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Groundbreaking Women in Construction (GWIC) 2023
May 11, 2023 - May 12, 2023
Empowered to Explore
Join us at GWIC – Groundbreaking Women in Construction
We are proud to be a gold sponsor of this year’s event, and look forward to meeting you at GWIC. Stop by our booth to learn more about the opportunities and services we offer, and meet our amazing team.
Join our roundtable discussions
Thursday, May 11, 2023 – 12:00 PM – 1:25 PM
Best Practices for Launching an Employee Resource Group
What’s your path to an ERG? Do efforts include defining the what and why in a charter; committees to implement; measurements of success? Or something totally different? Come hear from your colleagues what’s worked for them and learn what might work for you!
Meet our speaker:
Laura Register, P.E., LEED®AP, F. GBA is a Principal and Vice President at Terracon Consultants, serving as Director, Business Sectors focused on growth in Terracon’s Healthcare, Power, Transportation, Federal, Commercial, Financial, Technology, and Logistics markets.
Laura is an advocate and leader for advancing women in their professions. She is co-chair and founding member of Terracon’s Increasing Women in Leadership employee resource group launched in 2021. She has served on national and regional boards and helped found women’s professional associations, including Women in Healthcare and AEC Power Women.
Compelling, Impactful Content for a Women’s Employee Resource Group
How do you create compelling and impactful content for a women’s Employee Resource Group (ERG)? Who is responsible for creating content and planning outreach and involvement? ERG’s are mostly volunteer-led groups within an organization, and it can be challenging launching a successful ERG that engages employees long-term. We will discuss programs and content that gain momentum and participation as well as the benefits of ERGs to increase leadership, retention, and recruitment to an organization.
Meet Our Speaker
Rebecca Zakowicz is the Regional Manager for Terracon’s DC, Suburban Maryland, and Northern Virginia Region. She is a Certified Professional Geologist (PG), Professional Engineer (PE), Senior Principal, and Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Northern Virginia Past President.
Over her 20-year career in geotechnical engineering, she has successfully managed over 1200 projects and performed subsurface investigations, geotechnical engineering analysis, Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments, and materials testing during construction. Her current responsibilities and roles include managing multiple offices, client and national account management, and authorized project reviewer. She is an active member of the Reston Planning and Zoning Committee and co-launched Terracon’s first Employee Resource Group: Increasing Women in Leadership (iWIL).
Empowered to Explore
The purpose Terracon’s iWILL Employee Resource Group is to “to retain and grow women in leadership skills and positions across all of Terracon and attract female talent and supporters to join Terracon.”
At Terracon, we care about inclusion, diversity, equity, and cultivating a culture of dignity and respect where diverse voices and experiences are freely shared across our company, industry, and communities. Terracon encourages the formation of ERGs to foster inclusion and encourage employee-owners to share information, recognize achievements, and connect with fellow owners on an informal basis. Employee-led and company-approved ERGs support improvements in their area of diversity and have the ability to impact focus areas through their actions and initiatives.
What our employee-owners are saying about iWIL
“I get to work with women at a local level within Terracon as they coach and support one another in their quest to become leaders at Terracon.”
– Lori Rogalski
“My involvement in Increasing Women in Leadership (iWIL) has ignited excitement about being an employee-owner at Terracon and fueled my desire to help others succeed.”
– Rebecca Zakowicz
“I get a renewed appreciation that leadership is found, nurtured, and achieved within each of us. It is an internal journey.”
– Laura Register
Interested in learning more?
Contact Our Team
Vanessa Zambo, CPSM
Chief Marketing Officer | Senior Principal
vanessa.zambo@terracon.com
Laura K. Register, PE
Senior Principal | Vice President
Director, Business Sectors
laura.register@terracon.com
Rebecca Smith-Zakowicz, PG, PE
Senior Principal | Regional Manager
rebecca.smith-zakowicz@terracon.com