The Eleven Percent: Spotlight on Women in the Trades
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Gretchen Avilés Piñeiro, Traffic Engineer
Soon after graduating from the University of Puerto Rico, Gretchen Avilés Piñeiro landed her job as a traffic engineer for the City of Madison, Wisconsin.
“I wanted to work with traffic signals, and everything from moving people from point A to point B safely and efficiently,” she says. “I found this job, and I loved the position description.”
During her on-site interview in October 2015, Avilés Piñeiro fell in love with the changing leaves, something Puerto Rico doesn’t have with its year-round hot and humid climate. But by the time she relocated to Madison a month later, the leaves were gone and the cold weather had moved in.
“I was like, wait, where are my trees that I fell in love with?” she says. “But I am getting used to winter, and it’s been a great experience for eight years now.”
“I feel like my job is important to the culture of the city. We want to make sure people feel comfortable whenever they’re outside and that their commutes are smooth. Lighting is very important to making people feel safe and like they’re in a fun environment, whether they’re walking, biking, driving or even taking the bus.”
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Faye Hadley, ASE Certified Master Technician
Faye Hadley carved out her space in the automotive world as a master technician, television personality and DIY automotive instructor — a unique combination she feels she was made for.
Hadley has loved vehicles and creative self-expression as long as she can remember. On her second birthday, her favorite presents included a dump truck and a frilly fairy dress. But her book-smart, artistic family never presented a future in the trades as a viable option.
“When I told my parents that I wanted to be a mechanic, they did not support that path for me,” Hadley says. “And I never wanted to disappoint my parents, so I tried really hard to live the life that they wanted for me.”
To do that, she earned a psychology degree from Harvard in 2010, then landed a high-paying job as a therapist. But after giving it a year, she didn’t feel like she was on her true life path. So she finally started wrenching on cars professionally.
Today she lives in San Antonio, where she operates her own repair business, Pistons & Pixie Dust.
Hadley is also a TV celebrity, starring in dozens of episodes of All Girls Garage and Motor MythBusters. She runs a popular YouTube channel that highlights little-known repair solutions. And she maintains a significant and loyal following on Instagram (@pistonsandpixiedust) where she shares a range of automotive content.
“If you can fix your car, you can get to work. You can get to school. You can ask the right questions at the repair shop to make sure you’re not overspending. All of this contributes to a person’s autonomy and freedom.”
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Tonda Thompson, Woodworker and Community Advocate
Tonda Thompson is a woodworker and general contractor in Milwaukee, but that’s just one part of her ongoing, transformative work. Thompson has a history of turning challenges big and small into opportunities for growth, for herself and her community.
After the death of her infant firstborn, she shifted her focus from a career as a runway model to advocating for better health care for Black mothers and infants.
More recently, Thompson created She Slangs Wood, a custom furniture business with the secondary goal of teaching women woodworking skills. She showcases her work and that of her students at @sheslangswood on Instagram, and encourages community involvement in her classes. She shares more about her work and life below.
“When you teach a person how to use an impact drill, it doesn’t just give them the power to make money. It gives them a confidence like no other. When I put a drill in a woman’s hands, she’s like, ‘Oh my God, I could change the world.'”
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