The Organization of Women Leaders is off to a great start in 2020 with guest speaker Ging Ging Fernandez! Ging Ging is a new partner at D’Artagnan Consulting, a professional services firm specializing in transportation funding policy. Ging Ging is currently consulting with Hawaii State officials on our State’s transportation issues.
Early on, Ging Ging loved figuring out how things worked, which led her to the field of engineering. She attended Harvey Mudd College, a science and engineering school in Claremont, California, where there were 3 men for every 1 woman. After graduation, Ging Ging worked at Direct TV, and it was during this time she traveled to Europe and became fascinated by how well the integrated public transportation system worked. She then decided to go back to school to study transportation policy at MIT and was hooked!
Working for D’Artagnan Consulting, Ging Ging moved to Hawaii with her husband and 3 sons to put together a team to consult on Hawaii’s transportation issues. Arriving in Hawaii, she encountered a wonderful network of professional women who readily opened doors for her, which she found to be truly unique and special.
Finding success in a field dominated by men, Ging Ging never felt a “glass ceiling” until she had children and had to navigate the demands of her profession and motherhood. She encouraged each of us to help other moms in the workplace by supporting flexible work schedules to help moms manage the demands of job and motherhood.
As a finale thought, Ging Ging related that she has found a key to her success is pushing herself to do things outside her comfort zone. She encouraged each of us to think about what we would do if we could not fail. Those are the things we should be doing!