据她所知，盖尔·罗伯茨（Gayle Roberts）的数字总是很好。

“In high school I loved math and science,” Roberts says, “I don’t know why but I wasn’t really encouraged to go into it, even though I asked about it.”

When faced with a lack of options, Roberts made a habit of making her own. There weren’t many female chemical engineering majors at Iowa State University in 1976, but she coached and tutored her chemistry dorm mates who weren’t as adept at the material as she was even though she hadn’t yet decided to pursue that major herself.

她说：“我当时将化学和微积分作为选修课。”“当我与其他女人交谈时，我说有勇气。直到三年级，我什至没有切换专业。仍然有做某事的愿望，但是我花了一段时间才勇于勇于做到这一点，只是因为那时并不多的女人。”

去年夏天她退休后35年的职业生涯h Muscatine, Iowa, consulting engineer Stanley Consultants. She led the firm as its president from 2007 to 2012, its CEO from 2012 to 2017 and served as chairwoman of the board until her retirement. Roberts is a shining example of the difference one woman can make in consulting engineering, including growing a business over 10 years at the top, opening new markets in Africa and creating value for shareholders.

她说：“我认为职业更多是我们在工程方面所能做的所有事情。”“这确实确实改变了他人的生活。我们的一些国际项目，甚至是我们的国内项目。新利18备用网址您会看到建立的东西只是改变了人们的生活。”

罗伯茨（Roberts）被聘为爱荷华州立大学的初级工程师，接受了其他人想要的具有挑战性的任务。

“You have to raise your hand, new opportunities don’t always come your way,” she says.

罗伯茨（Roberts）的前任总裁兼首席执行官格雷格斯·托马普洛斯（Gregs Thomopulos）实际上搬到了非洲几年，当时该公司从事项目的可行性研究等项目，以重建饱受战争tor的利比里亚山咖啡大坝。新利18备用网址新利18备用罗伯茨渴望从事那里的项目。新利18备用网址

“It is kind of interesting, our little company in Muscatine, Iowa, not the first company you would think would go overseas,” Roberts says. “I first started going there in the ’80s when we were working on a new generating plant. There was such a great need for infrastructure. That was really what started our international business. We didn’t have offices in Europe, we just went where the work was.”

Roberts ascended to the role of president in 2007 just before the recession hit the entire consulting engineering industry in 2008. She quickly shifted the company’s plans to ensure that it would survive as an employee-owned company—just as it was when she was hired—and not be gobbled up in the spate of acquisitions that was going on at that time.

“我们是一家会员拥有的公司，我们打电话给我们的员工成员，因此我们可以从公司的长期做出决定。我们有一个非常坚定的承诺，希望保持独立，这就是我的动力。”她说。“在艰难的时期，问题总是是‘我该怎么做才能确保我们保持坚强，我们通过这一点，我们保持独立？’”

斯坦利顾问保持独立，并经历了一家更苗条，更强大的公司。斯坦利（Stanley）在罗伯茨（Roberts）任职期间进入了航空等新市场，并成为芝加哥奥黑尔机场（O’Hare Airport）的主要参与者，并为此变得更加强大。斯坦利（Stanley）去年在ENR中西部顶级新利18备用设计公司的调查中排名第30位。

Throughout, she volunteered her time for industry trade associations to share expertise and promote the work of her fellow engineers.

“Gayle’s service on the executive committee of American Council of Engineering Companies as well as the executive committee of the design professionals coalition has capped a long career wherein she devoted herself not only to superior project execution and corporate development but also to promoting legislation and educational programs that benefit the industry and society at large,” says David Raymond, president and CEO of the ACEC, after Roberts’ two-year term as the ACEC vice chair ended.

罗伯茨还曾在爱荷华州立大学，爱荷华大学，圣安布罗斯大学和没有边界的工程师的董事会任职。Through her efforts to promote women in the engineering profession, Roberts has been recognized with the Athena Award from The Women’s Connection, Upward Mobility Award from the Society of Women Engineers, the Professional Achievement Citation in Engineering (PACE) Award from the Iowa State University Alumni Association, Woman of Influence Award from the Corridor Business Journal, Voice of the Engineer Award from the Iowa Engineering Society, 50% Solution Award from the Iowa Women’s Foundation and an Iowa Women of Innovation Award in the leadership category from the Technology Association of America.

“The quality of leadership that Gayle Roberts provided isn’t just shown by the projects she worked on and what her company did, but how much she gave back to the industry,” said Raj Sheth, chairman of Mead & Hunt, while introducing her at ENR Midwest’s awards breakfast in October, where she received her legacy award.

Now that she has retired, Roberts said she hopes to be able to work more toward the goal of advancing diversity in the design professions.

她说：“我不一定会说我们处于临界点，但是现在多样性的动力比以往任何时候都要多。”“我认为人们的意识越来越大，实际上是对多样性的强烈兴趣。当我说多样性时，我会在最广泛的意义上思考多样性。我相信，如果我们采取这种态度，我们正在寻找各种背景的多样性，那么这会使我们的团队变得更强大。老实说，我认为我们还有很长的路要走，但是至少现在正在发生一次对话。”

Roberts says she will work in consulting, coaching and management during her retirement. Many engineering firms have already reached out to ask about her availability for their boards. She and her husband own a recreational vehicle and are also enjoying seeing the country and spending time at their vacation home in Colorado.

“Mostly, I’d like to do more in coaching women leaders in our industry as well to help them along,” she says. “I’ve got a little bit of that going, and it hasn’t been that long yet. That is what I plan to do to stay engaged for the near term.”