Dr. Cheryl McKissack Daniel

Dr. Cheryl McKissack Daniel is a civil engineer and the president and chief executive officer of McKissack & McKissack, widely recognized as the nation’s oldest minority- and woman-owned design and construction firm. Born in Nashville in 1961, she is a fifth-generation builder in a family whose professional story begins with Moses McKissack III, who founded the firm with his brother Calvin in 1905. She and her twin sister spent Saturdays on job sites with their father, architect William DeBerry McKissack. Their mother, Leatrice Buchanan McKissack, later ran the company. Cheryl earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Howard University.

Her early career included quality work on government research, engineering at Weidlinger Associates, and estimating at Turner Construction, including restoration of the historic Schomburg Theatre. She then led the family firm from New York, winning roles on some of the city’s largest civic projects: New Terminal One at JFK, the LaGuardia Central Terminal redevelopment, and New York City Economic Development Corporation work at Hunts Point, the Fulton Fish Market, and the MART125 Cultural Center. She chairs the New York Building Foundation and serves on the boards of the ACE Mentor Program and the New York Building Congress.

In an industry that still has too few women and people of color at the top, she has used those platforms to open doors for the next generation of designers and builders. She is a 2026 National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame Chairman’s Award honoree.

• Leads the nation’s oldest minority- and woman-owned design and construction firm. As president and CEO of McKissack & McKissack, founded in 1905 by Moses McKissack III and his brother Calvin, she is the fifth-generation builder in a family that began in Nashville.
• Earned Howard bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering. Those credentials, and Saturdays on job sites with her father, architect William DeBerry McKissack, prepared her for quality work on government research, engineering at Weidlinger Associates, and estimating at Turner Construction—including restoration of the historic Schomburg Theatre.
• Won roles on New York’s largest civic projects. Under her leadership the firm has worked on New Terminal One at JFK, the LaGuardia Central Terminal redevelopment, and New York City Economic Development Corporation projects at Hunts Point, the Fulton Fish Market, and the MART125 Cultural Center.
• Chairs the New York Building Foundation. She also serves on the boards of the ACE Mentor Program and the New York Building Congress, using those seats to open doors in an industry that still has too few women and people of color at the top.
• Carries forward a 120-year family practice. After her mother, Leatrice Buchanan McKissack, ran the company, Cheryl moved the New York operation into the first rank of civic builders while keeping the McKissack name on the work.