Setting the Vision

Four talented WSP movers and shakers shared their perspectives on the challenges they face as women in the engineering field and how their critical roles on projects are motivating and inspiring them, while shaping our nation’s infrastructure.

We spoke to Ariel Coreth (Power and Energy), Eryca Dinsdale (Advisory and Planning), Jameelah Muhammad Ingram (Transportation and Infrastructure), and Manalee Jayant Nabar (Property and Buildings).

What Energizes You the Most About One of Your Current Projects?

Ingram: I am the commercial manager on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Bladensburg Bus Garage Reconstruction project. We are creating a modern bus operations and maintenance facility to support a transition to a zero-emission bus (ZEB) fleet and contribute to air quality improvement. It is exciting that the Statue of Freedom, which sits atop the U.S. Capitol Dome, may have been cast at a foundry formerly located on this project site. Paradoxically, it was the ingenuity of Philip Reed, an enslaved laborer, that led to its successful casting.

Coreth: I am the project manager for a large-scale microgrid project known as the Maintenance Transportation Operations Center (EMTOC) in Montgomery County, Maryland. This microgrid features electric bus-charging and on-site green hydrogen production fueled by solar and battery energy storage. This is the first microgrid on the east coast to feature green hydrogen production and happens to be the largest renewable energy bus depot in the U.S. It is really cool stuff. It has been a fun ride because there’s no explicit code language for permitting integrated microgrid infrastructure such as this—especially the solar array canopies themselves. Even the people assessing and permitting the project are discovering what goes into a microgrid of this scale.

Nabar: Currently I’m working on the mechanical design for a new 72-megawatt ground-up data center. The requirements of redundancy all the way from the central cooling plant down to the individual valves on the piping are staggering. Designing project infrastructure so robust that it will most likely never see a downtime is a thrilling undertaking.

Dinsdale: My work right now helps agencies and organizations transform their capabilities, service delivery and outcomes. With my capital delivery and operations experience as a backdrop, I focus on integrating executive-level vision with the front-line reality. Whether it’s people, processes, data or technology, I create actionable steps that drive the organization forward, usually projects like agency strategic business plans, organizational assessments and governance strategies. I’m developing a strategic plan for a major transportation agency, setting the vision and goals to transform service delivery.

What Is Your Biggest Challenge as a Woman in the Engineering Services Industry?

Nabar: Being a working mom has been hands down my biggest challenge. My patience, discipline and time management have evolved in ways than I could not have imagined before. Each minute is precious, and my pursuit is to make the most of it, whether at work or at home.

Ingram: Adapting to different communication styles. Managing this obstacle started with knowing my audience. Does my client or team member appreciate the details, or shall I get to the point? Understanding everyone’s boundaries helped me determine the best approach to communicate with someone and achieve our common goal.

Dinsdale: Earlier in my career, building confidence in my own skills and ideas was challenging. Even when I was the expert at the table, my contributions were often dismissed, only to be proposed by someone else as their own idea. That frustration shaped my leadership style, and I actively encourage junior staff to share ideas in meetings. Great vision can come from anyone.

Coreth: As a female professional, I often worried about sounding too nice or too harsh. But I eventually realized that at the end of the day, as long as you care about the project and the people you work with—and convey the confidence that your teammates and your clients expect—then you will come across the right way to the benefit of the project.

Describe the biggest changes your industry will experience over the next 5-10 years?

Coreth: As a military veteran, national security hits home. We need to make sure that we can operate in a degraded state, such as is the case with a grid blackout due to a severe weather event or cyber security attack. I see significant growth on a macro level in harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and understanding the implications of it. There will be a need for new or modified infrastructure with respect to transmission lines and anything related to hyperscale facility centers. Re-emergence of our nuclear industry is also amazing. We were decommissioning plants five years ago. Nowadays it’s being referred to as a “nuclear renaissance.” For a nuclear engineer, that’s an exciting development!

Nabar: We are undoubtedly in the middle of a building design revolution. Sustainability and decarbonization are at the forefront and the next 5-10 years will be relentless with energy code updates. Whether it is exploring passive design approach on high energy use buildings or liquid cooling techniques for electronic components to support AI and Big Data, energy efficiency is no longer a goal - it’s a requirement!

Ingram: I am delighted that we are electrifying bus fleets and enhancing people’s travel experience. Battery electric buses provide quieter rides and improve air quality, eliminating billowing trails of smoke from bus tailpipes. Over the next 5-10 years, more public transit agencies will implement ZEB transition plans. A range of technologies is being explored to achieve these goals.

Dinsdale: We are transforming our digital tools to solve our clients’ problems faster and more efficiently. We can bring practical data to decision makers in ways where we could only bring assumptions before. In the next 5-10 years, the ways we all do business will fundamentally change, even in ways we can’t quite imagine now. It’s exciting to have this impact on agencies and the communities they serve.

	Ariel Coreth, PMP, project manager for Power and Energy in New York, joined us following eight years of active duty on a nuclear aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy. She is a LEED green associate.
	Eryca Dinsdale, PE, PMP, senior vice president and managing director of business transformation for Advisory and Planning based in Portland, Oregon, successfully helps our firm guide agencies and clients deliver major programs and improve their processes and systems.
	Jameelah Muhammad Ingram, PE, assistant vice president in structural engineering for Transportation and Infrastructure in Washington, D.C., designs and inspects bridges, facilitates property acquisitions and negotiates construction change orders. She was the cover story feature for the fall 2024 issue of Woman Engineer magazine.
	Manalee Jayant Nabar, PE, lead mechanical engineer for Property and Buildings in San Francisco, delivers healthcare, mission critical and science and technology projects. In 2024 she was one of Engineered Systems magazine’s [RR1]“20 to Watch: Women in HVAC.”