Eleven years ago, a colleague returned from a women in construction conference in Washington, DC with a simple idea: what if we tried to create something like this in Maine? With the support of our firm, we booked a venue, invited a bunch of people, and hoped for the best. About forty people showed up. It was informal, a little scrappy, and exactly what it needed to be.
Last week, at Falmouth Country Club, we sold out the 11th annual Women in Construction Event with over 250 people in attendance, our largest crowd to date.
This year’s theme was “Being in the Room”—what it means to show up fully in spaces where leadership is earned and continually redefined. Our three speakers brought that theme to life in genuinely memorable ways, and I’m grateful to each of them.
Rebecca Hatfield, of Hancock Lumber, reminded us that power isn’t something waiting to be handed to us, but rather something we already have, shaped by experience, loss, and the people who raised us. Cordelia Pitman, of Wright-Ryan Construction, took a path through astrophysics and architecture before landing in construction leadership, and offered her “3 P’s”—polite, professional, persistent—with both humor and practical wisdom. Jennifer Weber, of PK Realty Management, who has lived and worked across the globe, reframed those uncomfortable, uncertain career moments as the “fertile unknown”—not something to push through, but something to lean into and get comfortable with.
My colleague Mary Costigan moderated the conversation with her usual thoughtfulness and grace, and the evening would not have come together without the support of our sponsors: BerryDunn, Machias Savings Bank, Wright-Ryan Construction, and Lisa Whited.
What I will say about eleven years is this: we didn’t set out to build something that sells out. We set out to give women in Maine’s construction industry a room of their own, at least once a year, to connect, learn, and inspire one another. Our community did the rest. The women who came in the early years have since brought others, and this gathering has grown into something people genuinely look forward to and feel proud to be part of. I’m already looking forward to year twelve and many years to come and I hope to see you all there.
Asha Echeverria is a Shareholder and Practice Group Leader of Bernstein Shur’s Construction Group, where she focuses on construction and energy law. With a background as a licensed professional engineer and LEED Accredited Professional, she brings a unique technical perspective to her practice, advising clients on complex project development, contracting, and dispute resolution. She can be reached at [email protected].