coastal engineering, flood studies, project management

a mom of three girls, a wife, an aspiring beach bum, and a civil engineer.

I care for our water and coastal resources and ecological systems that protect water. I also love math and computer modeling.

I get to work on projects that have a real impact and give me a sense of accomplishment. I also love the people with which I work.

project meetings and responding to inquiries from clients.

it takes more than just math skills to be an engineer. It also requires excellent communication skills. I used to think I became an engineer because I liked math so much and was not fond of writing, but I now very much enjoy technical writing. I also envisioned that I would be solving problems and developing models all day in my career, and now I am a project and group manager, which does not involve much math at all, and I still love what I do!

My engineering education got me a great job and career in engineering consulting. It is also a great conversation starter - it is surprising how many people are not familiar with engineering. I especially enjoy speaking about what I do at my daughters’ schools for Career Day.

I always loved math, science and the environment, and my father suggested engineering as a major when I was in high school. When I chose to be civil engineer, I actually was partially inspired by a Peace Corp commercial where an African American woman and civil engineer described her work in Africa. I wanted to be like her.I attended the University of Delaware, where I found coastal engineering was offered for graduate studies. Since I had a new found love for the beach as this was the first time we lived so close to the coast, I jumped at the chance to combine my love of numerical modeling and the beach.Working as a civil engineer the last 19 years has been a rewarding experience. I have grown from a technical geek to a pretty good project manager. What I have found most rewarding is describing what I do to the students at my daughter’s elementary school on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) day. I hope to inspire other young girls (and boys) find and embrace their inner geek to pursue a career in the sciences and engineering.

readingbook clubrunningplaying pianosinginghanging out at the beachspending time with my family

Hydraulic modeling

Good communication skills and being business savy