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Kodi Guillory is used to being the only woman in the room.
As a civil engineer, she’s part of a field that’s dominated by men. In fact, a 2020 demographic report by the American Society of Civil Engineers showed that only 14% of the civil engineering workforce was female. But for Guillory, that statistic only spurs her to strive harder toward success in her work as founder and president of Sustainable Design Solutions, a 6-year-old engineering firm that now has offices in both Louisiana and Georgia.
“I know the importance of making sure my voice is heard and making sure that people understand that what I have to say matters,” she says. “I’ve also connected on a deeper level with other women I’ve met in my career, because we all have that experience.”
Guillory’s childhood ambition was to shoot for the stars in a more literal sense. “I wanted to be an astronaut even into my senior year of high school,” she says. And though she was accepted to an out-of-state aeronautical engineering program, a suggestion from her physics teacher inspired her to consider biological engineering at LSU. She earned her bachelor’s degree in that discipline and then stayed on to obtain her master’s in civil engineering.
After spending four years working as a civil engineer with CDM Smith and then nearly eight years as an engineering supervisor for the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana, Guillory parlayed her experience into a business of her own. She launched Sustainable Design Solutions in 2019 and has gone on to manage large civil works projects totaling more than $1.5 billion.
“I saw that there was a need and an opportunity,” she says. “I had gained a lot of experience by working in both the public and private sectors, and I felt that it was time for me to see if I could provide services to both public and private clients.”
The firm, which offers a range of environmental and civil engineering services ranging from water resources and drainage to roadway design and coastal projects, started with a single location in Baton Rouge but later added an office in Shreveport, where the firm now plays an integral role in the Clean Water Shreveport program, and another in Atlanta.
The Baton Rouge location leans heavily into design work, with significant projects related to the MovEBR initiative and supporting the city’s drainage services after COVID through funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Guillory credits her company’s growth to hard work and perseverance, along with “a little bit of luck.” Additional expansion is part of her vision for the future, though she is intentional about not growing too fast and maintaining the firm’s high-quality standards.
Outside the office, Guillory confesses to being a “real soccer mom” who prioritizes her 8- and 10-year-old sons’ athletic endeavors and other activities. The boys also have their own beanbag chairs in her office, so they often have the chance to see their mom leading her team of 20 employees up close.
“It is a balancing act,” she says. “It’s really about managing schedules and leaning on the support system my husband and I have built.”
Leading by example and giving her employees the freedom to make decisions and recommendations are the hallmarks of Guillory’s management style. As a small firm, SDS makes a concerted effort to help new hires fresh from college develop into well-rounded engineers who can work on a variety of types of projects.
“I think a great leader helps to develop, mentor and encourage their staff to think independently,” she says. “I want to give them the space to be able to grow.”
