Invited talks, panels, and conversations on the field.
Speaking engagements bridging architectural practice, hyperscale
data center delivery, and infrastructure systems research. Conference
panels with peer-reviewed proceedings are listed on research & publications; this page covers the industry-talk track.
Upcoming engagements
No public engagements currently on the calendar. Sarah is
scheduling 2026 invitations — reach out via
contact
to discuss a talk, panel, or workshop.
Past engagements
01
Panel AIA Conference on Architecture & Design 2026 (AIA26) · Construction Contract Administration Knowledge Community
· 2026-06-12
Construction Contract Administration Open Forum
San Diego Convention Center — Community Hub, Sails Pavilion · San Diego, CA, USA
For: AIA members and construction-contract-administration practitioners at the AIA national conference.
Panelist at the Construction Contract Administration (CCA) Open Forum (program EV308) at AIA's flagship national conference, participating as a member of the AIA CCA Knowledge Community Leadership Board. The forum convened CCA leaders for an open discussion on the trends shaping contract administration in 2026 — quality, schedule, and budget delivery — alongside a recap of recent programming and a preview of upcoming Knowledge Community initiatives.
From the forum
The Construction Contract Administration Open Forum in session — presenters and audience at the AIA26 Community Hub. The 'Speakers List' named the two CCA Knowledge Community presenters, Tyler Schaffer (AIA, AECOM) and Sarah Rodovalho (Intl. Assoc. AIA, PMP, LEED GA). Opening the Construction Contract Administration Open Forum at the AIA26 Community Hub. The AIA26 Community Hub stage, Sails Pavilion · San Diego Convention Center.
Talk PMI New Jersey Chapter — Construction LCI Webinar (with AACE New Jersey Section)
· 2026-06-18
First of Its Kind in Construction: How Project Managers Build Frameworks Where None Exist
Virtual · Zoom
For: Construction project managers leading through ambiguity on mission-critical, AI-driven, and accelerated-delivery projects.
Invited webinar for the PMI New Jersey Chapter's Construction LCI (with the AACE New Jersey Section). Construction project managers are increasingly asked to deliver without a playbook — new project types, faster timelines, technologies that did not exist five years ago, and teams that have never worked together. Drawing on patterns from large-scale commercial, infrastructure, and mission-critical construction delivery, the session offers a practical approach for navigating "first of its kind" work: how to create structure when none exists, how to build governance before it has been formalized, and the frameworks that help teams hold the line. Real lessons learned, with extended audience Q&A.
Panel I SESTEC 2026 — Roundtable "AI and the Future of Competencies" · Núcleo de IA & GP (PMI)
· 2026-06-02
AI Has a Physical Body: The Infrastructure Behind the Intelligence
Virtual (remote from the U.S.) · Universidade de Vassouras, Saquarema, Brazil — hybrid
For: Software-engineering students and AEC/technology professionals — ~280 live (in-person + online) and 1,000+ recorded views.
Invited panelist at the first SESTEC (Symposium on Software Engineering and Technologies), on the opening-day roundtable "AI and the Future of Competencies," speaking remotely from the United States to a hybrid Brazilian audience (panelists joined from the U.S., Italy, and Brazil). Sarah grounded the discussion in the physical reality of artificial intelligence: a data center is the skeleton behind the digital world, and the global build-out of AI depends on energy, cooling, and large-scale infrastructure. Drawing on her arc from architecture into Tesla, Microsoft, and Aligned Data Centers, she argued that mastering the fundamentals — the "why" behind the work — is what AI cannot replace. Delivered in Portuguese.
Talk 24 Hours of Women in Construction Leadership · PMI Gigaproject & Construction Conferences
· 2026-03-12
From Architecture to Data Centers: Building a Career in Digital Infrastructure
Virtual · Day 1 (global follow-the-sun format)
For: Construction project managers worldwide considering pivots into mission-critical infrastructure.
An invited session at PMI's annual global women-in-construction-leadership conference. The talk is for construction project managers thinking about a pivot into mission-critical infrastructure — what a data center actually is in the AI era, what transfers from architecture and large-scale construction, and what you have to stop assuming you can't do.
From the talk deck
How I Ended Up in Data Centers · "a career built across industries, countries, and disciplines." AI Compute Demand Growth · compute capacity (ExaFLOPS) doubling every ~7 months · $6.7T global data center investment needed by 2030. The Physical Backbone of the Digital World — every digital service relies on physical infrastructure (devices → fiber → data centers → cloud). Anatomy of a Data Center · from substation to racks — power · cooling · network · IT infrastructure · facility support.
Panel Real Estate Rams · Thomas Jefferson University
· 2025-10-24
Pathways in Design: Careers in Design, Development & Tech
Virtual · Zoom
For: Thomas Jefferson University graduate students and emerging professionals exploring careers at the intersection of architecture, technology, and real estate.
Invited panelist for "Pathways in Design," a career panel hosted by the Real Estate Rams graduate student organization at Thomas Jefferson University — Sarah's own M.Sc. alma mater. Alongside Subhashree Rengarajan (Senior Manager, Design Programs at Amazon) and moderated by Prof. Howard Ways III, the session brought together industry leaders shaping the built environment at the intersection of architecture, technology, and real estate development. The panelists shared their career journeys, lessons learned, and how emerging technologies are changing project delivery — speaking candidly to students navigating bold transitions, leadership across roles, and uncertainty about their place in the industry.
Panel ARCC 2025 International Conference — Architectural Research Centers Consortium
· 2025-04-02
Integrating Comprehensive Wellbeing and Net-Zero Energy in Healthcare Design
College Park, MD & Washington, DC · co-hosted by University of Maryland and Howard University
For: Architectural researchers, practitioners, and faculty working at the intersection of building science and healthcare design.
Conference panel presentation exploring the intersection of net-zero energy building (NZEB) strategies and human-wellbeing design criteria in healthcare facilities. Bridges the typically siloed fields of operational-carbon reduction and patient/staff wellbeing-oriented design, proposing integrated design protocols for healthcare environments. Conference theme: "Emerging Challenges — technological, environmental, social". Panel content also available as a peer-reviewed conference contribution; see the research page.
Interview IA na Construção — Community Class / Live Session
· 2026-03-27
AI in Construction · Autodesk Forma
Online · IA na Construção YouTube channel (Portuguese-language Brazilian AEC community)
For: Portuguese-speaking AEC practitioners interested in AI tooling for design and construction workflows.
Featured participant in an "IA na Construção" community session on Autodesk Forma — Autodesk's AI-augmented early-stage design tool for site planning, environmental analysis, and pre-design optioneering. Discussion format with Q&A from the live audience. Delivered in Portuguese for the Brazilian AEC community.
Talk ConstruTech Summit — StartSe University
· 2024-02-27
My Professional Journey from Brazilian Architect to Tesla
Palo Alto, California, USA
For: Brazilian-AEC entrepreneurs, construction technology operators, and Silicon Valley investors visiting Palo Alto for the StartSe immersion program.
Autobiographical career-arc talk delivered at the StartSe ConstruTech Summit in Palo Alto, recounting the practitioner journey from Brazilian architectural practice through retail / hospitality / public-infrastructure projects in Brazil into U.S. industrial delivery at Tesla. Covered the PAS Project ($232M shopping center in Goiânia, on time and under budget), market strategies bridging Brazil and the U.S., a brief Tesla timeline + facilities + Gigafactories overview. Speaker certificate signed by Junior Borneli (StartSe founder).
