A Blueprint for Equity

About the Show

A Blueprint for Equity, a podcast powered by SSOE Group, is dedicated to exploring challenges, uncovering opportunities, and celebrating successes surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the AEC and related industries. Come along with us on our DEI journey as we bring together a collection of thought leaders, educators, subject matter experts, and technical professionals to discuss key issues and approaches to constructing a more inclusive AEC community.

Learn More About SSOE’s DEI Journey

Listen to the Podcast

Each episode will explore the challenges and opportunities facing the AEC industry as we strive to create more equitable and inclusive environments—from job sites to conference rooms. Our guests will share their perspectives on key issues and help us understand how we can advance DEI practices in and around our industry. Listen here or download wherever you get your podcasts.

Introducing: A Blueprint for Equity

Introducing: A Blueprint for Equity, a podcast powered by SSOE Group

Host of A Blueprint for Equity Candice Harrison introduces the podcast and outlines its purpose in this promotional trailer. Candice shares her background prior to joining SSOE as the firm’s first-ever Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

In 2020, the pandemic hit and kept us all at home and in front of our TVs. As incidents of violence against humanity and national unrest were increasing, so was the need for companies to begin to explore how they could do better. That’s where Candice’s transition to DEI began. Today, she helps our organization understand where we are as a company and rethink messaging to better connect with and relate to diverse audiences.

In this promotional trailer, Candice explains how DEI at SSOE is a continuous journey—not a destination or box to check. As we look forward to a workforce that reflects the populations we serve, we’re moving from an “initiative” mindset to a culture where DEI is already built in.

Episode #1: Cultivating a Climate of Diversity in Higher Ed

In our inaugural episode, host Candice Harrison has the exciting opportunity to speak with three DEI leaders from three different universities residing in three different regions of the U.S. It feels fitting to begin our first episode by focusing on the education system because we know that, as a society, if we’re going to be successful in building a diverse workforce, we have to start at the societal level to increase diversity and equity in our communities and our educational systems.

In this episode, we welcome…

Dr. Lesley Berhan, Associate Dean of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement and Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Toledo College of Engineering in Ohio.

Dr. Ece Erdogmus, Professor and Chair at the School of Building Construction at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

Dr. Shaz Vijlee, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Portland Shiley School of Engineering in Oregon.

All three guests will discuss what they’re doing at their own respective organizations to increase access and underrepresentation in the fields from which we draw our talent.

Episode #2: Constructing a Culture of Racial Equity

In our latest quarterly episode of A Blueprint for Equity (our second to date), host Candice Harrison sits down with Dr. Melvin Gravely, CEO of Triversity Construction and author of Dear White Friend—a must-read book about the realities of race, the power of relationships, and the path to equity.

Mel and Candice discuss equity versus equality, race relations, and some of the ways his Cincinnati-based commercial construction firm has diversity built right into its brand (right down to the name and right up to the top). They also explore the power of empathy, intentionality, and getting the AEC workforce to look more like the world in which we live. Spoiler Alert: We also announce an exciting giveaway, so be sure to tune in! And, you can download Mel’s free Dear White Friend Discussion Guide that he references in this episode here.

Episode #3: Amplifying LGBTQIA+ Voices in Design

In our latest quarterly episode of A Blueprint for Equity (our third to date), host Candice Harrison talks with Sarah Nelson-Woynicz, AIA, Project Architect and Associate at HKS, Inc.—an architecture and interior design firm—and Founder of Pride by Design.

A seamless blend of personal and professional, this conversation explores Sarah’s dedication to the inclusion and visibility of LGBTQIA+ architects and design professionals. She shares her experience growing up in Raleigh, going to college in Virginia, and landing in Atlanta where she’s built a very successful career in the AEC industry.

Today, she feels empowered in her day job where she has the space and safety to outwardly embrace her identity as a lesbian and is supported by her colleagues. Through the years, she admits she’s been met with some resistance along the way but has now found a place to thrive and aims to help others do the same.

About the Host

Candice Harrison joined SSOE Group in 2022 as the Director of DEI—the first person to hold the position at the firm. In this role, Candice is responsible for developing programs and solutions that further foster an inclusive work environment at SSOE, an internationally ranked architecture and engineering firm.

Reporting directly to the CEO, she’s led the implementation of SSOE’s DEI vision, helps develop compelling and inclusive messaging, and creates aspirational goals, plans for change, and an ongoing in-depth assessment of our DEI initiatives. She continues to implement actionable strategies across all of SSOE’s business processes—including talent management and acquisition, performance management, procurement, leadership development, and more.

In her hometown of Toledo, Ohio, where SSOE has been headquartered for 75 years, Candice made a name for herself in various communications leadership positions at the city’s public school district and nationally acclaimed zoo. She’s built valuable relationships across the community thanks to her involvement in organizations like the local African American Leadership Council of United Way, Rotary Club, Diversity Equity Access and Inclusion Alliance, and others.

Candice holds a Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership from Spring Arbor University, and a Bachelor of Art in Communication and Public Relations from the University of Toledo. She was the 2014 recipient of Leadership Toledo’s 20 under 40 Leadership Award and Top Community Voices Award and, most recently, the 2023 recipient of the Community Service Award from the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs Maumee Bay chapter.

Since 2016, Candice has been a member of The Links Toledo Chapter, an invitation-only volunteer service organization committed to enriching, sustaining, and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other people of African ancestry. She has also been a member of Delta Sigma Theta—a historically African American sorority founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community—since 2018.