Celebrating Amazing Women Near You

Just this week, we celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8^th. March is also the beginning of National Women's History Month. In honor of the contributions of hard-working women everywhere, we wanted to highlight a few fabulous women who happen to work at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project whose daily contributions ensure the success of this critical project. 

Eunice Lee, Field Engineer, Sukut Construction

As an alumna of the UC Irvine Civil Engineering program, Eunice has been working on heavy civil construction projects since 2010.  As part of the contractor’s team, Eunice is a field engineer who specifically oversees the installation of geotechnical instrumentation and the permanent power system for the future replacement dam.  Eunice truly enjoys being a part of this team working with so many experts and experienced individuals to build something great. 

Karene Salaam, Project Controls Analyst, Black and Veatch

Staff who make important contributions to the project don’t always work in the field. We have a team of people whose task it is to track project costs and spending. On a job the size of the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project, this is no simple task. Karene Salaam is part of the Construction Management team and oversees the preparation of cost reports, progress charts, manpower plans, equipment and material costs and project schedules.  Her careful review and analysis ensures the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has close financial oversight of all project spending by the construction contractor and the subcontractors.

Carrie Dovzak, Geologist, Environmental and Naturally Occurring Asbestos Compliance Monitor, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)

Carrie Dovzak has worked for the SFPUC for 10 years, the last 6 1/2 of it working on Sunol Valley projects. It is Carrie's job to monitor construction activities to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and protections. She studied geology after traveling the world with her family - a perk of her father working for Pan American Airlines. After graduating, she mapped landslides in Northern Italy before returning to the U.S. to join her family. She continued her studies in Engineering Geology and Environmental Education at San Jose State and Hayward State. "Everyone should take a few classes in geology, you see the world in a completely different way!" she insists.

Ritu Gyawali Giri, Senior Engineer, Piping and Pipeline, Sukut Construction

Ritu Gyawali Giri is part of the outlet works team. She and her team focus on the new piping and pipelines that allow the SFPUC to take water out of the reservoir to our customers. She began in the construction industry in 2002, as a Site Engineer in Nepal. She has worked on projects all over the world, from Asia to Africa to the United States. Ritu relishes working through the geographical and environmental challenges to build the new Calaveras Dam. She is delighted to be a woman engineer working at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project.

Women in Construction

March is Women’s History Month and across the nation we pay tribute to the generations of women whose commitment to improving the world around them have proven invaluable to society. Right here at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project, there are some outstanding women who are not only excelling in the construction profession, but are helping to protect the water supply of 2.6 million customers of the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System through their extraordinary efforts. 

Project Manager Susan Hou, P.E.
Susan Hou is our fearless leader here at the Calaveras Dam Project. As the Senior Project Manager, she oversees all aspects of the largest project in the $4.8 billion of Water System Improvement Program (WSIP). She has over 20 years of experience in the water and wastewater industry including leading multi-disciplinary teams of engineers, environmental professionals and construction managers in the planning, design, environmental permitting, and construction of dams, reservoirs, treatment facilities, fish passage facilities, tunnels, pipelines, and pump stations.  Her attention to detail has helped steer her team through some challenging issues.

Collette Frawley – Maintaining Quality Assurance

We are fortunate to have Collette Frawley as part of the Construction Management team. Collette is a registered Civil Engineer with Kleinfelder. Collette’s primary responsibilities at Calaveras Dam are to ensure every step of construction for the replacement dam is in compliance with the design and technical specifications. She oversees quality assurance staff who inspect and monitor construction activity on a daily basis. During her spare time, Collette serves as an engineering mentor for a local high school as part of the Architecture Construction Engineering (ACE) Mentor program and as the Practitioner Advisor for the San Jose State University American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). 

Shary Truong, Dragados / Sukut/ Flatiron Joint Venture

Shary Truong has served as the Field Engineer at the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project since January 2012 for the General Contractor (DFSJV). Shary recently coordinated and managed the construction of the new Spillway Bridge for the project. On a daily basis, Shary performs quality control on work that is completed, maintains a construction schedule with over 4,000 activities, reviews inspection reports for accuracy and completeness, and develops mitigation cost and time impacts due to any unforeseen conditions at the project. Shary reviews and verifies construction plans to ensure they are in compliance with project contract specifications. Shary also plays an important role at the on-site concrete batch plant, where she helped develop the concrete mix design for structural work at the dam. Shary hopes to inspire future women engineers in the Construction Industry and to help build a better community overall.

Shary Truong (far left), Susan Hou (center), and Collette Frawley (far right)
tour guests at the Calaveras Dam Project