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Lifetime Achievement
Alison Davis

Executive director of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Oregon

Early in her career, Alison Davis worked for a market research company that did a lot of political polling. She then joined the corporate communications department at Thrifty PayLess, where she honed her government affairs expertise even further.

鈥淚 found that work interesting. We worked on legislation at both the state and federal levels, and issues involving legislation that helped chain drug stores. Those business types of issues really resonated with me and I liked working on legislation that helped the company succeed,鈥� she said.

When Davis attended her first legislative session 1993, it was her first time to step inside the state capitol building. 鈥淒uring that time, I learned much about the legislative process that I didn鈥檛 really know before,鈥� she said.

Davis began working for ACEC Oregon in 1996 as its assistant executive director. She was named executive director in 1998 and has seen several significant changes in the industry over that time. 鈥淚 really enjoy working on the many political issues that we鈥檝e had over the years at ACEC. When you鈥檙e able to pass or defeat legislation that鈥檚 very rewarding,鈥� she said.

A major milestone for the industry occurred with Qualifications-Based Selection, the first version of which was passed by the Oregon Legislature in 1997. QBS allows public project owners to hire professional design firms based on their qualifications and competence in relation to the scope of the project rather than having to hire based on the lowest bid.

Over the years, ACEC Oregon has worked to strengthen QBS and make it more inclusive, extending it beyond state agencies to include more local governments. When a threat to the law arose in 2019, ACEC Oregon partnered with the League of Oregon Cities to initiate a new QBS process that Davis said is working well for engineering, architecture and other design firms across the state.

ACEC Oregon boasts 120 member firms and represents about 5,000 employees. Davis said she has seen more women joining the organization and the industry as a whole, noting that reaches to top leadership positions in ACEC member organizations across the country and at the national level.

鈥淲hen I first started it was not uncommon for me to be the only woman in the room for a committee meeting,鈥� said Davis, mother of an adult daughter. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen many more women attending our meetings and younger women. We now have three women on our board and that鈥檚 the most we鈥檝e had at one time.鈥�

The COVID-19 pandemic brought its share of changes as well. 鈥淚t was a scary time to go completely virtual. For basically two years we made all of our in-person meetings virtual, and it was a success,鈥� she said.

ACEC Oregon鈥檚 Legislative Committee continues to meet virtually because it is more convenient and allows more people to attend and be involved from other parts of the state. The organization has found that the virtual format works well for its educational programs, too.

As she marks her 25th anniversary as executive director, Davis is proud of the chapter鈥檚 annual Leadership Development series, which involves seven outreach programs that have been successful in helping young engineers become managers and go 鈥淔rom Doer to Leader.鈥�

It also sponsors a scholarship program for incoming college freshmen who are engineering majors, and provides $3,000 a year for each of the four years they remain one. Currently, five students are receiving scholarships.

Another annual highlight is ACEC Oregon鈥檚 Engineering Excellence Awards program and dinner, which Davis described as 鈥渁 great showcase for our association and the work of all our member firms.鈥�
ACEC Oregon President Tonya Finley has worked with Davis for more than 20 years and says her dedication to the engineering community and its partners has been unwavering in the many opportunities and challenges that have presented themselves over the years.

鈥淪he works tirelessly to address the needs of our industry, not only in the state of Oregon but she is known at the national level as an expert in her own right. I consider her a trusted colleague and also a friend. I can鈥檛 imagine ACEC Oregon without her as the executive director,鈥� said Finley, manager of contracts and risk management at David Evans and Associates Inc.