The Moss Department of Construction Management is a proud host of She Builds, a summer camp where 13 to 18-year-old girls in South Florida are introduced to the diverse and exciting career of construction management. Their experience is enhanced through hands-on activities, industry guest speakers, and the use of innovative technology.
The 2021 She Builds camp will include an industry guest panel.
Meet the 2021 Panelists:
Angela T. Messam
Managing Partner, Messam Construction
Bio:
With years of construction management experience, Mrs. Messam has been the soul of our company’s success. After graduating from Florida State University, with a degree in Management Information Systems with a minor in Computer Science, Angela has provided high level business consulting for many Fortune 500 companies such as Bank of America, SunTrust, PNC Bank, First USA, American Express, Citibank Puerto Rico, and many other industry leading institutions.
As partner of Messam Construction, Angela oversees the company’s strategic expansion. She also oversees various aspects of construction management including, human resources, contracts and the firm’s information technology systems. Under her leadership, Messam Construction has recently won, in association with our partners, some of South Florida’s most exciting projects including Galaxy Elementary Modernization Project Construction Manager @ Risk (Pirtle). This project is registered LEED Platinum and will be the first Platinum public K-12 project in the Southeast United States.
With her LEED AP®, BD+C credential by the United States Green Building Council, Mrs. Messam has demonstrated her knowledge of promoting sustainable construction principles in projects. This unique qualification, as a principal, adds to her ability to provide executive leadership on any project seeking LEED Certification.
In her spare time, Mrs. Messam is very involved in her community. Her passion is giving back, and she enjoys being a motivational speaker and mentor to young girls throughout South Florida. Mrs. Messam proudly serves as an advisory board member for YMCA and other non-profit organizations. She is also an active servant at her church The Fountain of New Life, a past Board of Director for the Sunset Lakes HOA and is a Life Member of the Florida State University Alumni Association and the Florida State University Black Alumni Association. Angela is committed to helping her community and the communities our firms serve.
Lucia Soria
Owner and President, Ram-Tech Construction
Bio:
Lucia Soria is the owner and President of Ram-Tech Construction, a general contracting firm that has been servicing South Florida since 1998. Ram-Tech specializes in site development. Managing the full site scope while self-performing all demo, earthwork, water, sewer & drainage construction. Ram-Tech’s strength lies in its diversified and interdisciplinary team that offers integrated and innovative solutions. We have the experience and comprehensive knowledge of our scope of work from our field operations to our managing service and overall expertise in site construction and customer service. Ram-Tech’s approach is in establishing partnerships and delivering personalized customer service from pre-construction to post construction.
Lucia has been an active member of the National Association of Women in Construction, Miami Ch. 41 since 2010 and has served in a variety of leadership roles to include President and Vice President. She sits on the WE Team for Pace Center for Girls. She participates on the Advisory Council for the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability and is currently the Chair-Elect for the South Dade Chamber of Commerce. Lucia has served as a guest speaker in promoting the construction industry as a viable career path for all and empowering women to enter the various skilled trades and become financially independent.
Lucia’s most important role is that of wife to Ramon, her husband of 39 years, mother to her two most amazing children, Carolina and Ramon Andres and grandmother to Dominic and Gabriela.
Finally, she lives what she preaches and motivates all women to:
Believe in Ourselves as Women
Persevere with the Strength of our Convictions
Dare to Move into New Horizons
Rebecca Sacks
Talent Acquisition Manager, Lennar Corporation
Bio:
Rebecca Sacks is currently the National Talent Acquisition Manager for Lennar Homes, one of the largest national homebuilders in the United States. Lennar operates in 22 states and over 59 popular real estate markets. She has been a Lennar Associate for almost 4 years, beginning her tenure as a Regional Recruiter within the largest Homebuilding Region with a primary focus on high-volume sales and construction recruitment and later being promoted into a national role, overseeing recruiting support across Lennar’s full family of companies and locations. Rebecca is also an AIRS Certified Diversity Recruiter.
Rebecca contributed to the development and growth of the National Talent Acquisition Team, systems and processes now in place today at Lennar, experiencing a 180% growth. She enhanced the organization’s event recruitment strategies focused on Construction and Sales Talent and has been instrumental in developing a collegiate recruitment strategy.
Rebecca graduated with a degree in Travel and Tourism Management from Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. With the events of 9/11 impacting the tourism industry, Rebecca spent the first 11 years of her career in Retail Management before pursuing a career in talent acquisition. As a manager of a large retail chain, she was responsible for a high level of customer service and identifying top talent for her team, so recruitment was an easy transition.
More recently, Rebecca has had the opportunity to support growth at Lennar through the development of unique recruiting strategies focused on the construction industry, coaching and training new Talent Acquisition Associates and partnering with Organizational leaders on business alignment and creative solutions to the recruitment of top talent.
In her spare time, Rebecca enjoys reading a good book either by the pool or ocean and lounging around with her 2 cats and dog.
Sasha Seco Alvarez
Vice President, Moss
Bio:
As Vice President of Moss, Sasha provides strategic direction for the innovation, development and implementation of enterprise business applications, intelligence, processes, and other business initiatives to support growth.
Sasha got her start in the construction and engineering industry as primary qualifier of her father’s structural shell company, managing various projects of complexity and size, and today has more than twenty years of experience, as a recognized leader in the AEC and construction IT fields.
She joined Moss in 2005 as a project engineer, to manage multiple construction projects and went on to lead the company’s 2010 legacy database migration. This allowed her to use her technical construction experience and leadership skills with her passion for building smarter through technology.
Sasha earned a Bachelor and a Master of Science in Construction Management from Florida International University and is a licensed general contractor for the state of Florida. She also has an Executive Master of Business Administration degree with Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Sasha holds leadership positions in several business organizations such as Moss Foundation, Kellogg Real Estate Alumni Network and Florida International University.
Shellie Ransom-Jackson
Owner/Qualifier, Benchmark Construction Consulting & Management, LLC
Bio:
Mrs. Shellie Ransom-Jackson has over 20 years’ experience as a Florida Certified General Contractor and the distinct honor of being the first African-American Certified Building Official in the State of Florida. Mrs. Ransom-Jackson obtained a master’s degree in Public Administration from Nova Southeastern University. She currently serves on the Salvation Army of Miami Advisory Board and the Construction Trades Qualifying A Board. She is an active member of the National Association of Black Women in Construction (NABWIC). After more than 17 years in public service, Mrs. Ransom-Jackson transitioned back into the private sector as the managing member of Benchmark Construction Consulting & Management LLC an African-American Woman-Owned global construction code consulting firm specializing in Federal, State, and Local development construction processes. She is an expert in the application of construction regulations and techniques.
FIUCM alumni will serve as hosts for the industry guest panel.
Meet the 2021 co-hosts of the industry guest panel:
Kanishque Todman
Document Control Specialist, GT Construction
Bio:
Kanishque Todman graduated from Florida International University with a bachelor’s degree in Construction Management. She has 2 years of experience working in public sector projects from pump stations to wastewater projects. She currently works at GT Construction where she is part of the consultant team. Kanishque is presently a Document Control Specialist on various construction projects at Miami Dade South District Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Sara A. Jimenez
Senior Associate/Operations Manager (Miami), B+P Architecture, Southeast
Bio:
Sara Jimenez is currently the Operations Manager for the AECOM Business and Places practice at the Miami office. AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services thought the project lifecycle – from planning, design, and engineering to program and construction management. During her 16-year tenure with AECOM, Sara has worked on all project phases, from design through construction administration and project management on a vast number of projects from educational, healthcare, hospitality, commercial and mixed use.
From the beginning of her career as an Architect in Mexico, Sara had an invested interest in construction and as such, she works hand in hand with architects, engineers, and construction professionals, emphasizing the discipline interrelations during the construction phases.
Born and raised in Mexico, Sara attended Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in architecture. Short after starting her career in Mexico, she was assigned to job sites overseeing construction of residential projects. In 1999 she moved to Miami, where she attended Florida international University while working as project architect for interior design projects. She attended Florida International University and although Architecture was a natural path forward, where she obtained an MS Construction Management.
Sara is an AIA International Associate and active member of Women in Architecture, Miami Chapter. Sara takes on every challenge at work and outside, being an avid triathlete, runner and 2 times Ironman finisher. She lives through the words of Ayn Rand, “the question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.”