Brianna Pinckney ’10-‘12

What she does: Pinckney is the director of business development for Target Building Construction Inc. located right outside of Philadelphia. Previously, she worked at Turner Construction, one of the country’s largest general contracting firms, working on complex renovations and unique new building projects. Now her role is to capture new business for her company. “It’s a great combination of my technical skills and business,” she said. “I really like sitting down and enjoying a lunch with a client and seeing a project go from an idea to developing an amazing infrastructure. You’re proud of your team every time you drive by it.”

Why engineering: As a child in South Jersey, Pinckney took dance lessons in Philadelphia. Three days a week, her parents drove across the Ben Franklin Bridge, a suspension bridge crossing the Delaware River. “I was just so amazed that the bridge was holding us up,” she said. “I was intrigued by its structure. I was curious. I was just so curious.” Her parents sent her to engineering camps at Drexel and Temple universities in Philadelphia, where she also learned that she liked working with people and watching projects develop over time.

Her toughest challenge: “Being a Black woman in a predominantly white male industry has been a challenge my parents prepared me for ever since I was set on becoming an engineer. It was vital that I found my voice and gained respect from my teammates, subcontractors and design team early on to ensure that I was taken seriously and had earned my right to be here just like everyone else. As a leader on site and in the office, I have to be tough with the decisions that I have to make, and I have to make those decisions without a smile.” To navigate her world, she has leaned on advisers and mentors that she has met during her career. “I don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and ask what someone thinks to help me reach the best solution.”

Her engineering passion: Pinckney is enthusiastic about mentoring young women of color, both broadly and individually, working with the National Society of Black Engineers and Brighter Horizons, an organization that focuses on exposing and preparing first-generation students to attend a four-year college or university. “A lot of minority students don’t think about being a scientist or an engineer,” she said. “I really think that’s where it starts.”