Peter Rizzo Email & Phone Number

United States

Buffalo, New York, United States

Directed a diverse team of 151 professionals in design, construction, skilled trades, custodial, and administrative roles serving a major university housing portfolio spanning 117 buildings and 2.5 million square feet, accommodating over 7,500 students.• Oversaw an annual operating and capital projects budget totaling $58M, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and adherence to financial goals.• Spearheaded a comprehensive workforce expansion initiative across all business units, optimizing staffing levels to enhance service delivery and meet industry benchmarks.• Restructured Residential Facilities, introducing a streamlined operational framework and launching a Customer Service Team to bolster efficiency and customer satisfaction.• Pioneered workplace safety initiatives through the establishment of a Safety & Health Committee, implementation of rigorous risk assessments, and enhancement of employee training protocols, fostering a safety-first culture across the organization.• Developed and implemented a mission, vision, and values statement aligning Residential Facilities with institutional objectives, driving cohesion and purpose across teams.• Facilitated quarterly all-hands meetings and craft strategic communications to enhance team alignment, streamline information dissemination, and drive cohesive service delivery.• Introduced a customer-focused business model that ensure consistent delivery of high-quality service, proactively addressing stakeholder needs and integrating feedback for continuous improvement.

Buffalo, Ny

Championed a national team of development professionals responsible for growth of Clover’s market-rate senior living apartment portfolio, including market research, site selection, due diligence, design, entitlements, permitting, and financial approval processes for all new land acquisitions, closely coordinating their work with civil engineers, architects, and in-house construction staff and legal counsel.• Reigned in $4M in uncontrolled and untracked spending by instituting financial reporting tools and new contracting protocols that enhanced accountability and financial decision-making.• Completely modernized Clover’s project management system, replacing a series of spreadsheets with a fully-integrated SharePoint platform, including a site submission and approval portal, a project tracking interface, and a project schedule tool.• Developed and deployed interactive, automated project portfolio dashboard and reporting tools, leveraging real-time project data to create meaningful visualizations to inform C-suite decision-making. • Authored a comprehensive operational manual to close widespread policy and procedure gaps and mitigated material weaknesses in internal controls.• Resurrected and stabilized 3 development projects that were on the brink of failure, resolving contractual disputes, design errors, and financial miscalculations.• Quickly diagnosed fatal flaws in 2 development projects resulting in their immediate termination, avoiding millions of dollars in additional pursuit costs.

Buffalo, Ny & Washington, Dc

Developed and managed national quality assurance audit and compliance programs for an $8B medical and cemetery construction program and a $6B leasing program. Provided guidance on capital project management policy and procedures, and supported the development of enterprise governance, including metrics development, risk analysis, and structured and repeatable reporting procedures. Trained dozens of construction management professionals on balancing the technical aspects of project delivery with personnel and customer service responsibilities.• Achieved over $100M in savings by emergently intervening to vastly improve the execution of numerous construction contracts from New York, NY, to Honolulu, HI, valued up to $206M.• Successfully delivered 45 complex performance audits and internal reviews of construction, lease, and service contracts and internal controls, exposing and leading to the correction of operational inefficiencies, programmatic weaknesses, policy gaps, and fraud risk. • Devised a plan to unite VA’s 19 separate capital asset, construction, leasing, and facilities management components under a single command to optimize operations for 25K employees and $100B in capital infrastructure. • Managed on-time, on-budget delivery of a $24M cemetery construction project.• Facilitated turnaround and stabilization of a failing $105M mental health clinic construction contract by assigning responsibilities for deficiencies and improving team communications.• Led audits on behalf of the VA Office of Inspector General, such as an exhaustive analysis and documentation of findings associated with nine separate allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse for two separate hospital construction contracts totaling $180M.

Washington, Dc

Oversaw capital/facility planning, master planning, physical security, architectural design, entitlement and permitting, and interagency coordination activities for a 96M-square-foot real estate portfolio. Steered efforts in cradle-to-grave management of multi-million-dollar professional services contracts.• Modernized and managed a design quality control program that processed 2K renovation and new construction design packages annually through architectural, engineering, environmental, planning, and historic preservation approvals by 18 multidisciplinary subject matter experts.• Managed 3 campus master plan contracts totaling $5.9M for 540 acres of federal land for the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Secret Service, translating programmatic needs into cost-conscious development frameworks. • Co-led a multimillion-dollar subterranean metro rail station flood mitigation initiative in partnership with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.• Presented development projects before the National Capital Planning Commission and similar bodies, consistently achieving approval with compelling presentations and reasoned arguments.• Shaped 5 major physical security design projects for agency headquarters buildings in Washington, DC, as GSA’s lead physical security design subject matter expert, applying the latest methods and technologies to balance safety, aesthetics, and pedestrian/vehicle circulation.• Presented at numerous industry forums hosted by the American Planning Association, American Institute of Architects, U.S. Department of Defense, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Washington, Dc

Provided organizational and project-level support and leadership on the technical processes of land development and used best practices to optimize projects’ physical form and economic impacts. Served as a liaison between the federal government and external stakeholders and acted as a subject matter expert to federal, state, and local government offices, transit agencies, business improvement districts, and private businesses on the planning, design, and construction phases of real property development projects that in any way involve or affect federal property or operations.• Improved project outcomes and eliminated entitlement approval delays by co-developing the agency’s first regional planning division, authoring and instituting policies and practices.• Resurrected a $3.6M federal courthouse physical security project after controversy stopped all work by facilitating a collaborative, consensus-based redesign with the community and federal stakeholders to achieve a now-much-celebrated solution.• Led a detailed review of a $330M agency headquarters construction project which identified $3M in deficient work; subsequently managed correction of said deficiencies.• Established and led a license and easement program granting non-federal entities use of federal land for roadways, sidewalks, vehicle access gates, and transit and utility infrastructure.• Co-authored report, standards, and design criteria for large-scale, high-visibility physical security infrastructure projects at federal facilities in downtown Washington, DC.

Washington, Dc & Chicago, Il

The PMF Program is a comprehensive leadership development program for advanced degree holders that involved the completion of 160 hours of training and numerous developmental assignments.• Drove 90+ instructional briefings by reporting to regional, county, and municipal officials on competitive grant applications and creation/implementation of sustainable planning initiatives.• Launched a regional Planning Division by creating and publishing a compelling business case video that compelled GSA executives to establish the initiative.• Generated cost savings by co-authoring a study of alternative financing options for land acquisitions, prompting reforms that enabled GSA to realize once-overlooked solutions.• Improved conditions in the most distressed U.S. cities by working with the White House on an investment program to implement housing, transportation, and workforce development plans.

Tonawanda, Ny

Served as an appointed official on an advisory body responsible for comprehensive oversight of the natural and built environment for a community of 75,000 residents located immediately north of Buffalo, NY.• Facilitated radioactive waste remediation programs and projects with state and federal agencies to eliminate residual hazards from the World War II-era Manhattan Project.• Drove environmental improvement initiatives by conducting an advanced community air quality testing program and facilitating radioactive waste remediation programs and projects.• Streamlined transparent communication by leading public meetings and fielding all broadcast and print media interviews, professionally and diplomatically addressing controversial issues while earning the public’s trust.

Master Of Regional Planning, City And Regional Planning

Earned a Master of Regional Planning with concentrations in both Economic Development Planning and Government, Politics, and Policy Studies

Bachelor Of Arts, English

Activities and Societies: Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society; Mortar Board International Honor Society; Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society.

High School Diploma