Meet Danielle O’Brien, project coordinator at Rockford who started with the company in the Rockford Development Group before moving to construction. She has a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education, Winona State University.
Please briefly describe what you do for Rockford. At Rockford, I serve in the role of project coordinator, which is a specialized role due to the uniqueness of our Florida office and the projects that we are involved in. While officially a project coordinator, I provide services associated with a variety of roles, including executive assistant, construction administrator and office manager. At the same time, I work closely with our Accounting, Human Resources, Marketing and IT departments, and over the past couple of years, I have been involved with a few internal committees as well. One of my main focuses over the last few years, is a project of ours located in the Caribbean where I serve a variety of diverse roles to support the leadership, project managers and field staff who are assigned to the project.
What is your favorite part of your job/role? A favorite part of my job is that every day is different and challenging, keeping me on my toes. What I enjoy most, however, is the opportunity to work with so many wonderful people. We truly have an outstanding team here at Rockford – a team that I’m happy to be a part of.
What has been the most rewarding or memorable moment of your career? The most memorable moment of my career with Rockford was getting the opportunity to visit our corporate office for the first time, where I finally met team members I frequently interact with. I remember walking in the front doors and was in awe with the beauty of the office, the warm greetings I received and seeing the impact we were making in the local community and well beyond.
What does being a woman in the construction industry mean to you? If you would have asked me in college if I ever saw myself working in this field, my answer would have been: “Construction? Never!” The thought of working in the construction industry honestly never crossed my mind for a split second. I pursued a degree in elementary education, yet, look where I have been for almost ten years! I’ve come to realize that being a woman in this industry really is no different than other careers. Each company, no matter the industry, has a common goal in mind and your gender should not make a difference in how you achieve that goal.
What advice do you have for others interested in working in the construction industry? I live by two of our Rockford values: “Win As a Team” and most importantly, “Do the Right Thing.” If you focus daily on these two values, everything else will fall into place.
