Employee Spotlight: Esther Montoya, FDOT District Five Construction Program Manager

Every Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) roadway project brings unique challenges and opportunities for success, something that Esther Montoya embraces in her role as an FDOT District Five construction program manager.

Montoya’s interest and background in drainage engineering through her studies in college led her to her first steps with FDOT as a Professional Engineer (P.E.) trainee in 2014, and she now holds that professional designation. Working through different rotations over the following years, she took an interest in construction operations, and she now helps oversee multiple projects within District Five.

“As I continued with the rotations, the next phase was in operations,” Montoya said. “That was a lot more hands on, and that kind of opened my eyes to an operations role and the team environment that I wasn’t getting in a design role.”

Through these experiences, Montoya said she knew she wanted to make an immediate impact, which led her to where she now finds herself at District Five as a construction program manager. In her role, Montoya oversees project budgets, schedules, and performance of consultant teams and Department teams and helps resolve any project issues that may arise.

“My job is to make sure District Five delivers their construction program on time, on budget, safely, and at the highest quality,” Montoya said. “In operations, you’re dealing with issues and solving issues and creating an impact every day.”

Montoya’s commitment to maintaining strong relationships with project engineers, stakeholders, and contractors allows her to build trust and confidence that the teams are delivering the projects that Central Florida’s travelers depend on.

“With Sand Lake Road, and the I-4 projects, we have the right team that I can rely on, that I know can get us where we need to be,” Montoya said.

Montoya can also look back on her experience on projects such as the Wekiva Parkway extension and the NASA Causeway bridge replacement projects, the latter of which she worked as a project manager. These experiences, she said, have helped her see the progress the Department has made and provide insight on what challenges the department may face going forward.

“One thing we’re paying more attention to is how we can deliver projects with the resources we have,” Montoya said. “We’re being challenged as an industry because Florida has become a big deal.”

When she’s not working on a project, Montoya says she enjoys reading, walking with her dogs, and spending time with family.

As construction activities are constantly evolving throughout the region, Montoya’s advice to those looking to join the industry is to have a strong mental approach and take the time to learn as much as possible.

“When you enter a new industry, you don’t necessarily need to have the skills — those you can learn — but the one thing that is key is having the right attitude,” Montoya said. “That will take you wherever you want to go.”