The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), in collaboration with the International Code Council and the National Building Museum, will host Elevate 2025, a one-day summit focused on workforce development in the U.S. built environment. The event will take place on Thursday, September 4, 2025, at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.

As labor shortages reach critical levels across the construction, engineering, and design sectors, Elevate 2025 brings together top leaders from government, industry, policy, and labor to confront what is now considered a national security concern. The summit aims to develop scalable, cross-sector solutions to strengthen the workforce pipeline and promote innovation in resilience, sustainability, and technology within the built environment.

“The workforce shortage across the built environment has evolved from a past problem into today’s major crisis and will become a disaster in its own right if left unaddressed,” said George K. Guszcza, President & CEO of NIBS.

Elevate 2025 will showcase a powerful lineup of speakers and influencers, including:

• Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Secretary of Labor
• Anna Palmer, CEO & Founder, Punchbowl News
• Aileen Fuchs, President & Executive Director, National Building Museum
• John Belcik, CEO, International Code Council
• Major General Kim Colloton, Deputy Commanding General, US Army Corps of Engineers
• Irish Horsey, Director of Industry Advancement, Procore Technologies
• Kelly Marchese, Infrastructure Leader, Deloitte
• Elizabeth O’Brien, SVP, Hiring Our Heroes, U.S. Chamber Foundation

• Punchbowl News Fireside Chat with Secretary Chavez-DeRemer
• Unlocking the Veteran Workforce Pipeline
• By the Data: Decoding America’s Labor Market Shortage
• The Role of AI in Workforce Development

Each session will tackle timely challenges and opportunities—from labor market analytics and workforce readiness to recruitment strategies and the integration of AI in talent development.

This summit provides a unique opportunity for decision-makers to network, share insights, and commit to forward-thinking workforce strategies that support a future-ready built environment.

Registration and full event details are available at: www.buildinginnovation.org/elevate

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