LA Times Names EVP Greg Skalaski a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Visionary

The LA Times recognized executive vice president of the West region Greg Skalaski as a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Visionary, naming him one of the influential and innovative leaders driving change. Read more about Greg’s DEIA work below and in his LA Times feature here.

Shawmut’s mission is to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment, committed to creating a workplace that embraces and celebrates diversity in all its forms, empowering its people to reach their fullest potential and ultimately drive the company to provide an unparalleled construction experience for its clients. This work cannot happen in a vacuum, and Shawmut works to actively drive diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) within the AEC industry and communities.

In order to be a catalyst for meaningful change, Shawmut understands that DEIA work must be an ongoing commitment that is woven into the fabric of the organization. That doesn’t happen without the support, action, and accountability of leadership, including Greg.

Greg sees the critical need to drive career awareness and opportunity for underrecognized groups—particularly in STEM—and is a board member and active supporter of multiple Southern California organizations. He has been a member of the Los Angeles Advisory Board for The Posse Foundation, a comprehensive and renowned college access and youth leadership development program, for five years and counting. In 2022, Greg began Shawmut’s partnership with STEM Advantage, a program that mentors, prepares, and inspires underrepresented students pursuing careers in STEM through paid internships, mentorships, and scholarships. Thanks to Greg’s involvement, Shawmut has since hired both Posse Scholars and STEM Advantage students for internships and its Construction Management Skills Training program.

Within Shawmut, Greg is the executive sponsor to the West Regional Diversity Leadership Council, which supports Shawmut’s national Diversity Leadership Council on a local level, providing boots-on-the-ground DEIA champions and allies. The West RDLC currently has 10 members who drive progress in the offices and local construction industry through trainings, organization memberships, panels, and events. The West RDLC hosts quarterly DEIA Town Halls, guest speakers, and coffee talks celebrating and sharing the history of a specific culture.

Leading the construction industry, Shawmut pairs high-potential, underrecognized employees with executive sponsors. The relationships leverage sponsors’ experience and executive position privilege to accelerate sponsees’ careers, with the goal of promotion to the leadership team. This breaks the cycle of affinity bias, mitigating the natural affinity for leaders to sponsor employees who are like them. Greg has sponsored employees every year, supporting and providing opportunities that they otherwise might not have had access to. Greg also informally sponsors and mentors developing leaders to help raise up his teams.

Understanding that the opportunities for the people building the projects are just as critically important as the projects themselves, Shawmut launched its Diverse Partnerships Program to bolster and increase business opportunities for Underrepresented Business Enterprises, aiming to exceed project requirements and goals and establish lasting partnerships that lead to knowledge-sharing, innovation, and long-term success. Shawmut is a corporate member of WBEC-West, a regional partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, and a corporate partner of the Southern California Minority Supplier Development Council (SCMSDC).

Greg has undergone MARC (Men Advocating Real Change) Training, which puts the focus on men’s role in moving beyond awareness to advocacy for women and underrecognized groups in the workplace, using relative power and influence to remove barriers and achieve sustainable cultural change.