Holt’s New CEO Talks
Diversity in Aviation
Outreach Program for American Airlines Focuses on Local and Diverse Small Businesses
2021 Airport Voice
Woman of Achievement
Airport Voice
Avalon Risk Management’s Regional VP, Wanda Sample,
loves to resolve problems and travel the world
Wanda Sample is the regional vice president of Avalon Risk Management for the New York region, including the Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York area.
2021 AIRPORT V 26 OICE WOMAN OF ACHIEVEMENT
When Patricia Zugibe was named Chief
Executive Officer of Holt Construction Corp.,
a full-service national Construction Management
and General Contracting firm, in January
2021, she stepped into her new leadership
position with a special focus on diversity and
inclusion. Zugibe, who is the first woman to
serve as CEO of the over one-hundred-yearold
firm, leveraged her experience in the private
and public sector to make diversity a corporate
initiative, in the office and on jobsites.
Holt currently serves as the Construction
Manager on the American Airlines John F.
Kennedy International Airport Terminal 8
expansion. The project, which continued as
an essential jobsite through the pandemic,
will improve the overall customer experience
with a total of 70,400 square feet of added
space, including 33,000 square feet of public
space. Another 57,500 square feet of existing
space will be refurbished. “With this exciting
project, Holt wanted to include contractors
and local workforce as diverse as the communities
that JFK Airport serves,” said Patricia
Zugibe, CEO of Holt Construction.
Certified and Local Businesses Connect
Virtually with Opportunities and Holt’s Project
Partners
During COVID-19, Holt and American Airlines
pivoted their outreach strategy to connect
with certified MWBEs, LBEs, and the
local workforce by hosting virtual programming
every Friday. The events, entitled “Opportunity
Friday,” discuss a wide arrange of
topics, from how to get pre-qualified, to safety
and pre-apprenticeship programs. This new
strategy affords the JFK T8 project partners
to connect with small businesses in creative
and engaging ways.
Starting in April, certified firms and
Queens’ residents will also be able to attend
“Opportunity Friday Office Hours,” designed
to host one-on-one meetings with the JFK T8
team, through a new virtual platform. Senior
leadership and project executives will be present
to meet on the project opportunities, prequalification
process, safety procedures, insurance
requirements, and more! The goal is
to provide firms with the technical assistance
they need to bid, win, and work on the project.
To learn more about the program, visit:
http://www.diversityagenda.com/terminal8
In her time at Avalon, she went from working
at their corporate office to running operations
for the company’s NY region, an accomplishment
that is one of her proudest moments throughout
her career, especially since she had to overcome
the challenge of transitioning from entirely different
roles.
“Avalon Risk Management is a provider of
surety bonds and insurance products to custom
brokers, freight forwarders and warehousemen,
so it is important to provide the tools and products
needed for them to facilitate trade,” said
Sample. “We handle daily requests for imported
bonds needed immediately as well as securing
cargo insurance coverage. I love resolving concerns,
situations, and questions our clients have.”
Sample got her start in the aviation industry
while working for FW Meyers at their headquarters
located in Rouses Point, NY. She traveled
back and forth to their office at the World Trade
Center but spent much of her time at their other
office in John F. Kennedy airport. Sample worked
for FW Meyers for 17 years until they closed in
1999. It was then that she decided to go back to
school where she earned her MBA from Clarkson
University, followed by working at Avalon Risk
Management, where she has been since 2002.
Sample feels her positive attitude and work
ethic are important to making her as successful
as she is today, and some of her best advice to
other women interested in getting involved in the
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT
HOMETOWN: Mooers, NY
HOBBY: golf, walking, and travel
FAVORITE BOOK: Pillars of the Earth
FAVORITE MOVIE: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
TRAVEL GOAL: return trips to Scotland and
Paris
FAVORITE QUOTE OR MOTTO: Be the kind of
woman that when your feet hit the floor each
morning, the devil says “oh crap she’s up!”
2021 Airport Voice
Woman of Achievement
Airport Voice
aviation industry is “don’t be shy, be continuous
in your learning, get involved in the industry and
community, work hard, and don’t be afraid to ask
questions.”
When Sample is not working hard and helping
others she loves to travel and is especially looking
forward to returning to Europe to visit countries
that she hasn’t been to yet.
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