Women in Construction: Maria Davila
Maria Davila
Ohio Department of Transportation
NE Regional Outreach Manager
4.5 years in the industry
Maria R. Davila joined the Ohio Dept. of Transportation in August of 2015 as a Regional Outreach Manager for the Office of Outreach in the Division of Opportunity, Diversity and Inclusion. In this capacity, Ms. Davila is responsible for Minority, Women and Small Business Outreach for ODOT Districts 4, 11 and 12. She has also taken the lead for ODOT youth initiatives as a mentor through the ACE Mentor Programs in Akron and Cleveland. Before her time with ODOT, Ms. Davila spent over a decade working in the Hispanic community, both as an Executive Director of a Cleveland Community Development Corporation and on the board of The Spanish American Committee for a better Community. Ms. Davila began her outreach career at the Cuyahoga County Recorder’s office, where she served nearly five years establishing relationships and assisting the community with understanding property documents as well as living-wills and durable powers of attorney for healthcare. Ms. Davila holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Ohio University and an International Master of Business Administration from Baldwin Wallace University. She also volunteers to aid active and discharged service persons with entering civilian business. She was recognized as a 2014 Cuarenta/Cuarenta (40/40) by the Hispanic Round Table in conjunction with Kaleidoscope magazine. In 2018, she was awarded the Ohio Dept. of Transportations TOPS Award for Diversity Connections.
What brought or attracted you to the construction industry?
The challenge of helping businesses understand and successfully conduct business with the Ohio Dept. of Transportation.
What do you like most about your work?
When a business that I’ve been working with shares a growth marker with me (be it hiring a new employee, buying a new piece of equipment, getting their first highway contract), I get to celebrate those successes with them, and sometimes it’s due to a resource I provided.
What would you like to see change within the construction industry?
The change I would like to see in the construction industry, is more “newer” subcontracting and small businesses have more real opportunities on a larger variety of work.
What advice would you give to other women interested in construction?
The advice I would give to other women interested in construction is “Any time is the best time to join the Construction industry, go for it.”
Describe the kinds of opportunities in construction available to women?
It is difficult for me to describe the kinds of opportunities in construction available to women, as I see ALL opportunities in construction being available to women.
What can be done to attract more women to construction?
To attract more women to construction, I believe we need to start younger in exposure, recruitment and development of young ladies, specifically elementary school.