Being a ‘Power Girl’ in the primarily male-dominated energy industry isn’t always easy, but Colleen Layman couldn’t imagine working in any other industry. She’s the president of one of our media partners, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), one of the largest advocates for women in engineering and technology. SWE has more than 35,000 members across a multitude of engineering disciplines, including the power industry in which Colleen grew up in her career and continues to be involved in today as vice president/director of professional services-engineering at HDR.
We chatted with Colleen about her path in the energy industry and what New York Energy Week means to her.
Tell us about your career path in the power industry.
My career path in the power industry was not a planned one. After dropping out of college, I worked as a power plant operator at a small waste coal burning plant in northeastern Pennsylvania. During that time, I trained to be the plant chemist primarily so that I could have a day-time position and return to school part-time to finish my engineering degree. This deviation in my original career plans turned out to be a great opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience, and also helped me to discover an industry and career that I could be passionate about.
After finishing my engineering degree, I moved from operations into engineering design working for an AE firm designing new power projects. As the industry shifted from the combined cycle projects of the late 1990s to new coal-fired construction in the early to mid-2000s, I was lucky to get an opportunity to follow the development of a new coal-fired power plant project from the very beginning (permitting and preliminary design) to construction and start-up in the field. I developed the initial P&IDs for the project in the office, was involved in the detailed design and equipment procurement for a number of systems, and then relocated to the construction site in South Carolina as first a construction engineer and later a start-up engineer. This experience really brought the entire process into perspective for me – I saw my design come to life and learned a lot about engineering, about power, and even about myself as I managed the craft constructing and commissioning the plant and had to address lessons learned related to my own design in the field.
Shortly after steam blows I accepted an opportunity to return to the office and manage the power water and wastewater engineering group for one of the largest Power EPC firms. My time as a plant chemist years ago inspired me to focus on this aspect of power projects. During my 6+ years with Bechtel, I managed the water and wastewater portions of their power projects world-wide, working on the development, design, construction, and commissioning of a number of coal fired, combined cycle, nuclear, and renewables projects. One of my favorite projects was working on the design of the Ivanpah Solar Project in California. The challenge of achieving and maintaining cycle chemistry on a unit where steam pressure and temperature could fluctuate with the brightness of the sun in the sky was an interesting challenge. Solving these types of problems is one of the reasons I love being an engineer.
About four years ago, looking to try something new, I transitioned from EPC work into engineering consulting and accepted a role with HDR, an engineering and consulting firm headquartered in Omaha, NE, where I have been primarily focused on helping our clients address their water and wastewater challenges in the energy sector. Understanding and addressing the challenges presented by recent environmental regulations such as §316(b), CCR, and ELGs is a large focus of my current role.
What do you like most about working in the power industry?
I absolutely love the power industry – I feel I grew up around it and it’s something that is just so important to me. I love what I do. As I see so many of these older coal-fired power plants retiring, I feel a bit nostalgic. While I respect the change and look forward to the future of our industry, I also appreciate the history that these creations represent.
Often times the general public doesn’t always understand how our industry works and what the people within the power industry really do – they’re out there working days, nights, weekends and holidays to make sure that when you flip that switch, the light goes on in your house. It isn’t surprising to me that so many of the men and women that I have worked with over the years in our industry have also served in the military. The fact that many who once protected our country day and night are now making sure that we can maintain our expected standard of living day and night is a coincidence that hasn’t been lost on me.
You were selected as one of the finalists of the Power-Gen Woman of the Year award in light of your career accomplishments, experience in the power industry and dedication to serving as a role model. What did this nomination mean to you?
Being a finalist of this award meant a lot to me particularly because of the people who nominated me. A young engineer who worked for me and one of my SWE colleagues, who is also in the power industry, were the ones who got together to nominate me. It was like a merging of both parts of my world in some ways! It was really awesome to see them work together on this and getting to know me more as well!
While times are beginning to change, our industry is still very male-dominated. It’s wonderful, however, to see the industry recognizing and embracing the value of diversity and I was very honored to be recognized as a female leader in our industry.
Tell us about your involvement with SWE. How long have you been a member and held leadership roles?
I’ve been a member of SWE for 16 years. I didn’t start as a collegiate, as most of our members do. I actually became a member as a professional.
I’ve served both the Baltimore-Washington and Lehigh Valley sections as treasurer. At the Society level I’ve been a member of the awards, scholarship and finance committees and was deputy director of regions. I’ve also served on the board of directors for 4 years now as director of regions and president elect, and was honored to serve in FY16 as president. I am just about to pass the torch to my fellow SWEster and president elect, Jessica Rannow.
How has SWE helped you in your professional career?
Being a SWE member has so many benefits. The networking and mentorship opportunities SWE offers have been the most valuable to me personally. SWE has provided me with female role models to look up to and mentors to ask advice of. The power industry, in my experience, has generally been quite male-dominated, and sometimes it can be a bit isolating in that regard. With SWE, I’ve been able to find women going through many of the same career and life experiences. And, though they are not necessarily working in the same industry, these women are still experiencing so many of the same challenges as I am working in a technical field with primarily male colleagues and supervisors. Through SWE we have the opportunity to network, share successes and failures, lean on each other for support, give or get advice, and encourage each other to be the best engineer and leader that we each can be, adversity aside.
SWE has also provided me a place to test out many of my professional skills and leadership skills in a safe environment. For instance, the first presentation I ever did was at a SWE meeting. I was able to take the feedback and things I learned from that experience and apply it to my career.
What are some of the challenges that women face as engineers?
In so many ways women still face the challenge of being taken seriously for their accomplishments and their skills in the engineering workplace. The need to prove oneself and your knowledge and skills doesn’t seem to be limited to one discipline or one industry. While some workplaces are more female-friendly because of culture or leadership, it is still a common challenge that women engineers face in the workplace.
I have worked in the power generation industry – in the office, on constructions sites, and in power plants – for nearly 25 years. In my experience, the environment is improving for women, but improving very slowly. I have seen two general trends. First, millennials seem to have a better acceptance of, and even an expectation of, being in a diverse work environment. They have a desire for a better work-life balance than many previous generations – making benefits like parental leave and flexible work schedules, items that were once considered “women’s issues,” into family issues. Also, more male leaders in engineering organizations are recognizing the value of and the need for diverse thinking as a key to success in a fast-paced, global workplace.
How important do you feel collaboration is in the energy industry?
I think the collaboration is really awesome to see, and its key today within the industry. The energy sector has changed quite a bit during my 25 years’ time in the industry. We’re phasing out coal in the industry, and this is where so much of our energy came from at one time. The way the grid operates is changing forcing the way plants operate and how we set our priorities to change as well. Coordination between states is shifting. Environmental concerns are spanning states and countries. No one operates in a vacuum anymore. Energy is global and we need to collaborate with our neighbors and keep having conversations in order to move forward toward a sustainable, greener future where we still have reliable power at a reasonable cost.
