Girl Day: Empowering Female Engineers

Now more than ever, it is important that we encourage young girls and women to enter into the engineering field. The dedication, innovation, and perseverance of our female employee-owners is truly inspiring. By breaking barriers and achieving remarkable feats in engineering, they are not only advancing technology but also paving the way for future generations. They are powerful role models for young girls everywhere and their achievements show them that they too can dream big, believe in their abilities, and pursue their goals fearlessly.

On this Girl Day, learn more about the women at Tata & Howard and their reasoning for becoming engineers and what their beliefs are with regard to women in STEM.

Karen Gracey, Co-President

My passion for engineering stems from my love for math, which naturally led me to pursue a career in civil and environmental engineering. I was driven by a desire to make a tangible difference in the world and to develop solutions for our ever-changing environment.

During my college years, I faced unique challenges as one of only three women in the civil engineering program. Often, I found myself as the sole woman in my classes, including my differential equations course. This situation could have easily been a source of intimidation, but I chose to see it as an opportunity to empower myself and challenge the gender divide. By embracing this mindset, I not only overcame the obstacles but also excelled academically, achieving one of the highest grades in the class that semester.

This experience reinforced my commitment to engineering and my belief in the importance of diversity and inclusion in STEM fields. It taught me the value of resilience and the power of determination, shaping me into the engineer I am today.

Allison Shivers, Project Manager

I decided/was inspired to go into engineering because I felt that engineering could allow me to work on something that I was interested in and also make an impact on the world at the same time. It was exciting to think that I could take part in projects that would ultimately have a direct impact on lives through designing infrastructure and/or helping to find solutions to environmental issues. Also, I think I had a desire to push back on the stereotype that engineering is only for certain people.

I think we can encourage more young girls to choose engineering by exposing them to more women in the industry. If female engineers can be highlighted more, then young girls can see that engineering is not only for men. An example of something small we can do is maybe try to volunteer to speak to elementary school classes about what we do and how we contribute so that at a young age they are not just associating engineering as a male occupation. This would especially be helpful as a female led company, to highlight women in all levels of the field. Another idea is to make a video compilation highlighting women in engineering to be shared somehow for exposure.

Katie Carreira, Project Manager

I chose to pursue engineering in high school. I was always more interested in math and science than anything else, but having a variety of STEM classes available to me in high school, and excelling at those STEM classes, is what gave me the confidence to pursue engineering in college. I had an interest in solving real-life problems, and that inspired my career path. I think having a variety of STEM classes available to me in high school, including smaller advanced classes that were taught by male and female teachers alike was a key factor in pushing me into the engineering field.

I think it’s very important to encourage more young girls to choose engineering so that in time we can have a more diverse and robust engineering field. One thing that may help is more representation – if young girls can see themselves represented in the engineering field, that can inspire them and show them that they can excel at engineering just as much as anyone else. It would be great if young girls had more exposure to examples of women engineers and the cool things we do – whether through TV and films, social media, or through school programs and outreach.

Brianna Sullivan, Senior Project Designer

My inspiration was my first mentor, who was the brightest woman I had ever met, and who taught me how to move forward in this field. I took some additional English and poetry courses in college and wrote this poem, inspired by her:

She doesn’t sketch her dreams in pastel,
but in concrete, CAD, and carbon steel—
a girl who maps the bones of bridges,
whose compass spins for rivers, ridges,
& blueprint lines like veins, alive,
to birth a road, reroute a tide.

She’ll draft her worth in wastewater schemes,
in wind turbines’ spin, solar arrays’ gleam,
in the carbon chains she dares unbind—
a world remade by the force of her mind.

No war but the work, no crown but the cause,
she bends the rules, rewrites the laws,
not to claim a seat, but to build a table
where tomorrow’s girls sketch the impossible.
Her legacy? Clean water, clean air, and this:
A planet that breathes because she insists.

Kimberly Frary, Engineer II

I was inspired to pursue a career in engineering because I grew up hearing about my Mom’s early career as a computer engineer and we were encouraged as kids to explore STEM topics of interest outside of school. My interest in water and environmental concerns was developed in high school by taking STEM electives. Also, having a few friends that took the same classes helped me feel more confident in stepping outside of my comfort zone and we helped each other study.  I think young girls can be inspired to pursue a career in STEM by seeing other women succeed and by having a support network that nurtures their interests.

Check out our last blog post to read more on our amazing team of women here at Tata and Howard.

Employee Spotlight: David Lombardo

Employee Spotlight #7 – It is our pleasure to shine the spotlight on David J. Lombardo, P.E., Associate.

David’s career in engineering began in 1994. Directly out of college, he started a job with Roald Haestad, Inc., learning the water and wastewater aspects of civil engineering with a specific emphasis on Pump Station designs and construction oversight. In 2014, Tata & Howard acquired Roald Haestad, Inc., and David joined the Tata & Howard team.

His experience with Pump Station designs has been extensive, ranging from small to very large and complex. David summed up his experience by saying, “the unique challenges of the modern-day pump station design always comes down to the fact that no two pump station designs are identical; each has its own parameters and challenges.”

He shared that project considerations are many when designing a pump station beyond the water demands and pump capacities; other factors such as space availability, safe access, durability, low maintenance, upgradeability, etc., while balancing the client needs and staying on budget.

David shared that one pump station design project was particularly challenging due to limited land availability; Eventually, a house foreclosure in the area allowed the project to move forward. The design maintained the outer façade of the house with interior modifications that included gutting the inside and casting concrete floors to convert the interior into a potable water pumping station complete with four pumps, associated piping, electrical equipment, instrumentation, and controls.

The design included converting an attached garage into a standby power generator room equipped with acoustic louvers in the walls for cooling and combustion and lined with sound deadening insulation to minimize generator noise from reaching the neighbors. This above-ground replacement pump station allows easy access and enhanced safety while blending in with the neighborhood aesthetics.

David’s passion and experience for pump station designs continue to expand, building upon what he shared at the beginning of this spotlight, “the unique challenges of the modern-day pump station design always comes down to the fact that no two pump station designs are identical.” Thanks for sharing David!

Let’s Connect:
David J. Lombardo, P.E., Associate
37 Brookside Road, Waterbury, CT 06708

E – dlomardo@tataandhoward.com     |     P – 203-528-0263  


 

 

Employee Spotlight: Paul Howard

Employee Spotlight #6: We are excited to shine this week’s employee spotlight on Senior Vice President, Paul Howard. Paul co-founded Tata & Howard nearly 30 years ago with the late Donald J. Tata, and has been dedicated to the company since day one, October 19, 1992.

Coming from a long line of engineers, Paul’s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather owned Whitman & Howard, Inc., a prominent New England civil engineering firm founded in 1867. Growing up around engineers provided Paul the opportunity to be exposed to the field at a young age, and as early as 5-years-old, he could be found on construction sites with his father. By 14 he was working on a survey crew gaining even more experience before entering Worcester Polytechnic Institute to obtain a degree in civil engineering.

Paul’s favorite types of projects involve water treatment plants and water supply development. The most memorable project worked on, and the second official T&H project, was the Elm Bank Pump Station job, no. 1002. The Elm Bank Pump Station was the culmination of approximately 10 years of work to develop the water supply for the Towns of Natick, Wellesley, Needham, and Dover. Natick was the only Town to move forward with developing the source. At the time, the pump test for the supply was the largest pump test ever conducted in the state of Massachusetts. Four wells were pumped at 4 million gallons per day.  Seven thousand feet of discharge piping was used. The permitting for the project was extensive and in the end limited the Town to 2.2 mgd out of an approval yield of 7.0 mgd.

When he’s not at one of the T&H offices, Paul enjoys golfing and snowboarding, traveling, and spending time with family. A fond travel memory dates back to childhood when he went fishing at the Arctic Circle and the Northwest Territory of Canada. On this special trip he caught a 31.5 pound lake trout, an 11 pound arctic char, saw an albino wolverine, and piloted a six passenger airplane.

Employee Spotlight: Karen Gracey

Employee Spotlight #5: Karen Gracey. Over the last 25 years, she has held each role at the company, starting first as a summer intern, and working her way up to Co-President.

With a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Vermont, Karen is passionate about environmental engineering and fixing problems to make a positive impact with each project she is a part of. She enjoys hydraulic modeling and system analysis as each project offers an opportunity to figure out why certain issues are happening with a water system.

Karen’s favorite project at T&H to date was the company’s first Capital Efficiency Plan completed for the Connecticut Water Company for the Unionville System. Conducting research, collaborating on the various sections of the report, and then writing it from scratch was a fun and fulfilling task.

When she isn’t at T&H, Karen enjoys cooking, skiing, and relaxing at the beach. A trip to Napa Valley with her brother and sister a few years ago is one of her favorite travel memories. Driving in a limo to small vineyards in Sonoma Valley and Russian River provided lots of delicious wine, beautiful landscapes, and spending time with family.

Fun Fact: During the summer of her internship at T&H, Karen dove headfirst into hydraulic modeling and water main design. In addition, she also learned a lot about blueline machines. For those who are not familiar, blueline machines use black lights and ammonia to copy a drawing printed on vellum onto special paper. Copying one drawing would take a minute or two, so imagine making multiple copies of water treatment plant drawings! 

Thanks for all you do, Karen!

NEWEA 2021 Silver Sponsor

Tata & Howard was pleased to participate in the 2021 NEWEA Sponsorship Program and is grateful to be a supporter of NEWEA each year.

Employee Spotlight: Robert Sims

Employee Spotlight #4: We are delighted to shine our employee spotlight on Robert Sims. Southerner by birth, Robert was born in Kentucky and raised in Austin, TX before relocating to Massachusetts 35 years ago. Having a long line of engineers/surveyors in his family, including an ancestor who performed the survey of record for the Common in Cambridge, MA in the 17th century, he knew from a young age that he wanted a career in the field.

He attended the University of Texas at Austin with initial sights on Electrical Engineering, but quickly changed to Civil Engineering after hearing a presentation from the Dean of the UT Cockrell School of Engineering.

With more than thirty years of design and construction project management experience under his belt, Robert joined Tata & Howard in 2018 as a PM. He has most enjoyed working on two water quality studies for the towns of South Deerfield and Mattapoisett, as he was able to form a great working relationship with his team and clients, and produced solid reports with PF’s above 3.

Around the office, Robert is known for his friendly personality, fascinating hobbies, and amusing stories. He enjoys woodworking, beekeeping, fantasy football, and gardening. To stay active, he participates in stair climb races for the American Lung Association, the Scottish Highland Games, and the occasional 5k race.

Robert is passionate about his Scottish heritage and can often be seen wearing his kilt. In fact, he sat in the X-wing fighter from Star Wars…while wearing a kilt, and flew in a WWII vintage P-51 fighter…while wearing a kilt.

Thanks for all you do, Robert!

Employee Spotlight: Christine Beliveau

Employee Spotlight #3: We are excited to shine this week’s employee spotlight on Chrissie Beliveau. Chrissie has been with Tata & Howard for more than ten years and serves as the company’s Marketing Coordinator. Wearing many hats, Chrissie assists in all request for proposals/qualifications, and a variety of marketing tasks, including tradeshow planning, collateral design, advertising, and more.

In her free time she enjoys mountain biking, hiking, traveling, and spending time with her two grandchildren, Max and Luna, and her soon-to-be-born twin grandchildren. In addition, Chrissie has started experimenting with stained glass, and is looking forward to taking classes to further expand her knowledge in the art.

Her most memorable travel experience was a family trip she took to Italy, where she traveled from Milan to Rome. Exploring her true Italian roots from her father who was born and raised in the mountains of Parma (where parmesan cheese was created) – the trip provided a special opportunity to visit relatives and view pieces of her natural heritage.

Chrissie’s favorite part about working for Tata & Howard is having the opportunity to work with each team member. She truly loves being a part of the team and enjoys working with all levels and personalities, while learning more about engineering in the water industry.

Thanks for all you do, Chrissie!

Employee Spotlight: Peter Goodwin

Employee Spotlight #2: Today we are shining our employee spotlight on Peter Goodwin. Peter joined Tata & Howard as an Associate in the fall of 2019 and has enjoyed his time thus far helping clients to solve problems successfully.

With Civil Engineering degrees from the University of Maine – Orono and Northeastern University, Peter’s passion for infrastructure planning, design, construction, and system operation/maintenance has spanned across nearly four decades and four firms/organizations. Peter is Past-President of the New Hampshire Water Pollution Control Association along with being State Director for the Maine Water Environment Association (2012-2015).  He is involved in several NEWEA, NHWWA, NHWPCA, MWUA, and MEWEA committees and has developed many professional relationships through the experience.

Since joining T&H, Peter’s favorite project has been the construction of the New Hampton Road Water Main Improvements for the City of Franklin, NH. While challenges presented themselves in the face of a pandemic, it was great to see the project completed under budget with two miles of additional roadway reconstruction negotiated with the general contractor and NHDES SRF Program.

When he’s not completing water, sewer, stormwater, and environmental consulting projects, Peter enjoys golfing, playing hockey, skiing and traveling. Some of his favorite trips include a post college cross-country trek in a conversion van with his best friend that allowed for visiting family and touring National Parks, as well as skiing in Austria, and exploring Italy.

Thank you for all you do, Peter!

T&H Awarded ACEC/MA Engineering Excellence Award

ACEC/MA Announces Tata & Howard, Inc. as a winner of Bronze Engineering Excellence Award for their work on the Home Farm Water Treatment Plant

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA) has named Tata & Howard, Inc. as a winner of their 2020 Bronze Engineering Excellence Award for their work on the new Home Farm Water Treatment Plant in Shrewsbury, MA.

The 2020 Engineering Excellence Awards were recently announced and will be celebrated at the 2021 ACEC/MA Engineering Excellence and Awards Gala. The awards celebrate innovation, ingenuity, and excellence in engineering achievement.

Tata & Howard, Inc. provided lead engineering services for the design and construction administration of the new 7.0 mgd Home Farm Water Treatment Plant in Shrewsbury, MA. The new plant, which replaced an aging facility built in 1989, provides the Town with the ability to treat more water, remove elevated levels of manganese, and produce stable water quality. The project reached Substantial Completion on schedule and was completed within budget. The plant is the largest biological pressure filtration facility in the northeast United States.

Founded in 1992, Tata & Howard, Inc. is a 100% employee-owned water, wastewater, and stormwater consulting engineering firm dedicated to consistently delivering innovative, cost-effective solutions in the water environment. Tata & Howard has gained a solid reputation as an industry leader in the Northeast by bringing knowledge, integrity, and dedicated service to all-sized markets, both public and private. The firm has offices in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Arizona. For more information, visit http://www.tataandhoward.com.

“The Engineering Excellence Awards program recognizes engineering firms for projects that demonstrate a high degree of achievement, value and ingenuity,” said Jenn Howe, President of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts and Principal and Vice President at SMMA, Symmes Maini & McKee Associates. “Entrants are rated by an independent panel of judges from the architectural community, the construction industry, academia, the media, and the public sector on the basis of uniqueness and originality; future value to the profession and perception by the public; social, economic and sustainable development considerations; complexity; and successful fulfillment of the client/owner’s need, including schedule and budget. We congratulate them and thank them for their contributions to improving the quality of our everyday lives.”

About ACEC/MA
The American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA) is the business association of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island engineering industry, representing over 120 independent engineering companies engaged in the development of transportation, environmental, industrial, and other infrastructure. Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Boston, MA, ACEC/MA is a member organization of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) based in Washington, DC.  ACEC is a national federation of 51 state and regional organizations. For more information on ACEC/MA, visit their website at www.acecma.org. ACEC/MA is undertaking an awareness campaign to educate the public on the many contributions engineers make (or the engineering innovations) in everyday life through their hash tag #EngineeringGoFigure. To Follow us on Twitter:  @ACECMA

Patrick S. O’Neale, P.E. named President of MWWA

MARLBOROUGH, MA, NOVEMBER 06, 2019

The Massachusetts Water Works Association (MWWA) announced that Patrick S. O’Neale, P.E. has been appointed as President of the Association, effective November 1, 2019. Patrick is a Senior Vice President at Tata & Howard, Inc., a Northeast leader in water engineering and consulting.

O’Neale is a seasoned engineer with more than 38 years of consulting experience with specialized expertise in water treatment, water distribution system analysis, design, and construction. Patrick has served on the MWWA Board of Directors since 2015 and has been a member of the Program Committee since 2010 where he most recently served as co-chair. He is looking forward to serving as President and assisting in MWWA’s commitment to the drinking water profession. Patrick’s Presidency will promote the new MWWA Vision Statement of professionalism, stewardship, and confidence in every drop.

“Tata & Howard has a longstanding relationship with the MWWA, and we are pleased to see Patrick take on this exciting new role with the organization,” says Paul Howard, Co-Founder and Senior Vice President of Tata & Howard. “Patrick’s passion and unwavering commitment to promoting clean and safe drinking water to the Massachusetts community will be a true asset as he assumes this position.”

The Massachusetts Water Works Association, Inc. is a membership organization dedicated to the advancement of the drinking water profession. Through education and advocacy, MWWA is committed to public health by promoting a safe and sufficient supply of drinking water to Massachusetts consumers.

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Founded in 1992, Tata & Howard, Inc. is a 100% employee-owned water, wastewater, and stormwater consulting engineering firm dedicated to consistently delivering innovative, cost-effective solutions in the water environment. Tata & Howard has gained a solid reputation as an industry leader in the Northeast by bringing knowledge, integrity, and dedicated service to all-sized markets, both public and private. The firm has offices in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Arizona. For more information, visit http://www.tataandhoward.com.

Click here to view full press release.