Worcester Business Journal

14 Worcester Business Journal | June 10, 2024 | wbjournal.com PHOTO | EDD COTE Jennie Lee Colosi has built roads and broken glass ceilings as president of the largest Central Mass. woman-owned construction company Paving Paving her way her way BY MICA KANNER-MASCOLO WBJ Staff Writer T hough the construction industry may still feel like a boys' club to Jennie Lee Colosi, she seems to have navigated it well over the past five decades. Colosi has been president of E.T.& L. for more than 30 years, a company that in 2022 was the 13th largest wom- an-owned business in Central Mas- sachusetts and largest woman-owned construction firm with nearly $44.5 million in annual revenue, according to information provided to the WBJ Research Department. Now writing in "emeritus" aer "pres- ident" on her business cards, Colosi will retire at the end of 2024 aer a nearly 50-year tenure with the Stow-based construction company. For Colosi, respect, loyalty, and per- petual hard work have been keys to not only hers, but her employees' success. ough she's had to open more than a couple doors on her own, she's leaving them open for more women to follow. Early days Colosi hasn't known much life with- out the presence of E.T.& L. She used to work at the construction company during summers in high school when her father, Anthony Colosi, owned and acted as president of E.T.& L. Going out on projects with him sparked her interest in civil engineering. For a change in scenery, Colosi headed to Georgia Institute of Tech- nology upon graduating high school. While earning her bachelor's degree, Colosi recalled oen being the only woman in many of her engineering classes. ough she said she had many great professors, she remembers others who would look right through her, not acknowledging her questions or even her mere presence in the room. ough she originally had plans to work for a larger construction firm than her father's, Colosi's mother passed away while she was in college, prompt- ing her to choose to return back to E. T.& L. upon graduating from Georgia Tech. She started working full time for the company in 1977 as a civil engineer, working her way up to president and treasurer by the time her father retired in 1988. Blazing a trail Women made up 11.10% of the con- struction industry workforce in 2023, according to Construction Coverage's analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau data. Forseeing the hurdles ahead of her as a woman in the male-dominated industry, Colosi began working toward earning her professional engineer license in college, a process requiring a four-year college degree, four years of experience working under a P.E., letters of rec- ommendation, and the passing of two eight-hour-long tests. Being a P.E. adds credibility to your reputation, said Colosi, and she knew she was going to need as much of that as she could get upon entering her chosen field. Colosi has noticed for herself and others, men and women alike, with age comes recognition in the construction industry. "As you get older and more mature and people realize that you know what you're talking about and you know what you're doing, that they treat you with respect," said Colosi. Even still, Colosi still sees women having to work harder to prove them- selves early in their careers, and though she's noticed an increase in women business owners and workers in the construction industry throughout her career, she said construction is still very much a boys' club. Colosi's status as a pioneer for women in construction is evident, said Jody F O C U S A R C H I T E C T U R E , E N G I N E E R I N G , & C O N S T R U C T I O N Over 11 years, Jennie Lee Colosi went from a newly graduated civil engineer at E.T.& L. to running the family company as president and treasurer.

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