EMDC Strong

Angela Nocera helps bring construction plans to life, no matter if the job is building a hangar to secure a combat aviation brigade of Apache attack helicopters, or a daycare facility on an Army base to safely tend to a soldier’s child.

Nocera is vice president and national Army market lead for Michael Baker International. The engineering and consulting firm provides guidance and leadership on government and commercial infrastructure projects.

Nocera is also one of the Industry Advisory Board (IAB) members for Northwestern Engineering’s Master of Science in Executive Management for Design and Construction (EMDC) program. The IAB’s mission is to ensure the EMDC program’s curriculum empowers graduates to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that align with industry needs.

To that role, Nocera brings nearly two decades of professional design and engineering experience.

“There are a lot of things I’ve learned through the years, and it’s nice to be able to influence the curriculum based on that learning,” Nocera said. “It feels good to have a voice in how we build the next generation of people who are going to be running this industry.”

Nocera began her career as a civil engineer. She spent a decade primarily focused on environmental projects for Department of Defense agencies, including the US Army Corps of Engineers and Naval Facilities Engineering Command.

She joined Michael Baker International as a civil associate in 2017 and was promoted in late 2020 to associate vice president. In April 2022, she took on her current role of vice president, specializing in Army programs.

Her primary responsibility today is to increase the company’s market share with the Army and its related agencies. To do that, she focuses on developing strategies and alliances to offer up teams to best accomplish the Army mission for its upcoming projects.

Once the job is won, Nocera’s responsibilities shift internally to find the right individual engineers, technical staff, and project managers to deliver on what was promised.

“The goal is to make sure that, throughout the course of project execution, we are performing flawlessly and get really good performance ratings to help future efforts,” she said. “It’s really a lot of fun.”

What makes it the most fun, she said, is the talent pool Nocera draws from to assemble the teams needed to win and complete jobs on time, under budget, and to specifications. She likened it to regularly assembling all-star teams from the various disciplines in the built environment sector.

Because of the wide-ranging reach of her work, Nocera brings a broad perspective to her IAB role. She said she is happy to contribute to the education of future design and engineering leaders.

In her short time on the IAB, Nocera has quickly become impressed with what the EMDC program offers its students. She said she sees tremendous value in an EMDC degree.

“EMDC is a great way to spark your imagination and give you the ability to come back to the workforce with fresh ideas,” she said. “It is very beneficial in helping people to get more well-rounded and prepared for executive roles.”