Influential Woman · Public Works Government Road Maintenance
Gina Miller
Assistant Superintendent of Municipal Road Operations, Whatcom County
Bellingham, WA
Her Story
About Gina
I've been in construction since I was young, having grown up with a dad who built houses, so I learned how to use tools very young. I started in old-fashioned working in the field type positions because there were a lot of jobs available and I didn't want college debt. Over 25-26 years, I worked my way up through field lead roles and crew lead roles. In my mid-30s, I went back to college because I had had some supervisors who didn't have good leadership skills, and I knew that I wanted to be some type of lead. I earned my bachelor's in leadership and project management from Trinity Western University in 2017, which put me in a really good position for the job I have now. For the past 9 years, I've served as assistant superintendent of municipal road operations. No day is typical - last week we had several days of flooding where literally all day was a fire drill for water emergencies, and we had 7 crews going in 7 different directions doing projects related to cleaning up after flooding. My biggest achievement has been sustaining and growing a workforce through the pandemic. I'm a public servant working for a government entity, and I'm less than a decade from retirement in a state pension.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Gina
01What do you attribute your success to?
Definitely the team. I mean, this is not anything that one person can do alone. Continuing to support your team and engage and be a part of the team is the only way I think anyone can be successful in this kind of work. Teamwork makes anything work.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Early on when I started in this job, I was one of three females, and the workforce was primarily men in their late 50s who didn't appreciate having women in the workforce. I had a female supervisor in a different division who said, no matter how bad your day is, never let them see you cry. I'm not one to cry a lot anyway, but there definitely were days. It's not just taking the advice, it was something to laugh about when things got me down.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
To be persistent, and take all the opportunities you can to learn and grow. Don't be scared to try something. I think if you're never failing, you're not truly trying.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Right now, it's all budget. Every government entity in the state really is suffering budget-wise. Inflation is outpacing revenues, and we relied heavily on federal subsidies, and those, through administrative changes at the federal level, aren't coming like in previous years, so making it work within those constraints is definitely a challenge. Post-pandemic, workforce retention is also a major challenge. The average person used to stay with their employer for 20 years, and I think now it's somewhere between 5 and 7, and those are the heaviest investment years in training. So it's this revolving door of expense and training, and do it again and again.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Balance, for sure. Being a public servant, the job can really eat all of your personal life if you let it, and I think having that balance and making sure you have good boundaries so that you can enjoy a personal life is critical. Relationships are hands down the most important thing to me, both at work and outside of work, just having solid relationships with the people in all the areas of my life.
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