WE USA

Women of Influence Spotlight – Mary Jo Miller

Mary Jo Miller is the Director of Environmental at Colas Inc., the corporate office of Colas USA. Mary Jo has been a part of the Colas USA Family since 2000 and has worked as an Environmental Coordinator and Environmental Manager.

Read more about Mary Jo through the following spotlight.

Describe your role to someone who is not familiar with the construction industry or Colas USA.
In my role, I am responsible for ensuring we are in compliance with all environmental regulations for both our construction projects and manufacturing facilities.

What has been your favorite project so far?
I have had several favorite projects throughout my career while working at HRI, Inc. However, one of them was a project we had in 2013/2014 in Maryland. It entailed the removal of an existing dam then the restoration of the stream to its natural setting. To complete this project, we needed to have a Stream Restoration Specialist approved by the state of Maryland onsite during restoration activities. It was very costly for the budget to hire a specialist to be onsite for a long period of time. Therefore, the project manager asked me if I could meet the requirements to become an in-house specialist. I had to take a class and educate myself on all the details of task. It was definitely a challenge, and I had to spend a significant amount of time onsite, but in the end, it was very rewarding to see the finish project be successful.

What drew you to working within the construction industry?
I grew up in the construction life because my father was a crane operator, and my grandfather and uncles were all heavy equipment operators. When I went to college, my father encouraged me to work as a laborer/flagger for 2 summers to help pay for my tuition. Then prior to my Junior year of college, I was told that HRI, Inc. was looking to hire an intern to aid in the permitting requirements for 3 additional asphalt plants they acquired. I applied and was given the internship. After I graduated, I started full time with HRI, Inc. I honestly didn’t plan to pursue a career in the construction industry, it just truly fell into place for me and always felt like a natural and fitting position.

What motivates you to wake up and go to work every day?
My wonderful husband and 3 beautiful daughters are my biggest motivators. Providing for them and being able to give them a healthy and secure upbringing has always been my reason for working. My other main motivator is the people I work with. I work with wonderful and amazing people. Many have become friends, and we rely on each other to complete our projects. Many of my colleagues are working very hard every day to provide for their families as well. I always want to make sure I support them with environmental issues so that their jobs or projects are never held up or burdened by my performance or lack thereof.

What’s something most people don’t know about you?
Most people don’t know that I bake and decorate homemade cakes for all of my family celebrations.

From her nomination:

“Mary is steady as it goes and is the expert in her field and position. Her knowledge and her word are as good as gold when it comes to all Environmental Management issues. When she makes a statement, you can take it to the bank. Second, she always delivers the results as expected and without exception. She is well respected and is considered the “GoTo Person” regarding Environmental Management in our company. Her work ethic and get it done attitude is a positive influence on our employees. Mary is a person of Integrity. Fundamentally, she is an authentic honest person with strong moral principals in her work and personal life. She is tenacious about getting the job done. She always delivers results. I also believe she views things as a constant evolution, meaning that change is a constant. Her level of adaptability is appreciated by all. All of these together speak loudly to our employees which allows her to be very influential with all of our employees and especially management in the organization.”