Nicole Heran

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—Four highly skilled women are spearheading the renovation of the Salah Foundation Children's Hospital at Broward Health in Fort Lauderdale. They are succeeding in a male-dominated field as the U.S. Dept. of Labor estimates only about 10 percent of workers in construction are women.The female team working on the hospital project is comprised of:

• Nicole Heran, who helped Skanska USA win the project, leads the team.
• 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 ensure safety measures are followed and that the work is done without disrupting the active floors of the hospital still serving patients.
• Mindy Graves, who serves as the Director of Construction and Design for Broward Health, a role typically held by men, and works in close collaboration with the all-female building team.

Heran, who is a project executive with Skanska USA, took time to answer questions from GlobeSt.com during Women in Construction Week.

GlobeSt.com: How did you become interested in construction?

Heran: It's a real interesting story and not your traditional entrance into the field. I went to college for education and that was my first career. I then had a family and was a stay at home mom of my 2 wonderful kids. I know that although I loved my kids that staying home was not my job forever, I wanted to do something more. It wasn't until I attended a holiday cocktail party where I met Maria Houle, another inspiring woman who happened to work for Skanska at the time. After speaking with Maria and hearing more about her work in construction, I knew I was ready to take on a new career. At this point in my life, I was already married with two children so this decision to go back to school was not taken lightly. After two years, I received my second degree in Business Construction Management. As luck would have it, I ended up working for Maria on my first job as an Assistant Project Engineer for the Lynn Cancer Institute project at Boca Raton Community Hospital.

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

Early on in my career I was fortunate enough to work on some amazing, transformative projects in the healthcare field. In 2009, I was involved in my first project with Broward Health, helping build the Coral Springs Medical Center Emergency Department expansion and renovation. This project would lead to a long-term relationship with the system and my eventual involvement in Phase 2 of the Salah Foundation Children's Hospital renovation and expansion. Following the completion of Phase 1 in late 2018, the second portion to the project was started and I joined the team as the Project Executive because of my experience working within the healthcare sector, I had gained a great understanding of the intricacies and sensitivities required for working on an active hospital project, which the Salah Foundation project is.

GlobeSt.com: What is the current status of the hospital project?

Heran: Currently, we are finishing the hospital's 4th floor neonatal intensive care unit's (NICU) renovation and vertical expansion, which will be approximately 17,000 square feet and add 33 private NICU patient rooms complete with a sofa bed, recliner, television, bottle warmer, diaper scale and monitor. These rooms will allow increased parent visitation as parents may stay bedside 24/7 with enhanced patient and family privacy, softer lighting and reduced noise. Expected completion is slated for the end of this year.

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

Heran: The project team came together quite naturally. Nelmarie Bowe is a senior project manager who has been with the project since its inception and oversees the team, construction and maintains relationships with all parties involved. Given that we're building in the heart of the hospital, a lot of coordination is required from all sides and Nelmarie is ultimately responsible for ensuring that runs smoothly. Mili Briggs has also been with the project from the start and as a project manager, is onsite everyday interacting with the superintendents and subcontractors, planning and dividing work and making sure logistics and safety are in order. On the owner side, Mindy Graves serves as the director of construction and design for Broward Health, a role that in the past has typically been held by men and works in close collaboration with our team.

Working with an all-female team is interesting because women in general tend to bring a different approach to problem solving that men may not necessarily think of. Not only do the ladies on the team do their job day to day, ensuring everyone is safe and making sure we maintain our responsibilities, but they go a step further and as we say at Skanska, profit with a purpose, ensuring we are true partners with the Broward Health team. As women, we're also a little more empathetic to our end users and working with the NICU and the hospital makes for a very rewarding job.

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

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

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

Heran: I oversee one of Skanska's business units in South Florida, and myself, Nelmarie and Mili are all South Florida locals and truly ingrained in the community. Because of our South Florida roots and relationships, after delivering phase 2 of the project, we will continue to service Broward Health on future projects as well as some of our other local clients in South Florida. South Florida 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 only through construction but by being ingrained in the community.