Professional Profile: Judith Nitsch - 1983

Name: Judith Nitsch - 1983

Title: Vice President

Company: Allen & Demurjian, Inc.

Location: Boston

  In a profession with remarkably few women among its ranks and even fewer women serving in management positions, Judith Nitsch stands out. She is a veteran civil engineer who is registered in ten state and has more than 8 years’ experience holding project responsibility for engineering assignments around the nation. Nitsch is also the newly appointed Vice President of Allen & Demurjian, Inc., the Boston-based engineering, architectural, and land surveying firm. “I’m very happy about my appointment as Vice President of Allen & Demurjian,” stated Nitsch. “Certainly, the appointment gives me additional authority in negotiating with clients on behalf of A&D. And, on another level, the appointment tells me that my professional accomplishments and capabilities are recognized and appreciated.” Nitsch began her professional career following her 1975 graduation from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. During her senior year at WPI, she served as an exchange student at The City University of London, England, and was listed in the Who’s Who Among Students at American Universities and Colleges. “I never considered my choice of career to be unusual,” said Nitsch, regarding her entry into the engineering profession. “Like most of my classmates, I had an early aptitude for science and mathematics. Yet, with only eight women graduating in engineering from WPI’s 1975 class of some 400 students, it became obvious that there was one fundamental difference between me and most of my classmates; I was one of the very few female graduates.” Following her graduation, Nitsch joined Schofield Brothers, Inc. as a project engineer. Three years later, she was appointed office manger and Vice President of Freeman Engineering Company, a division of Schofield Brothers, Inc. In 1982 Schofield Brothers sold Freeman Engineering. “My time with Freeman Engineering and Schofield Brothers was both informativ and productive. In addition to an excellent technical background. I received the opportunity to learn the practical demands of my profession by holding responsibility for my own projects. When the corporate decision to sell Freeman Engineering was made. I chose not to return to the main office, but to investigate new opportunities. At the time, I met Larry Allen, of Allen & Demurjian, and I was immediately intrigued by the diversity of work within the company and the cooperative spirit among staff members. When i received an offer from A&D, I was happy to take it.” Since joining Allen & Demurjian as a project engineer, Nitsch has held design and project management responsibilities for a broad range of assignments including site design of land development projects throughout Massachusetts, and site design and engineering projects for General Cinemas Theatres, Inc. in Georgia, Texas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Massachusetts and New York. Nitsch has held design and project management responsibility for residential housing units throughout the Northeast, as well as for projects for Showcase Cinema and Jiffy Lube International, Inc.