Women in Construction Week™ 2022

March 6-12, 2022

We’re proudly celebrating Women in Construction Week™ (WIC Week™) this March, founded by the NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction). This annual celebration has an important purpose - to educate and celebrate women in construction. However, this year’s theme of “Envision Equity” really spoke to our team, since many of us working at FOS don’t have a “typical” role in construction but absolutely still play an important part.

This year, WIC Week™ is promoting a wide range of roles in the construction industry, including tradeswomen, project managers, administrative, and business ownership. At FOS, we’re a small but mighty firm employing nine fearless females (pictured below) who help us solve our client’s problems every day. Here’s a little bit about each of the women who are a part of our top-notch team:

Cindy Ruggiero, our marketing coordinator, has been with FOS since it was founded in 2009. She spends almost every summer weekend with her grandsons (and husband) at various go-kart racetracks across the country. She’s also perfected the recipe for fancy, over-the-top “freak shakes” aka a milkshake on steroids.

Darra Kubera, our director of communications, has worked in the architecture/engineering industry for the past eight years. With her master’s degree in public relations and her bachelor’s in marketing she’s able to leverage her experience to help clients imagine new possibilities. She’s also a fast-talking vegetarian with a love for all things Disney.

Hillary Frisbie is fairly new to the FOS team. With her master’s in facility management from Pratt Institute, and over a decade of experience in construction project management, she is a successful program manager for our job order contracting (JOC) software, Simplebid™. She has been involved in establishing the Women in Facility Management (WIFM) NYC chapter, as well as the Capital Planning Committee for the League of Women’s Voters of Greenwich, Connecticut.

Software Leader Kara Mecomonaco is the go-to FOS software installation guru. By coordinating our software development and support teams, she’s able to ensure our software support and report deliverable resources are continually available to our clients. By providing training, implementation, and integration for our software, Kara works with clients to ensure we meet their needs and provide project success - all while juggling her one-year-old toddler!

Kathy Rieger, our office manager, ensures our operations run smoothly - handling contracts, travel, budgets, and staff. When she’s out of the office, you can usually find her at happy hour or spending summers with family at a cottage on Lake Ontario.

Content Marketing Specialist Kelly Sheldon has over twelve years of grant writing experience working for a variety of organizations, including writing for several non-profits in the Western New York region. Outside of the office, Kelly spends her time gardening, running, and practicing yoga. She also hosts an overnight program once a week on WNED Classical.

Rachel Czarnecki, an administrative assistant, wears many hats on our team. A SUNY Fredonia graduate, she has a wide variety of experiences- from working at a newspaper, in organic foods, to pool construction management. Outside of work, Rachel enjoys camping and hiking.

Architectural Assessor Sarah Bergstrom is experienced at providing architectural/engineering consulting, and holds a master's of architecture degree, a certificate in construction management, and a bachelor's in industrial design. Sarah’s also a humanitarian, having served the survivors of Hurricane Sandy as a Construction Analyst for the Office of Disaster Assistance.

Shannon Chmura, our human resources business partner, owns recruitment, data analysis, process improvements, and employee engagement for our team. She spends her free time riding horses and perfecting her part-time photography business.

Cindy, Kathy, & Darra have a laugh in the Buffalo office.

Kelly, Rachel & Shannon working together in Buffalo.

The core purpose of NAWIC is to “strengthen and amplify the success of women in the construction industry.” We’re grateful to this organization for celebrating and bringing together accomplished women in our profession.

FOS strives every day, not just during this week, to encourage and support women employees and women interested in construction careers. Want to join our team? Check out all of our open positions on our careers page!