by Marsia Geldert-Murphey
A presentation on the visionary women through the centuries who opened the door for today's female engineers. This presentation is intended to raise awareness of the many amazing women engineers, past and present, and to help inspire others to pursue their dream careers in engineering.
Marsia is the Director of Environmental, Geotechnical and Transportation Services for Gonzalez Companies. She is a transportation executive with over 24 years of experience of directing and supervising civil engineering projects related to transportation, utility capital improvements, rail, site development and federal installations. She is recognized for her negotiation and crisis management skills, serving as quality assurance officer, or in an executive advisory capacity on many high profile projects.
Marsia went to work for the Illinois Department of Transportation right out of college and was the assistant resident engineer for a cable-stay bridge construction project over the Mississippi River. She also served as Condemnation Engineer responsible for eminent domain proceedings. In 2006, she founded and built an entrepreneurial venture from start-up to $8 Million in revenue in five years.
In 2012 she sold the company and took time off to focus on her family and write a book, which is currently being edited. In 2013 she returned to engineering and founded Sequoia Engineering & Environmental which was recently acquired by Gonzalez Companies.
Marsia’s strong sense of community and adventurous spirit was firmly imprinted during her formative years growing up in South Dakota. Always up for a challenge both professionally and personally Marsia competed with a team in the Tough Mudder competition and three weeks later ran the Chicago marathon, one of her craziest accomplishments.
Marsia holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Civil Engineering from South Dakota State University and a Master’s of Science in Civil Engineering from Missouri Science and Technology. She is a licensed Professional Engineer in 15 states. This year Marsia received the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Edmund Friedman Professional Recognition Award for outstanding civil engineering performance and dedication to the civil engineering profession. She is only the second woman to receive this award since its inception in 1960. In 2010 Marsia received the St. Louis Most Influential Woman award for her commitment to the St. Louis Region and her strong presence in the engineering community.
Marsia is married and has 2 children. She finds great joy in serving as a role model to young engineers and hopes to continue to inspire all to achieve their own magnificent missions.
