2019 Women in Building Services: Lisa Mulligan, Town of Brookhaven and Town of Brookhaven IDA & LDC

Name: Lisa Mulligan

Title: Director of Economic Development & CEO of Brookhaven IDA & LDC

Company Name: Town of Brookhaven and Town of Brookhaven IDA & LDC 

How many years have you been in your current field? 10

List up to three CRE organizations that you are currently a member of: 

• LI Business Development Council, 
• LI Builders Institute,
•  NYS Economic Development Council, 
• CIBS, 
• IEDC, 
• Brookhaven Business Advisory Council

What was your greatest professional achievement or most notable project in the last 12 months? 
In the past 12 months, I have been very proud to work on a series of manufacturing and distribution projects. In 2018, the Brookhaven IDA closed on support for H.A.E. Air, Inc., Creative Biolabs, Inc., United Meat Products, Inc., and United Rentals, Inc. These core manufacturing and distribution type projects are the backbone of our economy–hiring local employees and growing the tax base, and they are the types of projects that our IDA loves to support.

What trend(s) do you predict to dominate your industry in 2019? 
We have seen an increased demand for housing. Our Board has recently supported Engel Burman at Mt. Sinai, LLC., a senior housing facility in the hamlet of Mt. Sinai, Rail Realty, LLC., a market-rate apartment facility in Port Jefferson Village, and Chelsea Senior Living, an assisted living facility, which is part of the larger Meadows at Yaphank/AVR Development housing community being developed in the hamlet of Yaphank. 

The IDA sees the need to assist in providing housing to support the manufacturing and distribution companies in the Town of Brookhaven.

What does it mean to you to be a team player?
Being a team player is very important to me. I expect our entire staff to work together as a team to get projects completed. No task is beneath any of us – if it needs to be done, we work together to get it done. I find the result is that we have redundancies in our responsibilities so that if someone is unavailable, another team member can fill in until that person is available. I think it also fosters a collegial environment and that shared sense of responsibility makes for a more enjoyable workday.