Construction Champions 2023 | Construction Dive

Jenny Herrera began her career at McLean, Virginia-basd contractor The Weitz Co. as a project engineer and after seven years earned an assistant project manager role. Her “go-getter mentality” along with her perseverance for exceptional performance has made her an up-and-coming leader within Weitz and in the Des Moines, Iowa, community where she is based, her nominator said.

As an eager adopter of new technologies and initiatives, Herrera volunteered to spearhead a companywide program using drones for BIM and VDC coordination and also serves as her business unit’s DEI champion, a role that empowers one individual within each business unit to lead and “champion” new diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Off the jobsite, Herrera participates in Iowa State University’s Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering program’s Graduates Of the Last Decade (GOLD) program, which fosters career development, mentoring and collaborative relationships between staff, students and young professionals. Among other leadership roles, she has served as board secretary for the Central Iowa Trail Association and was co-chair of the Water Works Park Foundation Program Committee.

Herrera’s nominator summed up her diverse background and commitment to excellence this way: “Whenever there is a need to step up to volunteer, lead a committee, become involved or try a new technology, Jenny is the first in line.”