The recently elected CSI Board of Directors will begin their term July 1. Here, in their own words, they discuss their history with the association, how it has benefited their professional experience, and the immediate and long-term opportunities they see for CSI in the years to come.
Meet Chair Elect Marvin Kemp
Marvin Kemp, AIA, FCSI, CDT
Principal
Design Collective, Inc.
How did you first become involved with CSI, and how has that helped your professional experience grow?
My first involvement in CSI was shortly after graduating college. I was working in Jackson, Miss., and went to the Mississippi Chapter’s product show. While I didn't join CSI then, I did join after moving to Baltimore. I was working in a small office and was unable to get product reps to stop by and see me. I joined CSI, quickly got involved at the chapter level, and worked my way up through many leadership opportunities.
Not only do I have the manufacturer rep resources that I need, but I have greatly expanded my knowledge in project documentation and delivery through the CDT certificate and education opportunities CSI has afforded me. Just as important, the leadership skills I gained in the Baltimore Chapter have helped me move up the ladder in our office.
What are the top opportunities you see for CSI?
There are three main opportunities I see for CSI. The first is in the changing landscape of project documentation and delivery. Our clients want better documents, cheaper and faster. CSI is in the best position to help clients understand the difficulties with that but also to develop and arm our industry with the tools to be faster and more efficient while still being clear, concise, complete and correct in our documentation.
Our clients are also looking for us to be more collaborative. The adversarial relationships of the lump-sum, low-bid delivery methods need to change into project teams that collaborate and understand each other. Given CSI’s broad membership, we are well suited to inform all members of the construction team of a better way to do things through open communication and collaboration.
Lastly, we have long been known for our formats, certification and education opportunities. I think CSI’s great silent opportunity is developing leadership skills. In order to realize the first two opportunities I listed, we will need strong leaders to go out into our communities to help realize CSI’s great opportunities.
Do you have a favorite project, or work experience you would like to share?
I have the fortune of working with a great client in Baltimore. I’ve been involved with this client on a number of small- and medium-sized renovations but I have also worked on two large, new construction projects. One was a new medical teaching facility of 330,000 GSF and the other a biomedical research facility of 400,000 GSF. These two buildings occupy the same block in downtown Baltimore. My involvement with the teaching facility began in 2000 and we opened the research facility earlier this year, so I spent nearly 18 years working on the same block in downtown Baltimore!
Is there anything else you would like your fellow members to know?
Anyone who knows me knows how important mentorship is to me. I run across many members who, like myself, are involved in professional mentoring but also in coaching sports, being scout leaders or other similar activities. These activities are crucial to ensuring the next generation of leaders are well prepared to face the challenges and create the successes that society needs! CSI can and should serve a vital role in creating the next generation of construction leaders.