{"id":373378,"date":"2026-06-24T19:12:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T19:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/373378\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T19:12:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T19:12:20","slug":"uc-berkeley-named-top-public-university-in-the-u-s-and-no-7-in-the-world-by-u-s-news-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/373378\/","title":{"rendered":"UC Berkeley Named Top Public University in the U.S. and No. 7 in the World by \u2018U.S. News\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Calvin Naito, Special to The Post<\/p>\n

On June 4, a national nonprofit named the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP) \u2013 which aims to increase public construction contracting opportunities for small and historically underutilized businesses \u2013 held a day-long event in downtown San Francisco to rally supporters and build momentum to its cause.\n<\/p>\n

It was attended by more than 100 individuals from public agencies, private firms, and other organizations committed to increasing contracting opportunities with governmental agencies, thereby creating more competition and lowering public costs.\n<\/p>\n

The EIP event was held the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in conjunction with BuildIT, which aims to increase contracting opportunities for LGBT-owned businesses.\n<\/p>\n

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses.\n<\/p>\n

The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.\n<\/p>\n

Following the workshop, BuildIT hosted a VIP evening reception honoring EIP, whose principals \u2013 Phil Washington, John Procari, and Rick Jacobs \u2013 accepted the award.<\/p>\n

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The event also set in motion the coalition\u2019s efforts to implement recommendations from EIP\u2019s \u201cProcurement for Prosperity: A Playbook.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The Playbook is a practical guide for public agency leaders and procurement and contracting practitioners to grow the capacity of small and first-time contractors, strengthen competition, and deliver better value for taxpayers.\n<\/p>\n

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), a long-time EIP supporter, also told attendees, \u201cThis is about commitment.\u00a0 This has been a life\u2019s work. This is a tailwind moment.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The event\u2019s presenting sponsor was Hub International, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the nation, which was joined by partners Travelers Insurance and the State Compensation Insurance Fund.\n<\/p>\n

After the pledge-signing ceremony, attendees participated in a workshop in which they examined the policies, practices, and programs needed to meet EIP goals, learned from practitioners, and identified next steps toward utilizing the Playbook.\n<\/p>\n

Ingrid Meriwether, formerly of Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services (MWIS) and current president of Hub International\u2019s Aligned Risk Management, MWIS, described the hard-fought lessons she and her MWIS team have learned over the last three decades administering contractor development programs (CDPs) for the City and County of San Francisco, Alameda County, City of Los Angeles, LA Metro, and other municipalities.\n<\/p>\n

The CDPs help small and local construction firms win public infrastructure contracts with these government agencies.\u00a0 The program provides bonding assistance, contract financing, technical support, training, and other services to underrepresented businesses funded by public agencies who seek greater contracting participation with these firms.\n<\/p>\n

Merriwether said programs like these \u201cbreak down systemic barriers, create greater fairness, and save taxpayers money by enabling more competition.\u00a0 The contractor development programs have, cumulatively, over two decades, helped contractors access over $1 billion in bonding, supporting over $380 million in awarded contracts, and maintaining a loss ratio 250 times lower than the industry average \u2013 while saving participating municipalities more than $27 million in contracting costs as a result of enabling more competition.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Rick Jacobs, EIP co-founder and co-chair urged attendees make plans to meet again in the near future \u201cto continue building on this work, share progress on organizational commitments, and discuss how we can collectively advance the goals of the EIP pledge.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

For more information on the EIP and to access a copy of the Playbook, go online to https:\/\/equityininfrastructure.org\/<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

Calvin Naito is communications manager for Equity in Infrastructure Project.\n<\/p>\n

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