Mr. Howard Elliott

Engineer of the Year

Lisa Rowell is a Civil Engineer for the City of Cincinnati, just one of the roles she has held where she has been able to forge a path for women in STEM. Ms. Rowell started her journey as a co-op student for the City of Cincinnati. Subsequently in 1987, she graduated as the first African American female Civil and Environmental Engineering student from the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and assumed a fulltime role with the city. Her initial work was in structures where she designed bridges and retaining walls, eventually becoming the first female bridge inspector. In 1995, she left the city and joined Infrastructure Services, where she became the first female partner and entrepreneur, until it closed. Keeping with that spirit, she opened a marketing firm, Interactive Marketing with a focus on clients in the construction business. Shortly, thereafter, she collaborated with a start-up DARTEC Solutions and together they were awarded the opportunity to be a part of the Cincinnati Public School Master Building Plan. She was assigned the Program Manager opportunity. In this role, she provided marketing services, as well as civil and structural quality assurance for design plans. Ms. Rowell did this for several years but has since returned to the City of Cincinnati. As a city employee, she is very involved in promoting STEM for employee children. Proudly, Ms. Rowell is a member, mentor and advisor for the Cincinnati Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. In her spare time, she is an avid golfer, having golfed all over the United States.

In addition to her degree in engineering, Lisa is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Ohio and holds a Certification in Construction Engineering from ACI.