Staff and Officers

Executive Director

Yvonne Thurman-Dogruer


Yvonne brings to the WBC an entrepreneurial spirit and years of organizational management expreience.  Identifying with the MWBE community, she most recently owned and operated her own specialty food retail business with a large customer base in New York and New Jersey. Until 2008 Yvonne was Director for Administration at the Center on Japanese Economy and Business, managing the oldest and largest research center of Columbia Business School.  Her non-profit experience started in 1998 while working at Japan Society, and prior to that Yvonne was International Programs Coordinator for the Central Office of the City University of New York, where she managed a grant project which afforded over 100 CUNY students from low-income households to participate in overseas study programs. 


In 1994–1995 Yvonne taught English to junior and senior high school students while living in southern Japan. In 2002 she received her Master of International Affairs degree with a concentration in International Finance and Business from Columbia University. Yvonne received her B.A. in English Literature from the City University of New York.

President

Cheryl McKissack Daniel

 

Cheryl McKissack Daniel is President and CEO of The McKissack Group, Inc., and has more than 20 years of experience in construction industry. Born in Nashville to Architect William D. Berry and Teacher, Leatrice McKissack, she represents the fifth generation of the McKissack family's century old business, McKissack & McKissack, the oldest minority-owned design and construction firm in the nation. 

As President and CEO of The McKissack Group, McKissack Daniel provides executive leadership on numerous high profile projects and ensures that diversity is implemented throughout each phase of a project or program.


She serves on various boards, including the Philadelphia Authority of Industrial Development and the National Liberty Museum Board, where she was honored as a 'Hero of Liberty' for her support of humanitarian initiatives and for promoting the responsibilities of a free and diverse America. McKissack Daniel also served as co-chair on Philadelphia Mayor John Street's Transition Committee for Small Business, and is an active member in both the New York Building Congress and Women in Transportation (WTS). She earned both a bachelor and master's degree in civil engineering from Howard University.

Vice President

Sharon Emek

 

Dr. Emek is Managing Director at CBS Coverage Group, Inc., a regional full service insurance brokerage, with locations in Plainview, New York City, Saratoga and West Hampton Beach.  Prior to merging her agency with CBS, Emek was President and Chief Executive Officer of Metro Partners Inc. and President of The Emek Group.

 

As an authority on insurance issues, Emek has testified numerous times before the New York State Assembly Insurance Committee, the U.S. House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee Subcommittees and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. 

 

She received her doctoral degree from Rutgers University and the National Promising Research Award for her doctoral research.  Emek sits on a number of boards, including the Agents Council for Technology, and the Institute for Student Achievement Board.  She served on the board of Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York for ten years and is a past chair.  She is past president of the National Association of Women Business Owners - NYC, a past board member of the Center for Women's Business Research, NYC Mayor's Small Business Advisory Board, the IBM Small Business Research and Technology Advisory Council, the NYC Women's Economic Development Task Force, and a founding member of the National Museum of Women's History in Washington, D.C.

Treasurer

Deborah Bradley


As President of Deborah Bradley Construction & Management, Deborah Bradley fought the bias against women in construction by sheer performance, learning all she could about the MWBE requirements of City, State and Federal contracting, developing her contacts, and the will to succeed-->ndustry. Today, her firm has grown from its modest beginnings to annual revenues of over $14 million.

 

As a business owner, a resident of Manhattan's Upper West Side, and a proud mother of three, Bradley devotes much of her spare time to helping the community through organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America Greater New York Council and Dominican Sunday. She is also committed to teaching and mentoring young women entering the construction industry as well as helping other small M/WBE firms grow and prosper.

 

Deborah Bradley is also involved with a number of worthy organizations in the construction industry, including the Regional Alliance of Small Contractors and the NYC Building Congress. Along with her work with the WBC, she is a member of the board of the North East Regional Director of Women Construction.

Recording Secretary

Porie Saikia-Eapen

 

Saikia-Eapen is Vice President and New York Area Manager of CH2M HILL, an employee-owned global leader in consulting, design, design-build, operations, and program management for government, civil, industrial and energy clients.

 

In 2007, Saikia-Eapen founded and co-chaired the International Engineering and Construction Management (IECM) Forum in Thailand to help bring construction management expertise to South East Asia and to provide a forum for exchange of ideas and partnership opportunities. 

 

Along with her many accomplishments, Saikia-Eapen has been elected a Governor of the New York Building Foundation by the Board of Directors of the New York Building Congress and is also an active member and conferred Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building, the international voice of the building professional, representing an unequalled body of knowledge concerning the management of the total building process. In October 2010 she was made an Ambassador for the United States for CIOB to help continue to ensure CIOB has a prominent and respected voice on key strategic industry issues on a global scale.

 

She received a master's degree in public administration from New York University and has a bachelor's in architecture from Maharaja Sayajirao University in India. In addition to participation with the WBC, Saikia-Eapen is involved with the Construction Management Association of America, the American Institute of Architects, and Women's Transportation Seminars. She is also currently engaged by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences to participate as an industry expert to guide, oversee and manage the development of the CM at Risk Project Delivery Guidelines for Highways and Bridges for State Departments of Transportation.

Corresponding Secretary

Jane A. Chmielinski


Jane A. Chmielinski is Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Officer of AECOM Technology Corp. Ms. Chmielinski previously served as Group Chief Executive for Corporate Development from January 2008 to January 2009, after serving as President and Chief Operating Officer of AECOM's legacy DMJM+Harris operation since October 2005. Prior to that, at DMJM+Harris, she served as Executive Vice President from October 2003 to October 2005 and as Senior Vice President from October 2002 to October 2003. Chmielinski began her career with DMJM+Harris in June 1993.

 

Along with her work with the WBC, she serves on the Mineta Transportation Institute Board of Trustees, the New York Building Foundation Board of Governors, and the ACE Mentor Program Board of Directors. A strong champion for promoting the industry through an educated work force, Chmielinski was an active member of the Diversity Board for the Grove School of Engineering at City College of New York for several years, including a term as Chair. AECOM Technology Corporation is a global leader in professional technical and management support services, also leveraging a distinct global footprint that differentiates us in the marketplace. Today, AECOM has over 43,000 employees serving clients in more than 100 countries around the world and annual revenue grew by 23 percent to a record US$5.2 billion during fiscal year 2008.

 

Chmielinski received a B.A. in Liberal Arts from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. She is currently a member of the ACE Mentor Program, Inc., the Mineta Transportation Institute, the New York Building Congress (NYBC), the New York Building Foundation (NYBF), and is an Advisory Board Member to the Rudin School at NYU.

General Counsel

Lori Samet Schwarz

 

Lori Samet Schwarz is a Partner of Zetlin & De Chiara. She focuses her practice on litigation, arbitration and mediation of construction claims in state and federal court, through the American Arbitration Association and through private mediation. Ms. Schwarz regularly consults with clients on risk management and construction contracting issues and has an extensive background in general commercial litigation. She represents architects, engineers, construction managers, sureties and developers in a variety of construction-related matters, including contract disputes, delay claims, design defects, and work site accidents.

 

Ms. Schwarz regularly delivers construction-related programs for Lorman Education Services and the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter. She served as Supplement Editor (2004 and 2005) for the firm's  New York Construction Law, published by Aspen Publishers.