Cheryl McKissack Daniel, civil engineer, has more than 25 years of experience in all phases of the design and construction industry including major project work in commercial, healthcare, education, and transportation sectors. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Cheryl comes from a long lineage of architects and builders that began with an enslaved Ashanti ancestor in 1790.

Cheryl’s grandfather, Moses McKissack, founded the family business in 1905. Her father, William DeBerry McKissack took over in 1968, and her mother Leatrice Buchanan McKissack grew the business after her husband died. Today, Cheryl represents the fifth generation of the McKissack family’s century old business, McKissack & McKissack, the oldest minority and woman-owned design and construction firm in the nation.

McKissack provides construction management, program management and consulting services for various project types throughout the East Coast and the United States. The firm’s primary focus is in infrastructure, transit, healthcare and education. The McKissack family of services and areas of expertise extends well beyond traditional A/E/C disciplines, broadly supporting client needs related to their facilities. Over the years, Cheryl has built upon the success of her firm’s fore parents by fostering long lasting relationships and by providing innovative solutions to complex projects. Her success stems from her unique ability to listen, ask the right questions, lead via expertise, and preparedness.

Each project her firm undertakes, Cheryl brings capabilities drawn from her staff of architects, engineers, and construction professionals. Her company currently employs over 150 employees and has contracted more than $50 billion dollars in construction over the past decade. Within McKissack, clients find a mastery of talent blended with commitment, resources, and implementation skills, all under the leadership of Cheryl McKissack.
As President and CEO, Cheryl serves as Project Executive on all of her firm’s high-profile projects. In this capacity she provides executive leadership and ensures that diversity is implemented during each phase of a project or program. Her skills include proficiency in estimating, scheduling, design review, document control, construction inspection, and developing and implementing quality assurance/quality control programs.

McKissack is involved with some of New York’s largest projects including: the New Terminal One at JFK International Airport; LGA Central Terminal Building Redevelopment; Coney Island Hospital Campus Renovation; Harlem Hospital Center Modernization; NYC Economic Development Corporation Hunts Point Cooperative Market, Fulton Fish Market, and MART125 Cultural Center projects; Atlantic Yards (Pacific Park) LIRR Yard Relocation; Columbia University Manhattanville Expansion; Henry J. Carter Specialty Hospital & Skilled Nursing Skilled Nursing Facility and The Studio Museum in Harlem. McKissack also serves as the MTA Independent Engineer Consultant overseeing the Capital Construction Program of the nation’s largest transportation system.

Cheryl serves on numerous, corporate, charitable and community boards. As a board member, Cheryl focuses on strategic planning as part of good governance. She believes strategic planning is a critical part to a board’s mission and formulating good strategy ensures long-term value creation, building an ethical culture and managing risk.
Cheryl has been honored as a “Hero of Liberty” for her support of humanitarian initiatives and for promoting the responsibilities of a free and diverse America. She earned both a bachelor and master’s degree in civil engineering from Howard University and graduate course work Columbia University in Civil engineering.