Dulles International Airport salutes our women employees for their contributions.

To commemorate Women's History Month 2021, Dulles International Airport is launching a new series #LeadingTheWay, acknowledging the tremendous efforts of women working in various sectors of the Airports Authority, providing operational support for seamless running of the airport during the pandemic and are now shaping the recovery process.  

 

 Marilou Parayaoan  | Priya D'Souza | Felice Smith |  Laura McKeehan

 

 

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Marilou Parayaoan- Audit Manager, Audit

Role: "As Audit Manager for the Office of Audit, my role is to conduct audits and reviews of business controls to ensure the ethical and responsible financial management of the Airports Authority.  In addition, I am responsible in ensuring that quality is built into the audit process as it is essential to validate and continuously improve the internal audit activity."

Motivation: "I want to set a very good example for my kids in terms of work ethics that there is honor in all work. I am motivated by seeing the results of my effort translate into something that is valuable for the ethical and responsible management of the Airports Authority."

"Women’s History Month for me is a time to remember and honor all those women who have fought for our rights, many losing their lives in the process and to make a commitment to their memory to never give up for equal rights."

 

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 Priya D'Souza - Manager, Financial Systems and Project Management, Finance

 

Role: "As Manager Financial Systems and Project Management, I lead project management activities for the annual financial audit and other external and internal audits within the Office of Finance, and perform a broad range of managerial work in financial analysis. During the pandemic I led the Finance & Procurement Task Force for the Airports Authority Covid-19 Recovery Adaption Plan. This cross functional team was one of four teams that developed recommendations to the Recovery & Adaptation Committee for public safety measures associated with the recovery of the airports following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on the health and safety of our employees, tenants, and customers. The goal was to have a unified approach to recovery for the whole Authority. Some of the areas our task force worked on were Covid-19 supplies & PPE, warehouse stockpiling, and sustainability."

 

Motivation: "My motivation is not to be better than anyone else but better than I used to be. On a personal level, I would love to travel and see the world.  My husband’s hobby is wildlife photography and we have visited all 7 continents. I’d rather look back at my life and say, “I can’t believe I did that” than “I wish I did that”. In the end we only regret the chances we did not take."

 

"Women History Month for me is recognizing the achievements of women in all facets of life, and the vital role they play both in the workforce and in society. The narrative of women and the culture and history they have built is so often left out when discussing the progress women have made. We’ve come a long way since the beginning of industrialization, and the number of men and woman in the American workforce has nearly equalized. Here at the Authority we have many accomplished women. I love this quote by David Alejandro Fearnhead “Life is not a competition among men and women. It is a collaboration”.

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Felice Smith - Associate General Counsel and Ethics Officer, Legal

Role: "I am responsible for guiding our organization to maintain the highest ethical standards while advancing its mission to serve the traveling public. MWAA responds to the COVID-19 pandemic with innovative and swift action, we must all adhere to the organization’s core values and remain vigilant to avoid conflicts of interest or other situations where our impartiality could be questioned. As Ethics Officer, I serve as a resource to help employees avoid inadvertent ethics-related problems as they navigate evolving safety concerns, changed work environments, and other novel issues our airports have faced during the pandemic."

"My focus for Women’s History Month is celebrating representation.  Representation fosters inclusion and builds equity by allowing different voices to be heard.  All women should have the opportunity to see themselves represented at the highest ranks of business, in media, and in our political leadership.Women’s History Month is an opportunity to revel in how much progress we have made in this effort."

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 Laura McKeehan - Project Management Information System Administrator, Office of Engineering

Role:" I am the PMIS Administrator for the Office of Engineering. I configure and administer the cloud-based applications used by the Office of Engineering and its suppliers for work effort tracking, contract management workflows and document archive.  This resource has allowed many in our department to work remotely during the pandemic.

Motivation: "My professional motivations at MWAA are to stay connected with the needs of the Office of Engineering, its suppliers, and stakeholders to support our work efforts using technology.  The goal was, and remains, to work smarter, not harder.  I enjoy the process improvement and establishing requirements efforts most because it allows me to connect with professionals outside of my peer group and gain perspective into their roles within the Authority.  I feel my role is unique because it serves so many contributors into one common source.  Each with their own needs, access requirements, and purpose.  I find the discovery process, configuration, user-acceptance testing, and implementation cycle very rewarding."

"I always reflect on Women's History Month to remind myself and my daughters that someone forged the way to where we are today.  It's now our responsibility to reflect on their accomplishments  and to continue a path forward.  Achieving this requires identifying perceived limits and setting goals beyond them.  If you had asked me what I'd be doing at this age when I was a small child, I can honestly tell you it would have had nothing to do with technology.  Not because it wasn't an interest but because technology and science was "for boys".  My role isn't ceiling shattering but seeing my face attached to my title reminds others that if you can see her; you can be her.  I look forward to a day where I can attend a peer review or professional conference and see a representation of the world's population and all of its genders, skin colors, and orientations."

 

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