MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: EMILY WHITMAN

Could you tell us who you are and what it is that you do?

I’m Emily Whitman. I am a mom, engineer, and Jaqueline-of-all-trades. I grew up near Crozet but left the area after high school. I just moved back with my daughter and bought a cute little house in Belmont. I work for Elliott Bay Design Group, a Seattle-based ship design firm, as a marine engineer. Ship design is divided into two main disciplines. Naval architects design the vessel's hull form and structure and make sure it doesn't tip over, while marine engineers design mechanical systems such as propulsion driveshafts, piping systems, and ventilation. I have been working for Elliott Bay for just over two years now. It's an amazing company to work for, but the isolation of working from home was starting to get to me. I'm not sure if it's the walking commute, the coffee, or the friendly people, but moving my desk to the coworking space has helped me look forward to coming to work every day, and with fewer distractions than at home, I feel more productive.

What do you love about the work?

A lot of what I do is creative problem solving. I love the "lightbulb" moments when the a solution to a difficult problem becomes clear. After 17 years in this field, there is still so much to learn. 

How did you arrive at this point in your career? What’s your backstory?

In high school, I was really into historical sailing vessels. I spent a semester at sea on a schooner through a program called Ocean Classroom, and the following summer as a junior watch officer on the Gazela Philadelphia, an original square-rigged Portuguese fishing vessel. I went to the Webb Institute for naval architecture thinking I would end up building historical replicas or working at a maritime museum. The Webb Institute sends second-year students to work on merchant ships for a two-month sea term, and I ended up working on an LNG tanker between Indonesia and Japan. I quickly discovered that what I enjoyed about working on old sailing ships applied to modern ships as well. To an outsider, the mess of ropes/pipes/valves/machinery seems like utter chaos, but once you set your mind to figuring it out, everything starts to fall into place and make sense. I shifted my academic focus to marine engineering and determined to spend more time working on ships before getting a desk job. After graduation, I sat for my US Coast Guard license, and spent two years working as an engineering officer on various merchant ships, including a product tanker, a cable-laying ship, and a car carrier.  After that, I finally settled for "desk jobs" at a shipyard, a yacht design firm, a government contractor, and finally my current gig. 

Has there been a light switch moment, a turning point, professionally and or personally, along the way?

There have been a few.  The hands-on experience I gained working on ships still informs my engineering work. Having my daughter was a big personal change and has forced me to advocate for myself and take work-life balance seriously. My industry has a long way to go to support working parents, and I ended up leaving two positions due to inflexible work policies. A third turning point was definitely being diagnosed with ADHD.

 In 2016 I moved to Alexandria, VA for a project manager position. It was my first experience in a management role and although I had done well in school and in junior engineer roles up to that point, it required an entirely different skill set. I couldn't keep up with the emails, the meetings, the document reviews, the questions from support staff. I would stall out just trying to decide what to do next. Leadership was supportive and I was improving slowly, but after two years I was so discouraged and burnt out that I was on the verge of quitting the field entirely. A friend suggested that I might have ADHD. I got tested and was diagnosed a few months later. The diagnosis really gave me a lot of clarity and helped me understand how my brain works. It was like discovering I had been playing the game with one hand tied behind my back all along. I was able to negotiate a new "technical lead" role for myself that still had some management elements, but relied more heavily on my technical skills. I have met so many engineers since who have been diagnosed with ADHD as adults, and I am so glad that neurodivergence and mental health issues are becoming less taboo.   

 What are you currently working on, excited about, looking forward to?

I am working on a feasibility study to convert the NYC Ferry fleet to battery-electric propulsion. If it pans out, it will be a very cool thing to have my stamp on.

Anything we missed that you might care to share (closing thoughts)?

I'm new to the area and between work, parenting, and fixing my house, haven't found much time to meet new people. Making friends as an adult is hard! I'd love to get to know y'all better.  Anyone interested in scheduling a happy hour?

Thanks again, Emily!