Chief Executive Officer
Deryl is Chief Executive Officer of McKissack & McKissack, managing over $15 billion in projects nationwide. During the past 30 years under her leadership, McKissack & McKissack has managed such landmark projects as the new Smithsonian’s Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall, MGM National Harbor Casino, Obama Presidential Library and Navy Pier Centennial Projects in Chicago and served as the architectural firm of record for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC.
As a licensed professional engineer and registered project management professional, Deryl is part of the fifth generation of her family to work in the design and construction field. McKissack & McKissack is a continuation of the nation’s oldest African American architectural firm and traces its beginnings to Moses McKissack, a master builder who was also a slave. After graduating from Howard University with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, she worked at Turner Construction and Dames & Moore. While at these firms, she honed her experience in field work, business development, and construction management. In 1990, with a shoestring budget of $1,000, Deryl started McKissack & McKissack which has grown to 170 employees with offices in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. The firm is ranked by “Engineering News-Record” as one of the top Construction Management For-Fee firms in the nation and by the “Washington Business Journal” as one of the top 25 design firms in the metropolitan Washington area.