Empower. Support. Engage. Three values that will be the foundation of the newly-announced, “LAN Women’s Network”. Just in time for International Women’s Day, the group hosted its kick-off event this past week, celebrating female empowerment, not just within the company, but the entire architecture and engineering industry.
The LAN Women’s Network began when staff saw the opportunity to create an outlet for employees to be engaged and supported by strong female leaders within the company. The committee chairs, who come from various departments within LAN, unified by a shared vision to empower women employees to be successful and achieve the fullness of their potential. Committee Chairs, Jen Gangeri, Director of Marketing, Danielle Farrell, Associate Project Architect, and Beth Bouvier, Director of Regulatory Compliance have combined their industry expertise and diverse backgrounds to transform the idea into a reality.
In the competitive field of architecture and engineering, the support of like-minded and driven professionals is a necessity. With full support from LAN’s management team, the network will create a forum for women to share experiences while also challenging industry standards.
“A significant number of women who get degrees in architecture and engineering leave the profession,” said Beth Bouvier. “One of the goals of the LAN Women’s Network is to provide support to women employees to encourage them to stay in the industry. The power of women supporting women is a strong force.”
With plans for various events throughout the year that will support the Empower. Support. Engage. initiative, the network welcomed it’s first speaker, Robyn Forman Pollack, Esq, CEO and Founder of Trellis Consulting LLC this past week at the kick-off event, leading a discussion entitled, “Why Diversity and Inclusion Matter Now More Than Ever.” Robyn uses her experience as a business strategist to bring attention to the importance of diversity and inclusion and how these two components contribute to the success of a business.
“It’s important that we examine our differences and the diversity of thought. The experience and perspective that we each bring to the table are essential to success in the changing marketplace,” said Robyn Forman Pollack “But, in order to be able to leverage those differences for success and innovation, we have to create environments of, respect, trust and inclusion.”
With a successful first event, the LAN Women’s Network will continue to host inspiring speakers, provide mentorship, and offer professional development programs throughout the year.
