Chad Olivier
Chad has a CSU pedigree in construction that traces back over 35 years. He earned his B.S. in Construction Management from Colorado State University in 1988, before enjoying a 28-year career with PCL Construction. Chad also holds an M.A. in Leadership. Chad’s career with PCL included direct involvement in over $1.5 billion worth of large commercial projects including high rise office buildings, sports and entertainment venues, airports, hotels, and hospitals.
Upon “retirement” in 2016, he launched an independent construction consulting firm. In 2017, Chad accepted a part-time teaching position at CSU, and teaches safety management. Chad’s field experience allows students to better understand what will be expected of them from a safety leadership perspective. Chad has taught in the C.M. Certificate Course for three years.
Dan Rondinelli
Dan Rondinelli is a motivated, licensed constructor with business management, estimating, project management, CPM scheduling, training and development, business development, and project controls experience. He is a clear written and verbal communicator with experience on Design-Build, CM/GC and Lump Sum Delivery methods.
Dan loves to share his experiences and has been teaching for CSU since 2000. When not building exciting projects you will find him in his wood shop working with his hands.
Jim MacKinnon
Jim grew up outside of Boston, MA and attended Colorado State University. Upon receiving his B.S. in Construction Management, Jim went to work for a national construction firm as an estimator focused on federal projects. In 1996, Jim started his career at Saunders Construction and, as their Chief Estimator, he provides executive leadership, oversight, and administration on all preconstruction efforts. He brings more than 30 years of construction industry experience to Saunders, holding numerous positions throughout his career ranging from lead estimator, preconstruction manager, and senior preconstruction manager.
As a LEED Accredited Professional, Jim’s knowledge and expertise is rooted in his relationship-based management approach and attention to detail. Jim is a past board member of the Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA) and the Associated General Contractors of Colorado as well as a current Board Trustee for the National Sports Center for the Disabled, a non-profit that provides therapeutic recreation, competition and adaptive sports for children and adults with disabilities.
Clay Benson
Clay Benson is a Market Director in Mortenson's Denver Office and holds a B.S. in Construction Management from CSU. Clay is both a DBIA Designated Design Build Professional and USGBC LEED Accredited Professional. Clay has served as the 2009 Chair of the Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority, 2011 USGBC Colorado Chapter Board Chair, 2011 Graduate of the NREL Energy Executive Program, 2007-2008 Public Director for the AIA Colorado South Chapter, and currently serves on the DBIA National Award Jury.
As Market Director, Clay is responsible for the pursuit, procurement, design, and construction of industrial, manufacturing and corporate projects in Mortenson's Denver Office. Clay’s experience includes work on a wide variety of project types, sizes, and delivery methods.
Mike O’Reilly
Mike O’Reilly has taught the Structures courses in the Construction Management program at CSU for the last 20 years. He is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in Colorado and Arizona. He has another 20 years of engineering, construction, and skilled craft experience.
Mike was a structural engineer for the US Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Charleston, SC, a steel fabricator in Columbia, SC, and a Fort Collins engineering firm. Prior to engineering school, he was a construction foreman, carpenter, and furniture frame patternmaker.
Steve Hultin
Bringing more than 45 years of mechanical, renewable energy, and utility systems expertise into the classroom, Steve Hultin has served as the Executive Director of Facilities Management at CSU, which enables him to speak with authority on the design, construction, and operation of buildings and campuses. After graduating from CSU in the 1970’s, Hultin began a career in the energy and solar industry. Later, he returned to CSU to complete his master’s in mechanical engineering. After graduation, Hultin took jobs with Besten Advanced Energy Products, Inc. as vice president for design and installation and later joined Swanson-Rink, a mechanical/electrical design firm in Denver.
In 1986, Hultin accepted a position with CSU Facilities Management as a campus mechanical engineer, where he was eventually promoted to executive director. Hultin concluded his 30-year career with CSU in 2016. He now remains committed to protecting the environment and enjoys new solar projects, offering consulting services and occasionally turning wrenches and soldering pipes.
Michael Randall
Michael Randall provides instruction on the electrical aspects of construction management.
Bret Gunnell
Bret Gunnell provides instruction on the legal aspects of construction management.
Kylee Samuels
Kylee Samuels is the President of The Samuels Group, LLC, where she has been involved in planning and scheduling over $10 billion in total construction projects. She is a government scheduling expert with an excellent understanding of demanding scheduling specifications and rigorous project requirements. Kylee’s core strength in the construction industry combines scheduling solutions and construction knowledge into an innovative approach to successfully drive projects to completion. Her excellent communication skills allow her to be an effective member of every project team.
Kylee started working as a planning and scheduling consultant as an intern in 2004. Upon graduation from CSU in 2007, she began working full time for that same planning and scheduling firm where she would continue to grow the client base and knowledge of the construction industry for another 9 years. In 2016, she started her company, The Samuels Group, LLC where her team continues to plan and schedule projects all over the US.
Mark Olesen
Mark Olesen is an experienced construction company leader and executive with proven track record in organizational planning and focus, processes, profitability, and enterprise risk management. He has spent 40 years managing the business of construction, the majority as an owner. His experience includes project management of over 3.5 million square feet of projects, 25 years as Vice President of Operations, and several years as President and Chairman of the Board of Pinkard Construction. Recently he has been working with numerous general and specialty contractors to grow and improve the success of their construction contracting businesses.
During his career Mark has been active in various trade organizations, including ABC, AGC, and CFMA, representing his company and the construction industry on vital issues both locally and nationally. He has also long been active in several non-profit organizations, and business and construction-industry general and specialty contractor peer groups.
Mark is known for his determination to achieve excellence and for his real-world success in the construction business. He is committed to sharing his experience and helping other contracting organizations grow and achieve success in their business.
Bill Bialek
After receiving a B.S. in Construction Management from Colorado State University, Bill Bialek has been part of building some of Saunders most iconic projects including Colorado State University Lory Student Center, IKEA Centennial, the Dairy Block Mixed-use Development, the Saint Paul Collection located in Cherry Creek, and the Denver Art Museum North Building Renovation. Saunders’ Superintendent Development Program was developed in-house by Bialek and this program saw its first round of 15 graduates in 2016 – which has repeated itself annually, and continues today. Its curriculum is made up of superintendent-employed best practices and lessons learned on Saunders projects.
Now a General Superintendent for Saunders, Bialek shares the responsibility of ensuring all projects at Saunders are executed safely, completed on time and on budget, and are built in a quality manner.
Christofer Harper
Dr. Christofer Harper, Ph.D., is an associated professor in the Department of Construction Management at Colorado State University’s main campus in Fort Collins. Dr. Harper joined the CM faculty in 2018 and is currently teaching construction scheduling and project controls, mechanical and plumbing systems, and post-award construction management at CSU.
Prior to joining CSU, Dr. Harper was employed as an assistant professor in the Department of Construction Management at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA, where he worked from 2014 to 2018. Prior to working in academics, Dr. Harper spent 13 years working in the construction industry.
Nicole Dufalla
Nicole is originally from Pennsylvania and brings several years of experience from the construction and engineering industries. She is a licensed professional engineer and holds a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering with a focus in Pavements. She has primarily worked with state and federal level highway agencies to improve highway specifications for construction methods and materials and investigating failures. Her other experience has included construction inspection for highway and railroad projects and providing technical support and instruction for construction products. She continues to do consulting work with state agencies to design and construct longer lasting pavements.
Nicole has been teaching at CSU since January 2020, specifically in topics related to construction materials, including Soils for Construction Managers, Construction Materials and Methods, Asphalt Materials and Construction and Concrete Materials and Construction. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys being outside in beautiful Colorado hiking, skiing, or running and, of course, loves rooting for the Steelers.
