Dana Skelley facts for kids

Dana Skelley is a very important engineer. She helps design and build big projects like roads and bridges. She is known for her work at Transport for London, which manages transport in London. She also worked for Skanska, a large construction company. Today, she runs her own company called Grain of Sand Consulting Ltd.

Dana's Early Life and School

Dana Skelley was born and grew up in London, England. She loved learning about how things are built. In 1987, she finished her studies at Kingston University. She earned a degree in civil engineering. This is a type of engineering that focuses on building things like roads, bridges, and buildings. She was the only girl in her class of 150 civil engineering students!

Dana's Amazing Career

Dana Skelley is a special kind of engineer called a Chartered Civil Engineer. This means she has a lot of experience and knowledge in her field. She became chartered while working on old bridges, making them new again. She then became interested in the business side of engineering. So, she went back to school and earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Bradford.

In 1989, Dana started working for Wandsworth Council. She was in charge of their consulting services. Later, in 2000, she joined Transport for London (TfL). She worked as a Principal Engineer for the City of London.

Leading London's Roads

By 2006, Dana was promoted to Chief Engineer at TfL. She became the head of the entire road network across London. That same year, she won an award! She was named Engineer of the Year by the Surveyor and Institution of Civil Engineers Municipals.

In 2008, Dana became the Director of Roads. She led a big team of 500 engineers. Her team was responsible for a huge plan to improve London's roads. This plan cost about £4 billion!

Preparing for the Olympics

One of her biggest jobs was getting London ready for the 2012 Summer Olympics. She also worked on almost all the bridges that cross the River Thames. She helped make the Hammersmith flyover stronger, which is a very busy road bridge.

Dana also worked with other companies to make roads better for the environment. She helped create new, eco-friendly roads for London. She also partnered with Costain Group to fix up the A40 road.

Encouraging Young Engineers

Dana Skelley believes it's important to get young people excited about engineering. She was a judge at the 2012 Institution of Engineering and Technology Young Woman Engineer of the Year award. She wants more young people, especially girls, to become engineers.

In 2016, Dana received a special award from the Queen. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). This award was "For services to Transport in the UK." This means she was honored for all her hard work in improving transport in the UK. Also in 2016, she was named one of the Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering.

In 2017, Dana joined Skanska, a big construction company. She also became a trustee for the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation. She even spoke on their podcast to celebrate International Women in Engineering Day. She gave an important speech at Imperial College London in 2017.