Lisa Brothers, PE, LEED AP BD+C, vice president and chief operating officer of Nitsch Engineering, became the president of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA) on July 1. Her presidency follows many years of involvement in ACEC/MA, and reflects her dedication to advocating the business interests of the engineering industry and ACEC/MA member firms.
Brothers has been involved with ACEC/MA since 1988. She has held a number of committee and leadership positions, including as a member of the Transportation Agencies Liaison Committee (2000 - 2006); a director-at-large on the board of directors (2002-2007); and a member of the membership committee (2007 - 2010). For the past year, as Brothers has served as the president-elect, she has also served as the chair of the government affairs committee, which promotes the business interests of the engineering industry to the Mass.State Legislature, state agencies, regional and local public authorities, members of Congress, and business organizations.
Brothers's involvement in the engineering industry has not been limited to ACEC/MA. In 2006, Brothers was chair of the transportation and construction task force on the Mass. Governor's Appointment Project (MassGAP). She has been involved in the Women's Transportation Seminar/Boston Chapter (WTS Boston) since 1990, serving as their president from 2003 - 2004; she is now a member of their advisory board and chair of the public art committee. Brothers also served on the Boston Architectural Center (BAC) board of overseers from 2005 - 2008. She is a member of the Chancellor's external advisory board at University of Mass.-Lowell.
A number of professional organizations have recognized Brothers's contributions to the industry. She was named the WTS Boston 2008 Woman of the Year, was selected a Top Ten Boss in 2007 by Women's Business Boston, and received the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section/ASCE's 2004 Citizen Engineer Award. In 2003, Brothers received the Francis Academy Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award from the University of Mass.-Lowell College of Engineering.
Founded in 1960, ACEC/MA (www.acecma.org) is a trade association dedicated to assisting members in achieving higher professional, ethical, business, and economic standards to provide quality consulting engineering services for their clients that assure public health and safety. ACEC/MA is affiliated with the nation-wide ACEC, a federation of 52 member organizations, with over 5,000 member firms employing over 180,000 people, which design more than $100 billion per year in capital projects.