Infrastructure Summit 2024: A Recap

On April 1st, Austin's business community gathered at the AT&T Conference Center for our annual Infrastructure Summit. The Summit comes at a pivotal point in time for Central Texas; it's important that Austin isn't just prepared for all the growth that’s happening now, but also planning for the exponential growth that’s coming our way.

We convened community leaders whose fields spanned all things infrastructure for the day's panels: I-35, Air Service, Community Resilience, Water, Energy, Air Service, Light Rail, and Regional Transportation, and kicked off with a Keynote Address from Interim Austin City Manager Jesús Garza.

After the keynote ended, the crowd rushed to the first panels of the day:

1-35 Capital Express: Reconnecting Austin
- Moderator - Mike Trimble, HNTB
- Tommy Abrego, TXDOT
- Richard Mendoza, ATD, Public Works
- Emily Risinger, DAA
- Sponsored by Downtown Austin Alliance
Bringing Sustainability to Austin’s Infrastructure
- Moderator - Niniane Tozzi, Mott MacDonald
- BJ Carpenter, AUS
- John Langmore, ATP
- Zach Baumer, COA
- Sponsored by Mott MacDonald
The Future of Energy Infrastructure in Texas
- Moderator - Allen Fore, Kinder Morgan
- Dr. Emily Beagle, Webber Energy Group at UT Austin
- Michael Enger, Austin Energy
- Trey Salinas, 3 Point Partners
- Sponsored by Kinder Morgan

Then for our second panel session, we shifted gears to regional transportation, community resilience, and a discussion on Austin's light rail.

Getting There Together: A Conversation on Regional Transportation
- Moderator - Christof Spieler, Huitt Zollars
- James Bass , CTRMA
- Caroline Mays, TxDOT
- Dottie Watkins, CapMetro
- Sponsored by CapMetro 
Resilience for Infrastructure and Communities
- Moderator - Abby Tomlinson, AECOM
  Mike Enger, Austin Energy
  Marc Coudert, COA - Office of Resilience
- Casey Wells, TxDOT
- Rob Borowski, CapMetro
- Sponsored by AECOM
Austin Light Rail: Economic Opportunities Connecting Housing, Jobs, and Transit
- Moderator - Dianne Bangle
- Greg Canally, ATP
- Nicole Doheny, City and County of Denver
- Council Member Chito Vela, COA
- Sponsored by Parsons Corporation

Our final two panels hit on areas where major infrastructure improvements are needed to keep in pace with our region's growth: air services and the future of water in Texas.

The Future of Water in Texas
- Moderator - Carlos Rubinstein, RSAH2O
- Shay Ralls Roalson, Austin Water
- Jeremy Mazur, Texas 2036
- Jason Roberts, Jacobs
- Michael Irlbeck, EPCOR
- Sponsored by EPCOR
Air Service
- Moderator - Sam Haynes, AUS
- Ghizlane Badawi, AUS
- David Harvey, SWA
- Doug Driskill, Dell Technologies
- Sponsored by Southwest Airlines

The day wouldn't have been possible without all our sponsors. Our Presenting Sponsor for the day HDR, our Reception Sponsor HNTB, our Badge and Lanyard Sponsor Jacobs, our Program Sponsors AECOM, CapMetro, Downtown Austin Alliance, EPCOR, Kinder Morgan, Inc., Mott MacDonald, Parsons Corporation, and Southwest Airlines, our Speaker Sponsor, Pape-Dawson Engineers, our Corporate Sponsors: AT&T Hotel and Conference Center, Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, Encotech Engineering Consultants, Inc., HOK, Rifeline, and STV, and our Supporting Sponsors: Garver, Halff, Huitt-Zollars, Inc., The Rios Group, Inc., and WSB. And a huge shout out to our host for the day, AT&T Hotel and Conference Center.

Thanks to everyone who came out; we're already looking forward to next year!