Page 40 - BusinessWest October 31, 2022

testing commercial properties for hazardous materials and overseeing cleanup, asbestos management in schools and offices, brownfield redevelopment, indoor air-quality assessments, and geotechnical engineering, a broad term encompassing everything from helping developers assess how much force and weight the ground under a proposed structure can stand to determining the strength of a building’s foundation and surrounding topography.
“I want to set us up to
the next transition, and that means giving people the skills to manage and lead — not just engineering skills, but all those other things that have to happen. Communication is a big thing we work on, and so is trust.”
“I enjoyed working for a small company, working directly with the principals,” Sullivan said, the third being Kevin O’Reilly. “I learned a lot. I also enjoyed working in my own community. It’s been fun over the years driving around the
neighborhoods, whether
I go to Baystate for a doctor’s appointment or
a library, or take my kids to a park, and see projects that I worked on. Rather than working on a high- profile job in another city, I really liked that the jobs were near where I work.”
The other positive experience — one that would later color the kind of president she would be —was being allowed
a flexible schedule when she started a family in 2005.
“That was not industry-wide; it’s just
not something that was offered,” she explained.
“I went down to 24 hours with my first daughter, and I stayed there until they were both in school, then went to 32 hours. But I was still allowed to progress in management.”
That was the key, she said — being able to have work-life balance without sacrificing future opportunities.
“It’s a two-way street. I got some flexibility, but there was accountability and good communication, and I would try to be available when I absolutely needed to; my kids went to some job sites. That was something you couldn’t easily find at other
Ashley Sullivan performs a phase-1 dam inspection.
engineering firms. And I also kept progressing; I was allowed to manage projects and manage staff that way. So that kept me going here, to the point where we transitioned.”
In fact, when the three founders started talking about the next generation of leadership,
Sullivan
Continued on page 48
40 OCTOBER 31, 2022
A PROGRAM OF BUSINESSWEST Women of Women of IMPACT
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Dietz & Company Architects Congratulates the 2022 Women of Impact!
A special congratulations to our friends, Aelan Tierney and Ashley Sullivan. Your success is an inspiration to other women in the A/E/C/ industry!
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CO. Architects
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