, even though today he was in an important meeting. He s...

GBA Multimedia Delivery Committee GBA has published more than 115 case histories based on real-life events that have happened to geoprofessional firms. GBA Case Histories are unique because our members share real-life stories of problems that impacted their businesses. They also include the outcomes of corrective action, and lessons learned. GBA’s Multimedia Delivery Committee also delivers select Case Histories as podcasts. In the latest episode, host Elizabeth Brown, P.E. (Atlas Technical Consultants) and guest Andy Siemens, P.E. (Siemens Associates) explore how one GBA member firm turned an “unbuildable” site into a construction-ready plot using advanced geophysical exploration. As described in GBA Case History #114, a school’s bui...

GBA Multimedia Delivery Committee Have you ever wondered how a skilled coach might be able to help you or your firm?  GBA’s Multimedia Delivery Committee launched a new GBA Podcast series called “Leadership Lounge” that features exclusive interviews with business coaches on topics like communication, culture crafting, and igniting innovation. In each episode, hosts Tiffany Vorhies, NACE CIP2 (SME) and Ryan White, P.E., G.E., F.ASCE (PBS Engineering + Environmental) share ideas to elevate your team as they have conversations with business coaches who share their tools, insights, and practical tips. The first episode of the Leadership Lounge series, “How to Communicate Like a Hostage Negotiator,” is available now on the GBA Podcast websi...

GBA Multimedia Delivery Committee GBA’s Multimedia Delivery Committee launched a new GBA Podcast series called “Management Best Practices” that will dive into some of the unique challenges faced by geoprofessional consulting managers and supervisors. Becoming a manager or supervisor is an important step in many people’s professional careers, and it introduces a set of new responsibilities that they may not have had in their prior role. This new podcast series highlights a handful of those responsibilities, the challenges that can go along with them, and best practices for navigating through them. The episodes in this series will provide valuable advice for new as well as seasoned managers or supervisors. The first episode of the Managemen...

We hope you had a great holiday season. As we reflect on a successful year, we would like to take a moment to thank all our loyal members, dedicated volunteers, and valuable business partners. Below are the most popular NEWSlog stories in 2023, based on subscriber clicks. Our complimentary newsletter is published every two weeks and provides insight into opportunities and threats so your business can adapt and be more responsive, including the latest information on effective practices, legal rulings, educational events, contract clauses, employee recruitment and retention, and GBA itself. Would you like to receive NEWSlog? SIGN UP HERE. Happy New Year! We look forward to serving you in 2024 and beyond. GBA News 1. ChatGPT: A Tippin...

Multimedia Delivery Committee GBA is celebrating today as the GBA Podcast has reached a momentous milestone of 10,000 downloads. GBA podcasts present information and expertise from geoprofessionals around the globe to provide their peers with wisdom and insight to optimize their business and reduce risk. “This exciting achievement stands as a testament to the growing popularity and influence of the podcasts, which were launched with the mission to enrich the educational landscape and extend GBA Member-Firms’ valuable insights to geoprofessionals,” said Multimedia Delivery Committee Chair Tiffany Vorhies, NACE CIP2 (SME). GBA podcasts were the brainchild of GBA’s Emerging Leaders Class 4 in 2020. “We created the GBA Podcast to make th...

Multimedia Delivery Committee   As geoprofessionals, owners rely on our oversight to ensure that projects go according to plan. But too often, we encounter obstacles that can potentially derail operations, jeopardizing partnerships and public safety in the process. In the latest installment of the GBA Podcast – the Audio Education Series – hosts Tiffany Vorhies, NACE CIP2 (SME) and Ryan White, P.E., G.E., F.ASCE (PBS Engineering + Environmental) address some of the most challenging aspects of field representation. From navigating business relationships to forming prudent field reporting habits, this series contains helpful insights for the novice and seasoned pro. Episodes in the Audio Education series include: • Briefing and Being Briefed • Safety • Perso...

Relive all your favorite, most inspiring moments from GBA’s 2023 Spring Conference as you prepare to ELEVATE LEADERSHIP: EMPOWER, GUIDE, INSPIRE. Watch, listen to, and learn from our lineup of speakers on your own schedule as they discuss winning the war for top talent, a new approach to DEI efforts, the power of leadership, and more. These videos are available for all GBA members on-demand at your convenience. Watch Conference Recordings: HERE Download the handouts. SP23-01 Leading through Breakdowns to Breakthroughs What does every leader fret about? Recruiting and retaining great people. The war for talent. Winning this war and attracting top talent requires top-level culture. And a great culture is created by great leaders; those ...

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Multimedia Delivery Committee GBA has published over 110 case histories based on real-life events that have happened to geoprofessional firms. GBA Case Histories are unique because our members share real-life stories of problems that impacted their businesses. They also include the outcomes of corrective action, and lessons learned. GBA’s Multimedia Delivery Committee is now delivering select Case Histories as Podcasts. In this episode, a GBA-Member Firm’s CEO and the developer’s CEO had worked together successfully on numerous projects for more than 15 years, establishing a friendship based on mutual respect and trust. This project was the developer’s most ambitious to date, by virtue of its size, local prominence, and complexity. Among other th...

Multimedia Delivery Committee GBA has published over 110 case histories based on real-life events that have happened to geoprofessional firms. GBA Case Histories are unique because our members share real-life stories of problems that impacted their businesses. They also include the outcomes of corrective action, and lessons learned. GBA’s Multimedia Delivery Committee is now delivering select Case Histories as Podcasts. In this episode, a Member-Firm with firm with multiple offices became the victim of foreign hacking enterprise. When an employee of the firm opened an email from an unsuspected contact, and clicked on a link, the hackers reached the Firm’s management systems. Once they got access to the systems, the infiltrators spent months learning about the operations, infor...

It is with a heavy heart that we must share the passing of a dear friend and significant contributor to the Geoprofessional Business Association, numerous other associations, and the geoprofessions. On Friday, June 3rd., Woodward L. “Woody” Vogt, P.E., D. GE, F. GBA, F. ACI, F. ASCE, F. ASTM (Paradigm Consultants/CMT) passed away after complications associated with brain surgery that was performed in March. Despite his long list of professional licenses, and well-earned titles as diplomate and fellow, to everyone, he was simply “Woody”. Mr. Vogt was President of Paradigm Consultants, Inc. in Houston which was recently purchased by CMT Engineering Laboratories. He had more than 40 years’ experience providing geotechnical, construction materials and investigative and forensi...

You are cordially invited to join GBA’s President Tom Blackburn for a casual afternoon of information and social networking with friends and colleagues from across GBA. Tom will introduce you to friends as we wind down the week and toast the weekend  with a seasonal beverage. Please join us for a fun and informative hour. Date: July 9, 2021 Time: 5:00 PM Eastern Register: E-mail GBA Here Topics will include: Welcome Tom Blackburn, P.E., G.E., F.ASCE; F.ACEC (Blackburn Consulting) GBA President “Critical Success Factors for a Healthy Business” David Coduto (Terra Insurance Co) Terra Insurance Company is the highest rated professional liability carrier in the United States according to AM Best’s capital adequacy ratio analysis (BCAR). According to Best, our loss ra...

GBA is a volunteer organization. Almost all the resources we produce for our members, our contributions to the geoprofessional community, and our conferences are mostly driven by volunteer leaders. Each Spring, during our conference we recognize those that have contributed to GBA in a significant way. During the 2021 Spring Conference, awards were given to firms and individuals who exhibited extraordinary support and meritorious performance during our 2020–2021 fiscal year. Those recognized during the Annual Awards Ceremony were: CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION Each year we ask our Committees and Councils to provide us with the names of people that have contributed to our Association during the past year.  Based on this list, we have more people contributing to GBA at a level high...