Full STEAM Ahead: Career Paths in the A/E/C Industry - WIC Week

Description

What is it actually like to be an architect? An engineer? An electrician? Join this panel discussion featuring five women in different jobs within the AEC industry to learn more about what their typical day is like and the challenges and rewards this career path has to offer. After the discussion, attendees will be organized into breakout rooms to ask questions of the panelists and discuss careers in this industry.



About this event
Panelists:
Shahrzad Abtahi
Director of Lighting Design at Lightcraft (a division of AKF Group)
Shahrzad is the director of lighting design at Lightcraft and she is the head of Lighting Group at Boston’s office. She was one of the first lighting designers to earn WELL accreditation and teaches lighting and design courses at Suffolk University and Boston Architectural College. She is a frequent speaker at multiple lighting and architectural conferences throughout the country. In March 2018, Shahrzad was named as one of North America’s top 40 under 40 lighting designers under 40 by lighting magazine.
 
Asli Baran
Project Designer at Höweler+Yoon | Faculty at BAC
Born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, Asli is a practicing Architect and an Educator. She received her BFA in Architecture from Mass Art and her Masters in Architecture & Interior Architecture from the BAC where she is a Thesis Faculty. Previously working at BIG(Bjarke Ingels Group), she is currently a Project Designer at HYA(Howeler+Yoon). Her work spans various geographic contexts, scales and programs, including Justice, Equity, Civic, Transportation, Healthcare, Cancer centers, S&T, R&D and more. She believes in the power of design to elevate communities and is committed to a vision of Architecture as a social equalizer.
 
Renee Dozier
Business Agent, IBEW Local 103
Born and bred in Boston Massachusetts, Reneeleona Dozier is a 20-year member of Local 103, and a second generation IBEW member.
She takes pride in her membership and contributions to the IBEW, which have afforded herself and her family a great many opportunities. The education through the JATC has permitted her to have a very rewarding career as a Journeyman Electrician and an AHJ in her City. As a wife and mother, organizing new members and encouraging growth, resilience and development in existing members comes second nature to her. It is her life’s work and her strong passion to expand, strengthen and leave her Local better than she found it. She have had the great fortune to be a part of planning committees, boards, and policy groups to facilitate that.
 
Julie P. Livingstone
Senior Development Manager, The HYM Investment Group, LLC
Julie P. Livingstone is a Senior Development Manager at The HYM Investment Group, LLC, a real estate and development company based in downtown Boston. Since 2013, Julie has worked to realize all aspects of Bulfinch Crossing, a $2 billion, 2.9 million SF transformation of the Government Center Garage into four new world-class, mixed-use buildings (commercial office, residential, life science). Most recently, she led the development and delivery of The Sudbury, a 423-unit luxury residential high-rise at Bulfinch Crossing.
Before joining HYM, Julie was Deputy Chief of Staff at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and worked on national service strategy and operations as an Eli Segal Fellow from the Office of the CEO at the Corporation for National and Community Service in DC. She also served as an AmeriCorps NCCC member in Gulf Coast communities after Hurricane Katrina.
Julie has a Bachelor of Science in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from M.I.T. and a Master of Public Policy and Urban Planning from the Harvard Kennedy School.
 
Jessica Vines
Mechanical Engineer, SmithGroup
After graduating from Boston University in 2008, Jessica started at SmithGroup before Revit MEP was a standard tool, self-taught herself and then implemented it into the Boston engineering group. She was interested in sustainability, learned energy modelling and went on to present at Autodesk University on how to integrate BIM with energy modeling. She transitioned to the engineering group and earned her Professional Engineering license only to decide to take a detour and work at a fitness startup for a few years; she had a passion to inspire others to live their healthiest lifestyle that came about through her blog, Little Miss Runshine. Jessica ended up coming back to engineering a few years later and exploring project management while still pursuing her engineering career path. She is expecting her first child in June of 2022 and excited to continue to prove to others that being a successful engineering isn’t just being the stereotypical engineer and the path doesn’t have to be linear.
 
Moderator:
Ji-Hye Ham
Senior Capital Projects Manager at Northeastern University Planning, Real Estate, and Facilities
Ji-Hye Ham is responsible for the management of capital projects including large, complex projects for research and teaching laboratories, student housing, classrooms, offices as well as specialized construction.
Prior to joining Northeastern University in 2022, Ji-Hye was at Ann Beha Architects and Robert A.M. Stern Architects where she worked on new construction, renovation, and master planning projects throughout the country and internationally. At Ann Beha Architects, she was the Project Architect and Project Manager for the Harvard Divinity School Swartz Hall Renewal. Her work at Robert A.M. Stern Architects includes the Pavilions at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, the Rutgers University Campus Master Plan, and the Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
 
Ji-Hye is a registered architect in Massachusetts and New York, and holds a Master of Architecture from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.