Zhanina Boyadzhieva, originally from Bulgaria, received her M.Arch from the Harvard Graduate School of Design (2014) and a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College (2010). She joined Leers Weinzapfel Associates in 2014 and has worked on variety of academic and infrastructure projects including the Condorcet Campus Competition (Paris), the John W. Olver Design Building at UMass Amherst, and, currently, the Harvard Allston Energy Facility Plant. In 2017, Zhanina co-founded the Girl UNinterrupted research initative. She has taught at Boston Architectural College and has been a guest critic at Harvard GSD, Northeastern University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, and Kuwait University. Zhanina is also an avid world traveler and an occasional writer whose work has been published by TEDx Bulgaria, Architect Magazine, Metropolis magazine, ArchNewsNow, U-Report, and SciencexArt.
Juliet Chun holds a B.S. (2009) and M.Arch (2010) from Northeastern University. She joined Leers Weinzapfel Associates in 2008 and has worked on a range of projects including the Ohio State University East Regional Chilled Water Plant and the John W. Olver Design Building at UMass Amherst. She co-founded the Girl Uninterrupted Project in 2017, which has been featured in Architect Magazine and ArchNewsNow. She has taught at the Boston Architectural College as a studio instructor and thesis advisor and has been a guest critic at Northeastern University, the Wentworth Institute of Technology, the Mass Art College of Art and Design, and Pratt University. When she's not at work, Juliet enjoys cooking and eating her way through Boston with her husband and young son.
Abbie Clary is the co-director of CannonDesign's health practice. Responsible for overseeing more than $2.5 billion in healthcare projects over the last 22 years, she's become an expert at helping organizations rethink their strategies and facility investments to better respond to consumer expectations and achieve new levels of business success. Passionate about women's issues and equality in the profession, Abbie consistently pursues opportunities to encourage diversity in all of its embodiments; she founded the Women's Networking Dinners for working professional women within the healthcare industry, attended the 2017 Forbes Women's Summit, and is dedicated to creating project teams that reflect the diverse organizations we work with. In 2009, Abbie was named to Building Design + Construction magazine's "40 under 40" list of leaders in the industry.
Michelle Dutro is an Account Executive for Johnson Controls, working in the Connected Technologies division for nearly a decade. In this role, her position focuses solely on complex, technology integrations in buildings that range from major sports arenas, hospitals, to hospitality. She is also no stranger to working in a male-dominated career field. Michelle is a military veteran (Air Force) and was a firefighter in Seattle, WA before moving to Southern California. Realizing the need to raise the bar in "how we show up" for others, she recently opened the Inner North Star Retreat Center in Julian, CA with a focus on Mindfulness in Leadership. She is also the host of the Game Changer Podcast, where she interviews game changers, like the ones we have here today.
Pat Dziuk is a 31-year construction industry veteran. Initially in field office and light trade positions followed by extensive quality control and project management on large commercial projects she ventured on her own 15 years ago as owner of a design-build general building contractor and construction management firm, WBE Contractor. A woman-owned small prime contractor, Pat is keenly in-tune with the challenges and opportunities for women in the industry. Much of her work focus is in collaboration, teaming, and pioneering means and methods for effective execution of US Department of Defense work including minority inclusion in the U.S. and in the Middle East. Her enthusiasm in spreading awareness of the unique value that women add to business while engendering appropriate inclusion has evolved throughout her entire career. Initial works to instill effective change and spontaneous awareness of bias began many years before her decision to dedicate her work to it at Above Glass Ceilings, now actively helping to anchor the pivot to a gender-parity mindset.
Tricia Esser is Chief Executive Officer and Principal of KTGY Architecture + Planning, one of the nation's foremost full-service design firms focused on architecture and planning for residential and mixed-use development. As CEO, Esser is responsible for leading the board of directors in setting the vision and strategic direction of KTGY, managing day-to-day operations, marketing, and business development. She created and spearheads the firm's proprietary executive training program, ELEVATE Leadership. Esser has been CEO since 2006 and has navigated KTGY through the highs and lows of the real estate cycle since that time. In 2018, KTGY is ranked as the 15th largest architecture firm in the U.S. by Building Design+Construction's Giants 300 Survey. The firm ranks as the second largest multifamily architecture firm by the same survey. Esser steers the firm with a practice of taking on no debt and has never reported a loss. Her strategic insight, direction, and leadership have grown the firm's strength, stability, depth of resources and dedication to continually searching for better. The evolving firm is attracting and retaining some of the industry's leading architects and planners. Listening and working collaboratively with like-minded national developers and local innovators on new construction and revitalization projects that seek to create a sense of place, KTGY's 400 staff members are located in six offices in growing metropolitan markets in the United States and one office in India.
Laura is a financial advisor and Certified Executive Coach. Prior to her role as a financial and investment advisor, she was a Senior Human Resource Executive for a Fortune 500 company and Executive Consultant. Laura brings over 25 years of experience advising leaders on business strategy and mitigating risk. She has advised leadership teams on: Rapid growth and scaling of multi-unit operations; Mergers and acquisitions; Operationalizing disruptive technology; Strategies to generate revenue growth. Laura holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh Katz School of Business. In addition to her career, Laura is actively involved in the community. She serves on the St. Clair Hospital Board of Directors and is board chair of Strong Women Strong Girls, a multi-generational mentoring program that empowers girls in under-resourced communities through a curriculum focused on strong female role models. Laura also serves on the Pitt Business Alumni Board and is President of the Katz Alumnae Council which supports the professional growth and advancement of women students and alumnae.
As a Principal at Trivers, Amy bases her leadership on the conviction that successful projects begin with building great relationships. She brings a focus on creative problem solving to every aspect of the work from developing a vibrant project team to ensuring building systems are fully integrated and supportive of design intent. Amy completed the CORO Women in Leadership program in 2015 and remains a respected mentor for women in architecture. She has had the opportunity to speak at many conferences on topics related to architectural practice as well as her design work in historic preservation and adaptive reuse. Amy serves on the Board of Directors for Healthcare Hospitality Network and recently became one of the first 30 Fitwell Ambassadors in the country. As an adjunct faculty instructor at Washington University's Sam Fox School of Architecture, Amy pushes students to think about relationships as a catalyst and the broader impact and potential of architecture and design.
Amanda Gillespie is Vice President at Webcor. In her role, Amanda oversees a number of highly complex projects, and is responsible for assembling the most qualified team and leading them throughout all phases to meet established goals and contractual obligations related to safety, cost, schedule, and quality. Amanda's broad and deep experience and expertise enables her to anticipate challenges and develop innovative solutions with the team to maintain high performance and maximize client value. With over 25 years in the construction industry, Amanda possesses a unique skill set that has led to the successful completion of various large-scale projects in both public and private sectors. She has worked on landmark projects such as the World Trade Center, Madison Square Garden's Renovation, IBM's World Headquarters, the US Census Bureau National Headquarters in DC, and many other noteworthy projects.
Angeline is an MEP Preconstruction Director specializing in Electrical, Low Voltage systems, and Integrating Building Technology Systems. She coordinates engineers, designers, contractors and facility owners during the preconstruction phase to encourage system integration and synchronization by pursuing equipment efficiencies and capabilities to economize physical equipment space requirements, enable unified communication between systems, and reduce construction and operating costs. Angeline is considered a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and brings a comprehensive knowledge of costs, design & engineering strategies, time constraints, and bidding/estimating processes to all teams she works with to implement "best practices" and focus on continuous improvement initiatives with a high level of technical competence. She believes that greater design team collaboration and educating the industry of the infinite integration possibilities surrounding the rapidly advancing arena of electrical and technology systems will provide more sustainable buildings, efficient building operations with lower costs, and greater end-user satisfaction. Angeline has held overall responsibility of electrical and low voltage estimating, design, and subcontracting for McCarthy Building Companies California regions for 6 years. Prior to McCarthy she worked for various Electrical Subcontractors as a Project Manager, Service Manager, and Project Engineer from Southern to Northern California for over 10 years. Angeline is a LEED Accredited Professional, certified in project/team management and OSHA 30, and regularly teaches at McCarthy MEP trainings. Angeline attended the University of California, Riverside where she served as president of Kappa Kappa Gamma and received her Bachelors of Science in Business Administration.
Julie Hyson is Senior Vice President and leader of Project and Development Services for JLL's Bay Area operations which includes offices in Menlo Park, San Francisco, Walnut Creek and Sacramento. Julie previously spent nearly six years leading business strategy and customer experience for a global construction and development firm. She asks tough questions, connects people, and acts as a relentless and unbiased champion for her colleagues and clients. Julie is known for being a brazen and energetic leader with a passion for people and performance. Julie takes pride in knowing that the strategy her team develops today has a tangible impact on the business now and in the long-term. This motivates her to keep asking whether the company is doing the right thing for the customers and the communities it serves. In collaboration with other business leaders from organizations such as BART, Caltrans, Kaiser Permanente, PlanGrid and Autodesk, Julie has developed forums to encourage, promote, and support women to lead boldly within their organization's at whatever level in their career.
Nancy Novak is a 31-year construction industry veteran. She started her career in construction and progressed to currently serving as a National Vice President for Compass Datacenters, a data center solutions company. She provides national leadership to operations teams across the country and works with leadership to strengthen company's ability to scale innovation and knowledge and bring national consistency and strong operating culture. Nancy is the only female national Vice President of Operations in the company and one of only few women represented in the company's leadership. She is also a strong advocate and mentor to women within the company, as well as in the industry. Her passion for advancing women in business occurs through organizations like Women In Government Relations (WGR), Women Construction Owners and Executives (WCOE), the World Trade Center Institute (WTCI), and the Sewall-Belmont House in Washington, D.C. Currently, Nancy is an active board member at the Sewall-Belmont House & Museum, which is committed to sharing the untold stories of women's history. In addition, Nancy is a Visionary Champion for Above Glass Ceilings, a consulting company focused on advancement of professional women.
Angel Tucker is an expert personality profiler who has been speaking professionally at venues across North America for over 26 years! Her dynamic presentations empower people with the ability to read personality types within 60 seconds! This valuable insight can give her audience the tools to succeed in self improvement, bettering relationships, effective parenting, and job advancement! As a C.H.B.C. (Certified Human Behavior Consultant) she has helped tens of thousands of people create win/win situations in every aspect of their lives! Her non-fiction book titled "Stop Squatting With Your Spurs On – the power to read people, get what you want, and communicate without pain became a National Best Seller the same month it was released. She is a valuable resource for media as an expert in her field and is regularly featured on National radio/television and internet venues as well as magazines. Angel is a highly sought after speaker who has worked with several well-known organizations to include Wal-Mart and the United States Air Force. Additionally, she has created an Award-Winning children's book series called the "Four Pals" book series that teaches kids how to recognize different personality types and appreciate their differences.
Sarah Wortman, CPSM has over 20 years of experience leading marketing and business development efforts for AEC firms. Her experience working directly with firm partners and principals developing and executing marketing strategy has given her insight into how to tell truth to power and achieve buy in for key initiatives. She is currently the Director of Business Development at GGLO Design. Sarah has a BA in Speech Communications from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and an MFA in Radio/TV/Film from Northwestern University. Prior to working in the built environment industry, Sarah was a university communications professor and a radio broadcaster.
Martine Zettle is the Vice President and SPD Manager for Turner Construction in Seattle, Washington. Martine provides leadership direction and control over construction planning, project execution, risk management and resource management for projects within the Special Projects Division. Working with Turner for fifteen years and on the owner/developer side for four years, Martine strives to bring operational excellence to her projects, while maintaining an overall focus on the client and end user. Martine joined Turner in 2000 as a field engineer after graduating from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture. As an active member in the Seattle design and construction community, Martine is a current member of the Construction Industry Advisory Council for the University of Washington and recently completed a five year term on the City of Seattle Design Review Board.
