Remembering Lenore Janis, past president and a founder of Professional Women in Construction (PWC) March 4, 1934 - January 31, 2021

New York, NY Lenore Janis founded and ran ERA Steel, a woman-owned business enterprise (WBE) in 1979. In 1986, she was appointed the first woman director of the Bureau of Building Management of the NYC Department of Sanitation in charge of 250 tradesmen. In 1995, Janis began to devote herself full-time to PWC, the organization she founded with 11 other women in 1980. PWC was memorably heralded by a leading member as “an idea whose time has come.”

Janis was honored by numerous organizations including the American ORT (Service Award); NYC NOW (the Susan B. Anthony Award); CSI; the Association of Women Construction Workers of America (AWCWA); the Concrete Industry Board – alongside nine men; the Brick Industry Association; the NY Women’s Chamber of Commerce; and the General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen (GSM&T). She wrote a chapter, “Women in Construction,” for Construction in Cities, published by CRC Press in 2000. She was inducted into White Plains High School’s Hall of Fame as an example for today’s youth to emulate.

Bill Fife, retired Port Authority and AECOM senior executive said, “She was ahead of her time. Lenore will always be remembered for her dedication to promoting the role of professional women as leaders in the construction industry. As a strong, smart woman she worked really well with all of us on the PWC Board in putting together terrific professional development programs for the transportation industry. She made things happen. When I chaired my first session for Lenore, there were no women on the panel and 20 years later all our speakers were women industry leaders at major transportation agencies.”

Florence Chilton, president of A & F Electrical Testing and a former PWC board member said, “She was a fierce woman in a man’s world. She literally moved mountains assisting in breaking barriers, changing rules and laws to benefit ALL women regardless of their ethnicity, race or religion. She will be truly missed.”