Women In Construction & Design

Ms. Barrière has a diverse real estate background in development, construction, design, finance and sustainability initiatives across multiple asset classes and industries and believes our built environment has a direct impact on our happiness, creativity and productivity. Ms. Barrière holds a B.A., Economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a M.S., Real Estate Development from MIT. She is a LEED AP and anticipates completing the Masters Certificate in Sustainable Design at Boston Architectural College in 2020. In her current role as a Project Executive at Google, she creates business-driven, client-centered, innovative workplace design in tandem with complex short- to long-term real estate strategies. To successfully execute both the strategy and design, she leads a vertically integrated team of designers, project managers, brokers and transaction specialists on local and international real estate projects. Ms. Barrière is quick to say that all of this is in service to her commitment to spread the message that no matter where we come from, our circumstances, what's happened to us or around us... these things don't determine our ability to create the lives we envision for ourselves.

In her role as Vice President, Construction, Gretchen is responsible for managing construction projects to ensure that they are executed within The Davis Companies’ guidelines; negotiating terms of agreements, drafting contracts and obtaining permits and licenses; estimating costs and scheduling deliverables; overseeing all on site and off site construction to monitor compliance with building, safety and environmental regulations; and collaborating with architects, engineers and other construction specialists to ensure timely delivery of projects. With over 20 years’ experience working for such notable firms as Trammell Crow Company ( Vice President) and Boston Properties ( Senior Construction Manager), Gretchen has been involved in every facet of development and construction management. Prior to joining The Davis Companies, she held the position of Senior Program Manager at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, MA, where she was responsible for managing permitting, environment and infrastructure planning, and pre-construction for a $360 Million semi-conductor laboratory and micro-integration facility. In addition to the Firms above, Gretchen worked for Community Builders as a Construction Manager and for Shawmut Design and Construction as Project Executive. Her depth of experience with complex construction and development projects makes her well suited to handle the development and construction challenges at our Firm. Gretchen holds a Master Degree in Emergency Management from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and a Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in Economics from Boston University. She also holds Certificates in Real Estate Finance and Development from MIT, Building and Construction Technology from Northeastern University and Environment Management from Bentley College. In addition, Gretchen is a LEED Accredited Professional and holds a Massachusetts construction supervisor’s license. She is a member of CREW Boston. Gretchen is also an Instructor, Project Management, Boston University Center for Professional Education, and is a Board Member of All Hands & Hearts Smart Response, Inc.

As an interior designer, Liz combines a data-informed approach to space planning with a strong aesthetic sensibility to design meaningful spaces. She brings a unique approach to each of her projects, seeking inspiration from multiple project typologies to envision solutions. Liz enjoys leading an iterative and collaborative design process with contractors, manufacturers, and craftspeople to create innovative features for client and project needs. She is particularly interested in understanding how people work together and how to design for interaction. Using a data-driven approach to space planning, Liz designs functional, flexible, and time-tested spaces for a variety of clients, while creating beautiful and memorable places. Liz has over 25 years of experience designing retail, restaurants, multi-family housing, and workplaces. Most notably, she led the building repositioning project at 125 Summer Street, and an office relocation and workplace strategy for Fish & Richardson while a Senior Associate at ADD Inc./Stantec.

Laura is a Partner with DGC LLP. She provides financial reporting, tax, business advisory, and consulting services to clients in the real estate and hospitality industries. She works with a diverse group of clients and property types, including multi-use, hotels, commercial, multi-family and retail. Laura leads all aspects of an engagement, including the accounting, tax and advisory services for owners and trusts. She also works with the Commercial Business group and provides financial reporting, tax and accounting services to non-profit organizations, including private foundations. Laura takes a holistic approach to each engagement and advises clients on the most optimal ways to structure a deal based on her understanding of their business and personal situation. Clients appreciate her depth of expertise and breadth of experience, especially when issues arise which aren’t typical textbook matters. Laura understands the details of real estate entities, and her involvement in real estate industry organizations enables her to stay up-to-date on current industry trends. Clients view Laura as a resource and value her significant relationships with industry professionals and access to their varied skillset. Laura is a graduate of Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Accounting.

Abby currently leads multiple teams to execute fast track, logistically challenging construction projects for clients in the commercial office space, museum, healthcare, religious and recreational and residential market segments. She is also Sustainability Manager for Turner’s Boston Business Unit, using her technical experience and background in design to promote greater resiliency and drives change for the future built environments in the AEC industry. Abby hold a professional license in civil engineering and prior to Turner worked in design and was responsible for development of civil construction documents for a wide variety of land development projects including master plan communities and commercial construction. Outside of her work with Turner, Abby is an active member at CREW Boston and serves on the Town of Nahant’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness and Green Communities Committees.

A pioneer in the construction industry, Ms. Marks is known as the world’s preeminent prefabrication consultant and often referred to as the ‘Queen Of Prefab’. Ms. Marks serves on the leadership team at Autodesk as the Head of Industrialized Construction Strategy and Evangelism. In this role, she leverages her passion and years of consulting experience to enable and empower the global AEC-M industry to implement and adopt processes for industrialized construction – including prefabrication and modular. Prior to joining Autodesk, Ms. Marks served as CEO of XSite Modular, where she championed the use of optimized prefabrication across many building types including high-tech, healthcare, hospitality, data centers, residential, and commercial buildings. As the leader of XSite Modular, she established strong relationships across the world with many owners, architects and engineers, and supply chain partners. She is a unique and outspoken agent for change and is a highly sought-after keynote speaker and chairperson of conferences for prefabrication. She serves as the chairperson and ambassador of the Advancing Prefabrication conference - one of the largest and most innovative specialized event of its kind. Ms. Marks is committed to using her extensive experience, thought leadership, and high-profile within the construction industry to promote participation, innovation, and advancement across all industry segments and markets. Knowing the importance of creating a sustainable and thriving industry, Ms. Marks is a fierce advocate for bringing critical attention to the importance of attracting a diverse talent pool, and creating an industry of inclusion that fosters new perspectives and skills to push the boundaries of what’s possible in construction. She is a passionate speaker on improving business results through increased diversity in thought and is often quoted as saying, “I’m not a feminist, I’m a capitalist.” She is a graduate of the University of Florida and an alumna of Harvard Business School. She is a mom to her daughter Mackenzie and an avid sports fan having played competitive rugby for almost 15 years.