Manhattan, NY Professional Women in Construction honored three women at Battery Gardens in Battery Park. The evening started with a keynote address from New York State lieutenant governor Kathy Hochul, which was followed by the honor presented to Susan Chin, vice president of planning & design and chief architect exhibition, Wildlife Conservation Society; Petra Messick, director, business development, Amtrak; and Lysa Scully, general manager, LaGuardia Airport. Each honoree was awarded a piece of artwork donated by artist Alison Causer.
Chin was introduced by Michael Brothers, principal, Stantec. Chin is committed to protecting the world’s wildlife through education at the four zoos and the aquarium in New York. Chin’s conservation efforts aim to protect 15 of the most wild places on the planet, saving iconic species, maintaining ecosystem health and protecting all other biodiversity. Chin has a global focus on discovery that targets science and exploration on the most important issues that affect the conservation of our landscapes, seascapes, priority species, and the management and care of wildlife.
Messick was introduced by Marie Corrado, director major projects office, Amtrak. Through her community outreach and consensus building, Messick was able to repair and reconstruct hyper-critical Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and new Gateway Partners Development for the nation’s railroad. In her devotion to the planning, maintaining, repairing and improvement of the current Hudson River Rail Crossing, a rail corridor that handles more than 2,000 trains daily that was irreparably damaged by Super Storm Sandy. We will be benefitting from her more recent efforts in planning the new Gateway Crossings for the next 50 years.
Scully was introduced by Stephanie Dawson, COO, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. As general manager of the Port Authority’s “little city” of LaGuardia Airport, Scully manages an operation that handles over 85,000 daily passengers, with nearly 1,000 planes per day and has over 11,000 employees. Scully manages all of this while overseeing the planning and ultimately the delivery of more than $4 billion in capital projects for what will be the LaGuardia Airport of the future, a legacy lasting well into the 21st century.
The event is the annual awards ceremony for PWC, and is an opportunity to highlight the work of outstanding women. Hochul said, “There are a lot of projects in New York State right now that are really going to redefine our future and it is so important that women and minorities get a piece of the action. It’s organizations like this that bring people together to talk about what’s out there, and all of us as women have an obligation to turn around and help other women enter.”
The event was made possible by gold sponsors: Stantec and The Port Authority of NY & NJ; silver sponsors: STV and the Berman Group; and bronze sponsors: Armand Corporation, Duane Morris, HNTB, LaGuardia Gateway Partners, Langan, Leonard J. Strandberg & Associates, Tishman, an AECOM Company, Turner and Yu & Associates.
PWC is a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1980 that seeks to advance women and minorities in the construction and related industries. We are women and men who want to expand professional networks and advance strong careers and business.
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