Established Women in Construction – Samantha Cook

Samantha Cook, Senior Enterprise Financial Manager at Clayco

Biography

Samantha Cook is the Senior Enterprise Financial Manager for Clayco Inc., a full-service, turnkey real estate, architecture, engineering, design-build, and construction firm. She is responsible for oversight and management of Clayco's enterprise services in an effort to drive company financial performance. 

She is also a part of the board of directors of the National Association of Women in Construction, which aims to enhance and promote women’s success in construction, and she serves there as a Director for the St. Louis Chapter. 

Samantha was born and raised in Mexico, and graduated Summa Cum Laude in Architecture from the Universidad del Valle de Mexico. She then specialized as a project management professional at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, and is currently working on her MBA at Webster University in St. Louis Missouri. 

In 2015, Samantha was selected to participate in LinkedIn’s International marketing campaign titled “Opportunities”, launched in the United States and England. 

Samantha's Piece of Advice

“Be ready to speak up. Do so when you think it is valuable. It’s not about being aggressive; it’s about being assertive. Speaking up means not being afraid to take leadership when necessary and telling people what to do. It’s okay to talk about your worth as a professional, own it. 

You need to realize you won’t know all the answers all the time. That’s all right. It’s okay to ask for help. The construction industry is already changing for the better in equality and diversity. Indeed, there is still room for improvement. 

Don’t go in to prove your womanhood, but go in to prove you can do the job as an equal. The biggest changes will come about when women (and men) own their careers without fear.”