DBIA NYC Metro: “Coffee With….” Dr. Colleen Sainger (October 30, 2026)
Includes a Live Web Event on 10/30/2026 at 12:00 PM (EDT)
-
Register
- Non-member Practitioner - $25
- Practitioner Member - $10
- Student Member - Free!
- Owner Member - $10
- Academia Member - $10
- Industry Partner Academia Member - $10
- Industry Partner Practitioner Member - $10
- Industry Partner Owner Member - $10
- NextGen/Young Professional - Free!
- NextGen/Young Professional – Owner - Free!
- NextGen/Young Professional – Practitioner - $10
- Underutilized Business Enterprise (UBE) - $10
Key:
Complete
Next
Failed
Available
LockedDr. Colleen Saringer
Professional Speaker/Founder
Dr. Colleen Speaks
Dr. Colleen Saringer is a blue-collar woman wrapped in a PhD package who’s on a mission to stop work from hurting people. As a professional speaker on workplace mental health and suicide prevention, she blends 25 years as a Global Organizational Health Leader with a lifetime weathering the challenges of two family-owned construction businesses - one of which nearly ended in suicide. Dr. Colleen brings a rare, inside-out perspective to mental health and culture at work, by educating blue collar industries on the workplace psychosocial risk facts that contribute to and worsen anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and suicides. She offers practical suicide-prevention solutions - based on kindness, accountability and boundaries - that protect people and strengthen the bottom line.
Sheriff Naggar (Moderator)
Project Manager
Hill International, Inc.
Phone: (718) 866 – 8798
Email: [email protected]
Sheriff Naggar is a Project Manager & Claims Consultant with over 10 years of experience delivering mega Design-Build infrastructure programs, including projects with an aggregate portfolio exceeding $35B. He has supported landmark initiatives such as the Hudson Tunnel Project, Borough-Based Jail Program, and Penn Station Expansion, specializing in project management, risk management, dispute resolution, cost control, scheduling, and contract administration. Sheriff serves as Chair of DBIA NextGen and holds a Master of Science in Construction Management from Columbia University and a Program in Finance and Behavioral Economics from Harvard Business School.
The “Coffee With…” Virtual Conversation 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 with 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.
12:00 PM – 12:40 PM: Topic Discussion
12:40 PM – 01:00 PM: Questions from the audience
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.
