Meghan Mill

Laughter is the closest distance between two people.

What do you see as the biggest value in being a member of WiOPS? 

I love getting to meet incredible women in the industry. I find it’s much easier to talk and get to know people in more casual settings. WiOPS brings together people from all different companies, big and small, in a ton of different roles within the industry. Everyone who attends events is there to support one another and create connections that go beyond just what company you work for.

How did you get involved/started in construction/your role?

In high school, I was at my aunt and uncle’s house when they were talking with an architect about building a cottage. The questions the architect was asking got me thinking about housing design and what a home looks like. It made me think about the role architects have in designing buildings that are optimized for those who utilize them (for every single vertical market type, including housing). That led me to architecture school, a Bachelor of Architecture degree and graduating into the 2008/2009 recession. I worked at two art galleries for a number of years, during which time I was involved in creating marketing collateral. After a move to California and looking for something more permanent, my husband (also in the industry and who had for years been telling me to do what architects refer to as “joining the dark side” aka working for a contractor ) told me about an opening for a marketing job at Hensel Phelps. The job seemed like the perfect marriage between getting to be creative with marketing and getting to use my degree and understanding of construction on the technical side for proposals. I’ve been here eight years now.

What is your favorite thing about construction? 

Getting to see a project start to finish. You start with an empty site (or building demo) and then create an entire building or buildings where there was once nothing. On the marketing side – winning a new project that I worked on the pursuit for.

What is the best part of your job? 

The people that I get to work with and meet!

What makes you proud of working in the construction industry?

Since I’m in marketing, it’s getting to tell stories. The stories of our people and how amazing and talented they are, and the stories of the buildings we build. Plus getting to brag about all the cool buildings we built to friends, family and basically anyone who happens to be walking by or seeing a photo. There is a quote in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ that ends with “And what they did, what they created was greater than art because you live your life in it.” Nigel is talking about clothing, but I think about this in relation to design and construction (also forms of art) and how we live our lives in buildings, so let’s make them the best that we can.