Raquel Diaz, Public Sector Area Manager for Gilbane Building Company’s in New York City, has a comprehensive 17-year career in construction, including a total portfolio of $2 billion and 2.7 million SF in project delivery. Over these years, Raquel successfully executed highly complex, transformative projects for multiple clients, including the NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC), NYU Langone Health, New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC), New York City Health + Hospitals, New York-Presbyterian.

Raquel champions diversity, equity and inclusion throughout her work in the industry, including being a strong proponent for the utilization of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs). Under her leadership, public sector projects have maximized MWBE utilization, with 30-60% MWBEs participation on projects. She also serves on Gilbane’s New York City Economic Inclusion Task Force, designed to create more opportunities for MWBEs in construction and as a mentor for Gilbane’s Rising Contractor Program.

Raquel previously worked for six years at AECOM Tishman as a Vice President and Project Manager and for seven years at Turner Construction. She has a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from The City College of New York and is a member of The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), and the Ambassador Council for Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW), leadership committee of NYC Builds Bio. Raquel is originally from Ecuador and has been living in Queens, New York for the last 22 years.