Dennis Corporation recently sent six of its female employees to New York City to attend the 2010 Groundbreaking Women in Construction Conference on April 15-16, 2010. This conference supports women who are in the design and construction industries by having speakers and workshops in topics such as leadership skills, opportunities and markets, communication, work-life balance, and managing risk. Dennis Corporation employees Rachael Richardson, Assistant Chief Financial Officer, Monica Scott, Director of Marketing, Neva Newman, Senior Inspector, Myra Manning, Project Manager, Kimberly Swygert, Assistant Civil Infrastructure Manager, and Kally McCormick, Environmental Manager, attended the conference.
The first day of the conference included opportunities for the attendees to see presentations from infrastructure, transportation, and energy economics industry leaders, such as Alison Premo Black, Vice President of Policy ARTBA, Hank Harris, President of FMI Corporation, and Rosemary Scanlon, Associate Professor of Economics at NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate. Conference attendees were also able to attend workshops held by leaders who utilize state-of-the-art tools such as Michelle O’Conner, Senior Associate of Langan Engineering, and Arah Schuur, Program Director of William J. Clinton Foundation. To wrap up the first day of the conference, there were three breakout workshops: Lead the Team, Own the Team, and Join the Team. These sessions allowed for attendees to learn how to increase leadership skills, successful strategies, and facilitate cooperation in a team environment.
Day two of the conference focused on how to manage your business in a crisis, joint ventures, collaborations, and P3s, and how to handle the work-life balance as a woman in the construction industry. Speakers included Dana Birkes, VP of Business Development & Marketing of The Flintco Companies, Renee Sacks, Ph.D., President of Sacks Communications, Alejandra Evans, Regional Managing Director of AON, Merrie Spaeth of Spaeth Communications, and Robert Peckar, founding partner of Peckar & Abramson.
At the conclusion of the conference Rachael Richardson stated, “The Groundbreaking Woman in Construction Conference allowed me to gain refreshing insight into what it means to work and make an impact in a field predominately filled with men. To be immersed in an environment with progressive women from throughout the nation whom are actively making differences in the construction field was an amazing opportunity that developed me personally and professionally.”
In addition to attending the conference, Dennis Corporation employees also made time for sightseeing in New York City. The employees particularly appreciated the opportunity to visit the World Trade Center site. In addition to spending time reflecting on the tragic events of 9/11, the employees also were able to view the reconstruction efforts at the site. During the past year, Dennis Corporation has been involved with this project by providing inspections to the steel that is being fabricated for the construction of Tower 4. The employees were excited to see the progression of such an important project in which Dennis Corporation is involved.
Dennis Corporation is a South Carolina licensed civil engineering, surveying and construction management firm. Dennis Corporation’s specific fields of expertise include aviation engineering, civil infrastructure, construction management, construction services, environmental services, expert witness, geotechnical engineering, intelligent transportation systems, program management, special projects, surveying, traffic engineering, transportation engineering and water resources.