2018 Women in Real Estate and Construction Services: Jennifer Carey, JLC Environmental Consultants

Name: Jennifer Carey

Title: Founder and CEO

Company Name: JLC Environmental Consultants  

Years in your current field: 30

What professional organizations or associations are you a member of? CREW NY, Women Builders Council, Long Island Real Estate Group

What was your greatest professional accomplishment in 2017? 

The CREW Network Foundation, which I had the honor to chair in 2017, broke records with regards to the number of CREW members who donated and the amount of money they helped raise. Their philanthropy is helping change the future of the industry through scholarships, research and career education (especially with our UCREW and CREW Careers programs) throughout North America and the UK. 

What was your most notable project 2017?

One of the coolest projects we started in 2017 and are still working on is the rehabilitation of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel with HAKS Engineers. Not only does Brooklyn have a special place in my heart as it was my home when I first moved here, but improving our infrastructure to make NYC more resilient and ready for the future is such important work for our industry. 

If you have had a mentor in your career, who was it and what did they teach you? 

Gail Ayers, the former CEO of CREW Network, who I consider both a friend and a mentor, exemplified that if you look for sources of joy, creativity and inspiration in life you will find happiness. As a Texan, she also taught those who worked with her to dream big not small. 

What trends are you seeing so far this year in your field? Industrial properties are very hot right now and we are seeing a lot of demand for environmental site assessments (ESA’s) by clients who need to estimate if contamination is present and what the costs of environmental remediation will be to get these properties ready for their next iteration. 

When I am not working I am…

Traveling, learning, writing about women entrepreneurs and working on my bucket list which includes seeing all 50 states of our beautiful country (5 more to go) and (just added to my list thanks to a recent dinner in Utah with Julie Kilgore from Watsatch Environmental) visiting all 59 of our country’s national parks (many still to go)!