Event Highlights Washington, DC’s Efforts to Grow Infrastructure Workforce

WASHINGTON, DC—On Thursday, the nationwide Engineering and Public Works Roadshow stopped at the DC Infrastructure Academy. The event took place during Infrastructure Week and highlighted Washington, DC’s efforts to grow the infrastructure workforce, led by Mayor Muriel Bowser.

The Roadshow is a joint project from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the American Public Works Association (APWA), and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). It travels the country celebrating successful infrastructure investment projects and inspiring the next generation of engineers and public works professionals.

DCIA was chosen for its unique emphasis on training DC residents for in-demand infrastructure jobs. Launched in 2018 by Mayor Bowser, DCIA is a partnership between the District government and utility, union, university, and private sector partners to create a pipeline to jobs in infrastructure and public works.

During the event, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke about the focus of DCIA to “train our residents for the jobs of the future and the infrastructure of the future” and the expanded impact DCIA will have when it transitions to the newly renovated Spingarn School in 2025.

During the event, ACEC Board Chair Gary Raba commended DC’s work to make infrastructure careers accessible to residents. “To folks who may not have considered a career in infrastructure before today, let me say this: we need you. Our industry has good-paying jobs that make our neighborhoods better, and we want you to join us.”

“As a public works professional, you will help make D.C. more water resilient, more transportation efficient, and safer,” said APWA President-Elect Dominick Longobardi, deputy town comptroller/director of purchasing for the Town of Hempstead, NY. “Let the DC Infrastructure Academy be an inspiration for other cities in America; not just as a way to get people to good jobs but as a way to revitalize communities and improve on them as no one has thought of before.”

“This is an exciting time to be an engineer, but the progress we are making through Congress to address the nation’s infrastructure investment gap will only go as far as our skilled workers allow it to,” said Marsia Geldert-Murphey, ASCE president. “Every project requires skilled, dedicated workers, and there is no more rewarding career than one that improves public safety, grows the economy, and reconnects communities. We are thankful for the DC Infrastructure Academy’s efforts to draw in more professionals to these critical fields.”

Key speakers at the event included:

• Muriel Bowser, Mayor of the District of Columbia
• Jason Washington, Chief of Staff, DC Department of Employment Services
• Mac Cannon, ACEC Metropolitan Washington President
• Gary Raba, ACEC Board Chair
• Tom Smith, ASCE Executive Director
• Dominick Longobardi, APWA President-Elect
• Rodney Chester, ACEC Workforce Committee Chair
• Marsia Geldert-Murphey, ASCE President

The Roadshow initiative, launched in 2022, has traveled the United States spotlighting transformative engineering and public works projects. From critical water improvements in Phoenix, Ariz., to the historic restoration of Main Street Station in Richmond, Va., and the construction of the Eastern Mountain Parkway in Ky., the Roadshow has been a platform to celebrate engineering’s essential impact on communities and advocate for infrastructure investment.