2025 FutureTech Speakers

Tessa Lau
Founder and CEO
Dusty Robotics

Dr. Tessa Lau is an award-winning roboticist who is the founder and CEO of Dusty Robotics. Dusty is revolutionizing the construction industry as the best solution to ensure design integrity in the field through automated layout and a streamlined BIM-to-field process. Prior to Dusty Robotics, Dr. Lau was co-founder, CTO, and Chief Robot Whisperer at Savioke (Relay) Robotics, where she automated hotel delivery and orchestrated the global distribution and management of consumer-facing robots. Dr. Lau was also a member of Willow Garage, the legendary research lab and technology incubator known as one of the most influential forces in modern robotics. Willow Garage is responsible for the creation of an open-source robot operating system that's still being used by academics, engineers, and hobbyists around the world today. Dr. Lau is a frequent speaker at business, technology, and construction conferences and has received numerous awards, including 2023 Construction Dive's Up and Coming Women in Construction, Silicon Valley Business Journal's Women of Influence, SVR's Innovation Award, and the Award for Excellence from the Association of Computer Machinery. Currently living in Silicon Valley, Dr. Lau holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Washington.

Justin Lopez
Manager of Design Technology
Sound Transit

Justin Lopez is a Design Technology Manager with 20 years of experience implementing BIM and 3D workflows on major infrastructure projects. At Sound Transit, he has led the development of BIM standards for $53.8B of light rail expansion and is currently leading their AI integration efforts. His expertise spans the complete project lifecycle, from hands-on modeling to strategic consulting, with a particular focus on creating collaborative team environments and maximizing BIM's potential for large organizations.

Marc Paolicelli
Chief Customer Officer and Senior Vice President
RK Industries, LLC

Marc Paolicelli is the Chief Customer Officer and Senior Vice President at RK Industries, LLC, Denver, Colo. RK is the parent company of seven subsidiaries focused on construction, manufacturing and building service. Paolicelli has decades of experience in business development, strategic growth, and customer success. He started in construction when he was 18, and he has played a key role in driving RK’s expansion across the Mountain West. He has helped the company grow into a regional leader known for expertise in data centers, industrialized construction, modularized manufacturing and construction. He provides strategic oversight for RK’s Enterprise Partner Program, corporate Business Development, and the Marketing and Communications team. He is a trusted industry voice and often is invited to speak on panels and at conferences to share insights on market trends, innovation, and industry leadership. Paolicelli lives by a simple philosophy: Love what you do, and pursue it with relentless determination.

Luke Reeve
Principal Solutions Architect
TwinKnowledge

Luke Reeve is Principal Solutions Architect at TwinKnowledge, a company spearheading the development of Project AI for the AECO industry. Before joining TwinKnowledge, Luke worked as a structural engineer at the nationally-awarded design firm Uzun+Case and studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, exploring the transformative potential of artificial intelligence to reshape the future of human-information interaction.

Cari Stieglitz
Founder
Kaivolve

Cari Stieglitz is co-founder of consultant Kaivolve and brings global experience with program management start up and governance for large and small programs. She has helped private and public organizations organize project, program and portfolio management processes to support the lifecycle view of capital, small and operational projects, including adaptation of PMI, ISO 21500 and other standards to meet the needs of organizations.

AJ Waters
Chief Evangelist
Kahua

AJ Waters is chief evangelist at Kahua, and formerly was vice president of industry solutions at InEight and a program manager at Google. Waters seeks to leverage his background as a structural engineer at Kiewit to champion innovative solutions for the constrution industry.