Welcoming Eduardo Reyna and Kiel Hawkins to COAA-TX Chapter Leadership!

COAA-TX is pleased to welcome Eduardo Reyna as Chapter President and Kiel Hawkins as Chapter Vice President. Together they will lead and collaborate with committees on the organization’s goals and initiatives. They will promote local events, training, education and high-quality programs that serve Owners’ needs on current construction practices and issues affecting the industry and capital projects. They will ensure all chapter operations align with the COAA mission.

Eduardo has more than 15 years of healthcare, research, and higher education construction safety experience.  In his current role as Construction Safety & Risk Manager for The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), he provides professional construction safety and risk management expertise in support of capital improvement projects. He is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Healthcare Safety Professional (CHSP), and Construction Risk & Insurance Specialist (CRIS). Eduardo has a Bachelor of Science in Safety Management from the University of Houston – Downtown and is currently pursuing a Master of Legal Studies in Risk Management from Texas A&M University School of Law. He was recently appointed to the Harris County Essential Workers Board (HCEWB) representing construction as one of the nine essential industries embodied by board members.  He has also served on the Safety Committee for the Construction Career Collaborative (C3).

Kiel has more than 12 years of healthcare, research and higher-education construction project management experience. In his current role as Senior Facilities Construction Project Manager for The University of Texas health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston), he provides construction project management experience across UTHealth’s campus buildings in the Texas Medical Center. He collaborates with UTHealth personnel, general contractors, architects, engineers and other consultants to construct and renovate interior and exterior spaces. Currently, Kiel is assigned with building a new home for UTHealth Houston’s School of Public Health, a 10-story, 350,000-SF building on UT System’s south campus off Old Spanish Trail. He is a Certified Health Care Constructor (CHC) and Certified Associated Contractor (CAC). Kiel holds a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from the University of Houston and Master of Business Administration from The University of Texas Permian Basin. Before taking on the role of Vice President, Kiel served as Emerging Professional Chair of the COAA-TX Chapter.

As we celebrate this transition in leadership, the COAA-TX Chapter expresses its heartfelt gratitude to Ginger Smith, former Senior Facilities Construction Project Manager at UTHealth Houston, for her outstanding service as President. During her tenure, the chapter achieved heightened engagement and visibility within the local industry community. We extend our sincerest thanks to Ginger for her unwavering passion, dedication, and commitment to the values of COAA!