Si Katara, cofounder and president of HeadLight, is focused on the growth of the company’s business across all market sizes, segments, and critical geographies. Under his leadership, HeadLight has quadrupled its market share over the last three years for its photo-based inspection technology. Today the company is active in 16 states helping improve project deliveries on over 2,500 civil construction projects that make up more than $30 billion in construction value.

Katara brings 19 years of leadership, technical expertise, and construction technology experience to the organization. He gained project enterprise software experience with Andiamo Systems, Cisco Systems, and Real Networks; companies whose primary function is content delivery via the web and network infrastructure.

Katara earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the University of Washington and is also a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program offered through Babson College.

Aaron Ford, associate VP, senior technology project manager with HNTB, brings more than 17 years of professional experience in the successful leadership of the deployment of enterprise systems – including most recently, the Risk-Based Audit Plan for the FDOT I4 Ultimate project, the enterprise program controls/management system at the Illinois Tollway and Engineering Progressive Payment System for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.

Ed Sniffen is the deputy director of the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s (HDOT) Highways Division, overseeing an agency responsible for the effectiveness of a system of approximately 2,500 lane miles of state highways across the islands. His mission is to develop and improve the state’s highway transportation systems to facilitate safe and efficient travel and commerce statewide.

Focused on improving the Division’s procurements and project management processes, Sniffen has used innovative strategies such as open-ended federalized contracts to streamline project payouts. The improved project delivery and procurement tools he has championed since his appointment in January 2014 have resulted in the efficient utilization of federal highways funding, bringing Hawaii’s unexpended federal obligation balance to the lowest level in 18 years.

Sniffen previously served in executive positions at the City and County of Honolulu and within the private sector. From 2010 to 2011, he served as HDOT Highways Division administrator and as a technical design engineer in the Highways Division Design Branch. Sniffen is a licensed professional engineer with experience in civil and structural design as well as facilities and construction management.

Dr. Shawn Wilson, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), was appointed to his position in January of 2016. Since his appointment, Dr. Wilson has been a tireless advocate for new revenue, maximizing Federal dollars available to Louisiana, advancing a balanced and comprehensive transportation policy for Louisiana, and ensuring the Department is more collaborative in its work at every level.

Under his leadership, DOTD was successful at securing and obligating nearly $150 million additional Federal dollars for I-10 widening from I-49 to New Orleans, for the Baton Rouge I-10 bottleneck, and for the shortest Design Build procurement in the state’s history to widen I-10 from Highland Road to LA 73.

In addition, under his leadership, DOTD has been able to assist communities with alternative fueled transit assets, focus efforts on advancing passenger rail, and helping launch bike share in Baton Rouge, LA.

Dr. Wilson served as vice president of the American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) before being named its president in October of 2021, the first African American to hold the office in the association’s history. Dr. Wilson earned a bachelor’s in urban and regional planning from the University of Louisiana and holds a Master of Public Administration degree, as well as a Ph.D. in public policy from the Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Southern University.

*Special Guest*

Mitch Landrieu is Senior Advisor to the President and Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator. Landrieu served as the 61st Mayor of New Orleans (2010–2018). When he took office, the city was still recovering from Hurricane Katrina and in the midst of the BP Oil Spill.

Under Landrieu’s leadership, New Orleans is widely recognized as one of the nation’s great comeback stories. In 2015, Landrieu was named “Public Official of the Year” by Governing, and in 2016 was voted “America’s top turnaround mayor” in a Politico survey of mayors. He also served as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Landrieu gained national prominence for his powerful decision to take down four Confederate monuments in New Orleans, which also earned him the prestigious John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. In his book, In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History, Landrieu recounts his personal journey confronting the issue of race and institutional racism that still plagues America.

In 2018, he launched E Pluribus Unum, an initiative in the South created to fulfill America’s promise of justice and opportunity for all by breaking down the barriers that divide us by race and class. Prior to serving as Mayor, Landrieu served two terms as lieutenant governor and 16 years in the state legislature. He and his wife Cheryl live in New Orleans, where they raised their five children.