DBIA Announces 2025 Distinguished Leadership Award Honorees

Honorees come from across the design-build industry, from industry practitioners and Owners to young professionals and legislators.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, October 23, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) has announced the recipients of its 2025 Distinguished Leadership Awards, honoring professionals who have advanced Design-Build Done Right^® through innovation, collaboration and exceptional leadership. This year’s honorees are Jennifer Macks, PE, LEED AP, DBIA; Britt Sanford; David Shadpour, PE, CPD, PMP, LEED AP, DBIA; and Janice Zahn, PE, CCM.

Each year, DBIA’s Distinguished Leadership Awards recognize individuals whose work embodies the principles of Design-Build Done Right^®. Whether through policy, ownership, industry practice or emerging leadership, these honorees represent the diversity of experience and expertise driving design-build’s continued growth across the nation.

This year’s recipients represent excellence across four key categories: industry practitioner, Owner, young professional and legislator.

Jennifer Macks, PE, LEED AP, DBIA
Industry Practitioner
Vice President and Business Unit Leader at HITT Contracting, Macks has been instrumental in advancing DBIA’s education and training initiatives, including updates to the Universal Best Practices, Core Certification Curriculum and Exam Prep Course. A past chair of the DBIA Design-Build Conference & Expo Planning Committee, she is recognized for her forward-thinking approach, commitment to mentorship and dedication to shaping the next generation of design-build professionals.

Britt Sanford
Owner
Sanford has led design-build efforts for both NASA and the FBI, guiding complex federal projects that emphasize trust, transparency and alignment. Her leadership demonstrates how Owners set the tone for collaboration and performance, positioning the FBI as an Owner of Choice. As a Contracting Officer at the FBI, Sanford successfully delivered an $82 million National Security and Intelligence Center of Excellence within nine months, establishing a model for future federal projects and advancing design-build best practices across agencies.

David Shadpour, PE, CPD, PMP, LEED AP, DBIA
Young Professional
Executive Project Manager at SC Engineers, Shadpour is recognized for integrating design-build principles into multidisciplinary practice and education. His leadership spans sectors from federal to healthcare, where he has championed sustainability and innovation through technology and collaboration. A respected educator and mentor, he continues to inspire young professionals to approach design-build as both a technical discipline and a mindset rooted in partnership.

Janice Zahn, PE, CCM
Legislator
Representing Washington’s 41st District, Zahn has been a leading advocate for modernizing public procurement and expanding Progressive Design-Build (PDB) authority statewide. In her first session, she sponsored and passed HB 1967, eliminating bonding requirements for the design and preconstruction phases of design-build projects, and HB 1970, granting full PDB authority to the Washington State Department of Transportation. As Director of Engineering at the Port of Seattle, Zahn brings a practitioner’s insight to public policy, emphasizing collaboration, inclusion and real-world project delivery. Her leadership continues to position Washington as a national model for design-build innovation.

Together, these leaders exemplify how collaboration and innovation continue to strengthen design-build delivery and expand its impact across sectors and communities.

The 2025 Distinguished Leadership Award recipients will be honored during DBIA’s Design-Build Conference & Expo, November 5–7, 2025, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Erin Looney
Design-Build Institute of America
+1 850-443-0455
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