During a construction company internship when she was an engineering student, PCL Construction Services director-business development Courtney Ryan discovered that construction was for her. "I got hooked on the changing landscape of a construction site, seeing what I'd designed and worked on take a permanent shape," she tells us.
Courtney's the 2015 president of Denver CREW, after an involvement in the organization that began about a decade ago when it held its national convention here. "It's an impressive group, both locally and nationally," she says, adding that there really isn't another organization in commercial real estate dedicated to women's professional growth in the field through events and networking. But it's more than that, Courtney stresses. CREW is about increasing the awareness of women in an industry that's still heavily male, and helping bring women to the table as a normal part of the industry.
Courtney earned a bachelor's in civil engineering and engineering management from the University of Pacific, and has worked for both engineering and construction companies over the last 16 years. So far, she says, her career has been roughly split in two. At first she was in project management, and then in a business development role. "I enjoy solving difficult problems," she explains. "Whatever the project—commercial, healthcare, office, infrastructure—there's always a lot of pieces to the puzzle."
Growing the chapter's an ongoing objective, Courtney notes, but the chapter's role in providing information and insight to its members is also important. "We're going to push the envelope in our programming this year," she says, including national-level speakers. Next month, for example, business development expert Christine Spray will be the featured speaker at the professional development event. Snapped: CREW Denver members at the CREW Network National Convention in Miami in October.
Courtney's worked on a number of iconic structures over the course of her career, including Mile High United Way HQ (pictured); Sports Authority Field at Mile High; the Denver Art Museum; the CSU Stadium renovation and addition in Fort Collins; the Renaissance Boulder Suites at Flatiron in Broomfield; and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in LA. She tells us that she's optimistic about the state of the construction market in greater Denver. "This year's going to be one of the best in the city's history," she says.
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