Blogs

THE DOCUMENTOR - DECEMBER 2025

By Sydney Mills, CSI, CDT® posted yesterday
Words from the President – December 2025 Building Up People, Profession, and Projects - Locally As 2025 winds down, I’ve been reflecting on what we heard at this year’s CSI National Conference in Cleveland. CSI leadership emphasized three pillars shaping our future— community, professional elevation, and innovation. These aren’t abstract ideas. They map directly to the work we’re doing here in the Willamette Valley: Community: We’re focusing on connection; bringing people together, re-engaging members we haven’t seen in a while, and making space for informal conversations that strengthen our network. Professional Elevation: With ...

‘A Common Language and Vision’: An Interview with New CSI Fellow Tom Lanzelotti

By Peter Kray posted 2 days ago
This year, CSI welcomed Tom Lanzelotti to the CSI College of Fellows. Lanzelotti—FCSI, CDT®, and Director from Northeast Region—is one of only four distinguished professionals in the architecture, engineering, construction, and owner (AECO) industry named to the 2025 class. He was nominated through a rigorous application process, then elected by the Jury of Fellows for membership, one of the top honors given by CSI. Lanzelotti was born and raised on Long Island, NY, and attended The Ohio State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Master of Architecture. He is a Principal at Gensler. What does ...

‘Building a More Inclusive World for Everyone’: An Interview with New CSI Fellow Charles Hendricks

By Peter Kray posted 15 days ago
This year, CSI welcomed Charles Hendricks, FCSI, CDT ® , to the 2025 College of Fellows. Hendricks is a partner at The Gaines Group Architects in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He is one of only four distinguished professionals in the architecture, engineering, construction, and owner (AECO) industry named to the 2025 class. Hendricks was nominated through a rigorous application process, then elected by the Jury of Fellows for membership, one of the top honors given by CSI. Hendricks is a CDT ® advocate and has held positions at the chapter, region, and national levels of CSI. He served two years on the CSI Middle Atlantic Region Board of ...

Lifelong Learning as the ‘Fountain of Youth,’: An Interview with New CSI Fellow Cam Featherstonhaugh

By Peter Kray posted 22 days ago
This year, CSI welcomed Cam Featherstonhaugh IV to the College of Fellows. Featherstonhaugh—FCSI, Lifetime Member, and former National Board Chair—is one of only four distinguished professionals in the architecture, engineering, construction, and owner (AECO) industry named to the 2025 class. Featherstone was nominated through a rigorous application process, then elected by the Jury of Fellows for membership, one of the top honors given by CSI. Featherstonhaugh is a licensed architect in Vermont and holds a Master of Architecture from Norwich University. As a senior associate and leader of the K-12 Education Studio at TruexCullins, ...

CSI Welcomes Nick Franjic as Honorary Member

By Peter Kray posted 10-29-2025
This year, during the 2025 CSI National Conference, CSI gave special recognition to Nick Franjic, Executive Director of Construction Specifications Canada (CSC), who was named an Honorary Member of CSI. Honorary Membership is considered to be the most prestigious honor of the Construction Specifications Institute. It is conferred on individuals who have performed distinguished services to the construction industry in fields of activity related to the purposes of CSI. CSI Board Chair William Sundquist, FCSI, said, “Nick’s three decades of leadership have shaped collaborations across North America and elevated both CSC and CSI. Nick's vision ...

Your LinkedIn Needs Help: Why CDT Should Be Your First Move with Michael Riscica, RA, CSI, CCCA, CDT

By CSI HQ posted 10-20-2025
If you've ever spent more than five minutes on LinkedIn , or gotten an email from someone's work account, you've probably noticed the prevalence of people adding credentials (all those capital letters) after their names. It's easy to feel like everyone else has their professional development figured out while you're still trying to understand what all those letters even mean. You start wondering if you should be collecting capital letters after your name, just to keep up with your peers. But before you start throwing money around, let's talk about whether getting more credentials is even for you. Investing in Yourself First ...

My CDT Certification Journey: A Conversation with James Lawless

By CSI HQ posted 09-26-2025
For James Lawless, working in construction has meant seeing projects from both sides—first as a general contractor intern, then as a mechanical engineer on the design team. Along the way, he discovered a key truth: high-quality construction documents can make or break a project. That insight led James to pursue CSI’s Construction Documents Technologist (CDT ® ) certification in spring 2025. In this Q&A, he shares why understanding the full process of writing, interpreting, and managing construction documents matters so much, how he prepared for the exam, and the biggest lesson he learned: that preventing problems is always better than fixing ...

Interpretations and Clarifications Part 3 – “Order of Precedence” Clauses

By Kevin O'Beirne, PE, FCSI, CCS®, CCCA®, CDT® posted 09-17-2025
This is the third in a three-part series on this blog addressing interpretations and clarifications of construction documents, comprised of: (a) Part 1 – Introduction to Resolving Conflicts, Ambiguities, and Discrepancies in Construction Documents; (b) Part 2 - Procurement and Construction Stages, and (c) Part 3 - “Order of Precedence” Clauses. Provisions in construction contracts establishing the priority order in which the contract documents take precedence and will be interpreted, often known as “order of precedence” clauses, are quite common. Drafters of construction contracts who include such clauses are often seeking to reduce the potential for ...

How I Earned My CCCA: A Conversation with Hayley Skladanek

By CSI HQ posted 09-12-2025
When Hayley Skladanek started working in the built environment, she was eager to learn as much as she could. In just three months, she not only earned her Construction Documents Technologist (CDT ® ) credential but also set her sights on the Construction Contract Administrator (CCCA ® ) certification. For Hayley, the process wasn’t just about passing an exam, it was about unlocking a deeper understanding of the work she did every day. Using everything from color-coded note cards to flashcards on the go, Hayley’s preparation was both determined and creative. In this interview, she shares how she approached studying, what she learned along the way, ...

THE DOCUMENTOR - SEPTEMBER 2025

By Sydney Mills, CSI, CDT® posted 09-08-2025
WORDS FROM THE PRESIDENT Over the past year, I’ve been reflecting on what it means to lead a professional community during uncertain times; and I want to speak honestly about both the challenges and the hope I see for our CSI chapter. Like many local organizations, we’ve felt the effects of industry burnout, shifting priorities, and the strain of reduced capacity. Fewer people have time to volunteer. Workloads are heavier. And in some cases, the value of in-person or even virtual connection feels harder to define. Our CSI Willamette Valley Chapter has seen all of that; and more. We are a small but resilient group, and at one point, we were one of the ...

Update From CSI Board of Directors Chair William Sundquist

By CSI HQ posted 09-05-2025
As your Board of Directors , we’re focused on delivering the standards, formats, professional development, and community you need to thrive in the AECO industry. When we do this well, we are curating a CSI that builds up both ourselves and the profession, enabling us to all reach our full potential. Looking Ahead, Together At our June Board meeting, we spent time discussing the future of professional learning at CSI. We believe in developing modern programs designed to reflect how people learn and grow today. Your responses to our first CSI-Connect “Question of the Month” helped guide those conversations. (Check ...

How I Earned My CCCA: A Conversation with Ernesto Lassus

By CSI HQ posted 08-29-2025
With more than three decades of experience in both construction and architecture, Ernesto Lassus has seen projects from every angle. But even with years of hands-on knowledge, he recognized the value of formal training and certification. After earning his CDT ® in 2013, Ernesto decided to take his expertise even further by pursuing the Construction Contract Administrator (CCCA ® ) credential in spring 2025. Here, Ernesto shares why certifications matter even for seasoned professionals, how he prepared for the exam, and the career benefits that came with it—from greater respect and recognition to more confidence in delivering successful projects. ...

2025 CSI Fellows Announcement

By CSI HQ posted 08-27-2025
CSI is proud to welcome four distinguished professionals from the architecture, engineering, construction, and owner (AECO) community into the College of Fellows . CSI Fellows are members whom their peers select for this distinction based on achievements in the industry and their above-and-beyond contributions to CSI. The CSI community will honor and celebrate these individuals at the 2025 CSI National Conference , October 15-17 in Cleveland, OH. Arthur "Cam" Featherstonhaugh IV, FCSI, Lifetime Member Cam Featherstonhaugh is a licensed architect in Vermont and holds a Master of Architecture ...

CSI: Setting the Cornerstone for Community and Professional Success

By Peter Kray posted 08-25-2025
In 2022, I was walking back to my hotel from the CSI National Conference in Denver, the city where I grew up, when I suddenly realized just how much specifiers and the entire AECO profession have meant to almost every aspect of my life. “My Matrix Moment” is how I describe it, referencing one of the penultimate scenes in the popular movie series when actor Keanu Reeves’ Thomas Anderson character famously takes “the red pill,” and sees a new reality everywhere he looks. Which is exactly what happened as I walked past the high-rise office building where my dad used to work as an attorney, where I would sometimes come to meet him for lunch. ...

How I Earned My CDT: A Conversation with Samantha Kirk

By CSI HQ posted 08-21-2025
Stepping into a new industry is a bit like learning a new language: you start with basic principles, then build on that understanding on the path to "fluency." For Samantha Kirk, an Architectural Sales Specialist at Smoot Associates, that leap began in 2023 when she joined the industry with no prior construction experience. Within a year, her curiosity and commitment to understanding the full scope of the building process led her to pursue CSI’s Construction Documents Technologist (CDT ® ) certification. In this interview, Samantha shares how she prepared for the exam, the strategies that helped her move from newcomer to confident contributor, ...

Interpretations and Clarifications Part 2 – Procurement and Construction Stages

By Kevin O'Beirne, PE, FCSI, CCS®, CCCA®, CDT® posted 08-18-2025
This is the second in a three-part series on this blog addressing interpretations and clarifications of construction documents, comprised of: (a) Part 1 – Introduction to Resolving Conflicts, Ambiguities, and Discrepancies in Construction Documents; (b) Part 2 - Procurement and Construction Stages, and (c) Part 3 - “Order of Precedence” Clauses. Because construction documents are prepared by fallible personnel, a certain extent of conflicts, ambiguities, and discrepancies is typically inevitable. The first installment in this series addressed whether the term, “request for interpretation” or “request for information” (RFI) should be employed; which ...

Interpretations and Clarifications Part 1 – Introduction to Resolving Conflicts, Ambiguities, and Discrepancies in Construction Documents

By Kevin O'Beirne, PE, FCSI, CCS®, CCCA®, CDT® posted 07-28-2025
This is the first in a three-part series on this blog addressing interpretations and clarifications of construction documents, comprised of: (a) Part 1 – Introduction to Resolving Conflicts, Ambiguities, and Discrepancies in Construction Documents; (b) Part 2 - Procurement and Construction Stages, and (c) Part 3 - “Order of Precedence” Clauses. Few sets of construction documents are so perfect that they never need interpretation or clarification. Because construction documents are voluminous, complex, often involve multiple design disciplines, and are prepared by fallible individuals, they frequently contain conflicts, ambiguities, discrepancies, errors, ...

Specifying Practices: Controlling the Work and Related Matters

By Kevin O'Beirne, PE, FCSI, CCS®, CCCA®, CDT® posted 05-08-2025
It is widely known and accepted among design professionals and specifiers that construction contracts typically confer on the contractor responsibility for construction means, methods, procedures, techniques, and sequences, together with responsibility for construction site safety and protection, and complying with the contract documents. These are often regarded as among the contractor’s most important obligations. Despite this, owners, design professionals, and specifiers routinely incorporate language into construction contracts and specifications that muddles the waters of contractual responsibility for controlling the work, safety, protection of property, ...

Celebrating CSI Volunteers Making a Difference

By CSI HQ posted 04-30-2025
CSI volunteers have a remarkable role in helping our organization make an impact in the AECO industry. Whether at the local, regional, or national level, volunteers are catalysts for ensuring we have meaningful networks and tools to deliver better projects. April is National Volunteer Month, and we want to thank everyone who gives their time and energy to make CSI stronger! There can be a lot of reasons someone chooses to become a CSI volunteer, so we asked a few to share why they give their time to CSI. Chaitanya Korra, CSI, CDT ® Senior Design Manager Chaitanya serves as a CSI Education Committee member and editor of the ...

Update From CSI Board of Directors Chair William Sundquist

By CSI HQ posted 04-17-2025
The CSI Board of Directors is dedicated to understanding the needs of our CSI community and ensuring that we maintain an organization that keeps CSI relevant while providing tools for you to be effective in the AECO Industry. When we do that well, I believe we are curating a CSI that builds up ourselves and the profession so we can all reach our full potential. I want to highlight a few ways CSI is working to fulfill that mission . At our recent Winter meeting, the board discussed ways to strengthen our volunteer leadership ...