Adriana S. Restrepo, P.E., ENV SP, of Mineola, is a Vice President at D&B Engineers and Architects, a leading civil and environmental engineering and consulting organization.

Ms. Restrepo has over 25 years of experience in the planning, design and development of water/wastewater projects with an emphasis on hydraulic design.

Ms. Restrepo, who joined D&B in 2017 as a principal engineer, works from D&B’s Woodbury, NY headquarters and prior to D&B she was at Hazen and Sawyer, and Black and Veatch.

Ms. Restrepo has served municipal and private sector clients as a key project manager on numerous complex, high-profile, high-visibility wastewater design projects. She supported the planning stages and conceptual design of Nassau County’s program management services to stabilize, design and rebuild the Bay Park Water Pollution Control Plant following Superstorm Sandy.

The $2 billion program also included emergency response and essential repair work immediately after the storm, ensuring that the plant remained resilient.

Currently, Ms. Restrepo is project manager for the design effort on the over $100 million Carlls River Watershed Project for Suffolk County Department of Public Works. Ms. Restrepo is responsible for managing the planning, design and design services during construction of this sewering extension project.

The landmark, multi-year project will remove individual on-site sewer systems for over 2,300 homes and connect them to an existing wastewater treatment plant. This will be a long-term safeguard for Long Island’s groundwater and surface water, and will protect sensitive wetland environments that are a natural buffer against tidal flooding.

In addition, Ms. Restrepo is the design lead for the Huntington Station Hub Sewer Area. This project expands the Suffolk County sewer system to sewer the commercial corridor and allows the development of mixed-used parcels (commercial/residential) in an effort to revitalize the area near Huntington Train Station.

The project will provide sanitary sewers for an approximate 80-acre, highly developed area and connect 225 parcels via a combination of a gravity collection system, a new pump station, approximately 4 miles of force main and existing sewer infrastructure.

It will allow for additional residential and commercial development in the area, boosting the economy through business growth and additional employment opportunities.

Recognized as an invaluable asset to the profession, Ms. Restrepo excels at mentoring and training junior engineers in all aspects of project development and management. Her commitment to assignments and to the needs of D&B’s clients combined with her unparalleled engineering expertise positions her as a top engineer on Long Island and in the tri-state area.

A graduate of Universidad de Medellin (Republic of Colombia) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, Ms. Restrepo received a Master of Engineering degree in Environmental Engineering from Manhattan College in the Bronx.

She is a licensed professional engineer (P.E.) certified in both New York and Connecticut. Ms. Restrepo is an active member of several professional associations including Water Environment Federation (WEF) and New York Water Environment Association (NYWEA).

What are the most significant challenges you have as a woman in your industry?

In some circles, there is a perception that men are better suited for science, mathematics and engineering than women, but as a young student, Ms. Restrepo found her passion for and excelled in these subjects.

She stood out among her peers in her ability to identify problems and develop/implement solutions. With her love of buildings and construction, her devotion to math and science, and her desire to see projects through to completion, the engineering field was a natural and subsequently proven, perfect fit.

Often an unjustified fear of mathematics among young students deters their pursuit of a career in engineering. Ms. Restrepo feels it is vital for students to be exposed to mathematics in a positive way at an early age, utilizing educational approaches that present the curriculum as both fun and interesting, thus engaging students more fully.

Ms. Restrepo believes that enjoyment and passion for a subject makes learning easier and more effective.

As a successful female engineer looking toward the future, she sees that while there are currently fewer women employed in the engineering industry than men, there is a shift with younger generations of women being encouraged and supported as they enter this field.

This is a very positive step forward.