Mischa Haramia on mentorship and raising awareness
March 31, 2023 | Blog.011 | Sarah Woynicz
Mischa Haramia (she/her) is a Venue Sector Entertainment Practice Director and Principal at Henderson Engineers. She has over 35 years of experience and has worked on iconic venues such as SoFi Stadium and YouTube Theater. Mischa and I connected last year as Henderson Engineers’ People Resource Group, UNITE, was planning and preparing for a Pride Month panel discussion. We caught up this month with the opportunity to hear more of Mischa’s story, how she got into engineering, changes she has seen in the industry, and the importance of support from companies and leadership.
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Thank you for being a part of this today. I would love to start by hearing about your story and how you got into engineering?
MH: For me, I got into this business back before CAD. I love to draw, paint, and art. I saw a technical program about drafting and thought, “Well gosh, you could get paid to draw? What a neat thing to do.” I got into this business back when it was a very cis-white male dominated profession, more so than today. I had every intention of starting out in this business and then going to school. When the opportunity came to be on a job site, I discovered that I loved the construction side of things. I am an active person, so I could get to climb around and do a bunch of stuff. After that, I just never got back to school. I took a bit of the hard road and started out by getting a job out of technical school, drawing and drafting mechanical systems. It gradually progressed from there, but more on the industrial side of things. However, I got bored with industrial projects and had the opportunity to go work with an AE firm - Keller B Beckett - who was looking to start MEP systems engineering in Kansas City for sports venues. I was like “that sounds really fun, that sounds interesting.”
YouTube Theater | Photo ©Bruce Damonte
It evolved from there - from being engaged in the design to project management, taking more of a leadership role in the work. All the time, adding business development in as well. I discovered that I had an aptitude for project management, despite being an introvert. I really enjoy getting to know people, those one on one connections that you do not always get to make with people. At the time, that is where I tended to thrive, all the while living as a cis-white male.
Around about the time the pandemic hit, I had some opportunity to reflect and see that I was ready to come out as transgender. Also, around the time of the killing of George Floyd, our company - Henderson Engineers - centered more of a focus on DEI efforts than before. We created People Resource Groups, and one of them was the LGBTQ People Resource Group. As a part of that group, we had this thing called Fabulous Fridays where people were sharing their coming out story or if they were an ally, sharing about friends or family and the impact on them. It felt like a bit of a safe space. Eventually, through this series of coming out, I reached out to my boss and said, “We need to talk.”
SW: And your boss was receptive, Henderson as a whole has been embracing and supportive of your journey?
MH: Yes, they have. When I came out, I think that someone said, “We are relieved you are not quitting.” I had a fairly client-facing role in the project management and business development work I do. It was frankly quite scary. Henderson Engineering was supportive. We worked together to craft a letter to the clients. It was really heartwarming and still touches me.
SW: It sounds like it was a lot of space and intentionality, as well as the opportunity for a company to learn and actually show up to walk with you.
MH: It is amazing. They are not perfect, I am not perfect. I feel like the company’s heart is in the right place. We all have blind spots, and recognize that. So that is kind of my story in a nutshell.
When thinking about visibility within engineering, you are the first person in engineering, adjacent to architecture, sharing your story through Pride by Design. I am curious about any observations on where the industry has been and where you have seen change occur in engineering - as well as any vision or hope for continued change?
MH: From where it began in the 80s, it was very much a cis-white male culture with very prevalent sexism. Anybody who was different was looked down upon, comments made behind their back. In the early 2000s, I started to see a bit of that shift. Today, DEI is still very much an employee-led intention. Back then, it was even more employee-led without (then) a lot of the major backing of management and leadership of the company. I think that has been a recent shift - a recognition and a backing by the leadership of the firm. I am seeing a lot more recognition, not only on the architecture side. Architecture as it relates to diversity is in front of engineering firms, but it is recognized at engineering firms and even on the construction side of things.
I think where I would like it to head is (I am going to refer to my notes because I took some notes and want to make sure I get this out) increased awareness from a company and leadership on how to support LGBTQ folks in the workplace. Especially now with a lot of anti-LGBTQ and anti-trans legislation, there is a perceived lack of awareness of those additional pressures that we face. Even though many are outside of the workplace, and even though people may try to separate the two, you can’t help that there is some carry over between those two environments. I think a recognition of that would go a long way. I would love to see more vocal support and allyship from the companies themselves, and the leadership of the companies. I would also love to see more LGBTQ representation in senior leadership - honestly. While that does take time, it also takes being intentional about building that pipeline.
SW: And I think also ensuring there is a place in the profession for people to thrive. Are companies providing a growth trajectory - from benefits and policy to mentorship and professional development - that is equitable and inclusive? We have to keep people in this industry or senior leadership is going to continue to look the way it has for the last 50 years. We have to ensure we are creating a space and opportunity where that can change.
MH: Right, exactly. A lot of companies, my sense is, do not have a formal mentorship program. Let alone one supporting people from different minority groups. How do you get there when you don’t even have a program in place as a baseline?
Can you share more about how you have gotten involved in the DEI Leadership Network and a national conduit for community?
MH: It was kind of two different things. First, my involvement with Build Out Alliance here in Southern California. The first year we kicked off the LGBTQ pillars at Henderson, we looked at all the different things we could do. What about pronouns in email signatures? How about the HRC’s Corporate Equality Index? A few others and I raised our hand there. We went through looking at all the different companies that scored 100 on that - and asked “Which ones of these are our clients?” One of those was Turner Construction. With the work that I do, I have a lot of interaction with Turner, which put me in contact with Matt Hyde in New York. He shared how Turner scored 100, and shared about Build Out Alliance based in New York. They were looking to expand to California and I said I would be interested in helping in California. A year later, I get an email from Eric Schwartz that they are ready to start it up. It has evolved from being a steering committee to get off the ground, and now we have a Northern California and a Southern California group. There are a lot of ideas, but also realizing we have to walk first before we can run. So that is how I got involved in that.
The Diversity Roundtable was a thing of looking at some of our key clients - one of which was HKS - and asking what can we do to align? We always talk about sustainability, asking what our clients are doing related to sustainability and what can we do to support them? We elevated DEI to that same level. I wanted to learn more and Yiselle Santos Rivera introduced me to the DEI Network. I have been involved in that now for a little over a year. Also since that time, we have hired Jenn Miller, who’s role solely focuses on DEI at Henderson.
What does belonging in the workplace look like for you?
MH: I think feeling empowered to bring your full, authentic self to work to feel free and honest. And when those uncomfortable moments happen that you feel safe enough to bring them up to bring them up to those folks as a way of raising awareness. Making sure too that there is equal access to health care, facilities, and resources, and the opportunity to bring attention to gaps to those making the decisions within an organization.
SW: Yeah, there is a lot of choice in this. In getting a bit uncomfortable a company may be able to grow towards a more equitable and inclusive practice.
MH: Yes, at least in my experience.
SW: Henderson’s email signature includes a link to Henderson’s public website that shares why Henderson is including pronouns in their email signatures. I have never seen anything like this from a company. It is very real - it uses this as a moment to educate and share “why.” When you talk about building trust, where people can belong and ask questions, this seems so simple and yet so powerful.
MH: It is a really easy thing to do. It was one of the first things when we started this group that we as a company did. There was a whole lunch and learn session around pronouns, as well as an email and intranet post. Then we rolled it out.
SW: When you can harness not just the what but the power of the why, people might be able to begin understanding the importance.
MH: At Henderson, it is not a mandatory thing, but for me personally when I see those, it signals an understanding and a willingness. I feel just that much a little bit safer in that environment in knowing that, feel a little less guarded around that individual.
Any insight or advice you have learned over the course of your career that you would like to share?
MH: Knowing from where I was before I came out to where I am now, what helps me a lot of times is that I know I am a much more engaged, productive, creative employee because I am able to be authentic. That helps me going forward. I have even had people comment on that, that they have noticed the positive change. It is tough. People are only going to do what they are willing or want to do. I cannot put my expectations on them or it will drive me nuts. What is someone willing to do? Incremental change is hopefully taking place and occurring, even if a little slow.
SW: Seeing those who are just now entering the profession gives me hope that incremental change might be accelerating.
MH: Yeah, I think so too, I hope so too. Including and having people with diverse perspectives and diverse backgrounds is needed. This business screams for creative people. We have a lot of challenges ahead of us and having people with that creativity, those diverse perspectives will help.
