Leadership
Mike Hayes, Vice President
BJC Planning, Design & Construction
Responsible for the overall operations of a department that includes more than 60 project managers, planners, engineers, interior designers and project coordinators. His team oversees a portfolio of $300 million of annual capital investments covering 250+/- active projects across the organization.
Mike earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at Missouri S&T in 2007, was an SIUE CLI graduate in 2011 and earned an MBA from Webster University in 2015. He holds both Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC) and Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications, sits on multiple philanthropy boards and was part of the Regional Business Council Leadership 100 Cohort of 2020-21. Mike spent his early career with SM Wilson working in Springfield, IL, followed by 10 years with BJC PD&C and three years with PARIC Corporation before returning to BJC in his current role in September 2023.
Grace Cuddihee, Director
BJC Planning, Design & Construction
Grace Cuddihee has more than 15 years of experience in healthcare facility planning and design. She is responsible for a team of 10 planners; oversees system space planning, scope management of capital projects, and master planning for BJC Health East Region’s facilities.
Grace earned a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Master of Construction Management at Washington University in St. Louis in 2003 and 2010, respectively. She also holds a graduate certificate of Project Management from the same institution and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Grace spent her early career with Anheuser Busch-Busch Entertainment working on theme park projects, prior to joining BJC in 2008. She has held multiple roles within BJC, including construction project manager and strategic planning manager before stepping into her current role in 2017.
Christopher Dean, Executive Director
Campus Renewal Project
Christopher Dean joined BJC in 1997, managing the construction of large projects, including Progress West Hospital, Children’s Specialty Care Center, Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital, and phases 3-4 of the Campus Renewal Project at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. As project executive, he leads BJC’s project management team, as well as manages and coordinates with the construction team.
Christopher earned a bachelor’s of science in construction management from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1984. Prior to joining BJC, he managed construction projects for the May Department Stores Company, Korte Construction and Saint Louis University.
Other BJC projects include: Northwest Healthcare at Christian Hospital, the BJC Institute of Health at Washington University; BJH Center for Outpatient Health; Memorial Hospital Shiloh – Siteman Cancer Center and Medical Office Building; WashU Medicine Orthopedics at WashU and Barnes-Jewish Orthopedic Center, Chesterfield.
Vince Nutt, Director of Project Management
BJC Planning Design & Construction
Vince has led the PD&C project management team of design and construction project managers for PD&C since April 2024, bringing strong program and project management to the role. He joined BJC in 2014 as a project manager.
Vince earned a bachelor’s of architecture from Florida A&M University and a master of business administration (MBA) with a concentration in project management from DeVry University.
Prior to his career in healthcare, Vince was an architectural project manager and project architect for CD Companies, Trivers and KAI.
Vince has been an adjunct professor for more than 8 years and has served organizations such as St. Louis County Board of Zoning Adjustments, the St. Louis Zoo, Contemporary Art Museum of St. Louis, National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), and Missouri Society for Healthcare Engineering (MOSHE).
Vince’s design work has been published in The New Look Magazine, and he has received recognition including 2008 Preserve Missouri Award; 2008 ABC Construction Award (Indianapolis, IN); St. Louis Business Journal 40 Under 40 class of 2015; 2018 and 2021 AGCMO Keystone award; and 2022 ASHRAE Technology award. Most recently, Vince was recognized as the inaugural recipient of BJC PD&C DEI Champion of the Year award in 2024.
Steve Praprotnik, Director of Engineering
BJC Planning, Design & Construction
As director of engineering, Steve and his team are responsible for the capital projects and investments in infrastructure of BJC’s hospitals and health service organizations. The engineering team works closely with hospital facilities teams and PD&C project managers, and manages engineering consultants and designers, to ensure systems and equipment meet contemporary healthcare standards.
Since joining BJC in 2018 as an infrastructure manager, Steve was promoted to manager of corporate engineering in 2019, leading the infrastructure team.
He earned a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology and is a licensed professional engineer.
Steve previously worked for Introba (formerly Ross & Baruzzini) where he ran their Columbia, IL office and IMEG (formerly KJWW).
Donna Ware, AIA, EDAC
Executive Director, BJC Planning and Design
Donna Ware is the executive director of planning & design, leading the design and engineering teams. Her primary responsibilities include facilities planning and design in partnership with architects, engineers and contractors to ensure budget and schedule performance for capital projects. She leads a robust process for campus planning, programming, exterior and site design, interior design, MEP design and activation planning to ensure that the built environment supports optimum patient-care experiences.
Donna joined BJC in 2008 to lead strategic and campus planning and project programming. From 2011 to present, Donna led the design team for the Campus Renewal Project, a multi-year endeavor to renew BJC’s academic campus, including Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals.
Prior to joining BJC, Donna worked for several architecture firms. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Washington University and a master’s degree from the University of Michigan. She currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Healthcare Facilities Symposium and Expo, the Career and Workforce Advisory Board for the St. Louis Internship Program and the Board of Trustees for Lewis and Clark Community College. Previous board engagements include the Board of Directors for the local chapter of ACE Mentoring and the Advisory Board for the Heartland Chapter of Women in Healthcare. Donna is a registered architect, a member of the American Institute of Architects, has the Evidence-Based Design Accreditation and Certification and has repeatedly lectured at the Sam Fox School of Design at Washington University in St. Louis, MO including teaching a seminar multiple semesters on designing healthcare environments.