Features
The 25 – Taryn N. Williams
A senior project manager for the engineering firm Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Taryn N. Williams likes crawling around old buildings, understanding how they work and what their problems are and advising their owners on how to take care of them.
She also likes teaching and mentoring others and providing an environment where new professionals can grow and thrive.
A civil and structural engineer, Williams has worked on scores of projects over the last 20 years, ranging from St. John’s Church in Washington, D.C., and Arlington National Cemetery Amphitheater in Virginia to the War Memorial Veterans Building in San Francisco and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia.
Although her initial interest was in architecture, she segued into civil engineering and decided to focus on historic preservation after a summer internship doing condition surveys of buildings in New York City.
In her writing and speaking engagements, she educates clients, colleagues, industry professionals, and the public about the technical aspects of historic preservation.
She’s the president of the Association for Preservation Technology International and the past president of the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California.
“We will always have existing buildings,” she says, “and they will always need repairs over time. The future involves using both traditional and new technologies and materials to extend the life of the buildings and improve their performance. The future involves developing more efficient ways to track information and report it. The future involves diversifying the profession to include historically underrepresented people–there are still not enough women or people of color in leadership positions. The future involves better ways of connecting and sharing technical knowledge with other professionals, through professional organizations and other networks, to make the best technical information more accessible to professionals around the globe.”
