Caitlyn Angelini Named President of Professional Women in Construction's Boston Chapter

We are excited to share that Partner Caitlyn Angelini has been named President of Professional Women in Construction's Boston Chapter. Read her inspiring welcome letter below:

I’m humbled to be writing this message as I’ve recently transitioned into the President role for PWC’s Boston Chapter. I’m surrounded by others who inspire me to be a better teammate, better engineer, better leader, and better person. To those that have come before me, thank you for your leadership, your insights, and your dedication to building the incredible momentum for our chapter and community. It’s been a pleasure working alongside you.

As I reflect on all our chapter has accomplished over the past five years, I’m overwhelmed with pride in this group. However, that doesn’t blind me from the bias that still exists in the AEC industry and the need to continue to push the needle towards a more diverse industry. I’ll share a more pleasant anecdote that occurred earlier this year when I was in Washington, DC for a business meeting. I struck up a conversation with two women as we waited for the hotel elevator. They asked what I was doing in DC and I shared the nature of my trip. There were some follow-up questions regarding the line of work I do. One woman gasped at my response and asked "Are you a lady engineer?" I chuckled and proudly responded "Yes, I am." She replied, "Wow, your parents must be so proud." I blushed and responded that they are. It was simple but powerful banter. I couldn’t shake her surprised reaction. It was 2022 after all.

When I went to engineering school, I knew I was embarking on an interesting journey as I was part of a record-breaking class of 24% females. While this number continues to rise at my alma mater (the Class of 2021 was 40% female), we still have a long way to go to normalize women and diversity in an engineering or related field.

A personal goal of mine is to inspire at least one young woman to pursue a career in this industry. But what if it could be more? What if I had the ability to inspire two, or three, or four? What if I could empower more women to be bold and strive for leadership positions? What if everyone reading this message had the ability to do the same? For the record, I believe we do! We could multiply the number of females in the AEC industry and leadership positions. Our projects and businesses would thrive with more diversity amongst our teams.

As I take the helm of the PWC Boston Chapter, with an incredible group of likeminded professionals working with me (including our Executive Board, Board of Directors, Advisory Board, and Committees), I hope to inspire all of you reading this to find a way to make an impact. Let’s revisit the mission of PWC… "To support, connect, and promote women and diversity in the AEC industry." Let’s be reminded of this mission as we embark on the new program year.

Last month, we kicked off the program year with an Inaugural Awards Gala where we celebrated four talented women who are going above and beyond to help us achieve our mission in their everyday lives.  We were also celebrating the incredible pool of nominees who are exemplary rising stars, mentors, volunteers, and outstanding women crushing goals and achievements. Thank you to all who supported the gala by nominating, volunteering, sponsoring, and attending.

Stay tuned for an intriguing line-up of events and networking opportunities throughout the year. We hope you will join us, in any way you can, to continue to make strides and live out our mission. As Mother Theresa once said, “Together, we can do great things.”

Cheers,

Caitlyn Angelini, PE

Partner, AKF Group

PWC Boston ’22-23 Chapter President