Dawson colleagues (L-R) Bud Griffis, Les Edelman and Rick Capka at the National Academy of Construction (NAC) induction dinner in Scottsdale, AZ.
For experts in the fields of engineering and construction, few awards are more prestigious than to be selected for induction into the National Academy of Construction (NAC).
So it was an extraordinary honor for Dawson & Associates’ Senior Counsel/Senior Advocate Les Edelman to be asked to join this organization. Les formally joined NAC at a dinner on October 19 in Scottsdale, AZ.
The National Academy of Construction is a select organization comprised of industry leaders whose careers demonstrate outstanding contribution to the effectiveness of the engineering and construction industries. Chartered in 2000, NAC has more than 100 members.
Election to the NAC follows a peer-nomination and peer-selection process that creates a select candidate list. The new members are then elected out of that candidate list by the entire Academy.
For more than 40 years, Les has been a preeminent national voice on complex policy and legal issues pertaining to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and related programs. For nearly 20 years, he was the Chief Counsel of the United States Army Corps of Engineers and Senior Policy Advisor to the Chief of Engineers in Washington, D.C. This involved managing more than 400 lawyers worldwide.
During Les’ tenure, he successfully established pioneering programs in the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and partnering (dispute avoidance) techniques instead of costly litigation. For more about Les, click here.
Prior to the Corps of Engineers, Les spent 11 years as Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Public Works and Transportation where he played a key role in the creation and enactment of major legislation including the Clean Water Acts of 1972 and 1977.
I have had the good fortune of working closely with Les for nearly four decades, and I have seen at very close range his intelligence, integrity, industry and incredible problem-solving ability. Our clients continue to be the beneficiaries of those wonderful talents and traits. A prominent full committee chairman in the Congress once told me:
“[Les] sees three or four sides to a problem and its solution when most of us only see one or two. Furthermore, Les sees around corners when many people don’t even see the corner.
I am pleased that the National Academy of Construction has recognized Les’ outstanding contribution.
Les joins Dawson colleagues Bud Griffis and Brig. Gen. (Ret) Rick Capka as NAC members. Another valued member of the Dawson team, Lt. Gen. Vald Heiberg, was also an NAC member until his passing.
Robert K. Dawson
Founder