Alliance Alignment

This article appears in the Fall 2025 print edition of NAPA Quarterly. Subscribe here.

APA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MIKE SKINNER TALKS ACTIONABLE DEPLOYMENT
COMPILED BY NAPA STAFF

Mike Skinner, the Asphalt Pavement Alliance’s (APA) executive director, has been in the industry since 1991, meaning he has spent a career recognizing the differences between fads and best practices.

The construction industry has seen its fair share of changes since Skinner got started as a materials engineer for a geotechnical firm, and in his previous post with the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association (CAPA), it became his job to keep tabs on the latest innovations and ideas coming up through engineering.

“Working in the world of trade associations has shown me the unique power of blending technical expertise with strategic advocacy. It’s a dynamic platform to support and elevate the asphalt industry in ways that go far beyond the job site.”

Skinner recalls trying to explain his association role to his young daughters, who were confused that he didn’t sell asphalt, design roads, or run paving crews.

“They said, ‘Wait… so you just talk about asphalt?’ And I told them, ‘Exactly — and that’s more important than you think,’” he said. “Trade associations are the unified voice of an industry. We don’t build roads ourselves, but we make sure the world knows why asphalt matters. We advocate, we educate, and we show our members that we’ve got their back. When you step into this role with a service mindset, you’re not just successful — you’re impactful.”

Skinner continued building on his knowledge, and has found that the best of those best practices – the ones that have stood the test of time – became successful due to what he calls actionable deployment, which is the first step toward industry impact. It’s that impact he’ll use to gauge effectiveness in his new role at the APA.

ACTIONABLE DEPLOYMENT

The APA’s strategic plan consists of three pillars: promoting innovation, collaboration, and education. But Skinner is quick to point out that those words can mean different things to the different stakeholders that make up the Industry Promotion Committee: NAPA, the Asphalt Institute (AI), and the State Asphalt Pavement Associations (SAPAs).

“They all have individual missions, and they all report to different boards of directors, so there’s a lot of voices there, but those three stakeholders make up the Industry Promotion Committee,” Skinner said. “The Industry Promotion Committee sets the strategic direction for the Alliance. It’s then our responsibility at APA to take that vision and turn it into actionable, results-driven initiatives.”

“It’s not just about deployment — it has to be actionable, practical, and usable in the real world,” Skinner said.

Already deployed and actively canvassing the country is APA Technical Director Buzz Powell, who has taken his technical knowledge, testimony, and leadership approaches on the road to dozens of audiences across the road construction space.

Powell, who in his previous career was synonymous with the Test Track at Auburn University’s National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT), figures heavily into Skinner’s vision for marketing and education.

“The challenge — and the opportunity — is in how we deliver meaningful support to anyone who needs it,” Skinner said. “It’s about being both proactive and responsive, while leveraging APA’s strengths: technical excellence, being readily available, and building strong industry relationships.”

The Industry Promotion Committee helps decide which innovations and approaches should be added to the APA’s toolbox.

One example of APA’s responsiveness came after a viral video this summer showed a roadway buckling due to extreme heat stress — an alarming reminder of the growing challenges to roadway resiliency. APA quickly mobilized and published a timely case study focused on how asphalt provides a proven, adaptable solution, especially important in a time when public agencies are being asked to do more with limited budgets.

“Industry impact can mean different things to different stakeholders,” Skinner said. “For some, it’s about defending and growing market share. For others, it’s strengthening relationships with public agencies. And for many, it’s about improving quality and long-term performance. The question we constantly ask ourselves at APA is — how can we equip our stakeholders and serve agencies with the right tools to make the kind of impact that matters most to them?”

Right now, that’s through deploying Powell, whom Skinner calls the APA’s greatest asset due to his reputation among industry and state DOT officials. Meanwhile, Skinner is aiming to grow the Alliance’s reach by ensuring all of its stakeholders are aware of the support available.

“My vision is for the APA to strengthen its reputation as the go-to source for technical excellence,” he said.

“I never saw myself in the world of associations, but now that I’ve been there for a decade, I’ve come to love it.”

– Mike Skinner, APA Executive Director

“Quality is the core of everything that we do in our industry. Every one of our stakeholder members is always focused on quality, whether it’s quality production, quality testing, quality delivery, or quality construction,” Powell said.

What Powell aims to bring to road owners is a fundamental understanding of asphalt pavement’s many advantages, from speed of construction to smoothness. Each presentation can vary, as SAPAs can work directly with the APA to tackle topics that matter most for their state.

“We’ve done workshops on pavement type selection and we’ve supported the SAPAs through the implementation of innovative materials and methods. The first innovation workshop we did was in Missouri to support the industry in some of the alternative bidding situations there,” he said. “We hope that grows into a regular thing where we work with, and through, the SAPA who then works with the agency. Our goal is to identify innovations that have a high probability of being successfully implemented.”

Powell made 75 presentations across 22 states in 2024 and said he’s on pace to match that total again this year. It’s not just SAPA meetings either, as APA can put on Lunch and Learn seminars and webinars on more nuanced topics.

APA is also working with NCAT to identify speakers from other state agencies who can attest to the value of embracing industry-backed innovations.

“We’re trying to encourage the state DOT to implement a proven innovation, so what we really like to do is bring in speakers from other state agencies, other state DOTs that have already made these changes because these are their peers,” Powell said. “That can bring a different perspective than someone like me coming in and talking about all these topics and I don’t think it gets any better than that. This is the best mechanism that we have to support the good work of the of the SAPAs and to bring about the change that we’re that we’re really looking for.”