Jilma Jiménez (third from left in the front row) has held multiple leadership and corporate positions throughout her 30-plus-year engineering career.

Four weeks after she joined Jacobs, she was tasked with transitioning a team of 400+ to remote working due to COVID-19. Her expertise steadied the $120 million operation during deep uncertainty.

Weeks later, as the nation faced a racial reckoning after George Floyd's murder, Jiménez helped colleagues establish a diversity and inclusion program for a division spanning eight states, five time zones, and various persuasions.

Within seven months of hire, Jiménez ascended to lead a $235 million, 800-staff team. Her team increased revenues and profits while maintaining the lowest staff attrition in the region.

She's also led large multidisciplinary teams in the design of more than $1 billion worth of infrastructure projects in Washington State alone. Now VP market strategist for People and Places Solutions, Jiménez assesses organizational performance to build competitive advantage and supports senior executive decision-making.

Jiménez is an adjunct professor at Seattle University's Graduate Engineering Program and mentors, early career professionals.

"What I cherish most are the moments when I learn that my service and leadership have inspired others to succeed," she said in her acceptance speech for the Managerial Leadership Award at the 2022 Women of Color STEM gala this fall. "Perhaps that's because I almost became a high school dropout after a school guidance counselor diminished me. But my family had other plans. So I stand today on a foundation inspired and shaped by my parents, grandmother, and my siblings—the unit on the side. This award is a validation of your sacrifices and a realization of our dreams. I'm thankful to God for this blessing and to the many who inspired and supported me in my career. To inspire is to serve," she said.