FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—Four highly skilled women are spearheadingthe renovation of the Salah Foundation Children's Hospital atBroward Health in Fort Lauderdale. They are succeeding in amale-dominated field as the U.S. Dept. of Labor estimates onlyabout 10 percent of workers in construction are women.The femaleteam working on the hospital project is comprised of:

• Nicole Heran, who helped Skanska USA win the project, leads theteam.
• Nelmarie Bowe, who oversees day-to-day construction activities,including managing costs to keep the project on budget.
• Mili Briggs, who works closely with the workers to ensuresafety measures are followed and that the work is done withoutdisrupting the active floors of the hospital still servingpatients.
• Mindy Graves, who serves as the Director of Construction andDesign for Broward Health, a role typically held by men, and worksin close collaboration with the all-female building team.

Heran, who is a project executive with Skanska USA, took time toanswer questions from GlobeSt.com during Women in ConstructionWeek.

GlobeSt.com: How did you become interested inconstruction?

Heran: It's a real interesting story and not your traditionalentrance into the field. I went to college for education and thatwas my first career. I then had a family and was a stay at home momof my 2 wonderful kids. I know that although I loved my kids thatstaying home was not my job forever, I wanted to do something more.It wasn't until I attended a holiday cocktail party where I metMaria Houle, another inspiring woman who happened to work forSkanska at the time. After speaking with Maria and hearing moreabout her work in construction, I knew I was ready to take on a newcareer. At this point in my life, I was already married with twochildren so this decision to go back to school was not takenlightly. After two years, I received my second degree in BusinessConstruction Management. As luck would have it, I ended up workingfor Maria on my first job as an Assistant Project Engineer for theLynn Cancer Institute project at Boca Raton Community Hospital.

GlobeSt.com: How did you become involved in the renovation ofthe Salah Foundation Children's Hospital?

Early on in my career I was fortunate enough to work on someamazing, transformative projects in the healthcare field. In 2009,I was involved in my first project with Broward Health, helpingbuild the Coral Springs Medical Center Emergency Departmentexpansion and renovation. This project would lead to a long-termrelationship with the system and my eventual involvement in Phase 2of the Salah Foundation Children's Hospital renovation andexpansion. Following the completion of Phase 1 in late 2018, thesecond portion to the project was started and I joined the team asthe Project Executive because of my experience working within thehealthcare sector, I had gained a great understanding of theintricacies and sensitivities required for working on an activehospital project, which the Salah Foundation project is.

GlobeSt.com: What is the current status of the hospitalproject?

Heran: Currently, we are finishing the hospital's 4th floorneonatal intensive care unit's (NICU) renovation and verticalexpansion, which will be approximately 17,000 square feet and add33 private NICU patient rooms complete with a sofa bed, recliner,television, bottle warmer, diaper scale and monitor. These roomswill allow increased parent visitation as parents may stay bedside24/7 with enhanced patient and family privacy, softer lighting andreduced noise. Expected completion is slated for the end of thisyear.

GlobeSt.com: How was this team of women assembled for thisproject?

Heran: The project team came together quite naturally. NelmarieBowe is a senior project manager who has been with the projectsince its inception and oversees the team, construction andmaintains relationships with all parties involved. Given that we'rebuilding in the heart of the hospital, a lot of coordination isrequired from all sides and Nelmarie is ultimately responsible forensuring that runs smoothly. Mili Briggs has also been with theproject from the start and as a project manager, is onsite everydayinteracting with the superintendents and subcontractors, planningand dividing work and making sure logistics and safety are inorder. On the owner side, Mindy Graves serves as the director ofconstruction and design for Broward Health, a role that in the pasthas typically been held by men and works in close collaborationwith our team.

Working with an all-female team is interesting because women ingeneral tend to bring a different approach to problem solving thatmen may not necessarily think of. Not only do the ladies on theteam do their job day to day, ensuring everyone is safe and makingsure we maintain our responsibilities, but they go a step furtherand as we say at Skanska, profit with a purpose, ensuring we aretrue partners with the Broward Health team. As women, we're also alittle more empathetic to our end users and working with the NICUand the hospital makes for a very rewarding job.

GlobeSt.com: What is your advice for women wanting to enter theconstruction field?

The main challenge I find is the misconception society has ofwomen in the industry. Some may think that because you are a woman,the operational know how and technical tools may not be as strongas men in the industry or that some women find they may have toprove themselves. My advice to women wanting to enter the field isto go for it- this is an amazing industry that has room foreveryone. There is a saying that states "The sum of the parts isalways better than the whole" meaning that we truly are bettertogether and where there is diversity there is diversity inthought, action and new and unique ways in which we come togetherto build for a better society which is what we are doing here atthe Salah Foundation Children's Hospital.

. GlobeSt.com: What's next for your group after this project iscomplete?

Heran: I oversee one of Skanska's business units in SouthFlorida, and myself, Nelmarie and Mili are all South Florida localsand truly ingrained in the community. Because of our South Floridaroots and relationships, after delivering phase 2 of the project,we will continue to service Broward Health on future projects aswell as some of our other local clients in South Florida. SouthFlorida is a vibrant community and we are fortunate to live, work,and play in a place where we can make an impact every day, not onlythrough construction but by being ingrained in the community.