Paige Beville initiated her engineering career in an unusual way. While studying biology as an undergraduate at Virginia Tech, she joined the field team on a polar research project led by professors Bruce Parker of biology and Bob Hoehn of civil engineering.



The National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs sponsored the research project. Its objective was to develop a mathematical model of the simple ecosystem in a remote lake located on the Ross Ice Shelf in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. The data collected from analyses of soil and water samples was used for the model. Ms. Beville was an on-site water chemist for two three-month periods in 1971 and 1972.

Dr. Hoehn showed Paige how to perform the analytical tests needed to characterize the water in Lake Bonney. During this time, she became interested in environmental engineering, and Dr. Hoehn coaxed her into entering the environmental engineering program as a graduate student after completing her bachelor’s degree in biology in 1974. He served as her major advisor for her master’s degree, which she earned in 1975.



Near the completion of Paige’s master’s studies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) contacted Dr. Hoehn seeking a person to fill a position in its Drinking Water Program. Dr. Hoehn recommended Paige and she became the first woman hired in a non-administrative position in EPA’s Atlanta Office. She remained with the program for three years, helping public water supplies throughout the southeast implement the requirements of the new Safe Drinking Water Act. She then transferred to EPA’s Toxic Substances Program in Washington, D.C., where she worked with a team to draft the regulations implementing the Toxic Substances Control Act. While working for EPA in D.C. she met and married Jim Manwaring, now Executive Director of the American Waterworks Association Research Foundation.



In 1981 Ms. Beville began her career with Atlantic Richfield’s (ARCO) Coal Company, at that time the fourth largest coal company in the world. She remained with the company until it was sold 17 years later. While there, she held a number of positions. As Manager of Coal Sales, she was responsible for developing utility markets for coals produced from ARCO’s mines in the  western U.S. and Australia. She later headed ARCO Coal’s Engineering and Environmental Health and Safety Departments, where she was responsible for overseeing project development, ensuring that the operations worked in an environmentally sound manner and, most importantly, ensuring the safety of employees.



Following the sale of ARCO, Ms. Beville decided to venture into an entirely new field. In November 1998 she became a management consultant for Federal Occupational Health, a direct health care provider for military and federal employees, based in Bethesda, Maryland. She was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in January of 1999 and became responsible for the overall operation of this $180-million-per-year organization.



Ms. Beville remained in this position for five years, commuting between her Denver home and Bethesda. However, in December 2003, deciding she “wanted her life back,” she declined to renew her contract with Federal Occupational Health. Instead, she now works as manager for the organization’s Federal Strategic Health Alliance (FEDS HEAL) Project, a $60-million-per-year program to provide pre-deployment physical and dental exams to the Army’s National Guard and Reservists going overseas to fight in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. She is using this position to “transition” into retirement, something both she and her husband plan to do in the next few years.



Active in community service, Paige volunteers with the Denver Women’s Shelter, organizing clothing drives to collect business attire for women in the shelter who are entering the work force. She also volunteers for the Colorado Humane Society, assisting with fundraising activities, and works with the non-profit “Water For People” program, which helps develop potable water resources in underdeveloped countries.



Ms. Beville also mentors young women currently in or entering the business world. Over the years, she has, both in company programs and independently, guided several young women engineers and scientists through the often-bewildering world of business. She is currently working with a young veterinarian to develop a marketing and business plan to create a client base.



Paige and Jim have two children, Jessica and Brian, and a son-in-law, Jack, all of whom graduated from Virginia Tech. The couple also has two grandchildren, both of whom are “potential Hokies.”



An avid golfer, Paige said she is enjoying “moments of brilliance and hours of mediocrity” on the course.