Iris O’Neal
Project Manager, Bremik Construction
Iris O'Neal serves as a project manager for Bremik Construction in Portland, Oregon, where she focuses on multi-family commercial and affordable housing construction. During the last five years, Iris has received awards from the Daily Journal of Commerce for Women of Vision (2018) honoring women shaping the built environment and Phenoms (2020) highlighting the local building industry's rising stars.
What class or professor most inspired you during your time at UWF?
Dr. Glenda Mayo was the sole female professor I encountered during my coursework in the UWF Construction Management program. As I was often one of the only women in my classes, Glenda was a shining light reminding me that there was a space for me both there in the classroom and out in the building industry. It wasn't until this interview and my reflection on this question that I learned of her passing. She made a profound mark on my learning journey and I am grateful for the opportunity to have sat in her classroom at UWF.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I love that each construction project presents unique features and a different makeup of teams of people. It is great to meet new people with companies you haven't yet had the opportunity to build with and to also partner with folks who you have worked on many previous projects with. Each project affords me new connections and thus new friendships that carry forward. I am still in touch with people I met on that very first construction project as a project engineer for the Pensacola Beach Resort (formerly Margaritaville Beach Hotel).
What advice would you give to other women who hope to pursue a career in construction management?
The construction industry can be very demanding of one's time: focus on the most important task at hand and the rest will reorganize itself thereafter. The work will be there in the morning: find a good stopping point and set it all down at the end of each work day; don't burn the candle at both ends. Construction is an industry of teamwork and collaboration; lean into the subject matter experts on your projects for areas you aren't as versed in. It is hard work, but it is rewarding to see the finished products of your efforts.