Tracy Adamski Exemplifies Excellence in Planning and Building Company Culture
Celebrating Women Making an Impact in the AEC Industry
By Regina Sibilia
Vice President Tracy Adamski always laughs at the concept that as a Certified Planner her specialty is being a “generalist.” At the core of her work she focuses on environmental and land use planning and permitting, while also guiding clients through the regulatory environment and how regulations influence project design and construction.
While she has become a leader as a planner at Tighe & Bond, her original interest in STEM was through aerospace engineering. But a realization about the state of our environment changed her mind while she was looking at colleges.
“I realized we have to take care of our home planet and a better focus would be to improve Earth’s environment. So, I took a circuitous route through civil engineering, planning, and environmental law. The planning aspect is where I found all these things connect. I could use my technical mind in the realm of regulations to understand how we can protect our environmental resources. We need infrastructure to support development, and we can strive to design and construct it in the most environmentally sensitive way,” said Tracy.
Working as a planner for the last 25-years Tracy enjoys that she always works on a variety of complex projects that aid infrastructure. She feels a sense of pride knowing her work ensures a reliable electrical grid, safe drinking water, and clean wastewater and stormwater, all of which are critical to healthy communities. She finds helping clients work through challenges and helping our staff develop into better leaders equally rewarding.
“When I work with students or employees who are beginning their careers, I explain that engineering and environmental science is a pretty broad field so it can mean different things to different people. At Tighe & Bond, I am a resource on projects when younger staff come upon uncommon issues on a project so we can work together to give the best advice to a client,” explained Tracy.
Mentorship was an important part of Tracy’s career when she started out, so she is always looking for a way to pay it forward. She encourages others to take on new challenges like she did.
“Take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. You never know where they will lead you. Even if you don’t think you can do it if you try you will learn something along the way and might be surprised at what you can accomplish.”
While she is known for her mentorship and expertise, her commitment to building on the firm’s culture takes center stage. She is the current Chair of the Diversity Equity & Inclusion Committee at Tighe & Bond, which is focused on racial justice, equality for the LGBTQIA community, STEM volunteer opportunities, and issues facing women within the AEC industry.
Collaborating with her colleagues on the committee, they are digging into the root of these issues. The group is working with DE&I focused organizations to learn how to help change the lack of diversity in the hiring pipeline and reach a diverse pool of young students to spark an early interest in STEM. The committee is also working to create safe spaces for employees to connect with each other through roundtables and employee resource groups.
“I believe that having a diverse workforce and allowing people to come to work as their authentic selves is important for us to continue as a company and support our employees. We want to show that these issues are important to our firm, our staff, our clients, and our community.”