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As part of this year’s annual Women in Construction Week, Pepper was able to blend one of the unique projects we’re current building – The Women’s Leadership Center in William’s Bay, Wisconsin – with a live “fireside chat” with one of its leaders. Employees across our offices had the opportunity to hear from Michelle Dilley, who oversees operations at the Center. She is also the CEO of AWESOME, an organization for women who lead supply chain networks that cover the globe, helping to turn raw materials into valuable products while impacting business, healthcare, infrastructure and innovation.
The Women’s Leadership Center is a place where trained minds will come together to lead innovation across many fields. While it’s designed to have a positive impact for women, the project is bigger than that. It’s about having an impact on the future by providing women leaders with an inspiring, unique setting in which to gather, dream, plan and collaborate. Click here to learn more!
Using the theme Women in Construction theme "Together We Rise," Michelle was joined by Susan Heinking, FAIA, LEED Fellow and Pepper’s Senior Vice President of High Performance Construction, to consider topics including how to build a successful career, developing leadership skills and the unique contributions that women bring to traditionally male-dominated industries, including construction.
Together, Michelle and Susan captured the collaborative spirit that makes our projects, company and our industry stronger. Every day, women across Pepper and the construction field elevate our work and strengthen our teams through diverse perspectives, innovative thinking and an unwavering commitment to quality.
click here to view the entire recording.
To gain other perspectives from women across our organization, we asked several talented team members to share their perspectives on what "Together We Rise” means to them. Thank you to the following contributors:
- Kim Schober, Project Manager II in Milwaukee who is currently working on the Women’s Leadership Center project
- Lauren Kerkhoff, Project Engineer I in Indianapolis’s Virtual Construction Services
- Lara Servis, Specialist, Learning and Development in Cincinnati
- Jillian Jakse, Project Engineer I in Columbus
- LaQuita Howell, Senior HR Generalist in Chicago
Their insights highlight the power of collaboration, mentorship and mutual support and their authentic voices remind us why diversity strengthens our industry and how working together elevates everyone.
Additional activities celebrating the week and encouraging outreach and additional learning included lunch and learns with women-owned trade partners, as well as soliciting contributions to support several organizations with a shared goal to create a world in which women are treated with dignity and respect.
At Pepper, we truly appreciate and celebrate the women and all our team members who consistently remind us that we are not just building structures – we're building a stronger, more inclusive industry for future generations.