Society of Women Engineers recognizes Black & Veatch Water leader, Power professional
Cindy Wallis-Lage, President of Black & Veatch’s water business and a long-time advocate for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, has been honored by the Society of Women Engineers. The group chose Wallis-Lage to receive its Suzanne Jenniches Upward Mobility Award, recognizing her leadership of one of the world’s leading providers of water infrastructure.
Adriana Porter, another strong advocate for women in STEM at Black & Veatch, was also honored by SWE with its Distinguished New Engineer Award, recognizing women actively engaged in engineering in the first 10 years of their careers. Wallis-Lage and Porter will be recognized at WE18, the world's largest conference and career fair for women engineers, Oct. 18-20, 2018 in Minneapolis.
Wallis-Lage, the first woman president of an operating business unit at Black & Veatch, is an established STEM leader through her dynamic leadership of more than 100 water projects around the world and longtime advocacy of STEM education, careers and initiatives. In 2012 she served as an executive sponsor for Kansas City’s Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (IGED). IGED’s mission encourages and educates girls who have shown an aptitude in science, engineering, technology and math.
“Helping to illuminate the path for all people in the STEM disciplines is an obligation I take very seriously,” said Wallis-Lage. “The Society of Women Engineers is a vital partner in celebrating and advancing the role women play in connecting our world, improving and empowering our communities and safeguarding our most precious resources. I’m humbled and grateful for SWE’s recognition.”
Porter is a Transmission Line Project Engineer for Black & Veatch whose duties include design and supervision of overhead transmission line projects. Her work involves managing the engineering design throughout the planning, design, and construction of rebuild and rerates of transmission lines. Porter is currently the chair of the Black & Veatch Women’s Network and has also been actively engaged with supporting IGED.
“Looking at SWE’s roster of honorees this year, I’m proud to stand with an impressive group of women making a difference and blazing a trail that will lead to more women in engineering and the STEM field,” Porter said. “Our industry, perhaps more than any other, benefits from diverse backgrounds and perspectives to solve our world’s various infrastructure challenges.”
The Society of Women Engineers, founded in 1950, is the world's largest advocate and catalyst for change for women in engineering and technology. Its annual conference will gather more than 14,000 professional and collegiate men and women in engineering and technology for professional development, education and networking.
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About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is an employee-owned, global leader in building critical human infrastructure in Energy, Water, Telecommunications and Government Services. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries through consulting, engineering, construction, operations and program management. Our revenues in 2018 were US$3.5 billion. Follow us on social media.
