NEREJ Women in Construction 2023

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What was your greatest professional achievement or most notable project in the last 12 months? The biggest accomplishment I’ve helped to spearhead is a shift in how we approach laboratory design. Traditionally, labs are designed in a way that is very specific to the science being conducted. Because of the pandemic, our landlord clients have excess, unoccupied office space. However, an opportunity arose – convert office space to higher-demand lab space. Without end users, vetted programs, or ideal floor-to-floor heights and support infrastructure, we created a design formula that guides the development of various labs that support biology, chemistry, and prototyping pursuits. It’s been both challenging and rewarding!

How are you involved in community organizations and/or charities? With three very active school-aged boys, I concentrate my volunteer efforts on helping at their respective schools. I’ve been a member of the facilities task force at the Marblehead Community Charter Public School, where I initiated a campaign to get the school’s run-down exterior walls muraled. The result was an amazing facelift with the empowering words, “I am loved, I am beautiful, I am important.” It’s great for the kids and their families to that see every day. I also run a “Math Stars” program where I work collaboratively with third graders to solve multi-step logic and math problems.

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What was your greatest professional achievement or most notable project in the last 12 months? In the last year there have been many opportunities that Ebbrell Architecture + Design has given me to push my design and project management skills to a new level. One notable project that stretched my abilities was the TraceLink HQ relocation which began during the pandemic. We worked with the client on programming for return-to-office after being fully remote. The outcome was a 70,000 s/f biophilic-inspired space over two floors including a new internal stair. At the completion of this project, the client was extremely satisfied, and believed it met all their needs.

How are you involved in community organizations and/or charities? My husband is in the military. Before his second deployment, Run to Home Base was started by the Red Sox Foundation and Mass General. The program raises funds to help veterans with PTSD and other invisible wounds. I wanted to help my husband and his fellow soldiers, so I started participating in the run. I have run with my husband, other times while he was overseas, a few times when I was pregnant and then while pushing my children in a carriage. This year, my 14^th, I will be running with my 9 year-old daughter.

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What was your greatest professional achievement or most notable project in the last 12 months? Partnering with Meet Boston, the organization responsible for promoting Boston to the country and the world, on their new office has been very exciting! We were tasked with bringing their new brand identity to life in a refreshing environment that celebrates the city. They’ll have an event space overlooking the Greenway, branded design elements and a no-work-allowed living room for employees to enjoy. It’s been rewarding to see their excitement throughout the design process, and we can’t wait to start construction!

What made you interested in seeking a career in the AEC industry? I almost went into psychology! But thankfully I received a newspaper clipping in the mail from my grandfather about something called interior design. He recognized my creative abilities and said this industry sounded perfect for me. Growing up I was always rearranging and painting my room. This industry is so much more than that, but I didn’t know it was something I could do for a living. The challenge of taking a program of needs and wants and turning it into a built environment that, on some level, improves the lives of those who experience it brings me joy. I never looked back and have my grandfather to thank.

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What was your greatest professional achievement or most notable project in the last 12 months? This past year has been really positive for our company overall. We continued to grow with the addition of a new interior designer who builds on our current corporate interiors team and expands our capabilities in that sector. And, in addition to some really exciting workplace and building repositioning projects, we’ve also continued expanding into other sectors including incubator lab projects, a couple of med spas, as well as K-12/educational projects. All of which our incredible team has designed and managed with their usual high level of expertise and creative talent.

What made you interested in seeking a career in the AEC industry? In high school, I was taught by two inspirational women – my drafting teacher and the instructor who led a summer design camp – both got me very interested in architecture. One summer while still in high school I took a job as a receptionist at Number Ten Architectural Group in Winnipeg and continued to work there during summers after I graduated. Number Ten exposed me to the many aspects of architectural practice and the projects they were designing. I knew then that architecture was what I wanted to do for my career.

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Originally published in New England Real Estate Journal March 31, 2023