2020 Women in Construction: Lauren Slaven, Superintendent at Shawmut Design and Construction

What was your greatest professional achievement or most notable project in the last 12 months? My most notable project has been the Billerica Memorial High School—which started in 2017 and is one of Shawmut’s largest projects. Through close work with the town, the Massachusetts School Building authority, the owner’s rep, and the architect, we were able to open this 325,000 s/f, state-of-the-art school to students in the fall of 2019. 

When I’m not working I am…I am a wife to my wonderful husband of 11 ½ years and a mother to two boys—ages nine and six and a half. 

What are you doing differently in 2020 that has had a positive impact on your career? I have been mentoring co-workers to help them develop the skills and mindset to continue their journeys and become leaders here at Shawmut. I feel that having a positive impact on other people’s careers will also help benefit mine in the future. 

What trends are you seeing in your field this year? Upgraded technology is absolutely one of the fastest trends I have seen in the field. By using iPads and other mobile devices, the supers, foreman, and workers are able to have the most up to date drawings. Thanks to programs like Procore and Bluebeam, we no longer must wait for offices to get new sets of drawings to the filed—we are updating and building simultaneously. 

Who or what inspired you to join the construction industry? In high school I had an interest in mechanical drafting and residential house design and construction, so I enrolled at Wentworth Institute of Technology. During my junior year, I had a co-op at Harvard Real Estate. After attending an owner’s construction meeting, I knew I wanted to lead construction efforts as a Superintendent.