Rita Smith, AIA, CCS

Experience

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  Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston / St Pauls Catholic Parish

  May 1990 - Jun 1993

  Project Representative, Facilities Manager

  Ms. Smith served as the Project Representative and Facilities Manager for the renovation and expansion of the Archdiocesan Choir School and St. Paul Catholic Church in Harvard Square. She was responsible for daily inspections, testing supervision, report and coordination of construction issues for a multi-purpose new construction. She also supervised the electrical and space renovations to the church, and the procuring of goods and services for the new interiors.

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  Independent Consultant

  Jun 1993 - Aug 1995

  Clerk-of-the-Works / Project Representative

  As an independent consultant to various construction projects, Ms. Smith provided on-site representation on historic renovations, masonry repairs, heating system upgrades, thermal and acoustical improvements, and site work. Her clients included architects, religious institutions and housing authorities.

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  The Jones Payne Group

  Aug 1995 - Mar 2013

  Associate

  • Led team in preparing major report on nationwide housing needs for Navajo Housing Authority using data from 30,000 surveys. • Design Team Director for renovation of four churches and schools impacted by noise around Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport. Treatments included new ceilings, mechanical systems, electrical upgrades, windows, doors and structural support. Notable project was renovation of Hall of Banners for The Society of St Vincent de Paul.• Project Manager for Non-Residential Sound Mitigation Services Feasibility Study by the City of Phoenix, Aviation Department’s Community Noise Reduction Program. Led team of 8 professional consulting firms in assessment of 42 properties containing one million SF. Directly responsible for 1,400-page Final Feasibility Study and reporting findings to Aviation Board and Community Advisory Board. Relocated to Phoenix to facilitate project completion in 11 months.• Program Manager on San Diego Quieter Home Program Team during program transition to new consultant team. Negotiated treatment to homes under Historic Preservation Guidelines. Oversaw 100 homes averaging $2-3 million construction cost per year over two years. •Design Manager / Architect / Construction Administrator on 8 airport-sponsored noise mitigation projects nationwide including schools, churches and detention facilities located in Baton Rouge (LA) and Warwick (RI). Initiated Key West Residential Noise Insulation Program designing innovations in sound control and hurricane resistant product integration.• Originated marketing, design and construction administration of interior renovations to 3 Boston area churches. •Design Manager of firm’s Logan International Airport Residential Sound Insulation Program. Oversaw training, production, and management of staff of 10 in field assessment, design and construction document preparation. Produced 400 houses of customized treatments averaging $6 million in construction per year for five years. Show less

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  Franciscan Renewal Center

  Oct 2013 - Dec 2017

  Construction Project Manager

  The Casa completed renewing and building new facilities after 65 years at its current site. As the Owner's Representative and Construction Manager, Ms. Smith shepherded $18M in new construction on the 25-acre site, protecting the interests of the Casa, provided quality control on design and construction to ensure best use of Casa funds, solicited bids, evaluated the progress of construction projects, and managed budget and schedule. As part of the Design Committee, Ms. Smith also contributed to the design of the new Church. • Buildings include: LEED certified 600+ seat Church ($9M), owner services and materials including: furniture, and art work. 32-room Lodging building ($1.4M). $1.2M in professional services. Led planning of 8,000 SF Community Life Center ($2M), • Infrastructure improvements: 8” water main and gas service ($400K), 3.2 acre feet of multiple retention basins($300K), 2 acres of new parking ($250K). • Additional renovations: Children’s Center ($135K), Bookstore ($50K), design coordination for new Columbarium ($400K). Ms. Smith’s deep commitment to the projects reduced confusion, increased communication, saved expense and resulted in construction that is a better fit to the campus. She worked collaboratively in a team atmosphere, negotiating competing interests. Self-directing, structuring and managing processes to carry out job duties. Handles stressful situations with patience, seeking advice as needed. Duties included: Project Management, Financial Coordination, Design Management, Construction Administration. Show less

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  CDM Smith

  Jan 2018 - now

  Manager, Specifications Writing

  CDM Smith undertook a large task to modernize their construction specifications to the new 50-Division CSI Standard. The focus of this large engineering firm’s work includes water and wastewater treatment plants, civil engineering, transportation and facilities projects. Working as part of a small team of advanced professionals, we rewrote and modernized 1200 specification sections. Using project management skills, my role additionally includes: running weekly team meetings, managing the intellectual property capture for the Process Mechanical Divisions, coordinating with resource engineers to advance the project, produce and deliver presentations within the firm on the new systems and processes and integrate the nascent specification team into the firm’s structure. In the ensuing 5 years several hundred additional specification titles have been added to the firm's library. Show less