Her Story
About Doaa
I graduated in 2000 with a degree in construction engineering and management, and I was inspired to enter this field by my parents, who are both civil engineers. My dad had experience in construction dispute resolution, and I thought it was a good career path. Early in my career, right after my undergrad, I worked for about three years abroad in construction dispute resolution and claims consultancy, which is common in Europe and the Middle East. In that role, I would write claims for contractors, support arbitration cases, and work on mediation and adjudication. After that, I made the decision to stay home with my children for over 10 years, though during that time I completed my master's degree in construction law and arbitration. When my oldest was in 8th grade, I went back to work part-time with Habitat for Humanity doing project management support for a couple of years. Since 2017, I've been in my current position as a construction project manager with a school district, where I oversee projects and manage budget, schedule, and scope. I'm especially focused on making sure projects are done in a timely fashion so schools can operate when scheduled. Some projects are summer projects with only 10 weeks to complete, while others are complete rebuilds that can take one to two years. I'm most proud of the Raleigh Hills Elementary project I'm managing now. We demolished a school that was built in 1920 and have been on site since July 2024 building a modern facility that can host up to 790 students with great ventilation, technology, and daylighting. It will open this fall. I hold my PMP certification since 2010 and am a member of the Project Management Institute. As a woman of color in a male-dominated field, I've faced challenges, especially early in my career, but I've found that it now takes just one meeting for people to figure out who they're dealing with and realize I know what I'm talking about.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Doaa
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Follow your passion. And feel free to take breaks from your career when you think there are other priorities, whether it's your health, your family, or your young children. Some people think of having children as an obstacle in their career, but I don't see it that way. Not everybody has the privilege to be able to stay with their kids, and I'm grateful for that opportunity. I know some women worry so much about their career and feel pulled in every direction, so I'm just telling them, here I am, I stayed at home for 10 plus years, but I went back to my career and I've been successful. Yes, maybe I'm not as high in my career as others who didn't take that break, but just looking at my kids and how stable they are, the successful young adults they are, I feel like I got the best out of both worlds. I wouldn't do it differently. I think the first two to three years are the most important. I consider myself a feminist, and this is my own experience and how I think of it. I want women to know you can still balance your career and family life and just pick when is a good time for each.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge I face is that construction is still male-dominated, and there is still more diversity now, but generally it's a challenge, especially being a person of color as well. Especially early in my career, that was kind of a challenge for people to accept a woman, a person of color, in that field. They don't say it, but you can feel it. But the more I have been in that role, and the more comfortable I have been, it now takes one meeting for them to figure out who they are dealing with. It's kind of funny, like every project, you know, the first meeting, I can sense it in their eyes, like, hmm, and soon after, maybe in the same meeting, they realize she knows what she's talking about.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · Oregon
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.