The Construction Owners Association of America

THE CONSTRUCT ION OWNERS ASSOC I AT ION OF AMER I CA Business View asked several representatives of COAA this question: Why is COAA a valuable association and what does it mean to you? Here are their enlightening replies… COAA President, Allison Muth, Texas Children’s Hospital: “The journey that brought me to COAA stemmed from my being on the Owner’s side for 18 years in healthcare. I was looking for an organization with engagement from Owner perspectives in industries outside of healthcare. What drew me to COAA was all the different industry perspectives and how we’re all trying to solve the same problems – how to deliver our projects the best way we can; how to bring the right teams together. I think the biggest value is that we have such an open forum. Our goal is not to stand up and lecture, we need to hear from everyone. Sharing those ideas through an open dialogue is how we will learn and improve this industry as a whole. That’s why I love being here and want to encourage others to join. “The biggest change we’ve had in the industry during COVID was learning to engage through every possible virtual platform. This culture we’ve invented within COAA helped project teams move along faster – The COAA Way premise of building the culture, building the team, doing things the best way we can. So when we had to change to the virtual platform, that mindset carried through. We’ve all had to work through it, but having the right mindset and culture is helping members continue to move forward.” Past President Joe Sprys, National Heritage Academies: “When I joined many years ago, I found that COAA was an organization where people were willing to share information. It was nice for me to be able to call on people with common goals – how to reduce time, reduce costs, get your projects to market faster, more effectively, more efficiently. All the issues we had and continue to have. So it’s nice to talk to people from so many different industries in similar situations, who can relate to what you’re doing and offer assistance. The networking and camaraderie that you get from COAA has been very important.” COAA Treasurer, Marvin Woodward, Georgia State Financing & Investment Commission: “For most of my career, I was on horizontal construction sites, doing highways and bridges, so this organization was recommended to me when I made the switch to vertical construction. And it really accelerated my learning as a facility builder and Owner to be able to learn from other people. The culture of COAA is that we like to share what doesn’t work, not just what works. We’re not afraid, and you don’t get that with a lot of associations or groups because nobody wants to talk about a failure. We have a culture where we talk about the technical things but, in this business, the soft skills are just as important. So in the training and in our conferences we spend time trying to improve in both of those areas.” COAA VP John Zahor, University of Maryland, Baltimore County: “A few years back we were talking about how COAA projected and promoted this philosophy – the collaborative efforts, the transparency, the ability to communicate and work together. That became The COAA Way. Following The COAA Way means looking at a problem as being everyone’s responsibility to solve. In our Owner Institute Training classes, we learn how to be a “good” Owner – being engaged, decisive, most of all leading the team. When you’re the Owner, you’re leading by example of how to work that way, to admit when you’re wrong. “We’re building a group of people in COAA who pledge that this is the way they want to work. So if you hire a contractor or designer that is part of COAA, you know you’ll get someone who understands that teamwork philosophy. That’s what COAA is to me.” Moving forward and beyond 2021, COAA will strive to find a healthy balance between in- person and virtual offerings to ensure training