Project executive Kirstin Harper-Smith was featured in Los Angeles Business Journal’s Women of Influence: Construction & Design, recognized as one of the key women paving the way for the industry to become more diverse and inclusive for future generations. Read Harper-Smith’s Women of Influence profile here, and find out more about her below.

As project executive, Harper-Smith is responsible for the oversight of the office and field team—and in an industry that’s less than 10% female, she has established herself as a leader with the skill and expertise to successfully guide a team. Currently working on projects spanning from a historic building from 1935 to a tight urban site for microunits, Harper-Smith brings expertise in major projects—including high rises—and a collaborative, proactive approach to construction with a solutions-first focus. 

With the Covid-19 pandemic, Harper-Smith has understood the importance of showing up even more for both clients and teammates. Ensuring she and her team do everything to keep projects moving forward safely, she has become entrenched in understanding what the effects of Covid-19 are and planning the construction process around restrictions during the preconstruction phase. She looks ahead to identify trends and adjusts project approaches for those in the pipeline, helping to minimize issues once teams get on-site and therefore drive clients’ goals forward. 

Harper-Smith is part of Shawmut’s Creating Community initiative, working with peers to build out programs that help teammates stay connected in this new environment and bringing solutions to the West region leadership team to foster additional support as everyone faces the challenges of the pandemic. Harper-Smith is co-leading a program focused on building resilience, providing resources for the region to be as productive as possible as everyone continues to adjust their workflow and communication.

Just recently, Harper-Smith was appointed as co-lead of Shawmut’s Regional Diversity Leadership Council (RDLC) for the West region. The DLC partnered with Deloitte Human Capital to create a strategic framework so Shawmut continues to advance toward its goal of workplace equity. As part of the council, Harper-Smith will work to proactively address imbalances around groups, including issues of gender, sexuality, race, religion and culture. She will further the council’s mission to pioneer an inclusive culture by continually driving actionable outcomes, resulting in improved employee equity, engagement, retention, as well as client satisfaction and work acquisition.