Bridget is an accomplished transportation project and program manager who has dedicated 20 years of her career to the successful delivery of projects for the Illinois Tollway, including her recent role on the general engineering consultant (GEC) contract and her current position as Deputy Project Manager for the Tollway’s $4 billion Central Tri-State Design Corridor Manager contract.

What project has most impacted your career at ArchTam and why? I’ve had the unique opportunity to gain most of my career experience through my roles at the Illinois Tollway, starting as a field inspector and then working on all phases of project development—planning, design, construction management, and operations and maintenance. It’s through this work that I’ve earned the trust of my clients, and it’s here that I developed my expertise and pursued my passion for innovation. I created the Tollway’s asset management database and designed a 50-year program that allows the Tollway to make program repairs that are vital to maintenance and preservation of these assets. As a result of my project experience, I am one of ArchTam’s leading subject matter experts in the field of asset management.

As part of my recent work at the Tollway, including on its general engineering consultant contract, I introduced software for electronic design (Bluebeam) review and for virtual public meetings – all of which helped the CTS team transition to remote working during the global pandemic. I’m thrilled to continue my career supporting the Tollway and remain focused on innovation to help one of the world’s premier tolling agencies.

How has your work positively impacted the community? Over the past 10 years, I have led ArchTam’s internship program at the Illinois Tollway. As part of my leadership, I’m committed to placing diverse, qualified firms and people into meaningful roles on Tollway projects and initiatives. This has given me an opportunity to introduce women and minorities in the community to STEM careers. Our team has also hired many minority-, veteran- and women-owned businesses as subconsultants with key technical and management responsibilities.

Through ArchTam, I was also introduced to the American Corporate Partners program, where I mentor veterans. I’m on my third round with the program, helping those that have sacrificed so much for our country with resume development and employment negotiation. I also work with them to create understanding on how the workforce operates while acting as a sounding board on issues they are facing in their transition back to civilian life.

Advancing women in the industry Early in my career I was the only woman inspector at a highway construction site that was using a tunnel boring machine (TBM). Weighing over 1,000 metric tons, the TBM drills through hard rock and requires stringent installation procedures. Some on the site believed it was no place for a woman. I was fortunate to have the support of my manager and subsequently the client, who made sure I had the resources and respect to do the job I was hired to do.

I share this story because their support inspired me to take action on behalf of women in the industry. I’ve gone on to serve as president of the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) of Greater Chicago, whose mission is to advance the careers of women in our industry. Now as the immediate past president, I continue to support WTS’s formal mentoring program, and I’ve joined ArchTam’s newly formed mentorship program, to stay committed to helping others with their careers.

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As I came to know WTS, I found that WTS focuses on the advancement of women, celebrating the strength we bring to the industry, and that this is done with support from both women AND men, and the industry as a whole. I subsequently joined the board of directors and now serve as the vice president of the Greater Chicago Chapter.

I’m proud to say that the Illinois Transportation Secretary is a strong WTS advocate and our ArchTam management also encourages employees who are members to attend local events, WTS-sponsored conferences and leadership training to further their professional development.

Some of the great benefits of WTS are the connections and community the organization provides. I’ve worked out of a client’s office for nearly 18 years and my exposure to a network outside of my small roadway group is limited. WTS provides a way to connect, not only with engineers in transportation, but also with urban planners and colleagues in other industries.

Those who join WTS find it extremely valuable for their careers and professional lives, and for building community within the transportation sector. To get an idea of who we are, these are some of my ArchTam colleagues and members of WTS:

Kim Jarosz

Being an active member of WTS has played an integral role in shaping me professionally. Fresh out of college, I was pretty overwhelmed in a field as expansive as civil engineering, let alone a male-dominated field. WTS gave me a support system and mentorship, as well as provided access to not only industry experts, but also women in various leadership roles throughout Chicago. Today, I’m glad to call many of these women my friends. It’s amazing to see what we can accomplish when we all come together as one.

Irma Romiti-Johnson

I’ve worked for ArchTam as a documentation engineer for roadway construction projects for 10 years. I joined WTS in 2017, primarily for the camaraderie of professional women in transportation. As an organization, WTS has the unique goal of connecting, sustaining and advancing the careers of women in order to strengthen our industry.

I currently serve as a Partnership Committee co-chair for the WTS Greater Chicago Chapter. I was interested in this role to maintain and hopefully increase the chapter’s partnerships with other organizations. These partnerships help our chapter provide informative programs, development seminars, networking events, mentoring programs and scholarship awards aimed at attracting, retaining and advancing women in our field. This year, we’ve succeeded in increasing our overall partnership commitments by roughly 20 percent and have established two new public agency partnerships. We certainly appreciate the continued support of all of our 2018 partners!

Julie Suprock

WTS is a little bit of a paradox: It’s a gendered organization (focused on women) that allows professionals to interact in the absence of gender expectations. An engineer is just that — an engineer. Not a female engineer, just an engineer. And the same thing goes for all of the planners, economists, financial experts, policy advisors and other transportation professionals who compose the organization.

In an industry where maleness is the norm, WTS provides an invaluable forum for women (and their male allies) to come together to network, build technical skills, support the next generation, and recognize outstanding talent and industry contributions — celebrating professionals who happen to be women.

If you’re interested in learning more and would like to become a member, visit: https://www.wtsinternational.org/members/membership-benefits

Pictured from left to right are members of WTS Greater Chicago Chapter: Irma Romiti-Johnson, Jenna Brose, Kim Jarosz and Bridget Malinowski.

This blog post is part of a series celebrating International Women’s Day 2018 and this year’s theme, #PressForProgress.

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