Today we are featuring Lisa Folsom! Lisa is Sunland’s only female business development professional. Read more about what we learned about Lisa.

What is your title and role with Sunland?

Business Development Specializing in the Education Sector

What companies have you worked for?

Regional Pavement & Sunstate Mechanical

What positions have you previously held?

Business Developer & Executive Consultant, School Director and Teacher (previous to joining the AEC community)

What certifications do you have?

Bachelors from University of Arizona, and a PBD (Professional Business Development Certification) through the W. P. Carey School of Business – Arizona State University

What professional associations/organizations do you belong to?
o AASBO, current Board Member as Vendor Representative
o ASA
o ASBA
o ARSA
o AZALAS
o ABEC
o AZCSA
o AAED, currently the Vice-Chair for the Membership Committee

What is the best part of your job?

Being able to create lasting relationships built on trust and likability. Along with meeting new people and engaging them to create a community of CARE- working for a company that believes in investing back in the community is very rewarding.

What interests you about working in the construction field?

The construction industry is very different from other industries that I have worked in the past. The people are genuine and looking for a connection. I often feel like I am helping people, never selling to them, which is important to me. Every day is different and it is actually a lot of fun!

What is your advice for other women pursuing a career in construction?

There are so many various positions within a construction company, from laborers to accounting, marketing, estimators, Project Consultants, Business Development, sales, safety, etc… you name it, it’s here. Construction isn’t just for manual labor, although, women who decide to pursue a labor position are absolute rock stars. Whatever your passion is- you can find that position/career within the construction industry. Women are more than welcome and bring a balance to the industry that wasn’t there 20+ years ago. Take a seat at the table- you will often find that there is a spot just waiting for you.

How can Sunland attract more women to the construction industry?

I really think that engaging in conversations with young women early on (i.e. high school) and showing them that there is a wide variety of positions for them to pursue in the construction industry can change the narrative for women. We often are not told that the construction industry has a variety of dynamic positions available. We don’t know what we don’t know- so education is important.