Senior Project Manager Mary Jreisat Named Los Angeles Business Journal Mentor of the Year Finalist

The Los Angeles Business Journal named senior project manager Mary Jreisat a mentor of the year finalist in its Women’s Leadership Awards, recognized for her demonstrated commitment to bettering the careers of women and making a difference in both the industry and LA community. Read more about Mary’s leadership and effective approach to mentorship in her Los Angeles Business Journal feature here, as well as below.

In an industry that’s just 10% women, Mary has not only forged a name and reputation for herself—establishing herself as a go-to builder for completing the most complex renovations in the most condensed timelines—she’s also lifted up the women around her. This is even more impressive as Mary has continuously worked on sports venues projects for the last four years—another male-dominated industry.

It’s no coincidence that Mary’s recent projects have consisted of teams that are 50% women. She cultivates team environments where learning is encouraged and mistakes are followed by solution-finding. Mary sets a positive tone, creating a team dynamic that allows everyone to expand their skillset, improve, and perform their best. This is especially critical for women who are early in their construction careers. She works to excite the future generation of talent, paving the way so women have an easier experience and know how to approach their roles with confidence.

One of the keys to Mary’s mentorship is that she understands everyone learns and progresses differently—she meets people where they are. Mary mentored a woman who made a career change into construction, joining a stadium project where Mary helped her solidify her skills. Now, she’s on the largest project in Shawmut’s 40-year history.

Working in Petco Park since 2019, Mary started off as the only woman on the project team. Consistently working in the ballpark every offseason since then, the team has added women in both field and project management roles, continuing to impress the client and pave the way for future women in construction and sports venues.

Mary joined Shawmut as part of its Construction Management Skills Training program, rotating through the three main areas of construction—project management, site supervision, and estimating. This not only gave Mary a thorough understanding of the project lifecycle, but provided her the perspective and experiences to be able to relate to her female colleagues across roles. Mary has been in the footsteps of the women coming up behind her, so she empathizes with the challenges they face. She shares her personal lessons learned and potential issues to look out for, sharing how to address them head-on.