Conference Schedule at a Glance
2026 RMA Annual Conference
Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU · Tempe, Arizona
September 6-11, 2026
Sunday, September 6
| Time | Location | Session or activity | Speaker | Employer |
|---|
| All day | Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU | Arrival and early registration | — | — |
Monday, September 7
| Time | Location | Session or activity | Speaker | Employer |
|---|
| All day | Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU | Board meetings, registration and attendee arrivals | — | — |
Tuesday, September 8
| Time | Location | Session or activity | Speaker | Employer |
|---|
| Daytime | Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU | Attendee travel, activities and business partner booth setup | — | — |
| Evening | Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU | First-Timer Meeting | — | — |
| 6:00 – 9:00 | Mullett Arena – ASU Campus | Welcome Reception | — | — |
Wednesday, September 9
| Time | Location | Session or activity | Speaker | Employer |
|---|
| 7:00 – 8:00 | Second-floor ballroom | Breakfast | — | — |
| 8:00 – 9:30 | Second-floor ballroom | Opening Keynote – Molly Miller / ASU’s Women’s Basketball Coach | — | — |
| 9:30 – 9:45 | Second-floor ballroom | Break | — | — |
| 9:45 – 10:30 | Second-floor ballroom | Beyond the built environment: A panel discussion on leadership in Higher Education | Tim Smith | Arizona State University |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Second-floor ballroom | Tradeshow | — | — |
| 11:05 – 11:55 | Breakout 1 | Future of Buildings Using AI and Analytics | Justin Lawson | Bosch |
| Alex Kohnen | Vanderbilt University |
| 11:05 – 11:55 | Breakout 2 | Strive to Thrive in the Heat – Overcoming Supply Chain Challenges with Client Direct Procurement | Caryn Becker, PE, Assoc. DBIA | SourceBlue, LLC |
| 12:00 – 1:00 | Second-floor ballroom | Lunch / Tradeshow | — | — |
| 1:05 – 1:55 | Breakout 1 | AI Applications in Construction | Seth Beer | CORE Construction |
| 1:05 – 1:55 | Breakout 2 | From Campus Assets to CMMS Insight: Better Data for Smarter Facilities | Brian Carlin, PE, CBCP, CEM | Partner Engineering and Science, Inc. |
| 2:05 – 2:55 | Breakout 1 | The Cost of Doing Nothing | Joshua Spear | Northern Arizona University |
| Samuel Robertson | Arizona State University |
| Jesse Pruitt | Pruitt Building Group, LLC |
| 2:05 – 2:55 | Breakout 2 | Laboratory Decommissioning: Managing Risk, Ensuring Safety, and Enabling Seamless Transitions | Kathryn Peacock | Partner Engineering and Science, Inc. |
| 2:05 – 2:55 | Tour | Student Life Building: Mill Avenue | — | — |
| 2:55 – 3:30 | Second-floor ballroom | Tradeshow | — | — |
| 3:30 – 4:20 | Breakout 1 | Achieving Building Electrification without Increasing Electrical Demand | Ely William LaBerge, PE, CDP, LEED AP BD+C | Dewberry |
| 3:30 – 4:20 | Breakout 2 | Fast Builds Fast Failures – In a world of collaborative project delivery, why do many buildings fail shortly after completion? | Gerard Lee, AIA, DBIA, LEED AP BD+C | Marx|Okubo Associates, Inc. |
| Courtney Wladyka, AIA, NCARB, Fitwel Amb. | Marx|Okubo Associates, Inc. |
| Rena Russ, AIA, LEED AP | Marx|Okubo Associates, Inc. |
| 3:30 – 4:20 | Tour | Academic Building: University Gateway | — | — |
Thursday, September 10
| Time | Location | Session or activity | Speaker | Employer |
|---|
| 7:00 – 8:00 | Second-floor ballroom | Breakfast | — | — |
| 8:00 – 8:55 | Breakout 1 | Practical, Actionable Strategies for Managing Facilities in Extreme Heat and Arid Environments | Chuck Hink | Pueblo Mechanical & Controls |
| 8:00 – 8:55 | Breakout 2 | Decarb through the Decades: The University of Denver’s Journey to 2030—Era by Era | Chad King | Johnson Controls |
| James Rosner | Johnson Controls |
| Lynn Bailey | University of Denver |
| 9:00 – 9:45 | Second-floor ballroom | Tradeshow | — | — |
| 9:45 – 10:35 | Breakout 1 | FCAs Are Just the Beginning: Turning Assessment Data into Action | Mike Harvey | Roth IAMS |
| Shaun Brown | Roth IAMS |
| 9:45 – 10:35 | Breakout 2 | Recalibrating, Not Replacing: Turning Aging Buildings into High-Performance Assets | Rachel Green Rasmussen AIA, NCARB, NOMA | Architekton |
| Todd Reust PE, LEED AP | Affiliated Engineers, Inc. (AEI) |
| 9:45 – 10:35 | Breakout 3 | Risk Management and Safety in Occupied Campuses | Matt Gilliland | CHASSE Building Team |
| 10:40 – 11:35 | Breakout 1 | Building Connections for a Sustainable Future: Pathways to Securing Tomorrow’s Workforce for Facilities Management | Alexandria Tannehill | University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus |
| Vimol Mitchell | University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus |
| 10:40 – 11:35 | Breakout 2 | Designing an AI-Enabled Interdisciplinary Engineering Hub | Benjamin Strain | DLR Group |
| Steve Johnson | Colorado State University |
| 10:40 – 11:35 | Tour | Utilities Building: Tempe District Utility Plant (TDUP) and Cold Storage | — | — |
| 11:40 – 1:00 | Second-floor ballroom | Lunch / Tradeshow | — | — |
| 1:05 – 1:55 | Breakout 1 | ASU’s Roofing Program – Best Practices and Lessons Learned | Billy Jackson | ASU |
| Tim Smith | Arizona State University |
| Chris Walker | Progressive Roofing |
| Kirk Autio | PRIMO Data |
| 1:05 – 1:55 | Breakout 2 | “From Building Performance Standards to Business Case: RCx That Delivers ROI on Higher Ed Campuses” | Ryan Shepherd | Colorado Mountain College |
| Michael Brubaker, P.E., C.E.M. | Colorado College |
| Matt Wakulchik, CEM, NABCEP | McKinstry |
| 2:05 – 2:55 | Breakout 1 | Retro-Commissioning a Medical Campus Chiller Plant: Restoring Efficiency Through Automation and Control Strategies | Erik Jeannette, PE | Iconergy |
| 2:05 – 2:55 | Breakout 2 | Zero Energy Case Study – U.S. Air Force Academy | Katie Willemarck | U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation |
| Amanda Occhi, PE, LEED AP BD+C | Farnsworth Group |
| Corey Chinn, PE, CEM, CxA, CCP, LEED AP | Farnsworth Group |
| Kevin Gould, AIA | RTA Architects |
| Christine Costa, RA | RTA Architects |
| 2:55 – 3:15 | Second-floor ballroom | Tradeshow / Break | — | — |
| 3:30 – 4:30 | Second-floor ballroom | Closing Keynote – Dr. Chris Howard / Chief Operating Officer at ASU | — | — |
| 6:00 – 8:00 | Second-floor ballroom | Awards Banquet | — | — |
Friday, September 11
| Time | Location | Session or activity | Speaker | Employer |
|---|
| All day | Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU | Departure | — | — |
