Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 17 J U LY 2 5 , 2 0 2 2 F O C U S R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / E N G I N E E R I N G A deadly oil refinery explosion in Texas City, Texas, prompted Shannon Wiley to pursue a career in safety. She and her mother were employed at the BP site when the accident occurred on March 23, 2005, killing 15 workers and injuring 180. "at's when I decided I needed to see what kind of degrees I can get to help avoid a catastrophe like that," she says. Today, the 43-year- old is a safety coordinator at Landry/ French Construction, and one of eight women at the 64-employee Scarborough firm. "I still get a little pushback being a woman," Wiley says on a break from her site work at 201 Federal St., a mixed-use building under construc- tion in Portland that will be 18 stories tall. "A lot of guys don't like being told what to do, but I try not to be too demanding and say things like, 'Don't you think it would be safer to do some- thing like this?' at's a better approach and builds good morale." Miss Shannon, as the guys have come to call her, also offers reassurance when a crew member has been injured; one even fainted at the sight of blood. "You have to baby them," she says. Another theory, from colleague Michaela Curley: "It's more about distracting them so they don't over panic about it," the 24-year-old safety coordinator says. Both are mak- ing their mark in a male-dominated $1.9 trillion industry that's attracting more women. More jobs, but still a gender pay gap Out of 34,166 people employed in construction in Maine, 14% are women, according to Maine Department of Labor data. e proportion has gradu- ally increased over the last two decades, from 11% in 2000. Nationwide, women make up 18% of the construction workforce, up from 15% in 2000, which Maine labor Our clients benefit from the combined resources of our team of brokers, now and in the years to come. Portland, ME | 207.773.7100 | dunhamgroup.com "After a couple conversations with Justin I joined The Dunham Group. I have access to mentorship from brokers who are at different stages of their career and that has a tremendous value; I can't put a number on it," shares LeGeyt. Before Sam LeGeyt joined The Dunham Group, he met Justin Lamontagne across the table while doing a deal. A Collaborative Approach to Commercial Real Estate Justin Lamontagne, CCIM, SIOR, Broker | Partner and Sam LeGeyt, Broker SITE TO SUCCESS. S E B A G O T E C H N I C S . C O M Everything we do is shaping. From land and relationships to careers and communities. We exist to do this work together, with our team, our clients, and with our community. We are all shaping Maine, together. PROUD TO BE 100% EMPLOYEE-OWNED CREATIVE ENGINEERING COLLECTIVE MAINE'S C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » A lot of guys don't like being told what to do, but I try not to be too demanding. — Shannon Wiley Landry/French Construction

• Cover