Dear RESO Team,
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, I want to take a moment to recognize the valuable contributions of the women on our team. From leadership roles to entry-level positions, women make a significant impact on RESO and our service to Providence. Our success is driven by their passion, expertise, and dedication. Their unique perspectives, skill sets, and experiences enrich our organization and help drive us forward.
We recently got the chance to speak with Rachel Jenner and Lanette Faulkner. Their insights into their careers, experiences, and the role of women in our industry provide valuable lessons for all of us. I encourage you to read the interviews below and take inspiration from their journeys.
Rachel Jenner, Senior Director of Planning and Design for the North Division, has been a leader in healthcare architecture for 25 years. Her expertise in balancing technical details paired with her eye for aesthetics has helped us create well-designed spaces that have a positive impact on our patients and caregivers. Rachel is also a navigator and translator, guiding teams through the design process, building consensus, and finding smart solutions to complicated space challenges. Her dedication and hard work have greatly influenced the design of the Swedish First Hill Towers project in Seattle, which was ready to break ground in February, 2020, but has been paused during the pandemic.
Lanette Faulkner, Director of Support Services, has a passion for creating, building, and maintaining spaces that support physicians, nurses, and patients. As a result of her hard work, these individuals can work and receive care in a beautiful, healing, state-of-the-art environment. Her experience in facilities, construction, design, and real estate has been invaluable to our organization. Lanette’s leadership, collaboration, and consistent approach have helped her overcome challenges and achieve success in her career.
Both Rachel and Lanette are true trailblazers in their industry, and we are lucky to have them on our team. As we wrap up the celebration of Women’s History Month this week, let’s remember the contributions of women like Rachel and Lanette, who continue to make a positive impact on Providence.
Thank you for all that you do.
Mike
RESO, GVP
Interview
Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you ended up at RESO?
Rachel: I’ve worked in healthcare architecture for 25 years, starting in Honolulu and migrating to Seattle in 2006. Swedish was one of my first Seattle clients and I developed a strong connection with the team and the culture. In 2015, I took a big leap of faith, left my consultant role to join Providence, and lead the design of the First Hill Expansion Project. My role has continued to grow, and I am honored to now oversee planning and design for the North Division.
Lanette: Right out of college I was recruited to work as a Project Manager for a design firm in Los Angeles. The firm was contracted with the Seventh Day Adventist, and we worked on Acute Care Hospital Projects except for a few high-end clients. Through my exposure to Health Care, I was introduced to and worked collaboratively with Construction and Facilities. Quickly realizing that I could align my career path and aspirations, Health Care Facilities and Construction was a perfect way to crosswalk what I had learned and loved. I enjoyed spending time with my dad growing up who was a general contractor, owned a bunch of apartments, and dabbled in real estate on the side.
What motivated you to pursue a career in this field, and what keeps you passionate about it?
Rachel: I have very good handwriting and like to wear black, so a career in architecture was a no-brainer. Kidding!
When a middle school career fair quiz indicated I would make a good architect, a light bulb went on and I knew that was it! My father was a general contractor, so I had a front row seat watching how lines on a piece of paper turned into an actual building. I think I am equally analytical and creative, which lends itself well to balancing technical details with an eye for aesthetics.
Every day, I feel like I’m able to add value to our organization by using my architectural training to ask tough questions that influence design decisions. I consider myself a navigator and translator, guiding teams through a foreign design process, building consensus, and finding smart solutions to complicated space challenges. I am convinced there is always a win-win solution if we work really hard as a team to find it.
What keeps me passionate about the work is the positive impact well-designed spaces have on our patients and caregivers. Our spaces support the real work of providing care. The quality of that space, good or bad, has a direct impact on the quality of that experience.
Lanette: Facilities, Construction, Design and Real Estate is at the core of what I enjoy. In my career I went to work for a savings and loan for about five years and during that time I realized that I was passionate about creating, building, and maintaining spaces that supported, physicians, nurses, and patients to receive care in beautiful, healing, caring, state of the art compassionate environment.
Who are some women in your industry that you look up to or have been inspired by?
Rachel: There are so many inspiring women in this industry today and the ones that have the biggest impact on my day-to-day work life are actually outside the world of architecture. The clinical and executive women leaders I’m surrounded by at Providence/Swedish are phenomenal. Some of my inspirational leaders here are Dr. Elizabeth Wako, Kristy Carrington, Dr. Arooj Simmonds, and Dr. Sara Jo Grethlein; all of whom are strong, thoughtful, articulate, and genuine in their quest to push this industry forward.
When I first started my career, it was normal for me to be the only woman in a meeting. I think that is still true for in the architectural and engineering world. At Providence/Swedish, it’s routine for me to be in a meeting that is made up of all women. It doesn’t change the work or the outcome, it just changes the dynamic.
Lanette: I look up to the so many women in the trades, facilities, construction, engineering who stay true to what they love and our passionate about what they do. My grandmothers inspired me and were pioneers who never gave up or were they intimidated by social norms of their day. One was a schoolteacher, ordained minister, and farmer and the other an evangelist traveling around the country preaching and signing. To this day I have kept my grandmothers cotton farm in Arkansas as a reminder of her character, strength, discipline and sacrifices she made as a woman of her era and a woman I admired. Yes, to those who know me I am a cotton farmer.
What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a woman in the industry, and how have you overcome them?
RACHEL: I have been so fortunate to have had wonderful mentors in my career, both men and women. I think the only uncomfortable moments I have faced was when someone I was meeting for the first time jumped to the conclusion that I played a different role on the team based solely on gender stereotypes. I never dwelled on it. My approach is to always assume that people have good intentions and are doing the best they can with what they’ve got.
Lanette: Most of the challenges were earlier in my career and were rooted in acceptance, trust, and doubt. The best strategy I developed to overcome, was to be true to myself, my core values, be a whole person leader, engaging, consistent, trusted collaborator, partner and lest I forget have fun and do not forget laugh.
How have you seen the role of women in the industry change throughout your career?
Rachel: I have noticed a dramatic decrease in the number of times I have been the only woman at the table. There is power in numbers because it normalizes it. I wish we didn’t even need to acknowledge it as remarkable.
Lanette: It has been a slow process, but it has been consistent, and more and more exciting opportunities exist for anyone who puts their mind to it.
What do you think are some unique contributions that women bring to the industry?
Rachel: I think women in my profession have made it socially acceptable to set clearer boundaries to achieve work/life balance. It would have been very difficult for me to have missed a professional obligation, even outside of work hours, early in my career. Now, I feel the freedom to unapologetically decline something that competes with my personal life. I think this has allowed men and women to find that balance without judgement.
Lanette: Organizational leadership, seeking to understand the root cause of an issue/problem, and women have what I sometimes refer to as the “glue” (we hold things together in a unique way) to the industry, team, department etc.
Can you share some examples of projects or initiatives you’ve worked on that you’re particularly proud of?
Rachel: I’m really proud of the 8+ years (and counting) of blood, sweat and tears that have been put into the design of the Swedish First Hill Expansion project, which consists of a replacement acute care tower and a new medical office building. It’s on a very complicated urban site and has evolved several times to respond to changing strategic priorities, budget constraints, jurisdiction deadlines, etc. It was an even bigger accomplishment to relocate over 250,000 SF of space, including 1,500 caregivers, to new space prior to demolition of the old buildings. It wasn’t sexy work, but the sense of accomplishment is high.
Lanette:Earlier in my career I was the PM for the first birthing suites in California for Hanford Community Hospital in Hanford California. The Hospital had a speed to market approach and was proud to be part of the team to deliver. More recently I had an opportunity to build the Leornard Cancer Institute which was a developer building that we were able to bring to market quickly and was designed as a healing inspirational environment for cancer treatment. To many projects and initiatives to count but such a privilege and proud to serve alongside the Sr. of Providence and the Sr. of St. Joseph in Health Care for the past 13 years.
How do you see healthcare real estate evolving in the next few years, and what opportunities do you see for women in the industry?
RACHEL: This is an interesting time for healthcare real estate in that we are trying to anticipate how functional needs are evolving post-covid. I think women play an important role in shaping what the “return to work” workstyles look like. I think the pandemic has highlighted that work/life balance applies to all of us. I hope that the lines between gender stereotypes continue to blur.
I also hope is that there are more and more women at the table during the construction phases of the work.
Lanette: Health Care Real Estate, Facilities and Construction will continue to consolidate creating new opportunities, streamlined practices, policies, leveraged buying power, and hopefully centralized monitoring in the several support services areas such as security, call centers, etc.
How do you balance work and personal life, and do you have any advice for other women trying to do the same?
Rachel: I learned the hard way that there is a fine line between loving your work and overworking. I have learned to set boundaries to protect the time needed prioritize my family. I now know that I am my very best at work when things are good at home. My advice is to surround yourself with colleagues who share that value. It allows you to take a deep breath and know that if/when you drop a ball, your team is there to catch it. And they know you’re there to do the same for them.
Lanette: This is an area I work hard at, as work life balance does not come natural to me. Being an only child raised by parents with their own careers, I was always along for the ride. Recognizing the importance of knowing how you are hardwired as a woman to handle family, marriage, partnerships, faith, etc. We must take care of ourselves so we can care for the people we love for the long haul. One of the hardest but most rewarding decisions I ever made was to re-write what was modeled for me and step away from my career from 2000 to 2010. I used this time to parent and raise my three amazing daughters when I saw some things that were concerning me at the time. Best decision ever.
What advice would you give to young women who are interested in pursuing a career in the industry?
Rachel: Be authentic, surround yourself with people you genuinely respect, and everything will eventually fall into place.
Lanette: If you are thinking of pursuing a career in Facilities, Construction, Real Estate, I encourage young people to do informational interviews with men and women you admire and learn what their journeys were like to their current positions and/or careers. This is a good opportunity to look at their academic achievements, experience required, the rewards, the challenges, pitfalls along the way, and helps young women course correct if they are headed down one path or the other.
END