Her Story
About Christine
I have been working in the civil engineering industry for 25 years now, and I have been with AECOM for the past 17 years and 8 months as a Vice President. My main areas of expertise are flood risk, where I deal with a lot of hydraulic analysis and flood risk analysis, as well as stormwater management and leadership. I earned my BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Virginia in 1999, and then went on to complete my MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2003. I am a licensed Professional Engineer in 5 states and also hold my PMP (Project Management Professional) certification. I am an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM), along with several state flood organizations. Outside of my professional life, I am an endurance athlete and enjoy running and biking. I like to be outside and enjoy nature. I am also involved with the Alzheimer's Association and the ACLU, two organizations I try to work with quite a bit.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Christine
01What do you attribute your success to?
I definitely attribute my success to working hard and being open to mentors. I also believe in giving back and mentoring others in the process. Having mentors has been crucial to my growth, and I think it's important to pass that forward by mentoring others as well. Hard work combined with being open to learning from others and helping others learn has been key to where I am today.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I have ever received is to not just know your day-to-day job, but also understand your industry as well. This broader understanding helps you grow your skills beyond just what you do every day. It's about seeing the bigger picture and understanding how your work fits into the larger context of your field, which has been invaluable for my professional development.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice is don't be scared to try new things. Strive to be out of your comfort zone, because you can only grow when you are out of your comfort zone. It's important to push yourself beyond what feels safe and familiar, because that's where real learning and development happen. Being willing to take on new challenges and step outside of what you already know is essential for growth in this field.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
AI is changing everyone's work right now, including ours. It's certainly giving us an opportunity to make a lot of the modeling work that we do more efficient and helping us get things done a lot quicker. It's also helping with our proposal development, making that a lot faster as well. However, there are certainly challenges and concerns that it will end up taking some entry-level jobs away. I think a lot of our junior staff need to be very well versed in AI and know how to use it to their advantage. I think they'll end up getting by that way if they can master using AI as a tool rather than being replaced by it.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Trustworthiness is definitely the most important value to me, for sure. I also definitely value taking ownership of your own work. I value that in the teams that I work with as well. Working hard, being trustworthy, and taking ownership and responsibility for your work are pretty key for me. These values guide how I approach my own work and what I look for in the people I work with.
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