2021 Women in Construction: Laureen Poulakis, President, Brennan Consulting, Inc.

What was your greatest professional achievement or most notable project in the last 12 months? 2020 was a surprisingly strong year for Brennan Consulting. We are one of Boston’s youngest WBE firms and 2020 continued as a growth year in both market sectors and client base to add many of the region’s top performers and high-profile projects. What has been most notable over the past 12 months is our expanding portfolio which now includes innovations in adaptive reuse and new construction methods on several northeast elementary schools. 

What are you most looking forward to post-pandemic? Not wearing my mask during hot yoga.

Why should women consider a career in construction? Simple, it’s exciting. There are always emerging technologies and new innovations to build things better, stronger, greener. I believe in progress, and progress promotes ingenuity. 

What steps have you taken to ensure the continued success of your firm? We continue to work hard at ensuring customer satisfaction, stay hands on in the development of strong client relationships and find ways to improve procedures and exceed industry standards. With our experience in the civil and land surveying industry, I strongly believe our employees are the backbone of Brennan Consulting. Continuing to build the right team that is focused on the delivery of quality is the only way to maintain success.

Starting out in the construction business, who or what empowered you? Empowerment came from our father Paul Emilius, a very successful businessman and land surveyor. As young as 7 years old, he would sit us down and play motivational tapes by Earl Nightingale. Dad would stop the tape and rewind, excited for the moments to teach us. Quotes that stuck with me include: “We become what we think about most of the time, and that’s the strangest secret.” “Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become reality.” “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.” 

How have you adapted and changed in the last 12 months? Major adaptations to company policies and procedures have been ongoing to protect our employees and colleagues from the coronavirus. Everyone wears a mask while working, temperatures are taken each morning and we have gone through more hand sanitizer than I could have ever imaged. It has become the new norm.