Partner Profile: Alisa Lewis

In 2007 I found myself in a Baltimore hotel room surrounded by some of my favorite McCarthy people. 

One was Project Director Lloyd Flowers, who like me grew up in the St. Louis area and had become one of my most influential and important Black mentors. 

Lloyd — who retired at the end of 2024 — was the closest example I had to somebody who looked like me and was growing and developing at McCarthy. I joined a group traveling to Baltimore to see him receive the Engineer of the Year Award. 

It was one of the most memorable nights of my career. We were excited about the evening, but also soaking in career and life advice from Lloyd, who spoke with pride about his own experiences. 

The best advice I got that night? 

Never chase the money. Always do what you think is right for you and your career and the rest will come. He’s been giving the same advice for 30 years – and it’s very true. That’s some of the most valuable advice I’ve gotten in life. 

Growing up in East St. Louis 

Mention my hometown of East St. Louis, Illinois and you might get some interesting comments.  

Some remember the amazing athletes to come out of the “City of Champions,” including Olympic gold medalists Jackie Joyner-Kersee, her brother Al Joyner and Dawn Harper. The list of hometown stars includes tennis legend Jimmy Connors and great musicians like Miles Davis. 

But just as likely, people may ask me about growing up in one of the roughest cities in the Midwest. Crime and poverty are major concerns; I heard my share of gunshots growing up in the Edgemont area, but also was surrounded by love, family, faith and community.  

There’s a bad connotation with the city, but there are also so many great people. Not just famous people, but genuinely good people who care about others and their neighborhoods. I’m proud to be from the same place. 

Both my parents grew up in East St. Louis, too. 

My mother, Bessie, attended the University of Illinois and became an occupational therapist. She later worked in healthcare and the public school system. 

My dad, Gregory Lewis Sr., worked in the family newspaper business after attending Valparaiso University and later ran the printing department for St. Louis Public Schools. I grew up in a two-parent household, but that was not the norm for most of my peers. 

For much of the time we were in East St. Louis, it seemed OK. There was a lot of violence and crime, especially in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, like a lot of inner cities.  

It gave me a different perspective on life, knowing you’d see tragedies on occasion. But we had everything we needed or wanted, and it made me appreciate some of the smaller things in life, especially not taking things for granted. It also made me want to be a positive example in – and of – the community that gave so much to me. 

The importance of Black history 

We are proud of our heritage, and I can’t ever remember not celebrating Black History Month. Since my parents grew up during the Civil Rights Movement, they’d tell us stories about things they’d experienced. We went to places like the DuSable Museum in Chicago and the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis; I’ve taken my own kids there a few times. 

My parents had family in Mississippi and Alabama, so we’d visit the farms and small towns where they lived. We always had big family reunions and the stories and history would be passed down by word-of-mouth. 

They talked about segregation and struggles and places they couldn’t go, things they couldn’t do. It was eye-opening. 

I’m a divorced mother of two and as my children grow, it’s important for me to make sure they understand their family heritage and history. 

My son, Christopher, 20, attends a historically Black university (HBCU), Tennessee State. I didn’t really expect that to happen, didn’t force it or encourage or discourage it, that was a decision he made. He wanted to be immersed more in his culture because he hadn’t experienced that as much growing up. That made me proud - as did his internship with McCarthy’s IT department last summer. 

I’m just as proud of my daughter MacKenzie, a 16-year-old in high school. 

The importance of education 

My parents were adamant about providing my brother, Greg, and I with better opportunities than they had. They made sure we received a good education and instilled a strong work ethic. Nothing is handed to you; at any moment it could call be taken away.  

That has always made me grateful for what I have. 

I started out in East St. Louis public school, then in middle school went to Zion Lutheran in nearby Belleville. I also attended Althoff Catholic High School there in the late 1990s. 

My parents put me in a space where they thought I would thrive. I was super-introverted, so being in a smaller setting helped me. 

I went from District 189 where everybody looked like me to Zion Lutheran, where there were three Black kids in my class and maybe six at the school. 

Althoff was a little more diverse. Noting my strong math skills and interest in architecture since age 10, my counselor there mentioned architectural engineering as a possible career. That’s how I found the University of Kansas. 

Kansas had a combination architecture/civil engineering program, so I felt like I was getting the best of both worlds. It was also the school that made me feel most at home since its director of multicultural affairs was from St. Louis and I worked as a student liaison for minority student programs. 

I thought I wanted to be a structural engineer, then realized with my attention span I did not want to be confined to an office desk. After I did a design and construction department internship with BJC Healthcare, I realized construction could be more interactive. The enjoyment of seeing the product coming to life, instead of just being in the drawings — and being there for the actual construction — really intrigued me. 

Path to McCarthy 

Near the end of my fourth year at Kansas, I became pregnant with my son, Christopher. That was definitely a challenge but being surrounded by family, faith, and my community helped. My son was born one week before my last semester and after conversations with my mother, I decided not to go to grad school immediately, instead starting my job search. 

A family friend knew a guy who had a placement service in St. Louis for minorities in the AEC industry. He also had a relationship with McCarthy’s then-Midwest Division President, Karl Kloster. 

I spoke with Karl, told him my story, and ultimately, Karl saw something in me. He set me up with an interview and I was hired as a project engineer. 

It was like one in a million. Who would have thought that relationship would lead to this 19-year career and all the things I’ve been able to do and see? Certainly not me. 

One of my most memorable jobs has been manager of the project controls team on the $1.7 billion Next NGA West campus in St. Louis. I was learning something new every day thanks to Vice President Operations Jeff Boyer and the amazing team I had around me. It was a great experience and I still feel like after that job I could do anything, but it was definitely scary at first. 

Lessons learned 

My heritage is a big part of who I am. That’s why I’m so active and passionate about Partnership for Women and the VOICE resource groups, both of which are focused on helping all of our employees feel a sense of belonging and support building an engaged culture. I know everybody’s road is not the same. Everybody experiences different obstacles, and we’ve got to work hard to remove as many barriers as possible. 

After starting as a project engineer, I was promoted to assistant superintendent, then moved from assistant project manager to project manager and senior project manager. 

When I talk to young project engineers, I stress the importance of building connections and strong relationships. All your relationships matter. Never burn any bridges. I’m always trying to shatter glass ceilings. I work hard at what I do so the generations coming behind me have greater opportunities than I had — and maybe, sooner than I had.