Accomplished Engineering Career Fixing Problems Across Boston

Maureen McDonough, E’82, civil engineering, was the first in her family to attend a private university, which was made possible by the co-op program. This was the start of her successful career blending engineering and law, where she has focused on the complex business and legal aspects of delivering multibillion-dollar capital programs.
In 2023, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) asked Maureen McDonough, E’82, civil engineering, to assume management of the billion-dollar Green Line Extension (GLX) program, which is expanding Boston’s train system.
A high-profile project, many people would have run the other way, but McDonough was more than willing to step up. “I like solving big problems,” says McDonough, whose primary role at the MBTA is chief of capital program support leading a team of more than 200 individuals responsible for contract services, project controls, quality assurance and field services. Just a few months after McDonough took over the GLX program, the tight gauge issues on the tracks were corrected and the closeout process is ongoing.
McDonough has built a career of solving problems in the city of Boston. She was on the Massachusetts Port Authority team that implemented airport improvements, such as new roadways and adding moving walkways to the terminals. She also worked on the Boston Harbor Clean-up project as a claims/risk manager for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA).
She credits her Northeastern co-op experience as helping to make it all happen. “I believe that I wouldn’t have this career if it weren’t for co-op,” McDonough says. “I think it was that foundational.”
As one of seven children of a single mother, McDonough would not have been able to attend Northeastern without the financial help co-ops provided. “My father died when we were young,” McDonough says. “I was the first one who went to a private school. The reason that was even possible was because of the co-op program.”
“My mother appreciated the value of the co-op program providing opportunities to make some money to put towards tuition payments and gaining great job experience,” McDonough adds.
McDonough didn’t know what major she wanted to pursue as an undergraduate but knew she wanted to go to law school. Always having done well in math and science, her mother encouraged her to pursue engineering. Initially, she found the coursework challenging and had doubts she could succeed. But she wouldn’t quit. “Eventually it got better,” she says. “I got better.”
For her first co-op, McDonough was hired at Fay, Spofford & Thorndike, an engineering services firm that was acquired by Stantec in 2015, initially working in the drafting department. She began to enjoy engineering and came to see it primarily as a way to solve problems.
She returned to the same firm for two additional co-ops and recalls how during that time she acquired many professional skills. “I learned how to speak to adults, how to express myself, and even how to dress professionally,” McDonough says. “My co-op experiences built up my confidence and I developed a comfort in not knowing things and not being afraid to ask questions.”
Throughout this time, she continued to harbor hopes for law school. In her third year at Northeastern, she heard a patent attorney speak at a student chapter meeting, suggesting that engineering students consider law school. “It finally clicked,” McDonough says. “I realized I could tie the two together—engineering and law.”
Shortly after graduation, she visited a friend at Fay, Spofford & Thorndike. While there, she bumped into one of her former co-op managers and when he learned she did not yet have a job, he hired her on the spot.
“They offered me that job simply because I was a co-op and they knew me,” McDonough says.
Moving forward as a civil engineer at the firm, McDonough began attending Suffolk University Law School in Boston at night. When she received a JD degree, she left the firm on good terms to take the job with the MWRA on the Boston Harbor Project. There, she developed and managed the risk management and claims management programs.
She continued to build a career specializing in project delivery, risk management, contract negotiations, and conflict resolution. At Harvard University, she was the senior director of administration strategies where she developed best practices, new contract documents and served as a lead negotiator for the ongoing Allston Development Program, a multibillion-dollar undertaking involving new streets, parks, student housing, research space, museums, athletic facilities, and retail space.
She also served as executive vice president and chief risk officer at Suffolk Construction, where among other projects, she oversaw the implementation of complex insurance programs. Prior to joining the MBTA, she ran a consulting firm, MAM Strategic Advisory Group, providing services related to contracts negotiations and dispute resolution.
“Engineering school teaches you to think a certain way and law school teaches you to think a different way, and you can use both,” McDonough says. “I actually think it makes you a much better problem solver. You have a broader perspective on what the issues might be and what the potential solutions might be.”
She is most proud of her impact on the places where people live, work, learn, and play. When she reflects on her career, she recalls a time recently when she had a meeting at the Boston Harbor Hotel. “I was staring out the window looking at places—the harbor, the Seaport, Logan Airport—and I’m amazed that I had a little hand in all of it.”