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Our Los Angeles team teaches Girl Scouts about STEM and sustainability for Women in Construction Week

At Skanska, we are committed to growing the next generation of leaders by showing youth—especially girls who are underrepresented in the construction industry—new career path options. In honor of Women in Construction Week, which was held from March 1 to 7, our Los Angeles, California team joined forces with the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles to host 25 high school-aged girls at our Skanska office.

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1 / 2 In celebration of Women in Construction Week, our Los Angeles team joined forces with the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles to host high school-aged girls at our Skanska office.
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2 / 2 The Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles participated in Stretch and Flex.

A true OneSkanska event, Commercial Development, USA Building, and USA Civil all participated to share our experiences as women in real estate and construction, The team kicked off the day-long session with Stretch and Flex, followed by a presentation about Skanska, our projects, what we do as developers verses builders verses civil engineers and a jobsite tour of one of our largest downtown Los Angeles Civil projects, the Regional Connector Transit project.

Playing off the reality competition TV series LEGO Masters, the girls then took on the Skanska challenge to build for a better society. With a $250,000 budget, a Skanska coach, and a goal to create a project that would improve their community, these young ladies slipped on their developer and builder hats and got to work, designing and building their mission based development. Each team presented their plan and was judged based on budget, design, creativity and project purpose. The winning team created  a sustainable co-op, feeding their local community with clean, sustainable products, while providing outdoor space and green transportation options.

They concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Clare De Briere, Executive Vice President for Commercial Development, and included representatives across all business units: Director of Accounting Danielle Siringo (USB), Senior Project Manager Jenny Walker (USB), Development Manager Lauren Acosta (CDUS) and Project Manager Cela Gallagher (USC). The panelists covered a range of topics, including how to pursue sustainable design through construction, the differences between architecture and engineering, and why they joined the construction industry.  

“It is vital that we support young leaders, especially young women, and this was the perfect opportunity to provide leadership and support for kids that are interested in joining the AEC industry. We had the chance to showcase our unique career paths and show that there are a million different ways you can be a part of our industry,” said Clare De Briere, executive vice president.

The group finished the day off 1,000 feet above downtown LA with a ride down the Skyspace Skyslide, a 45-foot, fully enclosed, all-glass slide on the exterior of our new Los Angeles office.

Last updated: 3/9/2020