114 PROFESSIONAL WOMANS MULTICULTURAL MAGAZINE WWW.PROFESSIONALWOMANMAG.COM
WOMEN IN STEAM
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ince 1958, the Federal Aviation Admin- istration (FAA), the largest transpor- tation agency of the U.S. government, has worked to create and regulate all aspects of air travel in the United States such as air traffic management, certification of personnel and aircraft, setting standards for airports and protection of U.S. assets during the launch or re-entry of commercial space vehicles. Now, in an effort to increase diversity in the FAA and across the STEM field, the organization has accomplished a first in their history and a rarity in the engineering world: a project completely designed, pro- cured and constructed by women. Led by Southern Region Terminal Engi- neering Design Manager, Courtney Nolan, and joined by additional FAA engineers: Maylisse Matos, Stefanie Johnson and Kelsey Torchia, the four women have been working together to build a new 159-foot air traffic control tower for the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C. The new GSO tower will allow air traffic controllers to manage flights safely and efficiently at North Carolina's third busiest airport. At that preconstruction/kickoff meeting, I realized that this project was about to make FAA history for women engineers, Nolan recalled. I think this could be the irst time in FAA's history where all leading roles are played by women on a single tower replacement project. Since breaking ground, the team has maintained project timelines throughout the pandemic, with a scheduled commis- sioning to take place later this year, sending the tower well on its way to its fall 2022 completion estimation. During this time, the team of four has taken the opportunity to use the first as a way to encourage other women to pursue the STEM field, mainly engineering. I want to see women confident of the fact that they can do engineering, the towers design projects engineer, Maylisse Matos, said of the project. When I say Im a civil engineer I feel respected, I feel ac- complished, and that gives me a lot of joy. Source: Federal Aviation Administration
Meet the All-Women Engineering Team
Smashing the Glass Ceiling
Meet the Engineers
COURTNEY NOLAN:
Courtney Nolan is the teams Southern Regional Terminal Engineering Design Manager, where she oversees every aspect of the towers design and construction process. Before taking on this position, Nolan was the projects lead engineer where she assisted in the siting, design and team recruitment process for the tower.
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