2020’s 30 Under 30 EC&M Electrical All Stars: Andrea Delgado Tripodi

Andrea Delgado Tripodi
Job Title: BIM/VDC Manager
Company: Sullivan & McLaughlin
Location: Boston
Age: 28
Years on the Job: 7
Interests: Spending time with family, going for hikes, gardening, and interior design

In high school, the electrical industry sparked curiosity for Andrea Delgado Tripodi, a graduate of the electrical technology program at the Greater New Bedford Vocational Technology High School in New Bedford, Mass., where she was born and raised.

“How electricity works and different methods on how to get systems to work together was intriguing to me,” says Tripodi.

Andrea Delgado Tripodi always looks for ideas on how to create new prefabricated items from her company’s software programs.

In high school, Tripodi learned electrical schematics and calculations and how to physically mount electrical equipment and components. While pursuing her associate degree in computer-aided design and a bachelor’s degree in engineering design and configuration management from Johnson & Wales University, she discovered the ins and outs of different trades. Following graduation, she worked as an electrical estimator and CAD coordinator at Energy Electric. When she was later hired as an electrical CAD coordinator at Sullivan & McLaughlin, she switched gears to focus on electrical coordination and prefabrication. After five years in the company’s Boston office, Tripodi now serves as the electrical BIM/VDC manager.

“My days are different every day, which is one reason why I love what I do,” she says. “I can find myself in meetings one day, and then the next, I can be detailing prefabricated electrical systems or working alongside a licensed electrician or planning out a floor plan.”

Shawn Leahy, operations manager at Sullivan & McLaughlin, says since Tripodi started, she has provided coordinating, drafting, and detailing work for some of the company’s most complicated projects.

“She has a tremendous drive and professionalism that has our regular customers requesting her personal assistance on projects,” Leahy says. “Andrea has also become a great leader with a voice for change and growth within the department. She is our go-to for new and different processes as we aggressively push our prefabrication activities.”