SJBiz_Dept_Women in Biz - edit_Dept 6 / 6 / 23 12 : 42 PM Page 5 L E A D E R S H I P Melanie Willoughby . She sponsored an in - ternship when I was in Eagleton Fellowship while at Rutgers , when she was then the pres - ident of the NJ Retail Merchants Association and I was her intern . It was important to have another woman leader who you could just have a conversation with . She’s been a great friend and mentor to me ever since . Her personal mantra … There are seasons in my career when certain phrases would keep me going , and at this point it’s “ Do no harm . ” It’s almost like if you can’t help , don't hurt . Liz Lawler , CCM , MBA ASSOCIATE , GROUP MANAGER – PROGRAM MANAGEMENT / CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT , T & M ASSOCIATES Lawler is a certified con - struction manager with 20 years of experience as an owner’s representative and construction man - ager . She oversees multi - million - dollar new con - struction and renovation projects from design through closeout for clients in vertical construction markets . Lawler is chair of the growing committee for Professional Women in Construction’s Philadelphia chapter . On her early learning experiences … Early in my career , before electronic trans - mission , I collected project closeout docu - ments , which I stored in a box labeled “ Trash ” but had folded down the flap , think - ing this was enough . One morning , the box was gone , taken by the cleaning crew . I was in panic mode . My boss calmly encouraged me to figure out how to fix it . I swallowed my pride , called the contractor and asked for help . He reprinted all the documents . It taught me to be careful , deliberate , honest and to address mistakes immediately — but projects are team efforts , and you never know who you’ll have to ask for help . A formative female mentor … Growing up , my mom was a full - time nurse , mom and household manager . She sup - ported my dad in his career while making sure that my sister and I had everything we needed , from homemade desserts to ironed uniforms and unconditional love . Her expert - ise in her field , work ethic and ability to love and encourage are unmatched . She demon - strated that if you work hard and care about what you are doing , you can do anything . She has supported me all my life and is still w myNo . 1 cheerleader and sounding board . 14 | SOUTH JERSEY BIZ | VOLUME 13 ISSUE 6 | SouthJerseyBiz.net
