Katipunero Celia Ruiz Tomlinson

Celia Ruiz Tomlinson has had an amazing professional career. After starting her professional engineering company Rhombus P.A. in New Mexico, she has received numerous awards for her work namely the Minority Entrepreneur of the Year by the National Park Service and Asian Business Women Entrepreneurial Leadership Award in New York.

She also co-founded her own non-profit organization called New Mexico's Affordable Housing, Inc. where she mentors students and upstart businesswomen.

She is also a well known author. The author of "The Woman's Guide to a Successful Career in Construction" (PPI Publications, 1979, Cincinnati, OH), she is also the author of CELIA (Computerized Evaluation of Lived-In Areas), an inspection program that has been used by housing authorities. Her articles have been published in various magazines, such as Engineering Times, Civil Engineering, Woman Engineer, Minority Engineer, People on Parade, and People in Action.

Her book, Don't Ever Tell Me YOU CAN'T is her personal story. Sharing her insights and courage, her experiences and accomplishments with everyone, she opens new doors and clears new paths for other women, and inspires them to make their own mark in the world as individuals. She traces her strength to her upbringing and experience in the late 50's when women were openly discriminated upon in their choice of careers, more so in the field of engineering. After two decades of hard work, she surpassed all the hurdles and now owns an engineering company. The book closes with pointers on how to pursue a dream to fruition.