This article originally appeared on The Nashville Business Journal.
The women who build Nashville are focused on empowering other women and forging new paths to careers in construction. From working in the trades on the job site to being behind the scenes in engineering or project management, female presence within the industry is becoming more prevalent.
Women will continue to be involved in the growth of the city in an ever-increasing way. Support systems are in place for women to connect with one another to ensure that mentoring and role modeling are happening. Meanwhile, work-life balance is at the forefront of job expectations, especially for entry level candidates. Providing a culture of support and encouragement is a non-negotiable in recruiting and retaining top talent.
AI is taking center stage as a game changer in efficiency and predictive modeling. New technologies paired with human insight are opening possibilities like never before. The Nashville Business Journal recently invited three leading executives in the construction, engineering and architecture industry to talk about their career paths and the future of the industry.
Finding your career path
NBJ: Cindy, tell us about your journey that led you to construction. And then what has kept you in the industry for 32 years?
Cindy Anderson: I first took an interest in architecture when I was in high school and had the opportunity to take both drafting and architecture classes during my junior and senior years. I enjoyed the logic behind designing something functional, but when I began taking classes in college with the intent to major in architecture, I realized that design was a little bit too abstract for me. I turned to building science where I studied soils, concrete and steel; things that were more tangible. I had wonderful professors and mentors that were very encouraging to me as I decided to enter this field after graduation, and I have stayed with this field and worked for the same company, except for my first year out of college, ever since. I think the main reason for that is because I work for a great company that provides the support needed to sustain the demands of this industry. Also, it is never boring. I learn something new every day, whether it is about new technology, a new construction product, or a better way to build. This industry has become a lifelong education for me.
NBJ: Kelly, the architecture, engineering and construction industry is historically predominantly male. How did you become interested in the field, and what has made you successful so far?
Kelly Evans: When I was younger, it never occurred to me to explore a career in construction. When I watched movies or television shows or read books about construction, the construction workers were all men. When I started applying to colleges, I originally thought I would go into architecture. After I got into Auburn, I decided to switch to civil engineering and did their co-op program, which is how I found Turner.
Working at Turner opened my eyes to how many different worlds exist within the construction industry. It was not at all what I expected. I could work on projects in health care, industrial or commercial and on projects big and small — and everything in between. It felt like a Goldilocks fit where I could apply my creativity to problem solving out in the field. That was a huge pull for me.
My success in this industry is directly related to the mentors that I have had. I have had supportive managers, allies, peers and amazing examples of women in leadership. These women gave me an example of what my career could be before I could picture it for myself.
Women in the field
NBJ: Laurel, mentorship is an important ingredient to advance your career in any industry. How do you approach mentorship, and what advice do you have for the next generation of women in design?
Laurel Harrison: My advice for the next generation is to be intentional about your career, because it’s not just your career, it’s your life. The more deliberate you are, the more likely it is that you will achieve the outcome you want. I make a habit of writing down my goals and accomplishments and revisiting them weekly to make sure I’m staying on track. James Clear says in his book Atomic Habits that you only need to be 1% better every day. I strive for small, consistent improvements that can compound into big advantages over time. That mindset gives me natural confidence, especially when trying something new.
It is also important to find both a mentor and a sponsor, and to know the difference between the two. A mentor is a trusted advisor and someone you can confide in for guidance. A sponsor is an advocate who actively champions your potential within an organization and can speak up for you in rooms that you are not in. You should know that you don’t have to “go it alone.” There is no shame in asking for support. As a mentor myself, I always enjoy giving back and helping others grow.
NBJ: Cindy, what advice would you give to young women starting out in the architecture, engineering and construction industry?
Anderson: I would say, “don’t be afraid to make mistakes.” Young women tend to feel obligated to prove themselves in a male-dominated industry. They feel like they must strive for perfection. That can sometimes stand in the way of seeing the long-term objectives and can hinder advancing your career. It is important to acknowledge mistakes and use them as a learning opportunity. Learning from those mistakes will be valuable to you as you become a leader and can share those experiences to mentor and coach younger team members.
NBJ: Kelly, what has been your experience as a woman in construction, and what would you tell someone about working in the field?
Evans: Working in operations on a project site is where I feel like I get the most satisfaction out of my role. I love being out in the field. It can be organized chaos in a lot of ways, but I enjoy working through problems with team members and being able to see progress in real time and the tangible difference I am making.
There are so many different roles that a woman can have in the construction industry, from working in the trades on the job site to being behind the scenes in engineering, estimating or project management. I have worn all those hats while working at Turner. Being able to work among different departments has given me a better understanding of how the company works, runs and is successful. All that goes back to why I liked this industry so much in the first place. It keeps me challenged.
The Nashville scene
NBJ: Laurel, you’ve designed in LA and are now bringing your expertise to Nashville. How does the design culture here differ, and what unique opportunities have you encountered?
Harrison: When I graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, I intentionally sought out diverse experiences. I wanted to work on projects across the U.S. and internationally. I believe that if you want to be the best, you must work with the best. That mindset has shaped my career. I’m bringing my expertise back here to my hometown of Nashville after having been gone for 20 years.
Workplace design has always been a passion of mind. I have had the opportunity to specialize in professional services for workplace design with some of the top firms worldwide working on projects overseas, which has given me very diverse experience. I am very excited to be back in this rapidly growing city, that I recently discovered is nicknamed the “IT City”. Nashville is highly collaborative and the sense of teamwork here is something I really appreciate.
NBJ: Kelly, what is the trend line for the impact of women in Nashville’s construction industry? Do you feel like women are growing their influence and representation locally? And if not, what needs to change for more progress?
Evans: We are still very much a minority overall in the industry and there is still progress to be made, but I have personally witnessed an increase in the amount of women that are present on a construction site from when I first started working in Nashville to now. For example, Turner has a local employee resource group that is focused on empowering women. We visit each other’s job sites, and host lunch and learns and trivia nights as a way to connect with our peers. We want to form relationships organically, but also create a support system for each other.
I’m currently on a project where all our project engineers are women, and we also have a female superintendent. They are all rock stars! I don’t know if, early on in my career, I could have imagined that I would be leading a group of women. I have so much pride in all the work they have done.
Last year, we hosted the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) group on our job site for a lunch and learn job walk for the 2024 Women in Construction Week. We had 30-to-40 women in attendance. I do not have any doubt that those women will be involved in the growth of this city.
For the future of the industry, we want to flip the script on any preconceived notions of what it means to work for a construction company. One way we are doing that is by working with local high schools to host camps and show young women what a job in construction could look like for them.
Signature projects
NBJ: Cindy, what would you consider the most important project that you have worked on?
Anderson: I would like to reference two projects that I consider to be important because they changed the trajectory of our Nashville division and our presence in downtown Nashville and throughout Middle Tennessee. The first project was the Loewenberg College of Nursing (LCON) at the University of Memphis. Prior to that project, we had been pursuing work for several years with the Tennessee Board of Regents, to no avail. As a result of winning that project, we had the opportunity to gain higher education experience and earn the trust and confidence from the higher education world, which led to many more successful projects.
The second project that was significant in growing our Nashville division was the Capitol View project with Boyle Investment Company. That was our Nashville division’s first mixed-use, multifamily project and it consisted of two city blocks with an office tower, apartments, parking garages and retail. It brought a lot of attention to Hoar Construction as a local general contractor, whereas before we had been seen as a health care general contractor that traveled the country with very little presence here in Nashville.
Both of those projects led to the diversification of this division and its success in contributing to changing the skyline of Nashville as well as building institutions that are going to educate the future workforce in the state.
NBJ: Laurel, describe a milestone project or moment in your career, and what made it so impactful.
Harrison: For me, it is not just one project, but a series of milestone moments that have shaped my career. Every time I have said yes to a challenge, it has shaped my approach and brought me to where I am today.
I always knew that I wanted to be an interior designer. My grandfather was a professor of engineering at Vanderbilt and friends with one of the founders of Gresham Smith. Hearing about his career from a very young age had an impact on me. It is full circle that I am back here in Nashville at this point in my career.
I had the opportunity to lead the entire project for the Aerospace Corporation just five years out of school, because of my mentors and sponsors. I handled everything from design direction to client coordination. That was a pivotal learning experience very early on.
I’ve also led large-scale international projects where I have traveled to Germany, Dubai and Italy to source materials and then collaborate with those teams. Those experiences broadened my perspective and deepened my understanding of global design.
I found my passion for workplace design very early on in my career. Workplace design goes beyond aesthetics and reflects a company’s culture. The way people work is constantly evolving, and I thrive on the challenges of designing spaces that adapt to those changes.
NBJ: Kelly, when you think about your career, what are you most proud of? What stands out to you about the difference you have made?
Evans: Knowing that I’ve helped change this city skyline multiple times now by working on two different high-rise, multifamily projects downtown is something I’m very proud of. I also worked on a project to turn a century-old bank building on Broadway into a honkytonk. That is one I love to show off when I have friends and family coming to town to visit. I’m not sure if I’ll ever have another project that requires structurally supporting an upside-down tractor!
When I’m driving around downtown, I like to point out any active projects or previous projects to my kids and their reactions always fill my heart.
More than anything, I’m proud of knowing that I have helped contribute to the growth of the city and the growth of the female presence within this industry. I had examples of women in leadership early on in my career showing me I could do this. Now, I can be that example for others.
Innovation in the industry
NBJ: Cindy, how has the pre-construction process evolved during your career?
Anderson: Over the past decade, pre-construction especially has moved from behind the desk to in front of the room and involves a much broader scope. Gone are the days when we would work in silos. There has been a concerted effort in the industry to encourage that collaborative environment and we have been successful in doing so.
Our pre-construction team is often the first impression that an owner experiences of our company. How well we work as a team is important. Our main goal during pre-construction is to achieve the owner’s budget. If we don’t do that, then the project won’t be built and we will all have spent time and money for nothing. We must focus on how best to achieve target budgets more efficiently, which involves an extensive collaborative effort with both the owner and the design team. During this phase, it is important to provide fluid communication and feedback that enables our owner to make decisions more quickly not just involving cost, but also project scheduling and logistics, and even working with the municipalities- especially with our urban projects.
Our relationship with the architects and their consultants is vitally important because we are typically providing guidance and assistance to their design to ensure that the project stays in budget and we can meet the schedule. There is a balancing act as we are providing constructive criticism with the best interest of the project in mind. Everyone must be a bit nimble and not lose sight of the owner’s expectations.
NBJ: Laurel, how do you see AI shaping the future of workplace design?
Harrison: AI is revolutionizing workplace design. It is making it smarter, more adaptive and more data-driven than ever before. It is also allowing companies to visualize their spaces in new and immersive ways. At Gresham Smith, we have a proprietary AI tool that we have developed. We use that tool in innovative approaches and to anticipate the future of work. This technology is allowing us to quickly analyze user behavior, optimize space utilization and really create highly personalized environments that are great for productivity and the client’s well-being.
We hosted a Nashville Design Week event earlier this year and used that tool to give participants an opportunity to interact with it and see spaces transformed in real time. It was a fun way to introduce that to Nashville.
While AI is a game changer for efficiency and predictive modeling in workplace design, I would say the real magic happens when technology and human insight come together. AI helps us, but it is the real-world, hands-on experience and creative expertise that designers have that truly bring the workplace to life. AI can’t replace that.
NBJ: Kelly, as an engineer, what do you see as the biggest advancements in the industry?
Evans: The construction industry certainly does not like to sit still. There is always a push to build safer, smarter or more efficiently. That drive gives the industry an innate need to remain focused on innovation. We are working more and more with 3D modeling, virtual reality, prefabrication and AI.
I also think about an advancement that was important for me and not tied to technology and innovation. Women are deciding whether this type of work is for them, and our industry is now showing them they can have options if they want to pursue motherhood in conjunction with a career. I have seen a general shift in the industry regarding parental leave policies. After witnessing how the world recovered after the pandemic, many companies can see how finding a work-life balance is important to the next generation that is entering the workforce.
Looking forward, we need to focus on how we retain our building knowledge and personnel. As older generations are retiring, they can instill their knowledge in their successors. If companies can show they have encouraging parental leave policies or cultures that promote flexibility when needed, they can attract more women to this industry.
I have had two babies while working for Turner and several members of my team have very young children. That is a good testament that it is possible to achieve a supportive environment that has a healthy balance.
On the horizon
NBJ: Cindy, looking ahead, what are the biggest challenges facing the construction industry?
Anderson: I think retaining top talent across all sectors of our industry from general contracting to design and trade partners is one of the biggest challenges. This industry is very demanding. I think we can all agree that, since COVID, there has been heightened awareness of mental health and wellness in our society, specifically in the workplace. A concern for work-life balance has moved to the forefront, especially for entry level candidates.
In the past few weeks, as I have interviewed several candidates, our company culture has become a topic of conversation during the interview process. I believe that culture and work environment could be more important to some people than how much they get paid. As leaders in our industry, we need to ensure that we are mentoring our team members and helping them navigate their work priorities and time management to avoid burnout. We want to keep striving to work smarter, not harder.
In addition, the younger generation gets bored with routine tasks. Those team members need to be challenged so they can grow their career and forge their own path. If they are a valuable team member with a unique skill set and a desire to do something in a role not yet defined, it might be worth creating a role to keep that great talent. Overall, providing a culture of support and encouragement is what keeps great people.
NBJ: Laurel, 15 years from now, what are the attributes of the future workplace? And in Nashville specifically, how do you see workplace design reflecting and shaping the local culture?
Harrison: In Nashville, community is everything. People are willing to make those longer commutes for a shared sense of purpose. Our approach to workplace design really strengthens that connection, creating spaces that bring people together in meaningful ways.
The past five years has reshaped workplace design. What we are learning today will continue to influence the future, both in Nashville and beyond. As the world becomes more virtual, in-person connections will be the new currency.
The one-size-fits-all workplace is a thing of the past. The future is all about flexibility and creating spaces that adapt to the people using them rather than forcing people to adapt to the space. Workplaces are shifting from static real estate to personalized experiences that support the different ways people are working.
Looking ahead, workplaces may function more like a service, offering concierge-style support or apps that let employees set their preferences and adjust lighting, temperature and even furniture layouts before they arrive. Virtual meetings will feel more immersive, seamlessly connecting everyone in the room as well as remote participants. Lastly, designing for neurodiversity is not optional, it’s essential. Thoughtful choices in lighting, sound and materials will help to create those inclusive, adaptive environments that work for everyone.
