INWED 2026 Houston – Event Recap

Celebrating Women in Engineering | June 23, 2026 | Hilton Houston Westchase

Author: Oreoluwa Adedapo

This year’s third annual International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) event in Houston was the women empowerment event of the year! Co-hosted by the ASCE Houston Branch, WTS (Women’s Transportation Seminar) Houston, and ACEC (American Council of Engineering Companies) Houston this was a sold-out event and included scholarship winners, students, industry professionals and our esteemed panelists and their guests celebrating this year’s theme: Engineering Intelligence

  Featured Speakers & Panelists

The event featured an interesting and informative panel discussion moderated by Leslie Mardis, P.E (Houston Branch INWED Co-Chair). Our panelists this year had a diverse and valuable background in the industry:

• Giti Zarinkelk, P.E.,F. SAME President, Founder and CEO, Zarinkelk Engineering Services, Inc.
• Becky Ullman, Director of Forward Planning, Friendswood Development Company
• Johana Clark, P.E.,PTOE,ENV SP Deputy City Engineer, City of Houston

Our panelists shared their path to leadership and the values and mentorship they were able to feed into their own professional experiences.

Keynote Spotlight

Carol Haddock, P.E., Director of Baytown Public Works and Engineering and 2027 President of the American Society of Civil Engineers, delivered an inspiring keynote focused on growth and development but mindfulness of the environment in the process. Emotional intelligence in the engineering industry was also discussed as women tend to provide another layer of benefit to management and growth by providing empathy to an industry very focused on results without determining the highest capacity to achieving through humanity and compassion.

👩‍👦Drive, Persistence and Just Saying Yes

Through the panel discussions it was made clear that the women on stage have done things a little differently than their predecessors. From being one of two women engineers in their industry and then down to being the only, moving up through the public sector by simply accepting every opportunity and meeting the challenge, or choosing a path that took unimaginable persistence but ultimately led to fulfillment and pride our panelists never took the path of least resistance to rise to the occasion.

Scholarship Impacts

This year INWED Houston was ecstatic to be able to grant $5000 in INWED scholarships to very deserving students in the industry and to include them as guests at the event to present the awards during the program. For those students who could not attend the guests were able to watch videos providing background on their career paths and how the scholarships will enable them to succeed in their future endeavors.

Networking and Development

The start of the program included a networking hour, where our panelists and keynote speakers were able to have facetime with our guests. During the networking hour attendees got the full social media experience with a themed photobooth and the opportunity to have their headshot taken by a professional photographer. Cocktails and mocktails were provided to guests as well and helped facilitate interactions and provide a light environment for socializing.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

This event is not possible without the generous contributions from our sponsors. Having overwhelming involvement for such a unique event is paramount in progressing the industry and allowing for more inclusion for both professionals and students.

Looking Ahead
INWED 2026 did more than we thought possible and the INWED committee is looking to the future to increase visibility for women in engineering and allow for an event that celebrates the efforts and achievements of exceptional women in our industry. When we come together, we are a force of nature and with a goal towards progress we will succeed.

INWED 2026 Houston – Event Planning

This year the goal was to exceed expectations and Alexa Nichols and Leslie Mardis spearheaded a committee of members who did just that. With WTS returning and ACEC joining in the partnership there were so many opportunities to elevate the experience and include more attendees in the process.

With Abigail Borders providing stellar graphics and Danielle Gonzalez and Monica Golemo contributing to the gift bags and scholarship winners experience the guest experience was enhanced, and the committee was able to keep the ship moving forward and providing key input to ensure the event was a success.

Ariana Alexander put the finishing touches on a heartfelt gift for our keynote speaker and Alexa Nichols provided the cherry on top by creating individualized engineering cards recognizing the 2026 panelists and keynote speaker.

Mahsa Arastoo created an immediate atmosphere with her INWED step and repeat background, and the guests enjoyed the photobooth with a personalized INWED balloon display. Mahsa additionally created the gorgeous floral centerpieces in the ballroom that guests were able to take home with them at the close of the event.

INWED 2026 is in the books, but the committee is working towards creating an even better event for 2027 with the help of generous sponsors and industry professionals like you.