Meet the women overseeing construction at Lock 3 in Akron

Have you seen all that earthmoving and construction at Lock 3 Park in Akron? It’s being managed by two women.

On the $17.5 million Lock 3 renovation project, Kathryn DeMuesy is project manager, and NeShaunda Lockett is chief inspector, which DeMuesy said means they’re administering and inspecting all of the site construction, including quality assurance and quality control.

That’s oversight of the ironwork, electrical, plumbing, landscaping and everything else, said DeMuesy, director of construction at Anser Advisory.

“In fact, it's kind of unique having both NeShaunda and I on this project together because a lot of times, I'll be on a project and I'll have maybe one or two women in the trades on projects, and that’s it,” DeMuesy said.

In 2023, women comprised only 10.8% of the U.S. construction workforce and 26.3% of the workforce in “architectural, engineering, and related services,” according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Since construction began at Lock 3 last year, multiple workers and managers with general contractor Kenmore Construction and numerous subcontractors have performed site work, DeMuesy said. While she said it’s hard to determine how many men total have been and will be on the site, there are sometimes about two dozen workers out there at a time. She counted a handful of women physical laborers on the project.

“Let’s get more women out here,” DeMuesy said at the Lock 3 job site last week, following a “topping off” ceremony for the park’s Maynard Performance Pavilion.

Lockett, construction inspector at Anser, is relatively new in the industry, having joined after graduating from the University of Akron in 2022. She and DeMuesy both studied construction engineering technology at UA.

“Me just being a single mother and coming into this industry, it was a little bit intimidating,” Lockett said. “And I didn't see a lot of women in college that looked like me, or women in general, in my courses.”

Lockett said obtaining real-world experience through co-ops while she was still in college helped her prepare for her career.

And since she’s been working under DeMuesy, Lockett said she has been able to navigate the industry a little more easily.

“It just gives me hope that we'll see more improvement in the future,” Lockett said.

Other women leaders involved in the Lock 3 project

Dan Rice, president and CEO of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition (OECC), is one of the primary facilitators on the Lock 3 project, a collaboration between OECC and the city of Akron through the Akron Civic Commons initiative funded by multiple donors and organizations.

Rice said the project wouldn’t happen if it weren’t for Lockett and DeMuesy.

He also highlighted that multiple other women are serving in leadership roles on the renovation, including city Development Engineering Manager Michelle DiFiore, OECC Communications Coordinator Kayla Metzger and Cindy Sanders and Jamee Kominsky with contracting design firm Olin Studio. And he cited the successful fundraising efforts of donor committee representatives Becky Considine, Summer Hall, Catey Breck, Chris Yuhasz and Toby Gorant.

As far as female laborers on site, DeMuesy said they include an ironworker, a concrete finisher, a concrete testing consultant and an electrician.

DeMeusy said she specifically requested the concrete finisher, who works for Kenmore Construction, for her skillset in the area.

“And she’s out here finishing concrete, which is awesome,” DeMuesy said.

The importance of women in construction, engineering and the trades

DeMuesy and Lockett are the only two Anser employees working full time at Lock 3, while others have helped with cost estimating and scheduling, said Jim Weber, who’s also in a director of construction role at Anser.

“This is good work, and it's not an exclusively male business,” Weber said of construction, adding that girls and young women should be encouraged to consider it as a fulfilling career.

Rice said diversity ties in with the four principles of the Akron Civic Commons, which is part of the nationwide initiative Reimagining the Civic Commons: Value creation, socioeconomic mixing, environmental sustainability and relationship-building.

“It’s important for us that we demonstrate diversity because what I've learned over the years as a white privileged male, and I mean that truly, [is] that I have advantages that other people don't have,” Rice said. “And if we don't open up opportunities for everybody and if people don't see themselves in those positions of responsibility or power, then they don't think they belong.”

Lockett, who’s from Akron, said she would like to see more women in the industry.

DeMuesy, originally from the Columbus suburb Westerville, said she has been working in the construction industry for nearly two decades. So far, she said, that’s included 11 years of “working in, around or for the city of Akron.” About 15 years ago, she worked in West Virginia.

Over the past roughly 20 years, she said she’s “seen an increase of women in the trades, as well as women in construction and engineering.”

DeMuesy said that while many women might not be aware of opportunities in these fields, it’s important that more of them join.

“I think women bring a very unique perspective to the industry — attention to detail,” DeMuesy said. “I think that there's more growth for women in these industries, for sure.”

Patrick Williams covers growth and development for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at pwilliams@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @pwilliamsOH.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 2 women managing Lock 3 construction in downtown Akron