Town Hall Keynote: Leadership in Crisis

As the keynote speaker for PACA's annual town hall meeting in April, Rollie will bring a powerful perspective on leadership under pressure and navigating uncertainty in today’s complex environment. She will outline the various stages of a crisis and the key steps leaders must take to prepare for a crisis, manage it effectively, and ultimately emerge stronger and more resilient from the experience.

About the presenter

Carol “Rollie” Flynn is the president and CEO of The Arkin Group, an international intelligence, security, and risk consulting firm. Ms. Flynn is a 30-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) where she held senior executive positions including associate deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, executive director of the CIA Counterterrorism Center, and director of the Office of Foreign Intelligence Relationships, chief of station in major posts in Southeast Asia and Latin America, and undercover clandestine operations officer in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Ms. Flynn is also president emerita and non-resident senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), a nonpartisan think tank in Philadelphia which produces analysis focused on the foreign policy and national security challenges facing the United States. She has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service/Security Studies Program and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She also serves on the advisory board of the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. and on the board of the Jamestown Foundation.

Ms. Flynn has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Wellesley College and a Master of Science degree in Cybersecurity from University of Maryland.
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Research and Regulatory Update

As this winter mercifully begins to come to a close, and with the spring rush just around the corner, we wanted to provide this update on some recent activities as well as looking ahead to some issues that we will face.

From February 9-11, PennDOT hosted the Mid-Atlantic Quality Assurance Workshop QAW. The focus of this conference is to bring together DOT material personnel and industry from the Mid-Atlantic states. Mike Matthews and Susan Armstrong put together and moderated the concrete session. Presentations included those from PACA members Ben Lentine, Heidelberg Materials and Mark Moyer, New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., Inc. 

The ASR research that we're currently conducting was featured prominently by Dr. Farshad Rajabipour, chair of the civil engineering department at Penn State, along with covering the additional concrete research that they're conducting. Dr. Jose Munzo with the FHWA Turner Fairbanks Research Center covered the T-Fast and Alkali Threshold Test for evaluating aggregates for ASR potential. Dr. Leandro Sanchez with the University of Ottawa presented their research on the correlation (or lack thereof) of the current ASR test methods. Both Dr. Munoz and Dr. Sanchez presented new models for determining  mitigation levels to reduce the occurrence of ASR. These approaches represent the beginning of a next generation approach to ASR. We look forward to continuing to work with these three leaders in ASR research and are confident our collaboration with them and the information gained on our exposure block study will further their research and provide practical improvements to the durability and performance of our materials.     

Over the past two years there have been significant changes to the cement and SCM requirements within AASHTO and ASTM. The PennDOT/PACA Cement and SCM workgroup have been discussing these changes. This work group is working towards identifying unified reporting requirements that can: 

  • Meet these new changes.
  • Reduce redundancy within the current requirements. 

To accomplish this the work group is working towards unifying the information needed for mill test reports with the goal of eliminating the TR7000 forms. The next meeting of this work group is scheduled for March 9 at 10 a.m. with a PennDOT LTS virtual option. 
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Spring Scaling Challenges

The severity of the winter of 2024-2025 brought about an increase in scaling issues. We all know that this winter has been even more challenging.  As the snow melts, we should expect a similar increase in the reports of scaling, along with questions that come back to our producers and their customers. In response to last year's winter issues, we prepared a document which outlined proper specifications, finishing practices, and post construction care to minimize durability issues. To view this document Please click here.

However, just having this one-page document will not be enough to address this issue. We need to provide education to contractors and specifiers about reasons for and need to use the information summarized in our publication. 

We are fortunate that with the NRMCA exterior flatwork finisher class we have a program to address this. Last year we slightly changed the format of this class and offered a version where both finishers and specifiers could attend together to hear this information. We hosted three of these classes across the state, and each was very well received. Due to their success, we plan to offer them again in 2026.

Two things you can do to address the concerns that we know will be growing this spring.

  • When you get questions about scaling and durability issues don't hesitate to contact Susan Armstrong or Jim Casilio. Send pictures, etc., and we'll be glad to meet you at the jobsite if needed.
  • Host a finisher/specifier class. This is an opportunity to improve project specifications and the finishing & construction practices of those who make our raw material into a final product. 
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Mark Your Calendar
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