MR Management January 2017 Cover Article

MANN JANUARY 2017
REPORT
MANAGEMENT
| experts advice for co-ops and condos |

Stronger Together

Professional Women in
Construction

Chelsea LeMar, Nicole Hunter, Lisa Wilson, Frances Wilson, Ellen Greiper, Kay Lee

Cover Feature On Display On Display Cover Feature

STRONGER TOGETHER 50 percent of the speakers. The purpose of this is twofold: an early age will lead to broader involvement and the inclusiveness
first, to give women experience participating on panels and of wowmoemnenin thine intdhuestryi.nAdunsdtrmy.eetiAnngdthethweomewnomwheno
The Benefits of Community second, to identify influential women in the industry. Providing hwahvoe seht atvhee basretso hthigeh isbianrvalsuoableh.igh is invaluable.
women with this experience allows them to pursue other
By Chelsea LeMar, Executive Director, Professional Women in Construction opportunities to speak, helping to diversify broader industry events. This year we raised funds to revamp our scholarship program and
These events provide a foundation to introduce people to decision will continue to have specific fundraisers to grow it. Our scholars
© 2016 Jill Lotenberg makers. And when these decision makers are women, we are will get more than money; they will have access to our community
beyond thrilled to highlight and promote them. Our emphasis is on and receive ongoing support as they enter the workforce.
women talking about business versus women talking about being
women. The value of this focus is simple: women know business. MWBE
Starting your own business comes with major risks and unknown
These events also follow key projects in the construction industry. A stresses. This experience is oftentimes exemplified when women
presentation from the Port Authority on the expansion of LaGuardia and minorities take the plunge, simply because of breaking into an
Airport earlier this year drew an engaged crowd and a presentation industry that has long been led by a group lacking diversity. We
from the president of Moynihan Station Development on the want to support and encourage those ready to take this leap. Many
expansion of Penn Station into the Farley Center offered listeners programs exist to support the growth of minority and women-
unique project-specific insights and connections. PWC’s events also owned enterprises. We at PWC recognize and support these efforts.

Our emphasis is on women talking about business versus
women talking about being women.

Left to right: Frances Wilson, Development Coordinator, Professional Women in Construction; Nicole Hunter, Project Manager, HNTB; highlight key players in the industry. Our members were introduced We are excited about New York State’s goal of 30 percent contracting
Kay Lee, Business Development Manager, Tyco SimplexGrinnell; Lisa Wilson, Chief Information Officer, JRM Construction; Ellen Greiper, Partner, to five principal architects at our annual Architects & Engineers utilization for MWBEs. If this goal is met, New York State will have
Goldberg Segalla; Chelsea LeMar, Executive Director, Professional Women in Construction event, and four leading developers at our Developers’ Forum. the highest utilization of MWBE in state contracts in the nation.

As the executive director of Professional Women in the industry is a valuable asset. Building this community In addition to PWC’s panel events, we invite our community into To reach this goal, I believe the solution is a mixture of bringing on
Construction (PWC), my main priority is getting women takes time and effort, from not only women, but men alike. the offices of prominent industry trailblazers. Bjarke Ingels Group more MWBE subcontractors, as well as expanding the capacity of
business. PWC is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to invited the PWC community to their office for a presentation by four MWBEfirms.WeareputtingtogetheranAdvisoryBoardtodirectPWC
promoting and supporting women in the construction industry. New We are building this community through three main areas: of their female architects, and Toby Moskovits welcomed PWC into as we figure out the best place for us to help the state reach these goals.
York is our founding chapter, and we have three additional chapters networking events; scholarship and mentorship programs; and her office for a panel presentation on a recent project and discussion
in Connecticut, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. We have gained supporting minority and women-owned businesses. In addition to on future projects. Both events were intimate gatherings and offered I believe in these goals and am confident that PWC can have an
interest from other areas of the country and are excited to expand. these areas, we expanded into others, including golfing, running networking opportunities with major decision makers in the industry. impact in making significant gains towards achieving them.
and dinners together.
I have been in this role for nearly a year and a half, and have quickly Our PWC member-only networking events have proven extremely Community
realized there is one key component that is more important than Networking Events popular. The first one we hosted at a wine and chocolate bar, and the These three organizational priorities–networking events, our
anything else, and that is building a community. My vision is a PWC was founded in 1980, and we have long been known for second was at View of the World, overlooking the World Trade Center scholarship/mentorship program, and supporting MWBEs—
diverse and inclusive community of both women and men focused our networking events. These events include insightful industry campus. At one networking event, we had attendees place their business are the driving force in creating our community. In addition, we
on promoting women who have contributed to the industry in panel discussions, inspiring galas honoring outstanding women, card in a bucket at the entrance, and five were drawn. Those five were have started to pursue activities like heading to the driving range
innovative ways, and those who have pushed the status quo. mega construction project presentations, and member-only called to introduce themselves to the group, becoming the program for with women ready to pick up the game of golf, getting a group
networking opportunities. The purpose of these events is for the evening. They each explained the reason for their attendance and together to run a half marathon in Central Park at the end of
We all know the importance of relationships and networking people to gain insight into industry trends, while also building their goals for being involved with PWC. All five walked away with April, and hosting dinners connecting movers and shakers in
in the construction industry. Creating a space where this valuable relationships. We have been successful at creating this new business prospects. the industry. We are always looking for new ideas to expand and
common interest (business development) is paired with social space, and because of this, we do attract (and welcome!) men. grow to meet the needs of women, and men, in the industry.
gatherings, meaningful conversations and support for all, Mentorship & Scholarship
while also incorporating trends and a full representation of For each event, the goal is to have women represent at least Early in 2016, we put together a mentorship panel, and it was clear that PWC is more than a women’s organization. We fundamentally
both the mentors and the mentees had something to gain from this believe that promoting women in the construction industry is good
24 MRM January 2017 type of relationship. The mentors expressed an ability to learn new for growth and prosperity in the industry at large. We include men
technology trends from their mentees, while the mentees expressed in this goal because together, we are better.
interest in gaining institutional knowledge within the industry from
mentors. Mentorship is a new priority that we will start during Chelsea LeMar, Executive Director
the coming year through a pilot program. The idea is to introduce Professional Women in Construction
emerging professionals to experienced professionals with the goal of 1001 6th Avenue, Suite 405, New York, NY 10018
inspiring new knowledge, imparting wisdom and offering support. 212-486-7745
We hope to expand it to engage high school and university www.pwcusa.org
students. Introducing girls to construction-related professions at
January 2017 MRM 25