A clear perspective

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It would seem Edith Washington was destined to end up in the construction industry. Her grandfather was a carpenter, and she married a man whose father was a contractor. However, Washington, 55, had other career aspirations as she grew up in Toledo, Ohio.

"I was going to be an opera singer," Washington says. "I was so sure of it that I immersed myself in music in high school. My mother still teases me about it."

Washington, the current Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) president, even went to Philander Smith College, Little Rock, Ark., on a music scholarship in 1966. But she switched to the English department when she was offered an English scholarship in exchange for editing the yearbook.

As an English major, Washington initially was going to go into education because her family wanted her to be a teacher. But she didn't want to commit to education and instead took a variety of courses, including business law.

Washington left school in 1969 to marry her husband, Clarence, forgoing her college degree. Clarence's career took them to Pittsburgh, where he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, then to Birmingham, Ala., where he played for the World Football League. In Birmingham, she worked as a clerk in the technical writing department at Rust Engineering & Construction, which resulted in her growing interest in the construction industry and specifications writing. Washington says her English background and extensive business training helped her make the transition into the design and construction industry.

In 1976, Washington went back to school when she and Clarence moved from Alabama to Little Rock but left midyear to join him in his father's general contracting business. Washington describes her duties at the company as a "Jane-of-all-trades," working with blueprints, specifications, bids, bookkeeping, bonding, accounting, payroll, handling submittals documentation and more. Her interest in the construction industry grew as a result of her heavy involvement in the business.

"But it didn't happen overnight. It was an evolution," she says.

Square one

While working at Rust Engineering & Construction, Washington began to realize how critical writing was to the construction process.

"I saw how paper was involved in the process," she says. "I love to read, and specifications were like a new discovery for me. I dove right in and wanted to learn more. I was fascinated when I saw it took three pages or four pages to describe a restroom partition. I thought, ‘This is terrific. I would really like to be a spec writer. Now how do I learn to do it?'"

Washington's break came in 1979 when her father-in-law's construction business closed. She called architectural engineering firm Blass, Riddick and Chilcote in Little Rock asking about a job as a specifications writer trainee—a title she made up. To her amazement, she got the job. She later obtained her construction specifier certification in 1984.

Washington met one of her mentors, Bernice Crane, while working for Blass, Riddick and Chilcote. Crane was a representative for Denver-based Johns Manville and often called on Washington's firm. Crane's influence led to Washington's attendance at what then was known as the Built-Up Roofing Systems Institute, which became part of the Roofing Industry Educational Institute, where Washington was the only female in her class.

Washington met her primary mentor, Betty Hays, when she interviewed for the position in the specifications department at Blass, Riddick and Chilcote. Hays, who was head of the specifications department at the firm, was serving on CSI's Education Committee and inspired Washington to become part of the organization. CSI is an organization that focuses on improving communication in the nonresidential building design and construction industry, establishing formats and preferred practices that increase the content and clarity of documents, and creating building specifications. Hays and Washington worked in the same room and developed a strong mentor/protégée relationship.

Hays saw potential in her protégée but didn't think about the possibility of Washington ever becoming CSI president.

"We were active and wanted to do things in the chapter or region. It became automatic to move up," Hays says. "Not until Edith became director of a region did I see the possibility."

Hays says Washington's vitality and strength make her a good leader.

"She's full of enthusiasm," Hays adds. "There's two parts to Edith. One part is her charisma, which can be seen in her speeches, but the deeper part is her strength and the fact that she believes in her ideals. And as a leader, she's willing to share those thoughts and ideas."

Inspired by Hays, Washington began to form a relationship with CSI. She started working on the Little Rock chapter newsletter, and she was the chapter education chairperson, working with local chapters of The American Institute of Architects and National Society of Professional Engineers. During the 1980s, Washington spent two years as the regional education chairperson for the Gulf states region.

She returned to Toledo in 1986 where she became the first female president of CSI's Toledo Chapter from 1994-96; director of the Great Lakes region from 1998-2000; institute director; and twice-elected vice president on a national level from 2000-02. She also held every office but secretary at the chapter level. Washington received the organization's fellowship title in 1997 in recognition of her service to CSI and significant contributions to continuing education in the design and construction industry.

Stepping up

Washington's election as CSI president, an organization with nearly 18,000 members, was no fluke.

"I have a thorough knowledge of the organization," she says. "I have grown up in the organization for many years and been exposed to a broad range of the membership. I can bring to the table a clear perspective."

"I really enjoy motivating people and teamwork," she continues. "I haven't been afraid of being a leader. You need individuals who are willing to step out front."

Her enthusiasm and social skills continue in her work and eagerness to speak with people in the industry.

"She is an incredibly dynamic, gregarious and exciting individual," says Mike Owen, CSI president-elect, who will serve as CSI president in 2005. "She's electrifying when she speaks."

As president of Stubblefield Group, Toledo, a consulting firm she established in 1994, Washington appreciates the structure and benefits of her experience at CSI.

"It really made a difference joining an organization that has every aspect of the construction industry involved. It truly is valuable," she says.

This value comes from the diversity of CSI, which has members ranging from engineers to attorneys to contractors, and from the networking among these diverse groups, Washington explains.

"You can put these people in a room, and they talk and have different perspectives. But they see each other as people," she says. "These relationships build trust and communication, which ultimately lead to time and cost savings for building owners. I have access to a variety of people with a range of experience in this industry."

Washington describes CSI as a mutual-support network.

"It's like Redwood trees," she explains. "They are huge trees with shallow roots, and their strength comes from the intertwining of everything below the surface. CSI provides a venue for exchanging knowledge and information that enhances individual career development."

A welcome change

The diversity not only applies to occupation, but to gender, as well. Washington says the number of women in the field has increased dramatically since she entered the industry.

"I would go to a seminar, and five women out of 1,000 people seemed great," she says. "Now, I don't even count anymore. People talk about doing diversity audits, but you can just go to a meeting and see the difference."

Hays believes Washington's CSI presidency has shown the significant role women play in the industry.

"I think she has—not only for women, but for black women—reinforced the feelings that we can make a difference in the corporate world and our professional associations," Hays says. "Neither one of us were suffragettes. We were thrown into CSI and moved up pretty easily. She is the third female president of CSI and the first black president."

Phil McDade, CSI's 2002-03 president, says Washington's position at CSI affects people differently than if she were the type of leader to which the industry is accustomed.

"One of the focuses of mine was reconciliation—you had older members who felt they were being disenfranchised by the organization and young people the organization didn't appeal to," McDade says. "Edith is someone who can stretch out her arms and reach everybody. Edith, by her nature, being an African-American female instead of the typical Anglo-Saxon male, will see a lot of people gravitating to what she says. And she has the personality and leadership to go along with it, as well. She's a great person to empower a lot of people."

But even with these changes, Washington says there's still room for improvement with regard to gender.

"Some things won't change," she continues. "For people older than 60, their attitudes won't change dramatically in the next two seconds. Changes in attitude are more evident in younger people. Laws create a situation for fairness, but action needs to happen with people."

Washington says there also is room for improvement in the presence of ethnic minority role models in the business.

"The number of minorities varies depending on the location," she says. "Representation of ethnic minorities tends to be small on the commercial side of the industry, but it is growing."

What lies ahead

One of Washington's plans as CSI president is promoting mentoring.

"This business is one you can't learn out of a book," she says. "There should be mentoring because there is a need to connect to each other. Mentoring is so important."

Washington is part of the Architecture, Construction and Engineering Mentor Program, a national mentoring program meant to help boost the presence of minorities in the field.

"There have been tremendous strides [for minorities] during the past 20 years," she says. "But the United States has an enormous amount of human potential that remains undeveloped. Mentoring can apply to any industry. You need to explain how you approach certain situations, and this can transition to any occupation. There's something we all can learn from each other."

Two projects Washington would like to see completed during her term are the expansion of CSI's MasterFormat, the institute's system for organizing building project information, and Manual of Practice, its resource for preparing and organizing construction documents.

Other projects include collaborating with the U.S. Green Building Council to promote sustainability and environmental sensibility, revamping CSI's education programs, making use of distance learning technology and promoting communication.

But Washington and other specifiers still face a myriad of challenges.

"The main challenge as specifiers is keeping up with technology," Washington says. "Eighty percent of the time I may be specifying a fairly common roof system. But there are other roof systems out there. I have to look at what roof system will give the best service."

Still another issue can be roof system maintenance.

"Among other things, you need to consider the climate of a roof, available warranties, the anticipated life of the roof, what's going on at the facility and how the building is designed," Washington states. "All these things affect roofing decisions. Probably the greatest thing an installer or contractor can do is help owners understand a roof system and know what to expect in terms of its life cycle and potential maintenance requirements. Architects need to understand this, but so do owners."

CSI has programs for educating its members about roof systems. Chapters hold programs, and most chapters have members involved in the roofing industry.

Washington has more plans for herself and the organization during her term.

"We will continue to provide continuing education opportunities through seminars, certification programs, and our national convention and construction materials exhibition," she says.

With regard to the organization, "with our diversity, we are going to remain strong," she says. "We haven't survived 55 years by accident."

Family ties

Through her work at CSI and activities outside of CSI, Washington has her family to support her. Washington's husband, a construction project manager, also is a CSI member.

"Clarence never missed a meeting when I was president of the Toledo Chapter," she laughs.

Washington has two sons, Clint, 34, and Clarence III, 29, and an adopted nephew and niece, Pierre, 20, and Laura, 18. Washington says she receives support from her family regarding her role in the construction industry.

"I think they're proud," she says. "I've been in CSI for 24 years, and they've all played a role. The kids realize the importance of an organization like CSI. They've been there the whole time, and they have an appreciation for the organization and the value of my role. My son Clarence told me, ‘Sometimes, other people will be inpired to do something just because they see you do it.'"

Krista Reisdorf is associate editor of Professional Roofing magazine.