Alicia Kamischke | Washington , Illinois

Born and raised in Washington, IL, Alicia Kamischke is the Project Management Officer (PMO) and State, Local, and Education (SLED) Market Lead at Prairie Engineers, a woman-owned engineering consulting firm.

Though her childhood ambitions involved the career trifecta of librarian, Dairy Queen Employee, and mom, Kamischke became interested in engineering in high school after a hands-on weekend at SIUC. Now with a degree in structural engineering, Kamischke serves as PMO—a role she was tasked with building from scratch—and SLED Market Lead. Her work encompasses project management oversight, standards development, strategic reporting, and business development in the SLED market and also managing projects across various disciplines and markets.

A member of the Illinois Structural Engineering Board, Kamischke also advises on professional competence, licensee misconduct and weighs in on exam and licensing requirements. She has also served for eight years on the National Structural Exam Committee through the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying where she assisted with manual exam scoring and currently assists with question development as part of the new electronic format.

Alicia coaches her sons’ soccer teams, volunteers as the Cub Scout pack’s secretary, and as the PTO’s Vice President, spearheaded the very first PTO grant program. Additionally, Kamischke recently joined Impact Central Illinois and looks forward to serving her first year on the Financial Review Committee giving back to her home community.

Serena Page, Kamischke’s nominator, writes, “Alicia’s strengths are in organization, financial management, and coordination, and she is quick to step up and fill roles when there is a need in the community for these skills. She prefers to work behind the scenes as a facilitator, ensuring organizations she volunteers with have the support and organization to effectively meet their goals.”

Kamishke is most passionate about volunteering with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “We are beyond blessed in Peoria to have a local affiliate right here. St. Jude makes an incredible difference both in cancer research and supporting individual families going through one of the worst scenarios imaginable.”