Built by Many Minds: Celebrating Women in Engineering at Legacy Engineering

Today, June 23, Legacy Engineering proudly celebrates International Women in Engineering Day. This year's theme, Engineering Intelligence, resonates deeply here because at Legacy, our strength has always come from our collective intelligence. Today, we are celebrating the incredible women who drive that genius forward in every corner of our firm.

Legacy Engineering President Sara Fila, PE, MRED, started this firm twelve years ago with just two people. She was 28 years old, had a newborn at home, and was focused on keeping a business afloat one day at a time. Today, Legacy has grown to nearly 90 employees across multiple Virginia offices, with women contributing at every level, from geotechnical and land development to environmental services, surveying, operations, and leadership. That didn't happen by accident.

"One of the things I am most proud of is the incredible group of women who help lead and shape our company," Sara shared. "Across every discipline, women play a critical role in our success. Their talent, dedication, and leadership have been instrumental in building the culture and reputation that Legacy is known for today."

The Intelligence Beneath the Surface

In geotechnical engineering, the work begins before a single foundation is poured. Laboratory Technician Amy Andrew knows that better than most.

"If you think about it, the safety of any structure basically comes down to understanding the bare bones of the raw earth and soil underneath it," Amy said. "Everything else is built up from that, pun intended."

It's a perspective that changes the way you see the world around you. Amy added that it's fascinating to consider the intricacy that goes into keeping buildings standing, given how vastly different soil and rock can be only a few feet apart.

The Intelligence That Shapes Communities

In land development and planning, the work doesn't stay on a screen. It becomes the roads, neighborhoods, and spaces that people live in for decades. Project Engineer Jewelie Gustafson feels that weight and welcomes it.

"It feels fulfilling to see a project that I contributed to," Jewelie said. "Seeing the hard work I put in come to life is satisfying and makes me feel as if my job has a purpose."

For Jewelie, that purpose also means holding two things at once, what a developer envisions and what a community actually needs. "I see my role as making sure my design is both optimal and exciting for developers and efficient for the community it serves."

Legacy's environmental and surveying teams bring that same collective drive to their work, whether they're protecting local waterways, navigating complex compliance requirements, or being the very first set of eyes on a site before anyone else arrives.

The Intelligence Behind Every Opportunity

Engineering projects don't build themselves, and they don't just appear on a ledger. In operations and business development, Proposal Manager Sherri Gaskill and Director of Business Development Bri Hairfield know that building trust and cultivating client relationships takes time, consistency, and open communication long before any formal paperwork is signed.

"Projects don't start with a document; they start with connection," Bri explained. "Long before a proposal is ever drafted, a relationship has to be established. The proposal phase is simply where we formalize that initial conversation and set a collaborative tone for the work ahead."

But securing the contract is only the first step. True success isn't just about winning more work; it’s about delivering exceptional results on the work we have.

Bri sees her role as the bridge that ensures Legacy's technical execution matches a client's ultimate goal.

“There are many hours of site and ordinance research, administrative work in writing the proposal, creating a database file with site information, and review by multiple departments before the proposal is sent to the client,” Sherri said.

Behind every opportunity is a foundation of communication, preparation, and trust that shapes what a project becomes long before it ever reaches paper.

Built by Many Minds

Legacy's strength has never come from one place or one person. It comes from everywhere at once, from the soil samples in the lab to the proposals landing in a client's inbox, from the plans shaping a Fredericksburg neighborhood to the environmental work protecting the land around it. Every woman at this firm is a vital part of that collective intelligence, and today we celebrate all of them.

Sara said it best: "I want every woman at Legacy to know that she deserves a seat at the table and should never hesitate to sit at the head of it. I absolutely love working with the women engineers at Legacy. They are intelligent, hardworking, capable, and dependable. Throughout my career, I have leaned heavily on many of these women, and time and again they have exceeded expectations."

On International Women in Engineering Day and every day, we celebrate the many minds that make Legacy what it is. Happy INWED to every woman in engineering. Your intelligence is building the world around us.