Nebraska Women in STEM talked to Lancaster County Engineer Pamela Dingman about her path to leadership.
When Pamela Dingman was elected as the first Lancaster County woman engineer in 2014, she responded to challenges to her leadership with self-confidence and resoluteness. Despite opposition, Dingman would work over the years to build a more positive and diverse work culture as well as support safety and sustainability throughout the county. Her dedication to quality and community is as evident as it is inspiring for fellow engineers and women in STEM.
When reflecting on her own career pathway, Dingman admits that many have the wrong idea about women in powerful positions. “When people see an influential woman, they think that she has always been there. But I haven’t always been where I’m at right now. We need to take time in life to respect the journey and the place where people are at at that moment in time.”
Dingman started out as a concert violinist at Wayne State College before she decided to switch to engineering. Because she was a first-generation college student and did not have much support from teachers to pursue STEM, she often needed to be her own advocate. “I needed that time to build up the courage to say what it was that I wanted to be. In leadership, and female leadership in particular, it might take you a little time to find your voice. You need to find a support system that will help you get there.”
After transferring to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and graduating with an engineering degree, Dingman held several different jobs that preceded her run for county engineer. She worked in wastewater treatment, land development, and owned a small engineering firm in Lincoln. Then, she remembers finding out that the county engineer position had an opening. “I was sitting back one night, and I was thinking about how I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something that would make more of an impact on the community. So I was really thinking about running.”
At first, Dingman was concerned about the timing of the county engineer appointment. She was a single mom and one of her kids was still in high school. Although her original plan was to wait until they had graduated, she decided to go for it. She hopes that other women in STEM can learn from her story. “There is no ‘right time’, and your life is never going to be perfect. But you can’t let that stop you from getting out and doing the things you want to do.”
Dingman’s flexibility and positive mindset have helped to make her workplace– and the county– a better place. For the past decade, she has worked to bring the number of women in the department up to 50% and has made strides in adding to its ethnic diversity as well. Dingman strongly believes in the power of difference when it comes to innovation. She is proud to report that, “Our people today contribute eight times the work that the same number of people did just ten years ago!”
Although she says that the goals of her organization can be daunting, Dingman feels proud of the creative and meaningful solutions that have come out of the county engineer’s office. When asked about her most important projects, Dingman recalled their approach to the 2019 bomb cyclone which caused massive system collapses across the Midwest. As of 2025, the county will have repaired all forty-two of the closed bridges from this event– a significant help for rural Lancaster communities.
Recently, Dingman was elected to the National Association of County Engineers as President-Elect and the second woman to ever serve in this position. Her advice for others looking to follow in her footsteps is to just keep pushing forward. “Even if it’s hard, don’t give up and keep persevering until you succeed.”