Girls Inc. Visits Simpson Strong-Tie Lab

On July 6, the Simpson Strong-Tie home office in Pleasanton, California, welcomed girls from Girls, Inc. of Alameda County. This visit provided an opportunity for the girls to hear from and interact with the many women leaders of Simpson Strong-Tie.

The construction and manufacturing industries continue to be male-dominated fields. The visit provided the girls the opportunity to meet several of our women leaders and also learn about other career paths that might not be automatically associated with the manufacturing industry. Our leaders — including Jacinta Pister, senior vice president, Worldwide Manufacturing; Jennifer Lutz, vice president, Human Resources; and Shelby Short, director, Global Quality Systems — shared stories of their personal success and professional growth at Simpson Strong-Tie.

Of course, the highlight of the visit was the first-hand experience of building techniques and product testing provided during a tour of the Simpson Strong-Tie research and development lab. Photos below show the Simpson Strong-Tie team working with the girls.

R&D Engineer Rebecca Zimbra explains how she uses tools to better understand why a connector might fail a test.
Engineering Director Emory Montague observes lab tech intern Sean Shiira running a fastener test.
Senior Product Manager Tom Evans shows the girls how to drive a screw as they work together to assemble a bench.
A girl learns the value of a guide hole when starting to drill.
The girls observe an uplift resistance test.
We say farewell after this eye-opening, fun-filled visit from Girls, Inc. Come back soon!

The Vision of Girls, Inc. of Alameda County:

Our vision is for all girls growing up in Alameda County to feel valued, safe and prepared to achieve their dreams of college, career and leadership. To that end, we connect girls from underserved neighborhoods with access to the resources and opportunities they need to navigate gender, economic and racial barriers and realize their potential.