Madam President? That's me!
Today is the first day of my 1-year volunteer President's term for ASCE's Structural Engineering Institute (SEI). I am the first woman to hold this position, which is something I never thought I would write because there are SO MANY inspiring woman structural engineers out there, including the incredible Tanya de Hoog, President of I Struct E (who is in the photo with myself and SEI's immediate Past President Jerome Hajjar).
As I reflect on what brought me here, #mentors and #allyship immediately come to mind. Hard work is a prerequisite to becoming an engineer, but it's the people that really make the difference.
I chose architectural engineering as my major because I am fascinated by the intersections of art and STEM, and wanted to make a difference in the world.
But, the moments where that choice was made come down to people. To Brian Keefer, PE, LC, who introduced me to the major (which I didn't know existed at the time), and the fire that was lit within after my first structural engineering classes at #PSU with Louis Geschwindner and Linda Hanagan. There was the helpful guidance of thesis advisor M. Kevin Parfitt, and former classmate, coworker and fellow business owner Natalie Williams Bird, who introduced me to my first employer.
I would not be writing this post if those interactions had not happened.
During my 15 years in structural engineering consulting, there were too many impactful interactions to count (or at least....too many to share with you before I hit the LinkedIn post word limit). But the thing I saw emphasized over and over again was the human element of engineering.
You can only build something significant and sustainable (including the commercial building structures I designed) with an incredible amount of collaborative effort.
That lesson stuck, and I started my own leadership and communications consulting firm serving the STEM community in 2018. And again, the people - in this case, those I found within SEI - played a big part.
I volunteered and applied to join an SEI committee, and Joe DiPompeo and Steve Wilkerson were the first - and definitely not the last - to help a struggling young structural engineer find her way in our profession, and develop the courage to branch out on her own.
And again, I would not be writing this post if those interactions had not happened.
Fast forward to today, and I have learned so much from the guidance and inspiration of SEI volunteer leaders, especially Glenn Bell, David Odeh, Marc Hoit, Daniel Linzell (he/him/his), Robin A. Kemper, Don Scott, P.E., S.E., F.SEI, F.ASCE, Emily Guglielmo, Victor Van Santen, PE, SE, F.SEI, F.ASCE. and immediate past president Jerome Hajjar.
I am both grateful and hyper-aware of the responsibility of leading SEI's 30,000 members for the next year. But for today, I'm going to celebrate being Madam President.🎉
