"If not me, then who?” First Lt. Travis Manion, USMC, made this simple yet powerful statement before his final deployment, reflecting the profound sense of duty experienced by service members and their families. Today on the podcast, BJ is joined by Ryan Manion, CEO of the Travis Manion Foundation (TMF), one of the nation’s leading veteran service organizations. Known for her resilience after losing her brother Travis to war and her mother to cancer, Ryan is dedicated to empowering veterans and ...
Sep 25, 2024•35 min•Ep. 167
Have you ever tried leading or managing someone but struggled with communication? Effective communication is the backbone of every successful training program. In this solo episode of Inspiring People & Places, BJ dives into how the correct communication techniques can elevate your training methods. He unpacks the concept of training in the context of leadership and how to tailor training based on each employee’s specific needs. Discover how to establish foundational language, communicate co...
Sep 18, 2024•23 min•Ep. 166
At its core, leadership is about inspiring and influencing behavior to help people to achieve a common goal. But how are great leaders shaped? Join us for a compelling conversation with Brian Stann, a former mixed martial artist and U.S. Marine who competed in the UFC’s middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. In this discussion, we explore where Brian is today, his journey through the military, the lessons he learned at Hire Heroes USA, and his leap into real estate development. Brian also...
Sep 11, 2024•42 min•Ep. 165
Veterans have the potential to be exceptional business leaders if they can prioritize and balance their values, wellness, and financial goals. Joining us today is the founder of Richard Group LLC, Jed Richard to discuss his incredible career and the difference he is making within his company. Tuning in, you’ll hear all about Jed’s upbringing, how his grandfather became his inspiration, his time in the army, and how he transitioned into construction. We explore the exceptional entrepreneurial qua...
Sep 04, 2024•50 min•Ep. 164
Anyone can build an average business, but who wants to be average when you can be excellent? Today on Inspiring People & Places, we are joined by the founder and managing partner of Scare the Bear Capital, Matthew Dean. In this conversation, we hear all about Matt’s background, what led him to his current leadership role, and where he is in his career today. We delve into the leadership lessons he learned growing his firm, his ‘Markon 100’ principle, and how his leadership style changed as t...
Aug 28, 2024•38 min•Ep. 163
In any partnership, trust is a key player; both the trust you find in your partner and the trust you knowingly have in yourself. Joining BJ on this episode of Inspiring People & Places is John Grady, who serves as the Northeast Region Executive and Senior Vice President of Development at Wexford Science & Technology in Philadelphia. As a seasoned executive with a wealth of experience in real estate, finance, city building, and corporate and public affairs, John has a remarkable track rec...
Aug 21, 2024•41 min•Ep. 162
We are inspired by the leadership, passion, and mission-focus that veterans bring to the built environment. However, figuring out what your next steps are after serving can be challenging. During this episode, we welcome Arpan Patel, Director of Operations at the US Air Force Reserve. He shares his story, from growing up with immigrant parents, to serving and leveraging his background in civil engineering to build a career on the other side. You’ll also hear about the process of excavating his I...
Aug 14, 2024•38 min•Ep. 161
Being able to inspire change is key to being a good leader. But more importantly, a leader needs to have the humility to reflect on when their capacity for driving that change has expired. Joining us today is the former CEO of the Society of Women Engineers and former AVP of admin and operations at DePaul University, Betty Shanahan to discuss her remarkable career arc. In this conversation, you’ll hear all about what inspired Betty to get into engineering, her education, career highlights, her t...
Aug 07, 2024•36 min•Ep. 160
The built environment offers vast potential to impact those who live, work, and thrive in these spaces. Today’s guest on Inspiring People & Places is Joe Reagan, the Executive Vice President of Development at Wexford Science and Technology. Join us as we explore the diverse aspects of his career journey, including how his understanding of deal-making and real estate within the built environment has deepened his appreciation for the financial implications of a mission. Joe also shares key lea...
Jul 31, 2024•31 min•Ep. 159
“When we value women, then we begin to value everyone.” These are the wise words of today’s guest; women’s advocate, international speaker, and author, Jill Tietjen. In this conversation, you’ll hear about Jill’s early life and interest in math, her passion for encouraging women to pursue STEM careers, her incredible career, and so much more! We delve into the electrical engineering challenges Jill has encountered before discussing her opinions about how grids can be modernized and what the dema...
Jul 24, 2024•50 min•Ep. 158
We're going to do things a little differently and speak to the younger generation: Avery Kraemer, Trey Kraemer, and Daniel Wits - BJ's daughter, son, and nephew. Avery, Trey, and Daniel all describe what their parents do for work before giving us their own definitions of leadership and what it means to be a good leader. We discover what they like and dislike in the people they look up to and why leaders need to be both strict and easygoing. Be sure to listen closely for a hidden BJ Masterclass i...
Jul 17, 2024•11 min•Ep. 157
Great leaders are constantly making balanced decisions based on risks and rewards. Today on Inspiring People & Places, we discuss how leadership affects project outcomes. In this solo episode, you’ll hear all about how the late Irv Richter and Hill International inspired BJ to think about what leaders do to drive successful project outcomes. We discuss the art of project management before breaking down the Army’s Composite Risk Management process and its principles. Finally, BJ explains why ...
Jul 11, 2024•25 min•Ep. 156
Your career path doesn’t need to be linear for you to fulfill your dreams. Today’s guest brings an amazing journey to our conversation. Former NASA Astronaut and retired US Air Force Colonel with more than 180 days in space, Cady Coleman is a popular Public Speaker and Media Consultant, Research Affiliate to MIT’s media lab, and much more. During this conversation, she shares some of the unexpected twists and turns that her career has taken, along with key insights on being industrious as you ma...
Jul 03, 2024•44 min•Ep. 155
We are all limitless, even in our mortal human forms, and it’s time you realize that! Don’t miss out on this epic conversation with the one and only Christiana Cioffi, empowerment ambassador, leadership coach, and speaker. A West Point graduate and former marketing VP, Christiana brings a wealth of experience to the table. Join us as we explore her remarkable journey, discuss being fearless in the army, unpack how she helps people reflect on their truest identity, her three-part process, and how...
Jun 26, 2024•40 min•Ep. 154
Imagine it’s New Year’s Eve; you’re toasting champagne with your friends and family, but for the first time in a long time, you’re not discussing next year’s resolutions. Instead, you’re celebrating the incredible feeling of having accomplished this year’s goals. By the end of today’s episode, you’ll be inspired to revisit your past resolutions and feel empowered to achieve them by the end of this year. Tune in to discover invaluable insights and practical advice to help you get clear on your go...
Jun 19, 2024•18 min•Ep. 153
In honor of Father’s Day, BJ’s dad, Brian Kraemer Sr, joins us for this episode of Inspiring People and Places to discuss all things life and leadership! Mr. Kraemer always knew he wanted to get married, coach, and serve his country. In this conversation, you’ll hear all about his family, his career in the military, and what inspired him to join the Air Force. Mr. Kraemer also tells us how sports and teamwork influenced his parenting style. In addition to his Air Force unit, the kinds of mission...
Jun 12, 2024•36 min•Ep. 152
In this episode, we welcome back Kyle Majchrowski to the show as we delve into implementing a human-centric approach to workplace environments. Kyle is a Senior Project Executive at Banner Health, where he provides support for teams managing new construction projects. He is also a founding member of Ripple Intent, a non-profit organization focused on improving workplace experiences by fostering community, reducing stress, and promoting collaborative and human-centric approaches to project delive...
Jun 05, 2024•32 min•Ep. 151
Are you looking for a way to foster focus, accountability, and discipline within your team? Curious about implementing a process that can ultimately lead to entrepreneurial freedom? Then don’t miss out on today’s Inspiring People & Places episode. Joining BJ today is Mark O’Donnell. Mark is a Professional EOS® Implementer, coach, facilitator, seasoned business professional, and US Air Force Veteran. He is currently the Visionary and CEO at EOS®, and he’s here today to talk to us about his ex...
May 29, 2024•43 min•Ep. 150
Welcome to this Memorial Day tribute episode where we sit down with Marion Zilinski, otherwise known as Mama Z, to discuss what Memorial Day means to people who have lost their loved ones in service. Tuning in, you’ll hear all about Marion’s late son, Dennis, why he decided to join West Point, and what 9/11 meant to him. Marion goes on to explain how it felt to find out that Dennis had died on deployment and shares her heartbreaking experience of losing her son. She also talks about Run with Den...
May 22, 2024•47 min•Ep. 149
Are you managing a large team to reach your vision but feel like team members are not aligning correctly with the overall goal? Do you need help getting all team members on the same page? In this solo episode, BJ unpacks the role of what we at MCFA regard as the meaning of KPI: keeping people interested. It is not your typical MBA academic term but a philosophy to help you be a better business and project leader. Discover the role of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) at a project and an individu...
May 15, 2024•16 min•Ep. 148
As we continue to edge toward graduation and internship season, we felt there could not be a more fitting guest to join BJ on the podcast than our latest co-op, Isabella Damasceno. Isabella is currently a third-year student at Drexel University, pursuing a dual major in marketing and business analytics. Join us as we dive into details surrounding Isabella’s co-op program and how the process of matching students with co-op programs works. She shared her thoughts on how her program helped her figu...
May 08, 2024•31 min•Ep. 147
As we continue to move closer to graduation and internship season, we delve further into the talent equation. Today on the podcast BJ is joined by a repeat guest, Colin Mottola. Colin is one of our Construction Managers and engineers at MCFA. He also happens to be one of our very first interns. Join the conversation as we explore Colin’s experience, from landing an internship to working on a construction project in an active hospital during a pandemic. He also gets into the various lessons he’s ...
May 01, 2024•28 min•Ep. 146
As graduation and intern season approach, we want to dive into a topic we all have faced—just-in-time talent. Join BJ as he discusses the talent equation, including why we should always be recruiting, regardless of whether we are hiring or not. BJ addresses the debate between sourcing external talent and developing internal talent, his perspective on on-the-job training, and where the secret sauce of growth lies. Don’t miss out; start listening now! Key Points From This Episode: Why we should al...
Apr 24, 2024•27 min•Ep. 145
It’s time to wake up to your life. It’s time to count your Mondays. Here to tell us more about it is Jodi Wellman. Jodi is a motivational speaker, author, and Founder of Four Thousand Mondays. Her upcoming book called, You Only Die Once: How to Make It to the End with No Regrets is a “live like you mean it” book. Join the conversation as we dive into Jodi’s story, which includes her time at Penn in the Positive Psychology Program and her thoughts on the infamous bucket list. She also unpacks the...
Apr 17, 2024•35 min•Ep. 144
As vital as it is for peace and transformation, the importance of leadership (and leadership itself) is still widely misunderstood. When leaders fail to fulfill their roles (after not understanding what they entail in the first place), it creates a space for trauma to thrive. Today we are joined by Larry Yatch, a Navy SEAL-turned-education and business consultant, and who explains what leadership looks like from the perspective of a Navy veteran. We learn about Larry’s life before the SEALs, wha...
Apr 10, 2024•47 min•Ep. 143
We occasionally feature guests on our show who specialize in the transition from the Department of Defense to Architectural Engineering and Construction (DoD to AEC). In the industry, there are notable talent and leadership gaps that persist, and the DoD to AEC program aims to address these by tapping into the skills of military personnel who transition to civilian roles. Joining BJ on the show today is ‘Colonel-soon-to-be-retired’ Adam Sawyer. Adam has over 23 years of experience successfully l...
Apr 03, 2024•31 min•Ep. 142
In this episode, we sit down with Adam Stark, Special Forces Veteran and Co-Founder of Jet.Build. Jet.Build is a provider of cloud-based project management solutions created specifically for real estate developers and construction professionals. With a background in the Special Forces, Adam brings a unique perspective to the table. He combines his military expertise with his skills in project management and technology. He is also committed to holistic leadership, personal development, and making...
Mar 27, 2024•32 min•Ep. 141
To be an effective leader, you must believe that other people matter and, as a result, that leadership is a relationship. This is the belief of today’s guest, Mike Erwin. A soldier, educator, author, non-profit founder, veteran advocate, and Executive Director at Team Red, White & Blue (RWB), America's leading health and wellness community for veterans. Mike is also CEO of the Character & Leadership Center and co-founder and president of The Positivity Project, a non-profit organization ...
Mar 20, 2024•48 min•Ep. 140
During this episode, we’re turning the tables; the guest becomes the host, and the host becomes the guest! Jon Nehlsen is the Chief Financial Officer at MCFA, and he joins us to interview BJ Kraemer. You’ll hear all about BJ’s formative experiences, from his childhood experiences to his early career in construction before joining MCFA. Getting into his West Point journey, we explore what it was like to continue his father’s military legacy, and BJ shares how he has drawn inspiration from a veter...
Mar 13, 2024•42 min•Ep. 139
If you’ve ever taken on a tough project or struggled with a demanding client, then this episode is for you! In today’s episode, you’ll hear BJ Kraemer share the details of his most recent project, the challenges he encountered, and what he learned from the experience. You’ll learn about the reservations he had regarding his most recent project, why it was so challenging (despite his good relationship with the client), and the seven key lessons any good project manager needs to know — especially ...
Mar 06, 2024•19 min•Ep. 138
