Ready to take the next step in my career through a professional society, I found my place in elevateHER.

ElevateHER is an initiative seeking to better the future of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. It was founded by the Zweig Group, and it’s committed to embracing, promoting, and ensuring equal opportunities for everyone in the AEC industry regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.

I was first introduced to elevateHER through a colleague, and I became very interested as female empowerment is something very important to me. I have seen my fair share of challenges after working in the AEC industry for four years and watching my mother work in a male-dominated field as well. ElevateHER offered a unique and exciting experience to empower myself and meet like-minded people in the industry—so I quickly applied!

Cohort Project

After applying, I became a member of the group’s third cohort. I attended online meetings and a kickoff conference in Dallas, Texas, where I got to meet the other members of my cohort—the largest to date with about 50 members.

At the kickoff conference, the cohort shared challenges we are facing in the industry, and we got to dream big about ways to address those challenges. Together, we planned projects that will help address uplifting, recruiting, and retaining women." Samantha Collins

Previous projects have included the creation of a mentoring program, informational slide decks, and a resources page on Zweig’s website for women in AEC. Throughout the summer, my cohort has been working on several different projects focused on work-life balance, K-12 outreach, and my own group project: empowering women’s voices. My group continued a previous cohorts’ work by adding more resources to the page and creating an informational podcast.

After working on these projects all summer, my cohort attended a symposium in Las Vegas, Nevada, to share the completed projects with the group. In addition to this, we heard from guest speakers, and live recorded our last podcast episode featuring panelists from the industry.

Building a Network

My experience in elevateHER has benefitted me in so many ways. As a young engineer, it has given me a network of like-minded people across the industry, many of whom have more than 30 years of experience. It’s great to have a group of people who I can go to with questions and who are always supporting me and encouraging me to “go out and do it.”

Additionally, I am not only learning how to empower myself, but also how to encourage that same behavior in other women in the industry. I look forward to cheering on my peers as we continue to navigate our predominantly male-dominated environments.

ElevateHER could be beneficial to anyone at any point of their career. I would encourage those who are looking to build a strong network of passionate individuals who want to find solutions to the issues women face in the AEC industry to learn more or apply. It’s one small step towards equality inside and outside of work.