Ramon Herrera, principal at Midtown Engineers, says he hopes joining the IMPP as a protégé will help him become a better businessman.

Small business owners learned the components of a “perfect handshake” and how to smile like a politician at the Interagency Mentor-Protégé Program’s first session yesterday at METRO headquarters.

Through HISD’s partnership with the City of Houston, METRO and Port of Houston Authority, the IMPP was designed to create long-term relationships between mentors and protégés, through professional guidance and business support and development.

“It is our hope that this program will enhance the capability of (small businesses) so that they can take on a larger role with (HISD),” HISD Supplier Diversity Team Lead Bernard Willingham said.

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Companies with expertise in safety, security, quality control and labor compliance have an opportunity to assist HISD with its 2012 bond program by submitting a proposal to do all or part of the work.

The district released an RFP on June 10 with a scope of work that covers everything from job site safety inspections to hazard controls and background checks for construction workers. In addition, the district is seeking to find a vendor that will ensure all contractors and subcontractors are paid the prevailing wage rate, as required by federal and state law.

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This isn’t the furniture you had in school: Those boring, gray standalone desks that hurt your backside after hours of sitting.

Imagine, instead, the kind of vibrant and comfy chairs you might find in an airport lounge or a bookstore. As the district rebuilds and renovates schools under the 2012 bond program, a key component will be modernizing the furniture and fixtures to reflect a 21^st century classroom.

“Learning environments have changed in schools,” HISD’s Construction & Facility Services Logistics Manager Cheryl Hughes said. “They’ve become more collaborative, and our furniture and infrastructure must adapt to this change.”

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Presenters at the Women Contractors Association luncheon on Thursday receive pink hard hats. From left to right, Susan Repka, WCA executive director; Raynese Edwards, of PPG/people Source Inc.; Michael Dwight, of Hensel Phelps Construction Co.; Alexis Licata, of the Houston Independent School District.

Companies hoping to do business with the Houston Independent School District under its 2012 bond program got an overview of upcoming bid opportunities at the monthly luncheon Thursday of the Women Contractors Association.

“There’s a tremendous amount of work,” Alexis Licata, the district’s general manager of the Office of Business Assistance, told the audience of some 65 people who turned out for the event. She urged participants, especially minority- and women-owned business enterprises, to help the district as it embarks on the $1.89 billion program that includes renovating or building 40 schools.

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Sound-diffusing panels at HSPVA help distribute sound in the school's theater.

The new schools built under HISD’s 2012 bond program will be designed not only to look good, but sound good as well.

“Acoustics have a major impact on the learning environment,” said Dan Bankhead, HISD’s general manager for facilities design. “We want to minimize any distracting noises that make it harder for students and staff to do their work.”

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Editor’s note: This is the first in a monthly series of profiles on minority or women-owned companies that do business with HISD. The district’s minimum M/WBE goal levels are 20 percent for all levels of purchasing and construction and 25 percent for professional services. In the 2007 bond program, that commitment reached nearly 34 percent. In the 2012 program, the contracts awarded to date reflect a nearly 51 percent M/WBE commitment.

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