Darlene Septelka

Teaching Associate Professor

Professional Faculty Fellow

Darlene has been an influential figure in the construction industry for over five decades, leaving an impact locally, nationally, and internationally. In 2024, Darlene was inducted into the University of Washington Construction Hall of Fame, recognizing her active role in elevating the accomplishments of the construction industry through support of construction education and professional and community involvement.

Darlene began her career in 1972 as an apprentice draftsperson at Stone and Webster in Boston. As Darlene progressed up the ladder, she broke the norms of the time by taking on leadership roles and managing all-male teams during the construction of the Seabrook Nuclear Station and as the resident engineering manager of the pipe support department at WPPSS Satsop Nuclear Station in the 70s and 80s. During her career, Darlene has managed projects worth over $2 billion, including international ventures with a developer in Vietnam and The Boeing Company. For Boeing, Darlene wrote, negotiated, and managed over 30 design and construction international contracts for projects in over 15 countries.

One of Darlene’s notable achievements was leading the construction of a sizeable private aviation project in China, where she served as Boeing’s on-site International Senior Project Manager. She established and ran the company’s construction office, implemented bilingual project management systems, and supervised a team of 27 consultants with her boots on the ground for three years in China. She was a recognized leader within the construction industry in China and spoke at various events in China on construction leadership and safety improvement. In 2019, Darlene was awarded the prestigious Boeing Chairmen’s Safety Champion Award for her dedication to ensuring compliance with environmental, health, safety, and labor standards on her project in China.

For the last 24 years, Darlene has been a champion of collaboration and using alternative delivery methods within the industry. In recognition of her years of leadership in promoting design-build best practices, Darlene was inducted into the Design-Build Institute of America’s College of Fellows in 2023. Darlene served for 12 years on the DBIA’s National Education Committee. Since 1998, Darlene has been an approved DBIA speaker, teaching DBIA certification courses nationwide and a national speaker at over 80 events.

At the local level, Darlene was one of the founders of the DBIA Northwest chapter, serving as the charter VP in 2002 and again from 2005 to 2009. Darlene conducted data research for the WA State Capital Projects Advisory Review Board, contributing to construction legislative changes in Washington State. She was appointed to serve on the WA State Project Review Committee in 2007 and remained a member for six years.

Darlene’s industry education contribution included teaching in the UW Construction Management Department as an adjunct instructor for nine years while working full-time. She was an Executive Board Member of the Construction Industry Advisory Council for ten years. She served on the Advisory Board of the UW Construction Management Certificate Program for six years.

After retiring from Boeing in 2020, Darlene joined the University of Washington as a full-time assistant teaching professor and continues to teach our future construction leaders best practices. In December 2022, Darlene was the first recipient of the CM Department’s Professional Faculty Fellowship Award; in 2023, she received an Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2024 Darlene was promoted to Associate Teaching Professor.

Darlene holds an AAS from Blue Hills Technical School and a BS and MS in Construction Management from the UW.