SUII Fellows

Elizabeth “Betsy” Parmley, P.E., is the Director of the I-81 Viaduct Project, the largest infrastructure project in New York State Department of Transportation’s history. She began her career with NYSDOT in 2005 as a Junior Engineer and worked her way up to lead NYSDOT’s Central New York Traffic Safety & Mobility Group, before officially joining the I-81 Viaduct Project team as a Project Manager in 2021. Two years later Betsy is now leading the $2.25 billion project.

Gary LaBarbera has served since 2009 as president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, an organization comprising local affiliates of 15 national and international unions representing 100,000 working men and women in New York City. In 2021, Mr.  LaBarbera was elected President of the New York State Building and Construction Trades Council, which is comprised of 15 local building trades councils, 12 district councils and state associations, and 135 local unions and represents 200,000 tradespeople across the entire state. In addition to his work with the public sector, Mr. LaBarbera has helped bring approximately $200 billion of private work under project labor agreements in New York City, creating tens of thousands of union construction jobs in the process.

Matthew J. Driscoll served as the Executive Director of the NYS Thruway Authority from 2018 through 2022 overseeing one of the longest toll systems in the United States, spanning 570 miles across New York State. From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Driscoll served as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation, leading a department of 8,300 employees with an annual capital program of $3.7 billion. From 2010 to 2015, Mr. Driscoll served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC), which provides low-cost financing to local governments for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure. From 2001 through 2009, Mr. Driscoll served as the 52nd Mayor of the City of Syracuse.

Carl Stewart III is Vice President and General Manager of Turner Construction Company’s Upstate New York offices, where he provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for projects and teams across Northern New York, including Turner’s Albany, Buffalo, and Syracuse offices. A seasoned construction executive with decades of experience at Turner, Carl joined the company in 1997 as a Project Manager, later led preconstruction efforts throughout New York State, and was promoted to Operations Manager in 2003 before assuming leadership of the Upstate New York business in 2012.

Throughout his career, Carl has focused on disciplined planning, collaboration, and consistent project execution, with an emphasis on safety, quality, schedule certainty, and strong client relationships. His leadership spans a diverse portfolio of complex projects in healthcare, education, life sciences, sports and public assembly, commercial development, and other major institutional markets across New York State.

Carl has also played a leadership role on several of the region’s most significant projects. He served as a Turner principal on the new Highmark Stadium for the Buffalo Bills, emphasizing collaboration among the project team, trade partners, public stakeholders, and the Western New York community. He has also represented Turner’s leadership on the Wadsworth Laboratory project, a major public-health and life-sciences facility designed to strengthen the state’s research and public-health capabilities.

Through his leadership, Carl brings together Turner’s national resources and expertise with deep knowledge of the Upstate New York market, fostering strong teams and partnerships while helping deliver projects that have a lasting impact on the communities Turner serves.