Volunteer Spotlight: Chris Camp
Owners Perspective Magazine | Spring 2026
Christina Camp was amazed the first time she attended a Construction Owners Association of America (COAA) event. Chris was a seasoned professional, a project manager in the Aurora (CO) Public Schools (APS) Planning, Design & Construction Department, and didn’t expect the insights and breadth of instruction she received at a COAA Owners Training Institute (OTI) class. Attending that OTI in 2019 taught her the importance of “things she already knew,” and helped her realize how important it is to consider the perspectives of Owners, architects and engineers, and builders.
Fast forward to 2022. Chris was able to convince her supervisor to let her attend COAA Connect in Denver, but wasn’t able to attend a 2024 OTI class on Construction Management At-Risk (CMAR) in Texas. APS was moving to the CMAR model, and Chris knew from her previous OTI experience that the information she would have learned in Texas would be a tremendous help in the transition to this new delivery method.
Disappointment over missing out on a valuable learning experience, and appreciation for the quality of information at the COAA events she had been able to attend, spurred Chris to reach out to Howie Ferguson, Executive Director of COAA, to ask how to start a COAA chapter in Colorado.
Chris and a small group of existing Colorado COAA members began recruiting others to attend organizational meetings. Interest in COAA and participation in organizational activities, especially among K-12 school systems, was incredible, she says. At COAA Colorado’s first hard hat tour in early February 2026, 46 out of 55 registered attendees were present, far exceeding her expectations.
Chris credits the response to a need for project management resources and the ability to learn from peers that’s sometimes difficult in the Rocky Mountain region. She says the organizers look forward to a time when COAA Colorado carries the tagline “Serving the Rocky Mountain Region,” citing contacts who’ve expressed interest in the new chapter as far away as Santa Fe (NM) and Omaha (NE).
When asked what advice she’d give to someone interested in starting a new COAA chapter, Chris said she recommends telling everyone about COAA and inviting them to the organizational meetings. Once the right people are in the room, momentum and enthusiasm for COAA help move the initiative forward.
Finally, she says, use the resources COAA provides. She began using the members-only eForum from day one and cites it as a key resource. The eCatalog is another helpful asset she uses frequently. The COAA team has been supportive of the chapter formation efforts, and that support has made the effort much less daunting.
Chris reports that paperwork formally establishing the Colorado chapter is underway, and that Howie, Meetings and Events Manager Jenell Calloway, and COAA Vice-President Drew Furry will be attending the first “official” COAA Colorado workshop in March.
Chris expected starting the new chapter to take a few years, so the fact that it could happen in only a year or so has been a pleasant surprise. She says it’s exciting and rewarding to see the new chapter come into being that she doesn’t think there’s any way she couldn’t have seen it through.
Congratulations, Chris, and welcome COAA Colorado!