O'Connor of Langan Engineering discusses rewarding projects

Name: Michele O'Connor, PE, LEED AP Title: Principal Company Name: Langan Engineering, Environmental, Surveying and Landscape Architecture, DPC Years in Commercial Real Estate: 28 In the last 12 months, which project, transaction, honor or accomplishment are you most proud of and why? It has been extremely rewarding serving on the project team for the Phase I development of Hudson Park and Boulevard, which will provide a vital land link between the No. 7 subway extension, and the Hudson Yards district and The High Line. This project was particularly challenging due to inherent complexities - there were numerous public interests including the NYC Economic Development Corp., Hudson Yards Development Corp., NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and a complicated regulatory and entitlement process. Despite these obstacles, we were able to complete the design and permitting process in less than 15 months. Who are three women- living or dead - that you would like to have drinks with and why? I would love to sit down with Eleanor Roosevelt, Beyonce, and my maternal and paternal grandmothers, Margaret Levins and Ellen Cudden. Firstly, Eleanor Roosevelt's achievements as first lady were numerous and remarkable considering the political climate during her tenure. Beyonce is a powerhouse and appears to be limitless in terms of success; I'd like to ask her who her mentors have been. And finally, my grandmothers bore and raised 23 children between the two of them, managed work on the farm and ran their households. I would be curious to know what career paths they would have pursued if they were entering the workforce today. What was your first job and what did you learn from it? My first job was with an architect who ran a small "family" business out of his home in rural N.J. In addition to my primary engineering and design responsibilities, I was required to perform any tasks from running blueprints to delivering packages to the post office and general office services. This taught me the value of pulling up my sleeves to get the job done and team building. What are you doing to increase your client base from local / regional markets to national / global markets? Over the past few years my firm has opened offices in California and the Midwest, which are new markets for us. In being a member of the Association of Real Estate Women (AREW), a chapter of CREW Network, I have been able to greatly enhance my ability to grow my professional network on a national scale. One of the benefits of this membership is access to the CREW Biz network, which allows me to network with over 8,000 members within the United States and Canada. This has enabled me to make client introductions across our offices and within our new markets.