Amy Northcutt, director of education and outreach at Trimble, believes in the adage, “representation matters.” As a queer woman in construction, she said she never saw someone like herself in leadership roles at construction firms. She has worked both within and outside of Trimble to increase that representation.
“I think we can do a lot to encourage future generations by continuing to participate and make progress in this space,” Northcutt said. “We can show future generations that this is a space for them.”
Northcutt has a background as a structural engineer. She was drawn to construction because she loves seeing the creation of new structures and infrastructure. “I find it endlessly fascinating how humans go from a parking lot or an empty field, and the creativity and ingenuity to create these massive, impressive structures,” she said. “I’ve always been excited by the ideas of creating something that enhances and improves people’s lives.”
She is the cofounder of the Trimble LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Network. During the last four years, she and others in the LGBTQ+ network have worked to develop more inclusive health care benefits (including fertility coverage), created guidance for how employees and managers should navigate coming out as transgender at work and worked to establish gender-neutral bathrooms in all Trimble buildings, Northcutt’s nominator said. Nine additional employee resource networks have grown at Trimble since Northcutt established the LGBTQ+ network, each using the framework she and her partners created.
While Northcutt sees continuing cultural and structural barriers to women and other minorities entering the construction industry, she is hopeful that as more join, the culture will continue to shift.
“As more women join the industry and rise up within the ranks of these companies, I think that we will see a different culture within the overall industry,” she said.
Northcutt joined Trimble in 2015 as a technology consultant for the company’s construction division, Trimble Structures. She helped customers get the most value from
Tekla Structures, the software application she had previously used as a structural engineer. Her early experiences gave her a firsthand understanding of how transformative technology could be for the construction industry, and she became dedicated to expanding access to these tools across the sector.
In 2020, she transitioned to Trimble’s education and outreach department, where she took on leadership of the Trimble Technology Lab (TTL) program. TTL gives higher-education teachers and students access to the latest construction hardware and software tools, promoting tech-driven careers and helping make students immediately employable upon graduation. Her leadership saw the program grow from nine to 17 schools within the first 12 months, even during the early days of the pandemic. In just two years, that number grew to 26 schools. Northcutt also spearheaded a grant program designed to support historically Black colleges and universities and minority serving institutions, helping these schools establish tech labs despite resource limitations.
Northcutt’s focus on expanding access to technology aligns with her broader passion for equity. In her current role, she oversees a team of nine professionals. Together, they coordinate several educational initiatives that aim to provide students from K-12 through higher education with access to industry-leading technology solutions. Under her leadership, programs like SketchUp for Schools, which has reached millions of K-12 students worldwide, and Project Spectrum, a 3D-design-training program for students on the autism spectrum, have grown significantly. These efforts are part of a broader goal to give students the technical foundation they need to succeed in their careers.
Her efforts to make the construction industry more inclusive and technologically advanced reflect her personal commitment to both representation and innovation. Whether through leading educational programs that help students develop the skills they need for success or advocating for underrepresented communities within the industry, Northcutt’s impact is shaping the future of construction. Today, she continues to drive the industry toward a more inclusive, equitable and technology-forward future for all.
