Business Women Awards 2019 | OUTSTANDING MENTOR
Kimberly Silvestri, BOND Brothers Inc.
YOU COULD SAY the building blocks for Kimberly Silvestri’s career were there all along.
Her grandfather was a land surveyor, and she can recall visiting work sites with her dad, who also worked in the construction sector. Her brothers are in the industry, as well. But Silvestri, project executive at BOND Brothers Inc. in Providence, insists working in construction wasn’t a conscious choice.
“I was always good at math, and so not knowing what else to do, I went to school for electrical engineering. Then I changed my major to be a lawyer,” she said.
When her husband became ill, she put college on hold and joined a small construction company as bookkeeper. “As fate would have it, I got exposure to all the things I needed to be in construction: law, engineering and budgets.” As she gained more responsibility, she went to Roger Williams University at night and earned a bachelor’s degree in construction management.
“I was the only woman in the room,” she said. “I got the typical ‘Why are you here?’ Nobody was going to tell me, ‘No.’ I would bulldoze right over them.”
She went on to become the first female project manager at Dimeo Construction Company in the 1990s, and now, as project executive for BOND, she brings 20 years of management expertise in space planning, preconstruction, logistics, phasing and project delivery.
She was formerly the director of facility development and project management for Care New England Health System and served as the director of space planning and construction for Women & Infants Hospital, delivering the nation’s largest single-family room newborn intensive care unit.
“She is amazing,” said Laurie Vandal, who worked with Silvestri at Care New England. “When she puts her mind to something, she does it very well. And when she’s teaching you something, it makes you feel good about yourself instead of feeling stupid. She will sit and work with you until you understand it.”
Silvestri said a former female supervisor helped her to understand “that the way everyone on the team advances is if everyone is working to their potential, and if I could help them reach their potential, that would be rewarding for everyone. That was probably the start of my active mentoring.”
In 2016, she began something called BOND-PLX, or Professional Learning Exchange. Featuring a new “class” every year for minority and women business owners, Silvestri and her team provide after-hours pizza and lessons on business development and the construction industry.
“We want them to get to know each other as well,” she explained. “Everybody there learns something from someone else’s experience.”
She is the co-chair of BONDing Women in Construction, the company’s internal professional women’s association. She is also on the board of directors for the ACE Mentor Program, which attempts to inspire high school students to pursue a career in architecture, construction and engineering.
“It has been very rewarding to forge my own path in life down a trail not many women were taking,” said Silvestri, who lives in North Smithfield with her husband. “To be able to help others as they make their way on their own journey is very meaningful. I am inspired by their dedication and curiosity and passion to succeed.”
Silvestri said that even though the construction industry has been more accepting, it can still be difficult for women to break through.
“One of the obstacles is the continuing perception that women are not suited or adept at the skills needed for this type of profession,” she explained. “To be successful in this industry, you need to be detail oriented, organized, focused, persistent, understand what motivates and inspires people and, of course, be a good communicator. Women work, run households, volunteer, continue their education, take care of families, pets and parents. They naturally have the skills; they just need to recognize the talent they have and translate it to the design and construction environment.”
