Each March, under the umbrella of Women's History Month, our industry celebrates Women in Construction. It is a time to highlight the exceptional initiatives and work of women in the building, construction, and design industry. It is also a time to promote opportunities available to women in construction.

This annual week of recognition traces the history of women in construction, their challenges, and the ways they've been able to overcome them. In this spirit, the NGBS Green Team wanted to share our appreciation for the women partners in our program who are helping the construction industry, and in turn the buildings where we all live and work, become greener and more sustainable. These women are successfully breaking down barriers to greener construction in one of the most gender-segregated industry sectors. In the United States, women compromise just 10% of all people working in construction. The good news is that statistic is rapidly changing for the better. The number of women working as construction managers between 2015 and 2019 increased by 101%. Perhaps even more exciting is that the gender pay gap in construction is significantly smaller than in most other industries. Women in construction earn about 95 cents for every dollar their male counterpart earns, which can encourage women to step into the game.

Do you have a woman in your life who is interested in working in green construction? Or maybe one who's interested in environmental issues but needs some professional inspiration? If so, please share these short profiles to highlight the diversity of opportunities in our industry that are available to women of all ages and interests.

Beyond sharing this information, if someone you know is looking to pursue studies related to construction, encourage them to check out these scholarships for women. And if you know a female student who would benefit from our NGBS Green PRO training, please contact Michelle to inquire about our limited number of student scholarships to take our professional accreditation.

Sandra Adomatis, Principal at Adomatis Appraisal Service, is a real estate appraiser, instructor, author, and appraisal course developer. She authored "Residential Green Valuation Tools," which was published by the Appraisal Institute in April 2014. Sandra spearheaded the development of the Appraisal Institute Residential and Commercial Green and Energy Efficient Addendums. Her valuation and green building knowledge is prized by many for consulting in the area of valuing energy efficiency and green building technology. Her consulting clients include builders, governmental agencies, utility companies, and energy organizations, and members of the national media often quote Sandra on high performance topics of valuation. She is a national speaker at events such as GreenBuild, IBS, EEBA, ACI, The White House Conference Center, and Appraisal Institute Conferences.

Janet Bates, client solutions manager at JE Dunn Construction, is responsible for business development in Charleston, South Carolina, and the surrounding low country. Janet heads JE Dunn’s efforts to build long-term, strategic relationships with clients in the commercial office, education, hospitality, and healthcare markets. In addition to serving on the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Palmetto Chapter Board of Directors, Janet is a member of Commercial Real Estate Women Charleston, the Urban Land Institute, and the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce Developers Council. She holds her MBA in General Management and Sustainable Enterprise from the University of North Carolina Kenan Flagler Business School and her BA in Theatre and Dramatic Literature from The George Washington University.

Olga Cano is a member of 2024 NGBS Water Efficiency Task Group as a representative of the WaterSense Labeled Homes Program, which provides a system for certifying and labeling homes that meet the WaterSense Specification for Homes. With an undergrad in Architecture and a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering, the opportunity to merge design and sustainability has been the focus of her career at EPA. Through the EPA WaterSense Labeled Homes Program, she continues to leverage opportunities to increase water efficiency while mitigating the impact of new housing and development on existing water resources.

Marla Esser Cloos is the principal of Green Home Coach with 15+ years working with green certified homes and projects. Through Green Home Coach programs and partnerships, she helps businesses and people discover and create better homes to live in or work on for healthier, more comfortable lives. She is the founder and host of the Everyday Green Home podcast and author of Living Green Effortlessly: Simple Choices for a Better Home.

Marla is a member of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Sustainability and Green Building Subcommittee, NAHB Healthier Homes and Communities Subcommittee and the Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association, as well as an affiliate member of the Edmond Board of Realtors.

Meredith Holzemer is Managing Director of Development for the Seattle Market for Mill Creek Residential. Meredith is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the development process, including site acquisition, design, entitlements, financing, due diligence, and eventual disposition for Mill Creek communities. She has more than 10 ten years of multifamily development experience in the Seattle region.

Meredith received a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University and a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Washington. She is particularly interested in sustainability features and specifications that are cost-neutral or financially accretive, creating a win-win for future residents, investors, and the environment.

Hope Medina is an inspector, plans examiner, instructor, and consultant that specializes in energy/sustainability codes for Shums Coda Associates. She holds multiple International Code Council (ICC) certifications and designations including Certified Sustainability Professional. Hope is active in the code development process working to improve various building codes and is co-chair of the Colorado Chapter of ICC Code Development Committee for energy and green codes and standards. She also serves as vice chair of ICC’s Sustainability Membership Council, chair of the Advocacy Subcommittee, and is a member of the Sustainability, Energy, and High-Performance Code Action Committee (SEHPCAC). Through the Colorado Chapter of ICC, she received the President’s Award in 2012 and Exceptional Commitment Award in 2019.

Hope was involved with the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) development and led the Green Code Collaboration Group that worked with stakeholders nationally to improve the 2015 IgCC. Hope also served on the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard (NGBS) consensus committee for several cycles, including a term as vice chair of the 2020 NGBS Consensus Committee and chairing several task groups including energy efficiency, water efficiency, and mixed-use. Hope was recently appointed to the 2024 International Energy Conversation Code (IECC) commercial committee.

Amy Otley is the Sustainability Lead for OZ Architecture. She attributes her lifelong affinity for outdoor adventure with leading her to a career in green construction. That affinity quickly grew into a passion that drove her to earn a degree in Environmental Studies & Sustainability. Eventually, she landed in Dallas, Texas, where she began working as a third-party sustainability consultant showing clients how to build efficient housing projects without breaking their budgets. Currently, she lives in Denver, Colorado, and through her role at OZ Architecture looks forward to continuing to be a champion for the natural environment by helping improve the built environment.

Farah (Ahmad) Qadeer is a licensed public sector Architect and LEED Accredited Professional based in New York City, who specializes in building energy efficiency and green building technical standards. Her public sector experience in city government agencies includes sustainable design review of projects, assessment and development of technical standards, and energy code compliance. She is also a building standards committee member in sustainability, contributing her expertise in green building trends and building specifications to develop proposals towards the advancement of current national codes and certification programs.

As a green building journalist, Farah is passionate about sharing her expertise on environmental policy and high-performance design. You can tweet her (@farah_arch) or connect with her on Instagram (@renewablefarah).

Andrea Rowe has always been interested in sustainable design, both personally and professionally. She currently serves as Senior Managing Director of Development for the Mill Creek Residential South Florida division. Her responsibilities include overseeing all aspects of the development process, from site acquisition through design, entitlements, financing, construction, and asset disposition in the South Florida tri-county area. Since 2004, Andrea has developed over 6,000 apartment homes and over $1 billion worth of residential real estate. Her experience includes multifamily new construction and rehabilitation, historic preservation, mixed-use development, and asset repositioning. 

Holly Shadel is the Senior Marketing Manager for Niagara, a leading plumbing manufacturer based out of Flower Mound, Texas. Holly was initially drawn to Niagara five years ago because of the company’s focus on sustainability – so much of the water we use in our daily lives can be conserved by using smarter, more efficient products. She is incredibly excited to see the emphasis on conservation and sustainability happening today in the construction industry, and proud of the fact that the work she and her colleagues are doing right now can make a meaningful and lasting difference in the world.

Outside of work, Holly says she's an avid concert-goer, barre enthusiast, cat fanatic, and reader, with "publish a book" on her bucket list. (Maybe it will be a book that inspires the next generation of women in green construction!)