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COAA-TX

2026 COAA-TX Owners Forum - Houston

Tuesday, February 3, 2026
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM (CST)
70 Seats Remaining
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Event Details

Join us for our first FREE OWNERS-ONLY forum of 2026, hosted at UTHealth in Houston. Hear from your peers about their challenges & successes and share your own. This forum is for Owner Members and Owner Non-Members only. COAA-TX will have other events in 2026 to include Associates.

This forum will have AIA learning units.  

Agenda

February 3
8:30 AM - 9:15 AM Registration, Networking and Continental Breakfast
9:15 AM - 9:30 AM Welcome and Chapter Update
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM Session 1 - Overview of TSTC Speakers: 
Rick Herrera, Senior Vice Chancellor & Chief Campus Expansion Officer , TSTC 
Jay Wesson, Senior Vice President of Campus Expansion Planning and Construction, TSTC
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM Session 2 - A Robust Planning Process Paves the Way for Design & Construction Success Before construction. Before design. Before programming. There’s project planning. The first step in the capital project lifecycle can often get short-changed in the rush to address immediate space needs. Hear how UT redefined the capital project planning process, developing a more robust approach and strategic, long-term viewpoint to pave the way for smoother design and construction delivery.

Speaker:
Kate Haenchen-Jimenez, Director of Planning, UT Austin
11:30 AM - 12:15 PM Lunch and Peer Connection
12:15 PM - 1:15 PM Owners Roundtable This unstructured discussion allows for professional-to-professional sharing of challenges, best practices, and lessons learned. Owners will gain insight from other regarding project delivery lessons learned, discuss specific project management challenges and successes, and learn from peers. 
1:45 PM - 2:45 PM Session 4 - Project Tour of the TSTC Waco Campus Construction Technology Center This facility is a two-story concrete tilt-wall building currently under construction. This facility, designed with open labs, will foster collaborative learning and open communication among students and faculty. It will provide space for sharing ideas, tools, equipment, and resources. It is planned to be occupied in the Spring semester of 2026.