Laura Reinbold (BE’82) is fond of saying that since coming to Vanderbilt University at age 17, she’s never lived much more than a mile from where her parents deposited her on West End. Then again, she didn’t need to go far to leave her mark.
Reinbold, who recently was named a vice president of TTL, Inc. – an Alabama-based environmental and geotechnical consulting firm where since 2010 she has served as branch manager of its Nashville office – gets a sense of pride and personal accomplishment every time she looks at the city’s skyline.
TTL has had a hand in the many iconic projects, including Schermerhorn Symphony Center, ICON in The Gulch, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital, and Music City Center, a massive multibillion-dollar project downtown where her company did foundation recommendations and construction materials testing.
“I love being part of Nashville’s evolution,” said Reinbold, a civil engineer. “I have the privilege of going out and getting involved with organizations such as the Urban Land Institute, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, and others – all of the entities that work to help make Nashville grow. I get to be part of that conversation and I love that.”
Reinbold has more than 25 years of experience in engineering and consulting, and is a licensed professional engineer and LEED Accredited Professional.
While grounded in engineering for most of her life, Reinbold wasn’t always comfortable with it, mostly because engineering school students were mostly male. Her father had a mechanical engineering firm in her hometown of Jacksonville, Fla., and she’s sure the idea of being an engineer came from him.
“I have a great memory of walking into the orientation at Vanderbilt and thinking, ‘I wonder where all the women are?’ because all I saw were men,” Reinbold said. “Now, of course, it’s different. There’s been a lot of focus on recruiting women, but it can be tough. I’m proud of going through it.”
That pride pushes Reinbold to look for new opportunities to help women succeed as engineers, as she does through her involvement with WIN (Women In Numbers), and as the first female member of the Board of Directors with ASFE/ The Geoprofessional Business Association, a group of geoprofessional business people who for 44 years have worked together to elevate the industry.
“I can tell you that (the board) is the place where I can work hardest to make a difference involving women in the profession,” she said. “Look, engineering is not a particularly sexy profession, and we don’t have a lot of female role models either.
“I had a great role model who I loved dearly who I could watch work, so that path for me was very comfortable. Had I not had that, I don’t know what I would have done.”
By Vince Troia