Women's History Month | International Women’s Day |

Women in Construction (WIC) Week:

Statues, Monuments, and Street names…oh my!

From the Library of Congress, municipalities to museums, galleries, and bookstores - this March, people and organizations from all over the United States honor and pay homage to some of the most influential women in history –  

Happy International Women’s Day & Month!

Click here to watch Cheryl’s interview with Sandra Bookman:

WABC "Here And Now" on February 17, 2019

Women & Minority-Owned Business

As  President & CEO  of her 114+ year old New York and Philadelphia based construction company,  McKissack & McKissack , Cheryl certainly has an impressive lineage and proud American family legacy.  McKissack  has a rich history in the  planning, design and construction of more than 6,000 projects!  Hence, it does make sense that one could envision the notion of looking up and viewing the McKissack name glaring back down at them from a street intersection. In fact, in her family’s hometown, of Nashville, TN, there are currently several public buildings and schools named after her grandfather, Moses McKissack III and Great-uncle, Calvin Lunsford McKissack,  who founded   McKissack & McKissack   in 1905 . Nowadays, this corporate giant is a busy bee seamlessly balancing her family, social life and business, while navigating as the driving force behind  the oldest African-American  and  woman-owned design  and construction management firm in the United States.   

 

In the meantime, Cheryl, a longtime advocate and fighter for all women’s rights, tips her (hard) hat with the upmost respect and esteem to one of her personal  Sheroes - journalist, newspaper editor, anti-lynching crusader, sociologist, suffragist, civil rights leader, and one of the founders of the  NAACP  -  Ida B. Wells .   On Monday, March 4,  a renaming ceremony  was held at the  Harold Washington Library Center .   Drum roll please !  Ida B. Wells Drive   was officially unveiled posthumously, giving her the distinction as  the first African American woman to get a street named after her  in downtown Chicago.  Oh, and if that’s not enough kudos, next year, a monument will also be placed in her honor at the former site of the  Ida B. Wells housing . Brava!

"Think equal, build smart, and innovate for change."

Did Cheryl say that? Actually, this is the 2019 theme for   International Women’s Day - globally recognized  on March 8 ^th  in many countries around the world after the United Nations started celebrating  UN International Women’s Year in 1975 .  It is a day when women reflect on progress made, call for change and celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women, who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their respective countries and communities. In addition to the celebrations of  Women’s History Month   with this year’s theme, “ Visionary Women: Champions of Peace and Nonviolence ” and  International Women’s Day , the first week of March also proudly pays homage to  JRT Multimedia’s  “ Hard Hat & Heels”  cover girl, with  Women in Construction (WIC) Week   -  March 3-9,  highlighting women as a viable component of the construction industry. According to the  United States Department of Labor , women currently represent only  nine percent  of the construction jobs within the industry.   By 2020, that number is expected to double to more than twenty-five percent!   With sites located around New York state and the Northeast region, Cheryl and her team  of more than 150 construction professionals, engineers and architects  will certainly remain busy working for years to come with breaking ground, design and building new infrastructure for the company’s numerous construction projects. Within the past decade, Cheryl is responsible for c ontracting more than $50 billion in construction  including building the infrastructure to make way for the  Barclay Center in 2012.    McKissack  also serves as the  MTA Independent Engineer  overseeing the Capital Construction Program of the nation’s largest transportation system and generates  $50 million in revenue  annually. 

Some of her company’s major civic and transportation projects include:

 

Hmm, with the pace that Cheryl is going, we may not have to wait too long in the foreseeable future to see her honored within the ranks of Ida B. Wells with her very own boulevard landmark...  



After all, she can always decide to break ground and build it herself!

There is a popular saying that originated in the early 1900’s, 

“Behind every great man, there’s a GREAT woman.” 

In this "Era of the Woman" , we prefer to be known as - “Bad-ass Lionesses.”

No offense men - just saying.

MADAME C.J. WALKER  |  CICELY TYSON  |  GLORIA STEINHEIM   |  SHIRLEY CHISHOLM   |    LEATRICE BUCHANAN MCKISSACK   |   SUSAN B. ANTHONY   |   ROSA PARKS   |   BESSIE COLEMAN  |   ZORA NEALE HURSTON   |  MARIE VAN BRILTON BROWN   |   EDMONIA LEWIS   |   MAE C. JEMISON   |   ELIZABETH KECKLEY   |   BELLA ABZUG  |   BARBARA JORDAN  |   RUTH BADER GINSBURG   |   NANCY PELOSI   |  SONIA SOTOMAYOR |   OPRAH WINFREY   |   KATHARINE GRAHAM  |  KATHERINE G. JOHNSON   |   MICHELLE OBAMA   |  ALTHEA GIBSON   |

HATTIE MC DANIEL

This idiom is usually referenced when society has not recognized a woman’s unsung achievements. Countless women deserve to be celebrated - and not just the ones in the limelight. Considering the obstacles women have encountered and conquered because of  gender, culture, race, or background , these achievements are all the more remarkable. The ladies listed in the aforementioned paragraph are some of  Cheryl’s fav Lionesses,  particularly because in many instances, they successfully overcame significant barriers to be  “the first door breakers”  in their chosen fields of professional endeavor. Ranging from a construction executive (yup,  Leatrice is her 87 year old mother ), an astronaut, activists, athletes, entertainers and entrepreneurs to politicians, pioneers, and even the confidante and  personal modiste  to President Abraham Lincoln’s  FLOTUS,  Mary Todd Lincoln, these  Sheroes  lived and still live by the proactive battle cry,  #LayerUp (Stay Poised, Positioned & Prepared)   with accomplishments felt to present day .

Click here to listen to Cheryl’s interview with Jacque Reid on

The Tom Joyner Morning Show February 19, 2019

Inside Her Story: Black Women In Construction

Click here to see to the photo recap of

Cheryl,  Celebrities & Other Social Influencers

"Dining with the Divas” - Beacon New York

Click here to see to the photo recap of

Cheryl,  Celebrities & Other Social Influencers

“National Cares Mentoring” - Beacon New York

On August 26, 1920, the  19th Amendment to the Constitution  was finally ratified, enfranchising all American women and declaring for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. We have come a long way. However, with the misogynist/stereotypical practices and “glass ceiling” limitations still brewing in corporate environments and the daily lives of women around the world, we still have a long way to go. Instead of relegating our thought processes to one month of celebration, to really honor this special month, I encourage ALL people to focus on women's ongoing universal struggles and our current contributions 365 days a year."   

(Hard) Hats off and a kick forward to...

ALL women as we celebrate  International Women’s Day  and  Women’s History Month (i.e., moms, grandmothers, aunts, aunties, sisters, daughters, sister-girlfriends, friends) who continue to kick down doors and break barriers.

Our stories, passion, strength, courage and wisdom are the integral proverbial pieces of thread that created the fabric for the groundwork

that sparked a movement.

Stay tuned for next month’s  “ Hard Hat & Heels ”   Newsletter - Volume III

March 19, 2019 

Panelist - Women’s Leadership event

Driving Change and Getting Results: 

(DASNY)The Women Who Are Building New York 

Katie Murphy Amphitheatre, Fashion Institute of Technology, 

New York City

March 22, 2019

Panelist - Women’s Leadership Forum Builders Council

Act | Inspire | Motivate | AIM Showcase: 

Your Plan for 2019 and Beyond

College of Technology, The City University of New York

New York City

March 26 - 27, 2019

Attendee/Participant

New York Building Congress National Infrastructure Delegation

Officiated by  Congresswoman/Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi

The White House

Washington, DC

March 28, 2019

Honoree Recipient

The Above & Beyond Award

The City and State 8 ^th  Annual Above and Beyond Gala, Dream Hotel

New York City

April 9 - 14, 2019

Attendee/Participant

International Women’s Forum Conference

Barcelona, Spain

 

 

To stay up-to-date with

Cheryl in her  “Hard Hat & Heels”

be sure to  like   and  follow  Cheryl McKissack Daniel on social media:

General inquiries:

Jocelyn R. Taylor

[email protected]

(O) 973-223-8925

Speaker & Media inquiries:

Chandra McQueen

[email protected]

(O) 732.684.3422

www.jrtmultimedia.com

About Cheryl McKissack Daniel

Cheryl McKissack Daniel, civil engineer, has more than 25 years of experience in all phases of the design and construction industry including major project work in the commercial, healthcare, education and transportation sectors. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Cheryl comes from a long lineage of architects and builders. Cheryl serves on numerous, corporate, charitable and community boards, including the New York Building Congress, Women Builders Council, Greater New York ACE Mentor Program, Philadelphia Authority of Industrial Development and the National Liberty Museum Board, where she was honored as a “Hero of Liberty” for her support of humanitarian initiatives and for promoting the responsibilities of a free and diverse America. As a board member, Cheryl focuses on strategic planning as part of good governance. She believes strategic planning is a critical part to a board’s mission and formulating good strategy ensures long-term value creation, building an ethical culture and managing risk. Cheryl has been honored as a She earned both a bachelor and master’s degree in civil engineering from Howard University and graduate course work Columbia University in Civil Engineering.

About McKissack & McKissack  

 With its headquarters in New York City, McKissack & McKissack is the oldest minority- and woman-owned design and construction management firm in the United States with two offices in Manhattan, and an office in Philadelphia. For five generations, McKissack has proudly upheld the standards of excellence established by Moses McKissack more than two centuries ago, has a strong focus on civic-minded local CSR initiatives and collaborates with various not-for-profit organizations including the ACE Mentor Program of America, Sanctuary for Families, STRIVE and the Women Builders Council. As a progressive construction industry leader whose services include disaster recovery and resiliency, diversity consulting and workforce development, McKissack is always looking for the next challenge and the next opportunity to utilize its innovative, practical, and cost-effective solutions. McKissack is currently managing $15 billion in construction and is ranked by Crain's New York Business among the top woman-owned and minority-owned companies. 



About JRT Multimedia

JRT Multimedia , is a Luxury Branding and Digital Multimedia boutique agency founded by CEO and Chief Brand Media Officer, Jocelyn R. Taylor in 2010. The agency connects consumers and brand advocates in the luxury space specializing in event marketing, media and publicity for individuals, entertainment, corporate and non-profit organizations. We leverage integrated marketing strategies and Influencer Relations with representation from a Rolodex of partnerships and personal relationships with C-Suite Executives, Social Influencers and Celebrities.