Excavate Series – Aliza Skolnik

As our website states, we are awestruck by the people in construction who dare to bring structures to life. These creative visionaries dream BIG and then go about bringing their ideas into reality.

During many conversations leading up to the production of Excavate, we discovered that the industry has been male-dominated, so we were delighted to unearth an inspiring group of women who have forged enviable careers in this sector: engineering, project management, design, entrepreneurial ventures, architecture, environmental sustainability and more.

Our second episode features one of these female superstars, Aliza Skolnik, VP and Director of Operations of ESD, San Francisco. As part of Environmental System Design Inc., Aliza and her team use tech and design to improve society through the built environment. Their work optimizes electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems to ensure a building performs at its best for the people inhabiting it and the surrounding environment.

In this interview, Aliza shares one of the advantages to working in the built environment:

“Being able to see the product you’ve been working on and to actually experience it and walk into it, that’s really sexy.”

It was refreshing to discover that the industry is attracting more and more women, which Aliza believes is due to the growing opportunities for leadership roles. This shift will help to create a more balanced, healthy industry.  

“The female perspective brings diversity and diversity is critical to being innovative.”

We love her advice to women entering the industry: be inquisitive, understand yourself, take risks and make the changes that will lead you down new paths.

Excavate, Beyond Brick & Mortar showcases the stories of influencers who are shaping the future of the built environment and flourishing in the industry. We believe that by seeing the possibilities, new talent can envision and create their future.

We hope you enjoy an inside look at the many facets and personalities of the built environment.

Connect With Aliza

Aliza Skolnik

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS