2021 Women in CRE: April Intrabartola, Eastman Cooke Construction

Name: April Intrabartola

Title: Vice President

Company Name: Eastman Cooke Construction

In the past year, what project, transaction, or accomplishment are you most proud of?
The beginning of 2021 marked restarts of two significant ground-up dealership projects for Jaguar-Land Rover, comprising 100,000 s/f in Coney Island and 80,000 s/f in Glen Cove, L.I. Adding to our dealership bonanza is a new one in Hempstead, L.I., which we are building for the country’s largest used car brand, and for which we waited nearly two years! These projects reflect a sense of optimism for the economy and have enabled us to bring back our entire team full time! We never stopped working on essentials, such as medical facilities, but this is a different kind of excitement.

How do you advocate for your fellow women in real estate?
As a former educator, I take mentoring very seriously, so it has been an integral part of my work with women in our industry. I am also a longtime member of both the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network and Professional Women in Construction (PWC). Historically, the purpose of those organizations is to provide inclusive environments for women in all sectors of the commercial real estate industry – and they succeed. I am very excited about rejoining my friends and colleagues in person again at luncheons and other events, but the virtual meetings and one-on-one conversations have been very helpful in reinforcing the importance of women supporting each other in our various fields of expertise.

How do you contribute to your community or your profession?
I believe it is critically important to contribute to both! I pride myself on being a mentor to women and men in the construction services. At Eastman Cooke, I lead training classes that provide updates on local laws, OSHA standards, etc. We constantly readdress the company’s proprietary Work Smart System, which emphasizes highly collaborative, step-by-step protocols and enables our project managers, estimators, and field staff to work effortlessly with subcontractors and other key consultants. On a personal level, I am on the board of the Family & Children’s Association, am a member of CREW and Women Economic Developers of Long Island (WEDLI) and continue to be active in local charities.

How do you keep your team motivated despite conflicts and obstacles?
I have always had an open-door policy, which has been especially helpful in allaying much of the anxiety so many members of our team have faced over the past year and a-half. There are no precedents in our lifetimes for what has transpired globally with the pandemic, but our firm was able to pivot and we were fortunate to have essential project work throughout. We also maintained communications with the entire team, whether through virtual training sessions, one-on-one interactions, or on-site camaraderie. Eastman Cooke is first and foremost a team-based company and by reinforcing that ethos, most obstacles are addressed in real time and conflicts quickly resolved.

What books or social media influencers do you recommend to other women?
I can’t say I don’t enjoy a good mystery, but when it comes to work and leadership there are seminal reads that have influenced me greatly, and which we use in many of our training sessions. The first two are by Jim Collins, starting with “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t.” The follow up to that book is the monograph, “Turning the Flywheel,” which has provided me with many important insights I enjoy sharing with other women, especially in the industry. Another book I have bought for many friends and colleagues is “Dare to Lead” by Brenè Brown. It is profound and yet accessible.

Why should women consider a career in commercial real estate and related services?
The actual question is, why wouldn’t they? Across the board, women are entering areas that were not traditionally welcoming to them. Having grown up in the construction industry, I know firsthand how unwelcoming commercial real estate was to women. But times are changing at a rapid pace and commercial real estate is a great sector for anyone who wants professional diversity, enjoys hands-on experiences, and is well-grounded. In some sectors, women are still being challenged, but far less frequently than before, thanks to a pronounced cultural shift, in general.