Her Story
About Sarita
Sarita McGraw, CHST, is an accomplished health, safety, and environmental leader with more than two decades of experience in the construction industry and nearly a decade dedicated to occupational safety. Her career began in the skilled trades, where she worked in masonry, carpentry, concrete finishing, and precast manufacturing before becoming one of the first female foremen in a precast plant. Through determination, technical expertise, and a relentless work ethic, she broke barriers in a traditionally male-dominated industry and built a reputation for leadership, operational excellence, and unwavering commitment to worker safety.
Today, Sarita serves as a senior safety professional in the heavy civil construction sector, where she develops and leads comprehensive safety programs, manages safety teams, conducts workforce training, and drives initiatives that strengthen safety culture across large-scale infrastructure projects. Throughout her career, she has played key roles on complex transportation and bridge construction projects, including nationally recognized accelerated bridge replacement programs. Her expertise spans safety management systems, behavioral safety, risk mitigation, incident investigations, regulatory compliance, training development, and leadership coaching. She is known for transforming underperforming safety programs into award-winning operations while fostering accountability and engagement at every level of an organization.
In addition to her professional accomplishments, Sarita is deeply committed to advancing the construction and safety professions through education, mentorship, and industry leadership. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Safety and Health and is pursuing a Master’s degree in Occupational Safety and Health. As Chair of the CAGC Training & Development Committee and an active industry advocate, she frequently shares her expertise on emerging safety trends, workforce development, and technology in construction. Passionate about protecting people and empowering teams, Sarita continues to champion innovative approaches that create safer, stronger, and more productive workplaces.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sarita
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would absolutely say, sit at the table, and just make a spot at the table. It can be really intimidating to be in a room full of men, especially in a leadership role, where you're dismissed or not taken seriously so much, and it's really easy to kind of be pushed to the side. But I would definitely say, no, like, make your seat at the table, and make yourself known, and don't be afraid to make your voice heard, either. It's extremely challenging because, as a woman, we're always like, we're not really taken serious by the men at first, because, you know, it's construction, and we're not smart like that. But just, you know, just keep doing what you're doing, and don't let anybody intimidate you or make you feel less than, for sure.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · South Carolina
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.