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Julie Greb

Project engineer

Stacy and Witbeck

Julie Greb holds the distinction of being the first woman project manager at general contractor Stacy and Witbeck.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have many women engineers,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o our company sets up mentoring and it leads to better professionals.鈥�

Diversity in the workplace is something that Greb has been conscious of since she graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in 2000. There were few women in her classes at school. Then, as a tunneling contractor in Chicago, she noticed that the projects she worked on had few women involved.

Greb transferred to Portland in 2002 to work on the West Side Combined Sewer Overflow tunneling project for the city鈥檚 Bureau of Environmental Services.

鈥淚t was a completely different atmosphere,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hrough networking I came on board at Stacy and Witbeck.鈥�

Greb has not lost interest in paving the way for other women in her profession. She serves as treasurer for the Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. board of directors. She also is a board member of the Portland bureau that handles noise issues.

鈥淭he traditional prospects for women in construction (are) limited, mostly because of an antiquated way of thinking,鈥� Greb said. 鈥淲omen have proven that they can do what is needed. I never really thought about it. I just did what I needed to do. I realized that it was about the job, not whether or not I was a woman.鈥�

As a general contractor working mainly on heavy civil and transportation-related projects, Stacy and Witbeck has offered a supportive environment, with an eye toward increasing the number of women working on its projects, according to Greb.

鈥淲e鈥檝e set up for mentoring internally, paying attention to women and recognizing them as essential members of the team,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 like being an advocate for women in the trades.聽 High-paying, emotionally satisfying jobs are out there, and women are just as capable as men to do those jobs.鈥�

Greb has been lead project engineer on four light-rail and streetcar projects in Portland, including the upgrade projects on the Steel and Broadway bridges. Her experience extends to mentoring as a member of the mentoring staff for Portland field engineers and summer interns in Stacy and Witbeck鈥檚 Portland office, as well as mentoring several small businesses in the construction trades.

鈥淥pportunity is not only where you find it, but what you have access to,鈥� she said.