Renderings of JFK’s gargantuan new terminal. Photo courtesy of Ghim-Lay Yeo
By Jack Delaney | jdelaney@queensledger.com
Uzoamaka Okoye is used to managing impossibly large projects. Previously a construction lawyer with over two decades of experience, she now serves as the Chief of Staff for the New Terminal One at JFK, a mammoth undertaking that will leverage $9.5 billion to build 23 gates covering upwards of 2.4 million square feet.
Okoye, a Bed-Stuy resident whose offices are in Jamaica, began her career as an engineer working on water and wastewater infrastructure projects. She said she studied engineering at NYU because she “loved the concept of building something that hasn’t been built, something beautiful. If you’re lucky,” she expanded, “you get to build projects that really change the landscape and have meaning.” That, for her, is what makes Terminal One — which will not only dazzle the eyes, but generate over 10,000 jobs by the time it’s finished — so exciting.
On top of her stellar legal and project management bona fides, Okoye has served on the board of African Services Committee, a nonprofit dedicated to providing services for recent migrants, for 15 years. Having come to the U.S. from Liberia at age 13, and now the board’s chair, Okoye notes that the work has been “really rewarding for me, even through the difficult times.”
Okoye is also inspired by the work of the Queens Center for Progress, saying that she had the pleasure to visit their site and witness an array of vital programs that span from kids in Pre-K to 80-year-olds. In fact, she sees overlap between QCP’s efforts to empower those with disabilities and her team’s mission at Terminal One. “As we look at the people who will be coming in,” she said, “it’s every type of traveler.” Informed by an ethic of accessibility, the new structure will have a range of facilities — including an arrivals lounge, a sensory room, and automated wheelchairs — so that everyone “can be treated with dignity and have a great experience from the minute they arrive at the curb.” Okoye is looking forward to a “long partnership” with QCP over how best to accommodate travelers of all backgrounds.
