“Coffee With…” Dr. Colleen Saringer
Join us for our next episode in our “Coffee With…” Virtual Conversation on October 30th from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM featuring our guest, Dr. Colleen Saringer.
The “Coffee With…” Series is a NextGen initiative created to advance DBIA’s mission of promoting excellence in Design-Build project delivery by connecting emerging professionals with experienced industry leaders.
This informal, virtual forum provides young professionals the opportunity to listen and learn from candid conversations about real-world Design-Build execution – including integrated team dynamics, risk allocation, procurement strategies, leadership decision-making, and lessons learned across complex projects. The series emphasizes open dialogue and firsthand experience, reinforcing DBIA Best Practices and exposing participants to the cultural and collaborative foundations that define successful Design-Build delivery.
By providing consistent access to authentic industry insight in a virtual and accessible format, the initiative strengthens engagement within the DBIA community, supports professional growth and credentialing pathways, and helps prepare the next generation to lead integrated project delivery across the region.
This event is only open to DBIA NextGen/Young Professionals (ages 35 and under).
Hosted By: Sheriff Naggar Project Manager, Hill International, Inc.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKER
Dr. Colleen Saringer
A blue-collar woman wrapped in a PhD package.
I’ve spent over 25 years working as an Organizational Health Leader serving global pipelines and energy companies, law firms, and professional services. However, nothing tops the workplace lessons I’ve learned growing up with parents who owned a sheet metal shop (I’m Construction-Bred), or those I’ve gained walking alongside my husband, the owner of an industrial roofing company (I’m also Construction-Wed).
And here’s the one consistent lesson I can’t ignore:
The way work is designed and led doesn’t just impact performance – it impacts people.
It impacts their mental health.
And in some cases, workplace conditions themselves can contribute to – and worsen – anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide, whether or not someone has been diagnosed with a mental health condition.
This isn’t just research. I’ve lived it.
I learned it at 13, watching my dad struggle under the weight of the sheet metal business in ways that made him believe taking his life was the only way out.
In my late 30s, I found myself closer to this same edge than I ever expected all because my work environment surrounded me with several of the workplace risk factors that hurt people.
This is my Why.
I don’t want anyone to ever experience what my dad, or I, did all those years ago from work and/or our workplaces.
We’ve lost sight of the fact that work CAN be good for a person’s mental health. In fact, it can be lifesaving.
Through my keynote speeches and workshops you can get at least one step closer to turning your workplace into a suicide prevention system.